Tomb Raider II is a 1997 action-adventure title developed by Core Design and published by Eidos Interactive. Its original release at the time came on both PlayStation and PC, although mobile versions were released in 2014 and 2015 for iOS and Android respectively. The game is set for a remaster in 2024, along with other Tomb Raider games of the era.
Overall, Tomb Raider II was a massive financial success for the series. The game has sold almost 7 million copies worldwide, establishing a huge audience of players who would stick around for decades to come.
Tomb Raider II Premise
©Screenshot from Tomb Raider II
For the most part, the gameplay in Tomb Raider II is extremely similar to that of the original. You play from a third-person perspective, taking charge of Lara Croft as she ventures her way through tombs. Each level has a variety of puzzles, which you must use your wits to solve. The game has some platforming elements too, which are mixed in with the puzzle sections. By modern standards, it’s standard platforming fare, but at the time it was state of the art stuff.
Combat is also a key ingredient of the Tomb Raider II experience. You can use Lara’s iconic dual pistols by default, although you can pick up a whole arsenal of weapons over the course of the game. The combat remains one of the most memorable parts of the entire game, with the duck-and-roll mechanics holding up even today.
Tomb Raider II Main Characters
©Screenshot from Tomb Raider II
Despite Tomb Raider II being a widespread adventure, the plot itself doesn’t feature many characters to get to know over the course of the game. It’s worth mentioning that the game was released during an era where story was often secondary to gameplay, so this makes sense to a certain degree.
Regardless, we can still introduce you to the two characters in Tomb Raider II that you should be aware of:
- Lara Croft: The gaming icon herself, this is Lara Croft in her early days. Throughout this game, Lara is on an adventure to find the Dagger of Xian, a relic with immense power. However, she has one contender for the dagger…
- Marco Bartoli: Marco Bartoli is the main antagonist of Tomb Raider II. Like Lara, Marco searches for the Dagger of Xian, although he wants it for his own selfish purposes.
Tomb Raider II Titles in the Series
©Screenshot from Tomb Raider II
The Tomb Raider series is one of the most iconic in all of gaming. At the time of the original games, Lara Croft became something of a sex symbol, which cemented the franchise’s place in pop culture. Attempts to move the series to the big screen, with Angelina Jolie in the lead role, were critical flops, yet the games themselves kept coming.
Throughout the 2000s, Tomb Raider was stuck to its well-established formula. It had its day as a staple of the third-person action-adventure genre, but something was getting stale, and gamers had stopped returning in droves.
Step forward, Crystal Dynamics. With 2013’s Tomb Raider reboot, the series took a grittier turn, telling the earlier tales of Lara Croft during her earlier days of becoming the Tomb Raider herself. It was an unexpected direction for the series, and one which arguably saved the entire thing from irrelevance. This reboot came via three games: Tomb Raider (2013), Rise of the Tomb Raider (2015), and Shadow of the Tomb Raider (2018).
Although it has been a few years since we’ve seen the Tomb Raider series in a mainline game now, we’ve no doubt it’ll be back. It remains one of the most valuable IPs in all of gaming, with gamers ready to see what comes next in the adventures of Lara Croft.
The History of Tomb Raider
- Tomb Raider (1996)
- Tomb Raider II (1997)
- Tomb Raider III (1998)
- Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation (1999)
- Tomb Raider (2000)
- Tomb Raider: Chronicles (2000)
- Tomb Raider: Curse of the Sword (2001)
- Tomb Raider: The Prophecy (2002)
- Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness (2003)
- Tomb Raider: Legend (2006)
- Tomb Raider: Anniversary (2007)
- Tomb Raider: Underworld (2008)
- Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light (2010)
- Tomb Raider (2013)
- Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris (2014)
- Lara Croft: Relic Run (2015)
- Lara Croft Go (2015)
- Rise of the Tomb Raider (2015)
- Shadow of the Tomb Raider (2018)
- Tomb Raider Reloaded (2023)
- The Lara Croft Collection (2023)
- Tomb Raider I – III Remastered (2024)
Tomb Raider II Cheat Codes
©Screenshot from Tomb Raider II
Now, for the good stuff. There aren’t many cheat codes for Tomb Raider II, but the ones that do exist allow you to do some useful things in-game. All of the following codes are entered by performing the respective button presses while in-game, as there is no specific cheat menu at all.
| Cheat Code | Cheat Effect |
|---|---|
| Sidestep left, sidestep right, sidestep left, walk back one step, walk forward one step. Then, release R1 and spin three complete circles in any direction. Do a backward jump and do a turn in mid-air by pressing Down + Square, then Circle. | Unlocks all weapons with maximum ammo, as well as 50 Flares and Med Packs. |
| Walk forward one step, walk back one step. Hold walk while you spin three complete circles in any direction, then jump backward. | Makes Lara explode (for some reason). |
| Sidestep left, sidestep right, sidestep left, walk back one step, walk forward one step. Then release R1 and spin at least three complete circles in any direction. Do a forward jump and do a turn in mid-air by pressing Up + Square, then Circle on the controller. | Allows you to skip any level. |
| Enable the All Weapons or Level Skip code. Then, press Triangle to pull out Lara’s guns and press L2. This will give you infinite Flares. | Gives you infinite flares. |
Tomb Raider II Cheat Code FAQ
©Screenshot from Tomb Raider II
Does Tomb Raider II Have Achievements?
This may surprise you, but actually, yes! While the PC and PlayStation versions don’t support achievements, gamers on the iOS and Android versions of Tomb Raider II actually have an extensive achievement list to work their way through.
We’ve put together the full list of 52, so you know exactly what you have to do to fully complete Tomb Raider II.
Tomb Raider II Achievements
| Achievement Name | Achievement Requirement |
|---|---|
| Welcome to My Home | Explore every room in Croft Manor |
| Dash! | Complete the assault course |
| Vrrrooooom! | Complete the assault course with Lara congratulating you at the end |
| Go for a Dip! | Dive into Lara’s swimming pool |
| Nice View! | Found a secret way to get to the top of Lara’s house |
| Frozen! | Lock Winston in the freezer |
| Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend! (iOS Only) | Enter the trophy room |
| Bloodthirsty | Kill 3 enemies without dying or taking damage |
| Acrobat | Slide down a slope, jump, flip whilst in the air and land without dying |
| Dizzy! | Perform a swan dive and whilst in the air perform 2 flips |
| Is There a Doctor Here? | Use 3 small medipacks and 1 large medipack |
| Accelerated! | Go at full speed on any vehicle for 10 seconds |
| Aha! | Find a treasure |
| Bright & Shiny | Find 10 treasures |
| Gold! | Find all treasures |
| Long Drop | Make Lara fall off a ledge and have her screaming for 3 seconds |
| Splash! | Perform a swan dive into water |
| Firepower! | Kill 10 enemies with the M-16 |
| That Looks Painful! | Kill 10 enemies with the Harpoon Gun |
| BOOM! | Kill 10 enemies with the Grenade Launcher |
| Wide Shot | Kill 10 enemies with the Shotgun |
| Quick Burst | Kill 10 enemies with the Dual Uzis |
| Full Auto! | Kill 10 enemies with the Automatic Pistols |
| I’ll Use These Forever | Kill 50 enemies with the Dual Pistols |
| Locked and Loaded! (iOS Only) | Kill every single enemy in the game using only the Dual Pistols |
| Yetis Only Look Fierce | Die by a Yeti smashing you against the ground |
| Decapitated | Die by getting your head bitten off by the T-Rex |
| Fractured! | Break Lara’s neck |
| It’s a Beast! | Kill the Guardian of the Talion |
| You Can’t Hurt Me! | Kill the Guardian of the Talion without getting hurt |
| That’s One Big Lizard! | Kill the Dragon |
| Just Don’t Burn Me Please | Kill the Dragon without him breathing fire on you |
| Mythical Beasts | Kill the Guardian of the Talion and the Dragon without getting damaged or using any medipacks |
| Arachnophobia | Enter the spider cave and get to the end without killing any spiders |
| 8 Legged Freaks | Enter the spider cave and kill all the spiders without obtaining any damage |
| I’m Having a Nightmare! | Enter the Yeti room and complete it without getting damaged or killing any Yetis |
| ROAR! | Enter the Yeti room and kill all Yetis without getting damaged |
| I Told You to Get Out of My Way | Kill an enemy by running over it with the snowmobile |
| I Thought I Lost You! | Find all the weapons in Offshore Rig without getting damaged |
| It Burns! | Set Lara on fire and jump of a cliff before she dies |
| Suicide | Impale Lara 5 times |
| An Unpleasant Death | Set Lara on fire then impale her while she is still burning |
| Beautiful China | Complete every level in China, completing each level in under 30 minutes |
| I Need a Boat | Complete every level in Venice, completing each level in under 30 minutes |
| Let’s Take a Dip! | Complete every level based underwater, completing each level in under 30 minutes (including Offshore Rig) |
| It’s Cold… Too Cold! | Complete every level in Tibet, completing each level in under 30 minutes |
| Will You Just Let Me Sleep? | Kill all enemies in Home Sweet Home without dying |
| Bed Time! | Make Lara die whilst standing on the bed in Home Sweet Home |
| Shall We Dance? | Whilst in Home Sweet Home, go into the ballroom, turn on the music and kill all enemies while remaining in the ballroom |
| Where are You? | Whilst in Home Sweet Home, run into the maze and kill all the enemies whilst running around the maze |
| I’ll Be Safe in Here! | During Home Sweet Home, lock yourself in Lara’s trophy room so the guards can’t get to her |
| Don’t You Think You’ve Seen Enough? | Complete Home Sweet Home in under 5 minutes |
Do Tomb Raider II Cheat Codes Work on Every Platform?
Yes! The cheats above should work on every version of the game. Performing the actions may prove to be awkward on the mobile versions, however, the cheats are still in the game and available for use if you can manage it.
What is the Cheat For All Weapons in Tomb Raider II?
If you managed to miss it earlier, you can get all weapons in Tomb Raider II by following these steps: sidestep left, sidestep right, sidestep left, walk back one step, walk forward one step. Then, release R1 and spin three complete circles in any direction. Do a backward jump and do a turn in mid-air by pressing Down + Square, then Circle.
Once you’ve done this, not only will you be given every weapon in the game with maximum ammo, but you’ll also receive 50 Flares and Med Packs to boot, making sure you can handle every challenge that Tomb Raider II throws at you.
How Do You Skip Levels in Tomb Raider II?
To skip your current level in Tomb Raider II, follow these prompts: sidestep left, sidestep right, sidestep left, walk back one step, walk forward one step. Then release R1 and spin at least three complete circles in any direction. Do a forward jump and do a turn in mid-air by pressing Up + Square, then Circle on the controller.
After entering this, you should be warped to the next level in the game.
The image featured at the top of this post is ©Screenshot from Tomb Raider II.