Croc: Legend of the Gobbos is a 1997 platform game developed by Argonaut Software and published by Fox Interactive. An early example of a 3D platform game, Croc was released for the PlayStation, Sega Saturn and Windows. Taking place in the fictional setting of the Gobbo Valley, Croc: Legend of the Gobbos follows a young crocodile named Croc, who sets out to rescue his adoptive family (a group of furry creatures known as Gobbos) from the evil magician Baron Dante.
The game initially started development shortly following a successful relationship between Argonaut and Nintendo, with the former creating a processing chip for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System called the Super FX that was used in games such as Star Fox to display 3D polygonal environments. It was first pitched to Nintendo as a prototype for a 3D platform game in which the player controlled Yoshi from Nintendo's Super Mario series, but was ultimately rejected by Nintendo, ending the relationship and prompting Argonaut to retool the game as an original property. The game's characters and mechanics were designed by Simon Keating in his first-ever video game project. Justin Scharvona, Karin Griffin, and Martin Gwynn Jones composed the game's music, while Jonathan Aris provided the voice of Croc.
Croc: Legend of the Gobbos received average reviews from critics; praise was directed towards the game's visuals, music and sound, while criticism was directed towards the controls, camera, and lack of innovation. It went on to become one of Argonaut's most successful releases, selling over 3 million copies for the PlayStation. A sequel to the game, titled Croc 2, was released in 1999. A 2D port of the game was developed by Virtucraft and released for Game Boy Color in June 2000, with a sequel developed by Natsume Co., Ltd. released in January 2001. A remastered version of the original game was released for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and Windows (via GOG.com) on 2 April 2025.
Gameplay
thumb|250px|A screenshot of the stage "Be Wheely Careful"; stages in the game are made up of several small, connected areas consisting of various puzzles and platforming challenges.
Croc: Legend of the Gobbos is a third-person 3D platformer in which the player controls the main character, a green crocodile named Croc, through several courses taking place on various islands throughout Gobbo Valley. Levels are accessed through a world map, and consist of various different smaller sub-sections taking place both above land and underground (as well as occasionally taking place underwater) that are filled with various enemies and obstacles that try to impede Croc. Rescuing every Gobbo before a boss level in each world unlocks a secret level that can be completed in order to collect a jigsaw puzzle piece. Initially suspicious of the young crocodile but ultimately won over by its innocence, King Rufus and the Gobbos decide to raise it as one of their own and teach it in the ways of the Gobbo.
One day, Baron Dante and his band of villains known as the Dantinis invade Gobbo Valley and begin terrorizing the Gobbos, capturing them and locking them in steel cages.
Croc: Legend of the Gobbos was developed by Argonaut Software, who were coming off of the heels of a successful relationship with Nintendo as a result of their development of the Super FX expansion chip used in Super Nintendo Entertainment System games such as Star Fox and Stunt Race FX. Early development of the game began in 1994, when Argonaut began experimenting with the concept of a platform game set in the third dimension. Under the tentative title "Yoshi Racing", the initial concept was a hybrid of several mechanics from the two video games Super Mario World and Super Mario Kart, with the player controlling the character Yoshi from Nintendo's Super Mario series. After having sketched out several different potential character designs, Keating ultimately came up with the final design of Croc as a result of Argonaut's request for him to design a character whose design looked marginally similar to that of Yoshi's. According to Keating, Croc was given a single fang protruding from his mouth in reference to his pet house cat at the time who shared the same characteristic. Scharvona had been composing music for several of Argonaut's games since 1988, and had worked in-house at the studio since 1994. and was first shown off at the 1997 Electronic Entertainment Expo in June as one of four games presented by Fox. The game was released simultaneously for Sony PlayStation, Sega Saturn and Windows in North America on 26 September, and in Europe on 10 October. The PlayStation version of the game was rereleased under Sony's Greatest Hits banner in late September 1998. The game was released in Japan on 18 December 1997 for the PlayStation and on 26 March 1998 for the Sega Saturn as Croc! Pau Pau Island, where it was published by Mitsui MediaQuest.
Promotion
A commercial for Croc: Legend of the Gobbos was featured at the beginning of the VHS release of Casper: A Spirited Beginning as well as a VHS release of Power Rangers in Space. The commercial for the game was also featured in the June 1998 VHS release of Home Alone 3. In November 1997, a promotional sweepstakes contest was held by Electronic Gaming Monthly, in which contestants mailed in via postcard in order to win a copy of the game along with various different pieces of Croc-themed apparel, including a suede/wool jacket, a leather backpack, a t-shirt, and a baseball cap. An official strategy guide for the game, written by Anthony James, was published by Prima Games in 1997.
Remaster
On 6 June 2023, Argonaut Software founder Jez San announced via Twitter that an HD Croc game was in early development. On 28 August 2024, Argonaut Games, which had closed down in 2004, announced the revival of the company alongside a remaster of Croc: Legend of the Gobbos for "all the current consoles" and Windows. The remaster, developed by Titanium Studios and Big Boat Interactive, features enhanced visuals, updated control schemes, and bonus content such as concept art and developer interviews. The game was released on Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S on 2 April 2025. Physical editions of the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5 versions were distributed by Rock It Games in North America. A Platinum Edition update was released for Windows on 13 October 2025 and on other platforms three days later, which adds a time trial mode, more bonus gallery content, and new achievements.
Reception
Croc: Legend of the Gobbos received average reviews from critics. The PlayStation version of the game held an aggregated review score of 79.14% on the review website GameRankings at the time of the site's 2019 closure, based on seven reviews. Reviews for the Saturn version remarked that, while it is inferior to the PlayStation version, the differences between them are impressively minor. Most critics also found the camera to be a serious problem, making it difficult to judge jumps, especially in the later stages of the game.