Lara Croft, Nathan Drake, And 6 Other Great Tomb Raiders

Raiders of the Lost Ark was the first film in the Indiana Jones franchise, and it blew moviegoers away in 1981. Kids who grew up in the 80s easily recognized the theme song and loved to hum it, no matter if they were riding their bikes, walking down the street, or diving into a pillow fort.

The idea of archeology being a cool profession was rejuvenated, and some kids of this era became successful developers who paid homage to Indiana Jones with their own tomb-raiding adventures. Let’s go through video game characters who have surpassed Indiana Jones in tomb raiding and recommend some good games as well.

Lara Croft (Tomb Raider)

Gaming’s First Crush

Lara Croft is the star of the Tomb Raider franchise, debuting in 1996. While Lara has had her ups and downs across several reboots, the last trilogy showed Lara at her best. A spunkier, younger version who was learning the ropes and wasn’t afraid to get messy, be it in a cavern full of dead bodies or a forest full of menacing raiders. The latter trilogy had fewer tombs to explore, but the classics were full of them, from tombs in windswept deserts to underwater catacombs. That’s what Lara does best, variety, as she is equipped for any exploration mission.

Nathan Drake (Uncharted)

Dude Raider

Nathan Drake, affectionately nicknamed “Dude Raider,” was like the male spiritual successor to Lara Croft. His first adventure was Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune in 2007, which kick-started a new era for the developer, Naughty Dog. What sets Nathan apart from other tomb raiders is that he’s also a thief and a sly one at that. He’s not in it to preserve history, although he is fascinated by the locations he visits. Instead, Nathan wants to make money and a name for himself come hell or high water. His quick wit, resilient body, and rotating pack of thieves help Nathan stand out.

Mega Man Trigger/Volnutt (Mega Man Legends)

Halcyon Days

Mega Man Trigger may not spring to mind for a lot of game fans, and that’s understandable because he’s a bit more forgotten. The protagonist of the two Mega Man Legends games on PS1, this series takes place in the far future, after the collapse of the futuristic settings of the X series.

Society now lives on small islands and thrives on Refractor Crystals found in tombs hidden across the world. The opening mission to the first game is like an homage to Raiders of the Lost Ark. While Trigger, or Volnutt as he is also called, sees more action than puzzles in his tombs, he’s a skill raider regardless.

Wario (Wario Land)

Coins Fuel Him

Nintendo fans don’t need much of an introduction to one of the greatest antagonists of the Mario series, Wario. He first appeared in a playable role in Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3. As the Wario series went on, there was a bigger emphasis on loot, with Wario Land 4 being the peak period of Wario’s tomb raiding career in the GBA. He got plenty of coins in Wario Land: Shake It!, but it was less about tomb raiding and more about pirate raiding. Overall, as boisterous as he is, Wario is quite the capable explorer when he chooses to be.

Guy Spelunky (Spelunky)

A Brutal Roguelike

Guy is the hero of Spelunky, one of the most challenging roguelikes of all time. It’s no mistake that he was designed to look like Indiana Jones, except more cartoony, as he does have a trusty brown hat and whip. This whip is how he deals with most foes as he explores the Aztec-like ruins in the first game. In the sequel, he goes missing within some moon ruins, and his daughter has to rescue him. While devoid of a personality since this is a small indie game, Guy is still an iconic tomb raider.

Scrooge McDuck (DuckTales)

Life Is Like An Aeroplane

Those who grew up in the 80s know Scrooge McDuck all too well, or as his nephews called him in the cartoon DuckTales, Uncle Scrooge. Scrooge was a penny-pincher, but one who had amassed a small fortune thanks to his dungeon diving, showcased in every episode. Capcom developed two games for the NES based on DuckTales, each featuring a new tomb-raiding adventure that spanned from the jungle to the moon.

While he didn’t do any adventuring in Kingdom Hearts 3, that was probably Scrooge’s last game appearance outside of the cartoons. As old as he may appear, Scrooge is a legendary explorer who could whack any of these other adventurers with his trusty bouncy cane

Shantae (Shantae)

A Half-Genie Hero Who Also Enjoys Adventure

Shantae first appeared in the Game Boy Color game of the same name. She’s a Half-Genie, meaning that she appears as a human, but she can learn some magic. She doesn’t wield a whip, but her main weapon is her hair, which she can use like a whip. Most games are littered with ruins, which will grant Shantae various new dances. For example, in the newest game, Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution, she can turn into a crab or monkey. Typically, she only goes into ruins to stop villains from destroying them, but as she dives deep and still gathers treasure, Shantae definitely fits into this group of adventurers.

Lemeza Kosugi (La-Mulana)

Another Indiana Lookalike Winner

Lemeza is from La-Mulana, another Metroidvania, and another character that was modeled after Indians Jones. La-Mulana is one of the hardest Metroidvanias around since the controls have to be very precise and there’s a lot of backtracking. From whipping enemies to avoiding traps, there’s a lot to be aware of. That’s what makes Lemeza canonically resilient, though, as he’s able to get through the sprawling ruins of the first game on his own. The sequel stars his daughter, which is another way La-Mulana and Spelunky are connected.