Before Croc, Argonaut had already made history. Founded by teenager Jez San in 1982, the British studio developed Star Fox with Nintendo in 1993 and designed the revolutionary Super FX chip that helped usher in a new era of 3D gaming. When the next generation of consoles arrived and 3D became the norm, they turned their ambitions to showing what they could do with it, giving us Croc: Legend of the Gobbos in 1997, and then Croc 2 in 1999, a sequel that built on everything that made the first game great.
Originally released in 2001, the Game Boy Color version of Croc 2 is a game that many people have never had the opportunity to play. Developed in Japan by Natsume, it translated the 3D platformer into a top-down handheld adventure that retained the charm and level design philosophy of its console sibling. It quietly slipped under the radar at the time, and so together with Argonaut Games, we're bringing it back right on time to celebrate its 25th Anniversary.
Why Croc 2 belongs on the Chromatic
The game's isometric perspective and detailed sprite work were designed by people pushing the absolute limits of what four AA batteries and a non-backlit screen could handle, the creators assumed you'd be playing in direct sunlight and not under the covers way past your bedtime. The Chromatic's sunlight-viewable display and perfectly-tuned color reproduction means that you're finally seeing the game the way the developer’s artists actually designed it to be, which is one of the most important aspects ModRetro can and should deliver. We’re building the best possible devices to enjoy the art which was created for a specific medium.
Quality of life updates in the ModRetro 25th Anniversary Edition
The original Croc 2 used a password system. You'd beat a section, get a string of characters, and carefully write them down or hope your memory held until next time. It was standard practice for the era, battery-backed cartridges cost more money to manufacture, and cartridge pricing was a blood sport. But then your mom cleans your room and throws away the piece of paper you wrote the password on, and you’re screwed. No more!
This new release adds an auto-save feature that quietly stores your most recent password. No fumbling for paper. No "was that an O or a zero?" Not realizing you copied it wrong after putting the game down for a week. But the original password system remains fully intact, we just made it so you don't have to fight it anymore.
We’ve also added an optional Max Life setting for players who want to experience the game without the friction of repeated deaths. Some people may call it easy mode – you might call it, "I'm an adult with limited time and I just want to see the thing.” Either way, we’re not judging.
