Croc: Legend of the Gobbos

"Croc: Legend of the Gobbos" (Croc! Pau Pau Island in Japan) is the first of the Croc video game series. Developed by Argonaut Games PLC and published by Fox Interactive in 1997. The game was released for the Sony PlayStation, Sega Saturn, and PC, although the game was originally developed for the PlayStation, so the latter two platforms were ports. In 1999, a sequel to the game was released, Croc 2. Furthermore, a Game Boy Color version titled Croc was released in June 2000.

Plot
On an island inhabited by small furry creatures called Gobbos, King Rufus, their leader, discovers a small black basket abandoned in a lake containing a small, screaming baby crocodile. King Rufus, along with all of the other Gobbos on Volcano Island, raise the crocodile in the ways of the Gobbos. Croc is a vegetarian who eats mostly peas. After some time on the island, Croc and the Gobbos have established a close relationship until one day the evil Baron Dante shows up, along with his minion Dantinis. They kidnapp several Gobbo creatures including King Rufus after he straps a backpack to Croc's back and has Beany Bird take Croc to safety. Croc is then determined to rescue the Gobbos and King Rufus from the evil clutches of Baron Dante.

Gameplay and Levels
There are four accessible islands and one secret island:


 * Forest Island
 * Ice Island
 * Desert Island
 * Castle Island
 * Crystal Island

Note that the secret Crystal/Secret Island can only be accessed when the player collects all eight Jigsaw Pieces from the eight secret levels in the game.

Each of the four main Islands contain six 'normal levels', in which Croc has to collect six Gobbos and five Coloured Crystals. The Coloured Crystals open the Crystal Door at the end of each normal level which contains the sixth and final Gobbo. This is usually the hardest part of the level and often contains a challenge which Croc must complete to get the Gobbo.

Each Island also contains two Guardian levels; one halfway to completion of the island and the other after all six normal levels are complete. Croc does not collect any Gobbos or Coloured Crystals in these levels, but can gather regular crystals and Hearts (lives) and must defeat the Guardian in the last section of the level. He must defeat the Guardian to progress to the next set of levels.

Once Croc has finished three normal levels and the corresponding Guardian level, a secret level will be be revealed providing he has collected all six Gobbos in each set of three levels. These levels contain normal crystals and Hearts, but not Gobbos. Instead of swiping the Beany Bird Gong to end the level, Croc must find the Jigsaw Piece at the end to finish the level.

After both Guardians of an island are defeated, the next island unlocks and Croc must continue through the levels until reaching the eighth Guardian level, Baron Dante's Funky Inferno in which he must defeat Baron Dante on the Castle Island. If all Gobbos, Jigsaw Pieces, and secret levels are complete, Croc assembles all the pieces to create a new secret island known as the Crystal Island. This island contains only five levels, considerably more difficult than previous levels without Gobbos or Crystal Doors, and each level's theme seems to come from each main island. In the final level Secret Sentinel, Croc must defeat the Secret Sentinel, a crystal version of Baron Dante. Croc must defeat this Guardian to fully complete the game 100%.

Normal Mode
You can use the directional buttons or the analog stick if ANALOG is turned on:

D-Pad: This controls Croc's movement, or selects options on a menu screen.

START: This pauses the game.

X: Jump. Press twice to stomp and double-tap and hold to stomp rapidly.

Square: Tail-attack.

Circle: Flip 180 degrees.

Triangle: Control the camera while using the directional buttons.

L1 and R1: Side step to the left and right.

L2 and R2: Control the camera from a higher or lower view.

To climb up a Climbable Wall, approach it and push the up directional button. Use the directional buttons to move on the wall.

To push Push Boxes, approach them and push Up on the directional buttons.

Monkey Bar Mode
While on Monkey Bars, you can use the directional buttons to move and X to let go.

Swim Mode
Pressing X will make Croc swim in breaststroke. Holding it will let him swim in 'croccy-style'.

Use the directional buttons to control his direction.

Press Square to tail-attack underwater.

Press Circle to do a 180 degree flip underwater.

Press L1 and R1 to paddle left and right.

Items
Items are pickups which Croc may collect to help him in the game. See Items in Croc: Legend of the Gobbos for full list of items.

Interactive Elements
Interactive Elements cannot be picked up but are used to advance through the level or perform a certain action. This is a list of common Interactive Elements in the game. See Interactive Elements for the full list.

Platform
Platforms are small pieces of land made of stone which allow Croc to land on usually to avoid Pits and deadly terrain (e.g. Lava & Mud) or to reach other places. There are many types of platforms in the game, including crumbling platforms, moving platforms and even ones which transport Croc to secret Bonus Areas, usually when some circumstances have been met. See Platforms for more details.

Switches/Buttons
Often you will come across a Red Switch/Button in a level. Jumping on one may make a platform move, or appear, or do another action. Some may also reset themselves after a set time. A Red Button is considered to perform an action and disappear, whereas a Red Switch does not disappear and will carry out an action and reset after a time.

Monkey Bars
These allow you to swing hand over hand across dangerous parts of a level (such as Lava Pits, Bottomless Pits or Icy Water). You can swing below them, or if you can jump high enough, run along the top. In some levels, there are Stomping Dantinis which will attempt to knock Croc of Monkey Bars when he uses them by stomping on the top, and Croc may fall to his impending doom if he is underneath the Dantini when it stomps.

Climbable Walls
Although you can’t climb up most walls, certain areas have Climbable Walls. Look for ridges and notches on walls to see if you can climb up. These are used so Croc can reach higher places which are otherwise unreachable.

Beany Gong
Hit the Beany Gong that is found at the end of the level, either before or in the Crystal Door area, and Beany the Bird will swoop down and whisk you off to the next level of your choosing. They are also used in the level Secret Sentinel, the very last level of the game in which Croc must tail attack all four Beany Gongs after the other to defeat the Secret Sentinel.

Crystal Door
This type of door is found at the end of every normal level and can only be unlocked by collecting all five Coloured Crystals from the level. The area within this door always contains the sixth and final Gobbo and usually requires Croc to complete a special challenge in order to get it.

Sparkling Stars
These Sparking Stars are found in a select few levels which when touched will transport Croc to a secret Bonus Area containing lives and other useful items. They are also found by carrying out a certain action or landing on a special platform.

Enemies
Just like any other platformer game, Croc will come across many enemies which will attempt to stop Croc in his adventure. Some can be defeated for a short time before respawning, some can be defeated for good within a level, and other cannot be defeated. See the article for a full list of encounterable enemies.

Guardian
Croc will have to face eight Guardians including the main antagonist, Baron Dante, and a ninth Guardian on the secret Crystal Island. Most of these Guardians were previously harmless creatures before Baron Dante used his magic to transform them. After defeating the Guardian, they usually transform into the creature they were before. There are two on each island and one on the secret island. Each Guardian appears on their own level and are usually killed by attacking them when they are at their weakest point three times. Baron Dante is the only Guardian in which Croc must 'defeat' three times, each time Croc must use a different technique to attack. The Secret Sentinel is the only Guardian in which Croc does not and cannot attack physically. The list of Guardian and their levels found in are below:

Dantinis
Dantinis are the most common enemies in the game and respawn when attacked. They are in league with the main antagonist of the game, Baron Dante, and are scattered throughout the game in order to stop Croc from completing his mission. They all come with different abilities, including casting fireballs, flying, throwing snowballs, running, swimming, and even one that steals Gobbos! See the Dantini page for more information.

Hazards
These Interactive Elements will hurt Croc in a level, but are not considered enemies. See the article for the full list.
 * Fireballs - These are different to the Fireball enemy in which they only jump from Lava Pits every now and then. They are also able to lift platforms from the Pits to allow Croc to jump on them for a certain amount of time.
 * Tornadoes - These only appear on Desert Island and will occasionally spin around an area, attempting to whisk Croc into a Mud Pit or Poison Pool.

Pits
Pits are found in levels which Croc will lose a life or crystals if he falls in them. If he falls in a Bottomless Pit or a cliff edge, he will lose a life regardless of the crystals he has. Other Pits allow him to lose crystals if he has any, and he may be able to escape the Pit without losing a life.
 * Lava
 * Bottomless Pits
 * Freezing/Icy Water
 * Mud Pits
 * Cliff Edges

PlayStation

 * The Sony PSX version is the only one with the full soundtrack.
 * The Sony PSX version uses surround sound.

Windows

 * There are several unused test levels left in the game, which can be accessed by tampering with the files.
 * The PC port has the strongest lighting engine (if configured correctly).
 * The stretch platforms are purple in the Forest and Ice Islands.
 * The buttons for the Popping Game have a tiled texture.
 * The Gobbo Thief Dantini in the Crystal Door Challenge room for The Tower of Power runs faster than the one in I Snow Him So Well and is also orange.

Sega Saturn

 * The background on Fight Night with Flibby has changed to a castle background.
 * The Sega Saturn port has the darkest colours.
 * The Sega Saturn port has the lowest resolution.
 * On some versions of the Sega Saturn port, if the game is not loaded directly (from the CD Player Screen), then polygons will not render.
 * A Glitch involving this can cause Croc to lose his head.
 * Croc is the tallest in the Sega Saturn version and the smallest in the Sony PSX version.

Reception
Croc: Legend of the Gobbos received mixed to positive reviews upon release. Aggregating review website GameRankings gave the PlayStation version 79.14% the Sega Saturn version 76.67%,   the PC version 60.50%   and the Game Boy Color version 54.00%. Praise went to the game's graphics, unique gameplay and music whilst criticisms went to the game's camera angles and repetition.

Croc: Legend of the Gobbos was a bestseller in the UK for 2 months. It was Argonaut Games' best-selling title with over 3,560,000 units selling on the PlayStation alone.

Most criticism centered Gamespot's review of 5.8/10 labelled: 'Mediocre,' explaining that it was "a handsomely sized game" but "just didn't live up to its potential."
 * Electronic Gaming Monthly - 7.5/10
 * Game Revolution - B
 * Official Playstation Magazine - 4/5
 * IGN - 8/10
 * Aboslute Playstation - 91/100
 * GamePro - 4.5/5
 * Gamespot - 5.8/10

Cheats, Hints and Tips
See the Cheats, Hints and Tips article for full details.

Demo
The demo can still be downloaded here.

Trivia

 * The game was originally meant to be a prototype for a spin off of the Mario series about Yoshi, which is why Croc resembles the character so much.
 * This game is believed to have influenced Super Mario 64. Despite this, it was actually criticized for being alike to the game.