Kirby’s Big Ride Surprise

Freelance writer & author, living in Derbyshire, UK.

Author of ‘The Making of Tomb Raider‘ and ‘50 Years of Boss Fights’. His next book, a follow-up Tomb Raider title, is out later next year.

You can subscribe to his Springboard newsletter for more from Daryl on games, music, food and more.

First Nintendo game you ever played?

Super Mario Land on the Game Boy – I’m sure I got both for Christmas 1995.

What first drew you to Tomb Raider, and do any Nintendo games scratch a similar itch for you?

Tomb Raider was part of a demo disk that came with my PlayStation back in 1997. It was the first fully-3D game I ever played, and combined with the music, it blew my mind. Oddly enough for Nintendo, it’s Mario Odyssey – there’s something about that game that reminds me of Tomb Raider in a few ways.

With a new Metroid on the way, what do you think sets it and Tomb Raider apart, and what elements do they have in common?

I think Tomb Raider and the Metroid Prime series both share that fun aspect of exploration. You’re never sure what could be behind a corner or hidden through some bushes. When it comes to setting them apart, I’d say the music for Tomb Raider – in Metroid, I can barely recall more than three music cues. But Tomb Raider? So many.

An underrated Switch gem more folks should play?

This goes back a bit, but I’ve always found Blazing Chrome to be a lot of fun, but hasn’t gotten the recognition it deserves.

Your favourite Switch memory?

One of my favourites is playing Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled with my niece – I played the original at Christmas in 1999, so it felt like a full-circle moment.