Best Tomb Raider Games, Ranked – Lara Croft On Switch And Nintendo Systems

But what’s the best Tomb Raider game? That’s what we’re here to find out. This ranked list of every Tomb Raider game ever on Nintendo consoles is governed by each game’s User Rating in our database and is subject to real-time change depending on its score, even as you read this! Simply click the star rating and assign a score from 1-10 to exert your personal influence on the ranking. (You’ll have to refresh the page to see the changes, if any, take effect.)

Before we begin, series fans will quickly note the absence of several entries, including the excellent Survivor trilogy — Tomb Raider (2013), Rise of the Tomb Raider, and Shadow of the Tomb Raider never came to Nintendo consoles, unfortunately. Fingers crossed for a ‘Switch 2’ port, perhaps?

Enough exposition. Let’s grab our guns, pull on our relic-hunting pants, and discover the best Tomb Raider games, starting at the bottom…

Developed by Ubisoft Milan, this is a 3/4 top-down affair featuring Lara’s familiar acrobatic platforming and that slow-and-steady run cycle of hers that makes her the envy of marathon runners the world over. Tomb Raider: The Prophecy an unremarkable but fairly enjoyable jaunt featuring all the environmental puzzling and gunplay you’d expect from lofty Crofty, although it can’t hold a candle to the home console games.

Human Soft developed both handheld versions of Tomb Raider: Legend, and this is the lesser of the two. The game isn’t unimpressive in the visual department, with clean animation and sprites created from renders (think Donkey Kong Country) and a story that’s conveyed through comic book-style stills. Lara’s repetitive grunts as she clambers around the scenery soon begin to grate, though. Couple that with irritating motorcycle-shooting sections, and it’s not a game we’re desperate to dig up.

Santa Cruz Games took the reins on this reworked side-on platforming version of the home console game. This portable version of Lara’s ninth official adventure manages to cram in voiced cutscenes, along with the requisite inventory access on the touchscreen and continues the calm and calculated platforming of the Game Boy entries. DS Underworld isn’t a must-play, but it’s not an embarrassment to the Croft name, either.

Lara Croft’s first venture onto the Game Boy Color, Tomb Raider is a side-on action platformer which sees the titular raider of tombs scrambling up walls, swinging across vine-filled ceilings, and leaping over chasms searching for treasures and the like. It’s a more cinematic, slower-paced plunder — more Prince of Persia than Mario — but features some impressive animation. Overall, a decent 8-bit interpretation of Croft’s 3D adventures.

This sequel to Lara’s first Game Boy Color adventure had Activision on publishing duties and was launched just a couple of weeks after Angelina Jolie’s cinematic debut as Ms. Croft. Curse of the Sword followed the formula as its predecessor, with the same style of acrobatic, slow-and-steady gameplay taking you out of the tombs from New Orleans to New York. Given the limitations of the system, Core Design did another decent job distilling the core tenants of Lara’s 3D exploits for the GBC.

Some real treasures in there, along with a handful of unpolished gems. Disagree with this Tomb Raider ranking? Remember, you can rate the games you’ve played even now and influence the ranking in real-time. Just click on the stars on each entry to assign a score from 1-10.


But what’s the best Tomb Raider game? That’s what we’re here to find out. This ranked list of every Tomb Raider game ever on Nintendo consoles is governed by each game’s User Rating in our database and is subject to real-time change depending on its score, even as you read this! Simply click the star rating and assign a score from 1-10 to exert your personal influence on the ranking. (You’ll have to refresh the page to see the changes, if any, take effect.)

Before we begin, series fans will quickly note the absence of several entries, including the excellent Survivor trilogy — Tomb Raider (2013), Rise of the Tomb Raider, and Shadow of the Tomb Raider never came to Nintendo consoles, unfortunately. Fingers crossed for a ‘Switch 2’ port, perhaps?

Enough exposition. Let’s grab our guns, pull on our relic-hunting pants, and discover the best Tomb Raider games, starting at the bottom…

Developed by Ubisoft Milan, this is a 3/4 top-down affair featuring Lara’s familiar acrobatic platforming and that slow-and-steady run cycle of hers that makes her the envy of marathon runners the world over. Tomb Raider: The Prophecy an unremarkable but fairly enjoyable jaunt featuring all the environmental puzzling and gunplay you’d expect from lofty Crofty, although it can’t hold a candle to the home console games.

Human Soft developed both handheld versions of Tomb Raider: Legend, and this is the lesser of the two. The game isn’t unimpressive in the visual department, with clean animation and sprites created from renders (think Donkey Kong Country) and a story that’s conveyed through comic book-style stills. Lara’s repetitive grunts as she clambers around the scenery soon begin to grate, though. Couple that with irritating motorcycle-shooting sections, and it’s not a game we’re desperate to dig up.

Santa Cruz Games took the reins on this reworked side-on platforming version of the home console game. This portable version of Lara’s ninth official adventure manages to cram in voiced cutscenes, along with the requisite inventory access on the touchscreen and continues the calm and calculated platforming of the Game Boy entries. DS Underworld isn’t a must-play, but it’s not an embarrassment to the Croft name, either.

Lara Croft’s first venture onto the Game Boy Color, Tomb Raider is a side-on action platformer which sees the titular raider of tombs scrambling up walls, swinging across vine-filled ceilings, and leaping over chasms searching for treasures and the like. It’s a more cinematic, slower-paced plunder — more Prince of Persia than Mario — but features some impressive animation. Overall, a decent 8-bit interpretation of Croft’s 3D adventures.

This sequel to Lara’s first Game Boy Color adventure had Activision on publishing duties and was launched just a couple of weeks after Angelina Jolie’s cinematic debut as Ms. Croft. Curse of the Sword followed the formula as its predecessor, with the same style of acrobatic, slow-and-steady gameplay taking you out of the tombs from New Orleans to New York. Given the limitations of the system, Core Design did another decent job distilling the core tenants of Lara’s 3D exploits for the GBC.

Some real treasures in there, along with a handful of unpolished gems. Disagree with this Tomb Raider ranking? Remember, you can rate the games you’ve played even now and influence the ranking in real-time. Just click on the stars on each entry to assign a score from 1-10.

      Guidantech
      Logo
      Shopping cart