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Over the years Lara has had about 6 potential love interests across all four timelines and too many allies to count and yet few are as popular as Sam. She appeared in about 27 issues of the tie-in comics, has the most fan fics and fan art in the fandom aside from Lara herself, her page has remained in the top 10 most popular pages on this very wiki.

And her return in Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft is being used to hype up that season with Netflix's announcement saying, and I quote "Lara will officially join forces with the one and only Sam Nishimura for an all-new adventure." That frames it as if Sam is just as much of a badass as Lara since Lara has to "Join Forces" with her in order to combat whatever threat she's up against this time.

Keep in mind that Sam was also supposed to be in Rise of the Tomb Raider, was talked about being brought in for Shadow of the Tomb Raider was apparently supposed to be in the 2018 movie and might very well have shown up in that film's sequel had it not been cancelled. Add onto that the fact that Sam was supposed to have also ended up with Lara romantically as stated by the writers of the Inferno arc in the comics and that only didn't happen because the scene was vetoed by Square Enix.

So, what makes Sam so popular 11 Years after she was introduced. It's not because she's a potential love interest for Lara because characters who have ended up with Lara are either forgotten about or ignored completely. Take Kurtis Trent, the closest character Lara has to a love interest. After he first appeared he has appeared only in 3 issues of the Top Cow Production Comics, the mobile game Tomb Raider: Reloaded and I think an upcoming Board game... and that's it. He has not appeared in any of the games after his first appearance and as far as I know he won't be in any future games or The Legend of Lara Croft.

And he's the most "Popular" love interest in the series after Sam since he at least has that while all of Lara's other love interests pretty much disappear after they show up. Chase is only really known by Hardcore TR fans, Tsang and Terry are a characters EVEN hardcore fans don't know about and one those characters came from the movie and Alex is only remembered because he's played by Daniel Craig.

But Sam, still talked about in the fandom after having only shown up in one game and again her return to the series is being used to hype the next season up.

I think the reason Sam is so popular is because of how fleshed out her character was in the comics. Unlike a lot of other characters the writers of the series were very clearly invested in exploring Sam's character and what the events of the first game did to her. She went from someone who was, justifiably, terrified of the situation she found herself in to someone who took on a Demigod in a Battle of Wills and Won!

She stabbed a bullshark in the eye armed only with her necklace and killed a cult leader to save Lara. And yet she still feels human and relatable, showing us her more vulnerable side which allows many to more easily relate to her.

And then, of course, there's her relationship with Lara. Unlike her trying to avenge her parents (Legends along with Rise and Shadow) or doing what she does for the fun of it (Classic and Comics) Sam is someone Lara knows and cares about giving her something more personal to fight for.

Sam knows Lara, shares her passions and has the most fleshed out and complex relationship with Lara. With Lara's other love interests they're just there to be her love interests, once they're gone Lara just moves on from them. Hell Chase dies for her and she barely seems to care after one or two issues, Tsang also dies and she forgets about him and she was forced to kill Terry and she's smiling and laughing in the very next scene!

But Sam? The series has made a point of Lara missing her. Even though it's only in collectables or hidden dialogue Lara mentions Sam more then once and she makes it clear that she misses her. Despite not talking to her in 10 years her absence has been felt throughout the series with TLOLC making a point of how much Lara misses her and wants to reconnect with Sam.

Again, Kurtis has had the most appearances after Sam but not in any meaningful way just a mobile game, a board game and three comic issues.

To make a long story short (too late) Sam is so popular because she's a great character while all of Lara's other love interests are all pretty flat and forgettable.

Finishing the plot edits for the show on the wiki, during which I noticed a small easter egg for the classics on Sam's clue wall.

Tengo un problema, quiero tener el juego al 100% pero creo que cometí un error, me faltan los 3 alijos de monedas que hay en la mina abandonada, pero me pase toda la historia porque pensé en volver después al sitio, ahora estoy ahi pero no puedo leer el monolito porque no tengo como deslizarme hacia la puerta, alguno tiene alguna idea de que pueda hacer para conseguir los alijos?

Muchas gracias de antemano

Can anyone help me here.

As all us hardcore TR fans probably know Lara was originally going to be a South American male character until Toby changed him to female and the drop dead gorgeous to die for creature we all know and love.

So what I want to know is did that male character ever have a name? Or has he always been namelss?

I have always wondered about this.

Thank you for any help.

Which tomb raider game is the best? is there a chronological order for me to play them in? srry i am new

And I mean Legend Trilogy's Lara, she's a better fit for it just as Survival Trilogy is a better fit for Dead By Daylight.

And I know it will never happen because Legend Trilogy's Lara was eclipsed by Survival Trilogy and apparently non-Nintendo characters can only be in it if their games have been released on Nintendo consoles (like Sonic, Final Fantasy VII, etc.), but let's say IF. (Though, I really was not expecting Sephiroth to become playable)

1. What would her moveset be?

2. What would her Final Smash be?

3. Which eight outfits would you choose for her? (Minimum eight because 8-player smash)

4. What other Tomb Raider stuff would be included?

For me:

1: Moveset

Melee attacks would be punches and kicks, of course, and her grab would be a Grapple Hook similar to Samus.

B: Dual pistols

Side B: Throw a grenade like on Legend

Up B: An upwards spinning kick

Down B: A parry where she does Adrenaline Dodge

2: Final Smash:

She swings Excalibur, anyone in range, trigger a cutscene where she shoots an energy blade at them with Excalibur, then brings out Mjolnir and strikes them with lightning. If they have over 100 damage, insta-kill.

3: Outfits

While I would be a bit biased and include Snow Light and Jungle Pants on my list, Snow Heavy and Jungle Heavy are more popular and I will kinda want to go for a bit of variety:

1. Legend

2. Anniversary

3. Jungle Shorts

4. Jungle Heavy

5. Biker

6. Snow Heavy

7. Drysuit Light

8. Casual

4: Other Tomb Raider stuff

Maybe health packs could appear as healing items.

And Assist Trophy? Natla, in her fiery form, shooting fireballs at opponents and flying really fast to her next position almost like Phosphora)

Which stages? Bolivia and Final Conflict seem like prime candidates due to the final battles with Amanda and Natla there, but I might actually say King Arthur's Tomb, in which the sea serpent can emerge as a stage hazard, and maybe can only be killed if you ring the nearest bell with any attacks and stun it first.

And, I think Bolivia, initially a standard stage, but occasionally Amanda will stick an Excalibur into the stone. If you attack her, she will run off, and the stone will explode and damage anyone near it. If you do not attack her, she will pull it out and the entire arena will shift to Helheim, where you battle on a platform above eitr, and eventually Amanda will return and do the sword thing again, or attempt to.