Lara Croft's design could've gone full FF7/Street Fighter in Japan to appeal to audiences in the mid-'90s, says co-creator, but 'All that was changed was the manuals & guide'

Lara Croft's up there with the most iconic game protagonists of all time—but there was a time when her design was nearly swapped out in favour of… well, just take a look.

(Image credit: Core Design, Aspyr, Saturn Fan, Victor (via @tadashidaiba on BlueSky))

That's a picture that comes via @tadashidaiba on BlueSky, who shared scans from an issue of Saturn Fan magazine (thanks, Gamesradar). And to be fair, the actual sketch looks cool as hell—not exactly the Lara we know today, mind, but something...