Is there a reason part IV is "missing"?

[Korhal]

I am just asking, not hate here.
Although I stopped after TR4 (and just went in again with Anniversary, which I really liked), I still considered TR4 an essential ending to the original series, before it was reshapped more and more.
Although some could argue with "Angel of Bugness" the series really got seriously hit.

But that aside, I wonder ... is there a reason part IV is missing or left out? :)

[DogMeat]

Originally posted by Valiento:

4 turns into more of a metroidvania later on?

I wouldn't say Metroidvania... but its one of the most pure adventure games of the series. Very puzzle oriented. Constant back and forthing to get an object to get another object to combine to use in this to get that etc.

Personally love it, my favorite of the classics, but a lot of people didn't like it for being one of the more confusing entries.

One of the more obnoxious puzzles involved finding a hook on a wall (next to two other hooks), prying it loose with a crowbar, combining it with a broom and then using it to grab a pair of keys in a locked room. EDIT: I even forgot a number of extra steps needed to even get to that part.

Has a much darker horror atmosphere. Feels like its heavily based on Mummy monster movies.

[Lilly-Cat]

Pretty sure we'll get IV, Chronicles and Angel Of Darkness in another package.

[chakkman]

Yes, there is a reason why Tomb Raider 4 isn't in there. It's because it isn't in there. Tomb Raider 5 neither. Nor Tomb Raider 6, 7, 8, 9, or any other Tomb Raider.

Call of Duty isn't in there either. Thankfully.

The game also doesn't make you coffee, or brush your hair. It warns you that you're a racist though, and should learn from your experience with the original games. That's at least something.

[Valiento]

I wish there was a tomb Raider 7+! But the series got rebooted twice…

[Valiento]

Originally posted by chakkman:

Yes, there is a reason why Tomb Raider 4 isn't in there. It's because it isn't in there. Tomb Raider 5 neither. Nor Tomb Raider 6, 7, 8, 9, or any other Tomb Raider.

Call of Duty isn't in there either. Thankfully.

The game also doesn't make you coffee, or brush your hair. It warns you that you're a racist though, and should learn from your experience with the original games. That's at least something.

Call of Booty

[Valiento]

Originally posted by Lilly-Cat:

Pretty sure we'll get IV, Chronicles and Angel Of Darkness in another package.

I wish they could go back to vault and create the cancelled expansion levels for 4.


https://tombraider.fandom.com/wiki/Tomb_Raider_4_Gold

[FhqwhTODD]

Honestly I'd gladly take a 4+5+Editor Remaster in the same style as this.

[GamerXT]

Originally posted by neo_james007:

I don't see how you can enjoy TR4 unless you had a walkthrough

No need for a walkthrough, unless you also used them for the other games.

Originally posted by Reality Master:

This + CORE used the likeness and name of a real archeologist without his permission.

They could retcon this in a remaster, like how they where retconned for TR5.

[chakkman]

Originally posted by Gottkaiser Fhqwhgod:

Honestly I'd gladly take a 4+5+Editor Remaster in the same style as this.

Same here.

[seouilms109]

ya, IV is the best one imo

[GamerXT]

If they did remaster them, then for TR4.....

Retcon Jean Yves.
Add some bonus levels like originally intended.
Add the mansion level.

And for TR5...

Add the mansion level.
Add the originally intended menu music.
Retcon some events in the Rome level, since it is supposedly before TR1.
Add some bonus levels.

[DogMeat]

Originally posted by GamerXT:

If they did remaster them, then these ideas seem good to me.

TR4

Retcon Von Croy.
Add some bonus levels like originally intended.
Add the mansion level.

TR5

Add the mansion level.
Add the originally intended menu music.
Retcon some events in the Rome level, since it is supposedly before TR1.
Add some bonus levels.

What do you mean by "Retcon Von Croy"? Do you mean Jean-Yves? If so then I 100% agree. They used the real guy's name and likeness without permission, then had to change Jean-Yves at the last minute into Charles Kane in Tomb Raider 5 Chronicles. There is even a split second in a cutscene with Chales Kane where he flashes as Jean-Yves. This caused some other story issues as Jean-Yves was supposed to be the murder victim of Angel of Darkness. They had to retrofit Von Croy into that storyline and it didn't make sense.

As for the Rome level... yeah. I assume its either a case of Core absolutely not giving AF or because they were being goofy and the story was essentially being told by unreliable narrators. The levels you play are essentially told from the point of view of the people at her 'funeral wake'.

I actually really love the idea of Pierre & Larson being a pair of bumbling idiots that Lara would meet every few adventures.

[Marcelo Sampaio]

Originally posted by neo_james007:

I don't see how you can enjoy TR4 unless you had a walkthrough on the screen next to you the whole time.

Why?

TR4 is not even THAT complicated.

I beat it back in the day and I didn't even had Internet yet!

[DogMeat]

Originally posted by Marcelo Sampaio:

Why?

TR4 is not even THAT complicated.

I beat it back in the day and I didn't even had Internet yet!

Have you played it recently? It had some pretty tricky puzzles. A lot of really well hidden puzzle items. Tomb Raider 3 started playing around more with adventure game type stuff, but TR 4 really embraced it.

Also the whole part about having to supercharge your motorcycle with passenger car so it could turbo boost over pits.

[xavier]

Originally posted by Tilarta:

Game incompatibility most likely.

Because of the level editor, I studied the structure of TR4 extensively and it wasn't made like the others.

I'm surprised because the remastered games looked like they already contained the modifications made for TR4 and 5 (like the drops of water when Lara gets out of the water, or the advanced Crouching moves that debuted in TR4 and yet is present in this TR3 remastered). So I supposed that the remasters I-II-III are basically the levels of the three first games running on the newest version of the engine they used for the five opus. The TR4 Engine was different in the way that it was a hugely updated version of the TR3 Engine, then the TRChronicles Engine is a thin update (or no update at all, I don't know) of the TR4 Engine, and then the Remastered Engine is a huge update of the TRChronicles Engine (and they just manually disabled Crouching and Dashing for TR1 and TR2, since it would screw up the level design: but you can see in the control menu that the engine knows about these moves, although not allowing them). That's why the turning-ump move that debuted in TR2 is present in TR1 Remastered, and I'm sure that if you cheated to add flares in your inventory in TR1 Remastered, they would work, without any additional dev needed. Of course I've no source and no proof, but it just looks like it.

So my guess is that even if a Remastered TR4 could not run on a previous engine, it doesn't have to, because the new Remastered Engine already contains all the devs made back in 1999 for this opus. The main low-level development to remaster TR4 is already done. They only have to remaster the more specific features of TR4 (the beetles and insects swarming, and maybe improve the rope swinging), and of course to upgrade the lights and graphics level after level, like they did for the I-II-III.... (I'm not saying that the remaining part is easy and quick, but it's not as huge as having to dive back into the engine development to allow the game to run)

So I think that if the TR4 was not included, it's either because the concept of "trilogy" sells better (although it's very arbitrary to call the TR I-II-III a "trilogy", there is no reason to consider TR3 as a final chapter), or because they had no budget to make all five (or six?) games at once and they had to stop somewhere. Or maybe they think that TR4 requires more bug-fixing and they didn't want to rush it. Or maybe they think people are not interested enough.