Croc: Legend of the Gobbos
This is the game that started it all. It tells the tale of a baby crocodile that got washed up on Forest Island. King Rufus, King of the Gobbo Archipelago, adopted the orphan and raised him, teaching him the ways of the Gobbos. But one fateful day, the miserable magician Baron Dante invaded Gobbo Valley. King Rufus gave Croc a backpack and summoned Beany Bird to take Croc far away. Before long, Croc had traversed through the entire game, rescuing all of the Gobbos including King Rufus. That makes a total of 145 Gobbos in the Gobbo Archipelago. During the game, Croc travels through the Forest Island, Ice Island, Desert Island, Castle Island, and the mysterious fifth Crystal Island. The scenery in the game is amazing, intriging, and calming all at once. The game itself is beautiful, and the music at times can be haunting, calming, and lovely. A must-play for any Croc fan out there.
Gameplay
There are four accessible islands and one secret island. Each of the four main Islands contain six normal play 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 and contain the sixth gobbo required. This is usually the hardest part of the level.
Each Island also contains two Boss Levels, in which Croc does not collect any Gobbos, but collect crystals and defeat a boss at the end of the level. If all six Gobbos are collected in each set of three levels and the boss is defeated, there are two secret levels in which Croc has to find a jigsaw piece. He has to collect all eight jigsaw pieces in each secret level to gain access to the secret Crystal island.
Items/Interactive Elements
See Items in Croc: Legend of the Gobbos for full list of items.
Switches: Often you will come across Switches on the floor. Jumping on one may make a platform move, or appear. Some Switches reset themselves after a set time.
Monkey Bars: These allow you to swing hand over hand across dangerous parts of a level (such
as lava pits, bottomless pits or electrified water). You can swing below them, or if you can jump
high enough, run along the top.
Climable 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.
Beany Gong: Hit the Gong at the end of the level, and Beany the Bird will swoop down and whisk
you off to the next level of your choosing.
Reception
Croc: Legend of the Gobbos got mainly positive reviews:
- 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
However, Gamespot gave the game a score of 5.8, labelled: 'Mediocre'. They cited that it was "a handsomely sized game" but "just didn't live up to its potential".