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Croc: Legend of the Gobbos is perhaps, visually, one of the best games on the Saturn. Once you begin playing, you'd swear it was Mario64. In fact, not only the graphics of Mario64 and Croc are similar. The story line and actual gameplay are almost identical. You are Croc, a crocodile found and raised by the peaceful Gobbos. The game manual contains 4 pages of the story, and it's pretty funny. Anyway... the Gobbos have been kidnapped by the evil Dantini and it's your job to rescue them.

Following in the Mario64 foot steps, Croc features a behind-the-character view, although it changes often, like when your back is turned toward the wall. This makes gameplay confusing because you can't see in front and can't even adjust the camera angle. The graphics are outstanding. The levels are very colorful, and you almost don't see any pixilation. Basically, what stops this game from slowdown due to the rich textures is the fact that each level is divided into about 5 small "rooms". However, I'm not sure about the PSX version of the game, but the Saturn version does experience some slowdown on some levels with a lot of animation. I give the graphics 9.5! It deserves it!

Gameplay is probably what really harms this game. Although Croc supports the 3D Analog Pad, it's almost impossible to play with it. Whenever you want to turn, you almost always accidentally push the 3D controller forward or backward by just a few degrees, and immediately, if you're standing on the edge of something, you will fall off. I suggest using the standard controls. Basically, what you do in this game is go through over 40 levels and try to rescue your friends, the Gobbos. Along the way, you encounter the evil Dantinis who you can kill with your tail. You also encounter special boxes with goodies inside, that your open with a butt-stomp. The levels, and especially the bosses, get tougher and tougher as you progress through the game. This game features the weirdest way to kill bosses that's I've ever seen. You basically run away from the boss until he gets tired, and when he's resting, you have about 3 seconds to hit him. Gameplay in Croc is good, but could be better, much better. I give it 7.5

Pretty cool music and sound effects can sometimes hurt a game. Not in this case. The music in Croc is similar to the NiGHTS theme and is enjoyable to listen, although it gets pretty repetitive. The sound effects, such as Croc's childish voice, are fun too. It makes this game targeted more at the younger gamers, but some of the older game freaks might enjoy a little rest from their basic explosions, screams, and pointless techno-rock found in most games. Croc music and sound gets 9.4.

With above average graphics and sound, this game might be more enjoyable to the N64 community, not the Saturn's gameplay fans. However, you could get used to it in just a few days, so I definitely recommend this game to anyone with $50 to spare. And... after calculating the score, Croc's overall grade is 8.8