Croc: Legend of the Gobbos Remastered Review – A Classic Returns!

What’s old is new again! 3D platformers were undeniably popular during the late '90s and early 2000s, largely due to video games beginning the transition into 3D environments. Collect-a-thons were becoming particularly beloved! Outside of the obvious Super Mario 64, there was Banjo-Kazooie, Conker’s Bad Fur Day (okay, that one was actually a commercial failure, believe it or not), Spyro the Dragon, and yes, Crash Bandicoot, not fully 3D I know, but certainly flirted with it at times.

After years of dormancy, we are once again starting to see a revitalization of 3D mascot games, with more modern times bringing us new friends like Yooka-Laylee, and some of our old favorites even returning. But do you recall the most famous gator of all? Ok, maybe not, but Croc: Legend of the Gobbos was a surprise hit when it was released in 1997, managing to sell over 3 million copies. Now, after a long legal process, Argonaut has regained the rights to Croc once more, alongside their other properties, and is wasting no time in bringing Croc back to center stage. But is this remastered version of a classic tougher than crocodile skin, or does it manage to stay above water? Let’s find out in our full review.

Croc: Legend of the Gobbos Remastered is an updated version of the same great 3D platformer many of you know and love, that originally released on the PS1, Sega Saturn, and Windows PC. You play as, unsurprisingly, Croc, on a quest to save his family from the evil Baron Dante. Being fully published by Argonaut exclusively this go-around, the game is available on GOG completely DRM-free, which is the version that I played, and all major consoles. It looks like the launch price is going to be around $29.99 here in North America.

With gameplay taking place from the third-person perspective, Croc: Legend of the Gobbos plays somewhat similar to many releases of its genre, with players traversing 45 different levels across the many islands of Gobbo Valley. The game features a variety of areas to explore across a colorful world map that is broken up into smaller, more contained levels. Croc will need to traverse tricky platforming sections, swim, jump, tail-whip enemies, defeat bosses known as guardians, butt-slam boxes and switches, and optionally gather collectibles to unlock hidden areas and achieve 100 percent completion. Our lead character is also able to perform a quick turn and a somewhat useless sidestep. Each level is unique in its challenges, and similar to games such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Croc will need to have at least some crystal orbs collected to sustain damage. Should he take a hit with no crystals available, the player loses a life. There are also red hearts throughout certain areas that act as extra lives.

If you’re wondering just what those hidden collectibles are all about, players can seek out six Gobbos who are trapped in cages and need to be freed. This reminds me a bit of another PS1 classic you’ve probably heard of called Rayman. Some of these Gobbos are in plain sight, others are hidden, and the sixth tends to always be located in a bonus room, only accessible through collecting five hidden gems per level. So yes, as is the case with this genre more often than not, there is plenty of collecting to be done here—and some really cool hidden levels accessible through jigsaw puzzle pieces! You don’t need to collect everything to beat the game, but if you wish to battle the true final boss and see the intended ending, it's the only way to do so. 

One of the major issues with the original release of Croc: Legend of the Gobbos was its archaic control scheme. If you’ve ever gone back to the original release in modern times, you probably have a decent idea of what I am talking about. The control configuration was a bit clunky, to say the least, the camera was far from perfect, and factoring everything, Croc could often be a frustrating experience to play. Thankfully, this remaster cleans up the controls, bringing them to modern times with smooth precision, making the game not feel all that out of place in 2025. Croc’s jumps are responsive now, he moves fluidly, and yes, this is still a retro game with a fair share of jank, but the amount of care that has been put into revitalizing a nearly 30-year-old game to feel playable today is undeniably impressive. It’s not just the controls either! Croc’s camera has been retooled to surprising effect, and if for whatever reason you decide you want to torment yourself, you can still experience the original clunky platforming mechanics by switching over to the D-Pad. 

I’m not sure what kind of technical wizardry it took Argonaut Games to get a 1997 release feeling this good, but credit has to be given. I had a blast revisiting each level, which themselves are fairly well-designed. I say fairly, because not all worlds are created equal. The ice area of the game was a blast, for example, with classic slippery mechanics adding to the platforming fun. Later worlds that rely more on the game’s platforming and some not-so-great puzzles haven’t aged quite as well. This is to say, if you are expecting an entirely new game here, you’ll be a bit disappointed. Croc had its flaws in terms of level design back then, and they very much still exist now. Even still, most of my experience was spent with a smile on my face, as opposed to lashing out in anger, which only happened once, or twice… Ok maybe three times.

Yes, even with its refinements, Croc remains a pretty challenging game in its later stages. There are some difficult patterns to learn, tricky jumps to master, and bosses… Oh wait, the bosses are actually stupidly easy for the most part in this game, usually just haplessly swinging around for a few moments before you rush in to whip them. Regardless, this is why I stress: generally speaking, if you don’t inherently have a love for retro games or any fondness for this release in particular, it might be a bit of a tougher sell. For those of you who grew up with these games, you’ll feel delighted with how shockingly fun Croc remains all these years later.

It’s not just the mechanics that have been modernized, as Croc’s visuals have also been dramatically overhauled. Gone (optionally) are the blocky, washed-out pixelated visuals of the past, replaced with smoothed-out textures, vibrant colors, and, in my opinion, a much more pleasing overall aesthetic. The game performs beautifully at a smooth 120fps, and honestly, this is one of the best remasters from a graphical standpoint that I have seen of a game from the ’90s. It’s obvious a great deal of love and care went into the presentation of this release, highlighted further by a few lovely optional filters that restore the game’s gritty pixelated look or even create the illusion of playing on your old tube TV. These filters aren’t perfect, but they are pretty dang good and well appreciated.

But perhaps my favorite aspect of Croc is its colorful, bouncy soundtrack that’s truly unlike anything I have experienced in a game before. Originally composed by Justin Scharvona, Karin Griffin, and Martin Gwynn Jones, Scharvona had previously worked with Argonaut Games dating back to the late ’80s, but this has to be one of his crowning achievements. Developed right alongside the game as opposed to being added after the fact, these compositions are full of joyful whimsy, delightful and infectious hooks, and beautiful soaring melodies. Even not factoring in this amazing soundtrack, which can be enjoyed on its own in the new Crocopedia, the game sounds so lovely with cute noises and voices from characters that are undeniably infectious.

On the topic of the Crocopedia, Argonaut Games has included not only artwork and songs, but also full-on interviews that delve into the fascinating history behind Croc. You’ll learn all about the company's time working exclusively with Nintendo, which the gaming historian in me absolutely loved. Remember, this was a company that helped Nintendo greatly by developing the Super FX expansion chip, en route to teaching the corporate juggernaut a tremendous amount about creating 3D games—something Nintendo wasn’t all that familiar with heading into the N64 era. Argonaut was set to create a 3D platformer for Nintendo using Yoshi, combining mechanics seen in Super Mario World and Super Mario Kart. Sadly, this never came to be. While the prototype is rumored to have looked awesome and Miyamoto himself was greatly interested in it, Nintendo ultimately chose a different direction. To add insult to injury, Star Fox 2 was canceled entirely, marking the end of the relationship between Nintendo and Argonaut.

This all led to the birth of Croc, as Argonaut was able to successfully find a home for their prototype with Fox Interactive. Fox even wanted to turn Croc into a huge franchise spanning beyond games. There are stories out there that the prototype—which I guess we can call “Yoshi Racing”—went on to inspire what would become Super Mario 64, and the videos included in this release even explore some of that. It’s really fascinating stuff that had me on the edge of my seat. Take note, developers who are re-releasing classic games—this is how you do it!

So there you have it: Croc is a game with a surprising amount of history explored here that makes this release worth grabbing on its own. But when you factor in all of the gameplay refinements and visual upgrades included, this remaster quickly becomes a must-own for retro gaming enthusiasts. I love the new controls, visuals, and amazing soundtrack, but equally, the Crocopedia is incredible to go through. While as I stated previously, Croc: Legend of the Gobbos is still a retro game at heart, this remaster has an exceptionally large one and classic gamers won’t want to miss it. 

GREAT