Tomb Raider (1996) Walkthrough: Lara's Home & Caves

AntMag.NET

Before starting Level 1, take a couple of minutes to go through the tutorials in Lara's Home. It will give you a refresher on the basic movements and button commands, and there are 3 Trophies to be earned here.

After doing some jumping upstairs, you'll head downstairs. From the top of the stairs, execute a swan dive (Jump + Up on the D-Pad + R1) over the railing diagonally right towards either the crate or the side stairs. Do this correctly, and you'll earn the Only the Brave Deserve The Fair Trophy. You might have to try more than once. Keep trying until you get it.

In the ballroom along the west wall, you'll see an opening into a small cubby with a treasure chest. Go in and examine the chest very closely. The Feast Your Eyes on This! Trophy should appear.

There are several Trophies that are awarded for examining something "closely". Make sure that you get as close as possible and examine the item from all sides. These Trophies can be kind of finicky.

Once you have completed all of the exercises, you should receive the Welcome to My Home! Trophy.

Now on to Level 1

Overview:

This is a really easy level, and it's very possible to survive with no loss of life at all. In fact, the only serious threats to your well being come from dart-shooting pipes which, with a little practice, can be effectively dodged. However, your focus should be on avoiding damage from the animals, since this is a skill that will become increasingly necessary as the game proceeds. Otherwise, just get accustomed to the controls and enjoy this level.

This level contains 3 Secrets, 7 pickups, 14 kills, and 2 breakaway tiles.

Trophies earned: 2

New Game+ Notes
1. There is just 1 Save Crystal in this level. I would hold off using it until after you kill the 2 wolves that come up the stairs.
2. Don't waste any premium ammo in this level. Your pistols will get you through just fine.
3. An argument could be made for skipping the bear, but I thing you should defeat it. You can do it safely with your pistols, but it will take some time. You need to start learning some patience in defeating enemies like the bear that can take a lot of punishment.
4. Likewise, because of the restrictions on Saves, be careful not to carelessly run off edges. You'll get tired of repeating large chunks of the level.

Walkthrough

Trophy Alert -- Like Dorothy

Let's earn another easy Trophy before going too far. You get this one for using the level skip cheat code.

Run forward a little so that you can see what's going on.
Then have Lara do the following:

Walk forward one step
Walk backwards one step
Rotate counterclockwise 3 times. A little more is okay, but you have to do all rotating in one motion, i.e., you can't rotate 2 1/2 times, stop, then rotate that last half revolution.
Jump forward.

You should get the screen shown below and the Like Dorothy Trophy (except it probably didn't take you 5:19).

After earning the Trophy, quit your game and start over. I'm told that using this code can mess some things up.

Trophy Alert -- There's So Much to Remember Here

If you are playing the Remastered version, before embarking on your adventure, simultaneously press down on the left and right analog sticks (i.e., press both L3 and R3). This will open Photo Mode and earn you a Trophy.

You will come to wish that all Trophies were so easy to come by, but for now just enjoy this one.
You should spend some time playing around with Photo Mode. While pausing the action, it allows you to virtually move through a very large area, allowing you to scope out enemy locations and other useful information.

Deadline 1

Let the darts kill Lara.

The darts just past the entrance are completely avoidable. Just right down the middle of the path while jumping. If you get hit by a couple of them, it's no big deal -- they won't cause much damage.
Go all the way to the end, bypassing the branch to the left that gets Lara's attention. Secret #1 is inside that overhead room. I had trouble trying to pull up onto the ramp and then jump and grab while sliding down. Stand against the wall with Lara's back to the ramp, then doing a backflip, holding to jump off the ramp, and then press to grab the ledge. Enter and collect a small Medi Pack (1).
Double back to the passage that you bypassed along the way. Climb up, pull out your pistols, and take out the 3 bats (1, 2, 3) that come directly towards you.

Deadline 2

Let Lara get killed by the bats.

Secret #2 is just on your left as you proceed down this passage. Stand as far left as possible, then press Up + Action to pull up into the overhead area.
Beware of the bat (4) that comes to life when you pull up into the cave. Take it out before it can damage you. When it is dead, claim another small Medi Pack (2).
Drop back down and hang a left past the dead bats. The path will bend to the left and then drop down. On your left, you'll find a pit into which you should drop. Follow the path and throw the switch on the right, opening the door to the next area.
As you enter the new area, draw your pistols and shoot the bat (5). Climb through the hole in the ceiling to the NE, then head to the area with the bridges. There are two wolves (6, 7) below, and you can easily shoot them from above.

Deadline 3

Drop down and let the wolves kill Lara.

Wind your way across the bridges to the exit in the SE. In next room, stop at the gap ( PS1: near the Save Crystal), and look down into the pit. There is a bear (8) down there, and with some patience you can take it down from up here with your pistols.