Croc: Legend of the Gobbos

Croc: Legend of the Gobbos is a third-person 3D platformer in which the player controls the main character, a green crocodile named Croc, through several courses taking place on various islands throughout Gobbo Valley. Levels are accessed through a world map, and consist of various different smaller sub-sections taking place both above land and underground (as well as occasionally taking place underwater) that are filled with various enemies and obstacles that try to impede Croc. Rescuing every Gobbo before a boss level in each world unlocks a secret level that can be completed in order to collect a jigsaw puzzle piece. Subsequently, collecting every puzzle piece in the game unlocks an extra island containing more levels for the player to progress through. While collecting the Gobbos is not mandatory to completing the game, doing so is nonetheless necessary in order to face off against the game's final boss and unlock the game's true ending. Croc's maneuvering abilities are somewhat comparable to that of Mario's in Super Mario 64, with his primary methods of movement consisting of the abilities to run, jump, climb, and swim using either the analog stick or the D-pad, as well as touting the abilities to perform a sidestep and a 180-degree quick turn as other methods of maneuver. Croc's main method of attack consists of a full-circle tail swipe that is used to defeat enemies and bosses, as well as a hip drop move that can be used to break open crates containing collectibles. Croc's in-game health is represented by the crystals that the player collects throughout the game; when Croc is hurt by an enemy, all of his crystals are lost and scattered around him in several directions (similar to a mechanic commonly used in Sonic the Hedgehog games with Rings). If Croc is hurt while he has no crystals, the player loses a life and is sent back to the beginning of the segment of the level they are currently in. ==Plot==

King Rufus, the leader of a furry race of creatures called the Gobbos, is watching the sunrise over Gobbo Valley when he sees a large, woven basket carrying a baby crocodile floating down the river. Initially suspicious of the young crocodile but ultimately won over by its innocence, King Rufus and the Gobbos decide to raise it as one of their own and teach it in the ways of the Gobbo. One day, Baron Dante and his band of villains known as the Dantinis invade Gobbo Valley and begin terrorizing the Gobbos, capturing them and locking them in steel cages. Amidst the chaos, King Rufus summons a magical yellow bird named Beany, who uses her magical abilities to transport Croc to safety, immediately before Rufus is snatched by Baron Dante. By the time Croc has been brought to safety, the Dantinis have completely taken over all of Gobbo Valley, locked up all the Gobbos, and turned innocent creatures all across the valley into monsters to act as their minions. Croc sets out on a quest to free the Gobbos and defeat Baron Dante. ==Development==

Concept Croc: Legend of the Gobbos was developed by Argonaut Software, who were coming off of the heels of a successful relationship with Nintendo as a result of their development of the Super FX expansion chip used in Super Nintendo Entertainment System games such as Star Fox and Stunt Race FX. Early development of the game began in 1994, when Argonaut began experimenting with the concept of a platform game set in the third dimension. Under the tentative title "Yoshi Racing", the initial concept was a hybrid of several mechanics from the two video games Super Mario World and Super Mario Kart, with the player controlling the character Yoshi from Nintendo's Super Mario series. After having sketched out several different potential character designs, Keating ultimately came up with the final design of Croc as a result of Argonaut's request for him to design a character whose design looked marginally similar to that of Yoshi's. According to Keating, Croc was given a single fang protruding from his mouth in reference to his pet house cat at the time who shared the same characteristic. Scharvona had been composing music for several of Argonaut's games since 1988, and had worked in-house at the studio since 1994. The soundtrack was developed at the same time as the rest of the game, rather than being composed for an otherwise complete game. Scharvona tried to compose the game's songs so that people listening to the music would be able to "whistle along" with them. The game's title theme was inspired by a song included on a CD of Mexican music that Scharvona had listened to which featured a rhythmic piano riff and a solo trumpet as the lead. The ambient music playing during the cave levels took inspiration from several other popular pieces of music; the songs' rhythmic finger snaps and harpsichord were based on that of the title theme of The Addams Family, while the lead theremin was based on the horror-centric music from The Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror Halloween specials and the Hammond organ was derived from a cover of "Foxy Lady" that Scharvona had been composing for the video game ''Wayne's World at the time. According to Jez San, the composers created so many tunes for Croc'' that the audio had to be compressed 4:1 in order to fit it all on one disc. The voice samples for Croc were provided by British actor Jonathan Aris, who was friends with Argonaut's audio department at the time. Aris came into Argonaut's studio to do the role and recorded all of his dialogue within an hour, according to Cusworth. ==Release==

Croc: Legend of the Gobbos was announced by Fox Interactive in May 1997, and was first shown off at the 1997 Electronic Entertainment Expo in June as one of four games presented by Fox. The game was released simultaneously for Sony PlayStation, Sega Saturn and Windows in North America on 26 September, and in Europe on 10 October. The PlayStation version of the game was rereleased under Sony's Greatest Hits banner in late September 1998. The game was released in Japan on 18 December 1997 for the PlayStation and on 26 March 1998 for the Sega Saturn as Croc! Pau Pau Island, where it was published by Mitsui MediaQuest. Promotion A commercial for Croc: Legend of the Gobbos was featured at the beginning of the VHS release of Casper: A Spirited Beginning as well as a VHS release of Power Rangers in Space. The commercial for the game was also featured in the June 1998 VHS release of Home Alone 3. In November 1997, a promotional sweepstakes contest was held by Electronic Gaming Monthly, in which contestants mailed in via postcard in order to win a copy of the game along with various different pieces of Croc-themed apparel, including a suede/wool jacket, a leather backpack, a t-shirt, and a baseball cap. An official strategy guide for the game, written by Anthony James, was published by Prima Games in 1997. Remaster On 6 June 2023, Argonaut Software founder Jez San announced via Twitter that an HD Croc game was in early development. On 28 August 2024, Argonaut Games, which had closed down in 2004, announced the revival of the company alongside a remaster of Croc: Legend of the Gobbos for "all the current consoles" and Windows. The remaster, developed by Titanium Studios and Big Boat Interactive, features enhanced visuals, updated control schemes, and bonus content such as concept art and developer interviews. The game was released on Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S on 2 April 2025. Physical editions of the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5 versions were distributed by Rock It Games in North America. A Platinum Edition update was released for Windows on 13 October 2025 and on other platforms three days later, which adds a time trial mode, more bonus gallery content, and new achievements. ==Reception==

Croc: Legend of the Gobbos received average reviews from critics. The PlayStation version of the game held an aggregated review score of 79.14% on the review website GameRankings at the time of the site's 2019 closure, based on seven reviews. Most critics also found the camera to be a serious problem, making it difficult to judge jumps, especially in the later stages of the game. Joe Fielder of GameSpot said that this makes the game "frustratingly hard to play." A lack of variety in the gameplay and environmental design was another widely cited problem. IGN praised the graphics and controls, while criticizing the lack of variation and noting its similarities to Super Mario 64. Next Generation also had an overall subdued response, judging that "the game provides just enough pretty, painless entertainment to keep gamers pacified, but there's not enough challenge to certify Croc a niche next to the classics it so readily seeks to emulate. It's just enough to avoid having its name used against it." PC Gamer noted that 3D platformers are difficult to do right because the roaming camera adds complications to the precision jumping the genre demands, and assessed that "The resulting gameplay can be anywhere from occasionally irritating to disastrous, and unfortunately, Fox Interactive’s newest 3D platformer Croc falls somewhere in between." Croc: Legend of the Gobbos was considered a commercial success for Argonaut, with the PlayStation version of the game selling over a million copies in the U.S. and becoming a console bestseller in the UK for two months. By September 1998, the game had sold more than 1.5 million copies worldwide; and by March 2000 it had sold over 2.4 million units. The game went on to become one of Argonaut Software's best-selling titles, with the PlayStation version of the game selling over 3 million copies worldwide. ==Legacy==

A sequel to Croc: Legend of the Gobbos was first teased on the back of the Sega Saturn version of the game's manual. Initially advertised for a Christmas 1998 release, Croc 2 was released in June 1999 for the Sony PlayStation, and later for Microsoft Windows and the Game Boy Color. A Sega Saturn release was also advertised but never released, and a Sega Dreamcast port of the game was ultimately cancelled. The game follows Croc as he once again ventures to defeat Baron Dante, who has captured an old inventor Gobbo, while simultaneously searching for his long-lost parents. The game makes numerous gameplay changes from the first game, including the addition of a health counter, more mission-based levels, and an open hub area for navigating levels. A 2D side-scrolling port of the game for the Game Boy Color, simply titled Croc, was released in June 2000. Three mobile phone games based on the game, developed by Morpheme, were released through the mid-2000s, titled Croc Mobile: Jungle Rumble, Croc Mobile Pinball, and Croc Mobile: Volcanic Panic!. Due to the success of the original game and its successor, Fox Interactive considered creating an animated TV series based on the games, a plan which never came into fruition. ==Notes==