History YMMV / TombRaider

** The health bar during boss fights in the 2024 remaster. It effectively makes any such fight a breeze, simply because the players know exactly how much HP the boss still has and if their attacks even connected at all (a pretty big deal in ''[[Videogame/TombRaiderIII III]]''). It's a very minor change that instantly garnered scorn.

*** It may have been a marketing gimmick, but it never actually came up within the games themselves. Lara's iconic blue tank top and khaki shorts are actually a pretty reasonable clothing choice for an outdoorswoman in arid or tropical climates.

* ScrappyMechanic: The modern controls in ''I-II-III Remastered'' has been lambasted by both critics and players alike, as this was one of the things that was advertised since the game was announced. Someone at Aspyr and Crystal Dynamics decided to transplant the same control style from ''VideoGame/TombRaiderLegend'' into the remaster and call it a day, and while they do work, it's pretty clear there was no playtesting involved. Both platforming and combat are awkward to execute, with half of Lara's moves impossible to pull off and the combat being a pain in the ass because Lara doesn't automatically target any enemies nearby. The worst part is the camera, as the damn thing doesn't like corners and will always freak out whenever you try to adjust it, especially during platforming. It doesn't help that there's no in-game tutorial at Lara's house, a manual for the modern controls or any proper explanation of how they work. Instead, all the instructions are explained on Aspyr's own website, the last place anyone would search for instructions.

** If you ask most gaming fans to name some UsefulNotes/PlayStation exclusive games, chances are the first ''Tomb Raider'' might be mentioned. While ''II'' and ''III'' were console-exclusive to Playstation at the time, the first was also on UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn; And not only that, was technically released on the Saturn ''before'' the Playstation.

* FairForItsDay: Cracked for one, in its discussion of the [[http://www.cracked.com/article_19262_6-glitches-that-accidentally-invented-modern-gaming.html slip of the mouse]] that led to her enlarged breasts and subsequent sexualized marketing campaign, takes this stance. Pointing out that before Lara, the majority of women in games were either hostages or nonexistent, they mention that Lara is strong, independently wealthy, beautiful, smart and great at what she does, and has shown that a female-driven game could sell, and if it took an overinflated chest to start blazing that trail, maybe that's just the way it is.

* EvilIsSexy: [[spoiler:Doppelganger]] is more into tight leather than Lara is, although apparently not enough for Zip to tell them apart. Also, Amanda Evert really seems into black leather.

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: As with many games from this era, it's easy to take for granted just how revolutionary a game like this was back in 1996, and how it influenced numerous adventure games afterwards.
** She's also frequently seen as little more than a sexist fantasy, not knowing that Lara was a ''huge'' step forward in strong, female leads in video games. For some idea of just where female characters were in gaming at the time, consider that ''VideoGame/DukeNukem3D'' was released in the same year.

* NotSoCheapImitation: When the original ''VideoGame/TombRaiderI'' was still in production, there was a genuine fear of being tangled by Creator/LucasArts into a copyright hell due to similarities with ''Franchise/IndianaJones''. Not only did the game become one of the hallmarks of its era, but it also spawned a successful multi-media franchise going strong ''for decades'', and despite various hardships, completely eclipsing ''Indiana Jones'' by the mid-00s. Most humiliatingly, when [=LucasArts=] decided to make their own TPP [[IndianaJonesAndTheInfernalMachine Indiana Jones video game]], they shamelessly ripped off ''Tomb Raider'' formula.

** For Classic era fans specifically, claiming that Classic Lara is a cold blooded killer with no morality, empathy or personality to speak of. This was mostly kick started by various developer interviews for the 2013 game that refer to her as "Teflon Coated" and "IceQueen" when discussing how they changed her personality and character arc. While Lara was often a morally gray character as far as getting her hands on artifacts, she was still very much a [[AntiHero heroine who risks her life to save the world from all sorts of maniacs, cult leaders and evil scientists]] and was capable of showing kindness and compassion when the situation called for it.

** It also applies to the LAU trilogy fans as despite it's generally lighter tone it still has several scenes that lean heavily into Lara's emotions such as [[spoiler: [[Lara being forced to kill her mother]] in Underworld or Lara getting furious at Amanda in Legend's ending.]]

** [[VideoGame/TombRaider2013 The]] [[VideoGame/RiseOfTheTombRaider Survivor]] [[VideoGame/ShadowOfTheTombRaider trilogy]] could be considered another major contender. The three games spend a lot of time subverting and re-inventing what Tomb Raider and Lara Croft are and while a lot of players enjoyed the fresh perspective and more down-to-earth and humanized take on Lara, just as many hated the changes made due to how drastically it changes her character and how much agency and control it takes away from Lara as a character. The gameplay focusing more on combat and action setpieces rather than puzzle solving and platforming also split players down the middle.

* BestKnownForTheFanservice: A lot of people play the game through on all difficulty levels and get all the trophies-just to unlock the bikini costumes, and to angle the camera to get the best view of Lara's ass. Back when Core was still running the series, a FanNickname for positioning Lara in the corner was "boob angle", since the camera spinned for a while, after which it centered on Lara's bosom.

* EscapistCharacter: Lara Croft was probably one of the first female characters that {{Gamer Girl}}s could project themselves onto. While her feminist legacy is debatable given how much the character was twisted into a sex icon in later titles, the fact remains that Lara is an intelligent, capable and badass world-travelling asskicker who is never portrayed as vulnerable or a victim and always stays confident of her control of the situation.

* FandomRivalry: Core Design fans versus Crystal Dynamics fans ''versus'' Crystal Dynamics 2nd reboot fans.

* CommonKnowledge: If you ask most gaming fans to name some UsefulNotes/PlayStation exclusive games, chances are the first ''Tomb Raider'' might be mentioned. While ''II'' and ''III'' were console-exclusive to Playstation at the time, the first was also on UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn; And not only that, was technically released on the Saturn ''before'' the Playstation.

** It's very easy to point the Dork Age for the marketing of the games. Everything done before [[VideoGame/TombRaiderTheLastRevelation The Last Revelation]] was just low-brow campaign based entirely on sex-appeal and extremely distasteful adds. Just check for yourself how the game [[http://i.imgur.com/KEa7OAk.jpg was advertised]] [[http://i.imgur.com/UsxHnez.jpg back in]] [[http://i.imgur.com/LEzrYYV.jpg the day]].

* BaseBreakingCharacter: The character's influence in the industry has been a point of contention among critics; viewpoints range from a positive agent of change in video games to a negative role model for young girls.

* DorkAge: Definitely had one, but where it was varies a lot from person to person.
** It's very easy to point the Dork Age for the marketing of the games. Everything done before [[VideoGame/TombRaiderTheLastRevelation The Last Revelation]] was just low-brow campaign based entirely on sex-appeal and extremely distasteful adds. Just check for yourself how the game [[http://i.imgur.com/KEa7OAk.jpg was advertised]] [[http://i.imgur.com/UsxHnez.jpg back in]] [[http://i.imgur.com/LEzrYYV.jpg the day]].
** While the older marketing was forced by the publisher, arguably [[VideoGame/TombRaiderLegend L]][[VideoGame/TombRaiderAnniversary A]][[VideoGame/TombRaiderUnderworld U]] counts toward it, for actually having bikini outfits in-game.