In an industry where early development footage, scrapped plans, and early concept art are usually only made public thanks to datamine efforts or questionable leaks, it's incredibly refreshing to be treated to some never-before-seen footage of a game in its early stages direct from the source itself.
Yes, Tomb Raider's official channels have uncovered some early handheld development footage for Tomb Raider: Legend, which launched on Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS in November 2006. Those who owned the game will no doubt remember that it has you following Lara Croft's quest for the mythical sword Excalibur – even if the handheld versions weren't quite as impressive as their home console counterparts.
As you can see for yourself, the game's development had already progressed pretty far in the newly-released footage, and elements such as the voice acting are already in place. We get to see a couple of cutscenes and the series' signature adventure-style gameplay, albeit with a few moments that look a little rough around the edges.
The Tomb Raider YouTube channel has been sharing several clips like this over the past couple of weeks. If you're interested in seeing more, check out these videos showing off some of the game's storyboards and early Lara concept art:
Now, if only more studios would willingly share their early work like this. Yes, we're looking at you, Nintendo.
