Argonaut Games is better known as the studio that actually developed the original Star Fox for the Super Nintendo, as well as the creators of the legendary Super FX chip, but their development history in the 90s and early 2000s is a lot more interesting than merely gimmicky games on the SNES. Among their outings there’s Buck Bumble, Alien Resurrection (the FPS that popularized twin-stick controls before Halo), and most notably, Croc.

The textures, character models, lighting effects… it’s all brand new.

A mascot platformer released in 1997, not long after the juggernaut called Super Mario 64, it was one of the games I had never had the opportunity to play back in the day due it not being available on the Nintendo 64. It was available literally elsewhere, including the Sega Saturn, a console known for sucking at rendering 3D games. It, alongside titles like Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver and Digimon World 2 (don’t judge me, I was 8) was one of the titles I truly envied Playstation owners for having access to. I’d have to wait until 2025 to finally test it out and see what the fuss was all about.

Better yet, this remaster isn’t just a lost IP remastered by a third party. Argonaut, which had previously disbanded in 2004, reformed in 2024, with the intent of reviving their older catalog of titles, remastering them in-house. Croc isn’t just your run-of-the-mill upscaled port with one or two quality of life enhancements here or there. Argonaut went full Nightdive in this case, remodeling the game from the ground up, with brand new models, controls, camera choices, lighting effects, textures… it’s downright amazing to witness.

Don’t waste your time trying to defeat this worm. Just ignore it as it will probably kill you before you kill it.

It’s almost a completely different experience. What was once a cute but rough platformer with tank-like controls now features fluid movement, a free-roaming camera, dual-stick support, and slightly revamped (albeit still flawed) collision detection, resulting in a game that doesn’t feel difficult to play at all. Simple, yes. Dated, maybe. But never difficult or hard to be enjoyed. Each level is linear, but very replayable, as you are tasked with collecting six Gobbos (little furry creatures which act as the main macguffin in the game), as well as six gems which open a bonus area in a level. Said area always contains the six Gobbo. In order to get the better ending, you need to collect all Gobbos in each level.

Boss battles are creative, but simplistic. They are also very easy.

That’s already enough of an incentive. Finish a level once, then complete it on your second run. Levels can be a bit repetitive as their theming only changes at the end of each world, but they are shockingly well-designed, and very colorful. Puzzles are simple, usually revolving around key collecting and platforming. There are also two boss battles per world, but they are almost always a complete pushover. No need to worry about them. Again, Croc was originally released in 1997, and started development prior to the release of Mario 64; this is not a complex platformer by any means.

The best thing about it all is that these improvements are all optional: you can still play Croc with its 1997 assets if you want to. Changes are immediate via the pause menu. What hasn’t changed at all, mostly because there was no need to remaster something that was already pretty good to begin with, is the soundtrack. It was catchy in 1997, it’s still catchy today. The sound effects aren’t anything special, but the music more than makes up for it.

Considering this game was being developed before the reveal of Super Mario 64, it was quite ahead of its time for 1997 standards.

Croc isn’t, and has never been the most amazing 3D platformer in existence, but I can’t help but appreciate the fact it is back, and that its original creators have dedicated their time to completely revamp what was once a very clunky title into something that, sure, is still flawed, but 100% accessible and enjoyable by modern audiences. A true labor of love from the development team, you can clearly see that from the remastering efforts and sheer amount of extras. Its problems are somewhat easy to ignore, as the level of difficulty is quite low. All in all, it’s an utterly adorable platformer that will truly put a smile on the face of any millennial gamer out there.

Croc: Legend of the Gobbos (the remaster) is available now on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X, PC and Switch. The original version was available on PS1 and Sega Saturn.

Reviewed on PS5.

A copy of Croc: Legend of the Gobbos was provided by the publisher.