The revival of Argonaut Games and the release of the first Croc remaster alongside it has been so successful that a surprise remaster of Croc 2: Kingdom of the Gobbos has followed in its footsteps. Both of the PS1 platformer’s flagship titles have now been given a fresh coat of paint and made playable on modern consoles, and as someone who adored the original Croc, I couldn’t be happier.

Even though that first game was where I, and most other Croc fans, fell in love with Argonaut’s mascot, now that I’ve spent some time with its underappreciated sequel, I’m even happier that Kingdom of the Gobbos has been given the remaster treatment than I was about the first game. Croc 2 didn’t get nearly as much attention when it launched, and hasn’t gone down as a cult classic like its predecessor. An unfair fate for a follow-up that takes the pretty basic ideas from the original and builds on them in ways Croc fans will love.

It’s immediately clear from Croc 2 that, in the gap between games, the team at Argonaut looked at the platforming landscape and realized Croc needed to up its game. Despite the relatively short gap between the original’s release and Croc 2’s launch, there are so many more ideas and mechanics. From minecart levels to mini collectathons, there are exciting ideas here that the first game could have really benefitted from.

Croc 2’s characters and story are far more fleshed out too. It’s no epic adventure, but both Croc and the Gobbos you’re tasked with rescuing have far bigger personalities.

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