This is the walkthrough and video walkthrough for Tomb Raider III: Adventures of Lara Croft. Find all the secrets and puzzle solving below. The video walkthrough was extracted from Youtube thanks to Tartancroft and the text walkthrough thanks to Stella.
1. Highland Fling | 2. Willard’s Lair | 3. Shakespeare Cliff | 4. Sleeping with the fishes | 5. It’s a madhouse! | 6. Reunion
6. Reunion
(NOTE: If you’ve played Tomb Raider 3, the splash screen at the beginning of the level should bring back some memories. You’re probably beginning to put the pieces together regarding who’s behind theft of the fifth artifact. Also note that the regular pick-ups for this level will include the grenade launcher and rocket launcher if you didn’t find them earlier.)
LONG ROOM WITH MUTAGEN POOLS AND TRANSLUCENT WALKWAYS:
Side flip in either direction to get out of the path of the rolling meteorite. Walk forward around the rim of the pool of deadly mutagen.
When you look into the barred windows on one side of the pool, you may catch a glimpse of a couple of medipaks and 2 burly guys with holes in their chests. If you linger near the windows these guys will come down the stairs between the windows to beat on Lara. Otherwise, you’ll meet them later when you enter this area. (NOTE: The Desert Eagle is brilliant for these guys. One shot takes them down.)
Before going up the stairs, make a few pick ups. Approach the long, rectangular pool of sparkly green stuff that has another huge meteorite at the far end. If you look closely into the long pool, you’ll notice a translucent walkway running down the center. Light a flare or fire pistols to make it more visible if necessary. Step onto the corner of this walkway to trigger the boulder. Then quickly hop back out of the way. Follow the translucent walkway to the end, picking up 3 pairs of grenades as you go. (NOTE: One of these will be the GRENADE LAUNCHER itself if you didn’t find it in an earlier level.)
Return to the middle of the long room (where you started) and go to the end of the other long, translucent walkway. Pick up the rocket and more grenades at the end. Again, go back to the start. Climb up through the opening near the first pool on the side that doesn’t have the two barred windows. Go around the pillar to get some flares. Again, take care not to step off the edge into the toxic pool. Return to the start.
DARK STAIRWAY:
Climb into the doorway between the barred windows. (NOTE: If you didn’t attract the attention of the 2 burly guys earlier, they will attack as you explore around the stairs. If you run up the to the middle of the stairs, you’ll be able to shoot them without being ambushed in a tight space.)
Pick up flares just inside and MP5 clips on the bottom step. At the first opening on the right, hop down and enter the room with the barred window on the right. Take care to avoid the sparkling mutagen as you pick up the small medipak. Return to the stairway, go across to the opening on the other side, hop down and enter the other room with a barred window. Get another small medipak while avoiding the deadly bits of floor. Now go all the way up the stairs to the top.
MUTAGEN POOL WITH DANGLING BODIES AND SWINGING BURNER:
The dangling mutants and corpses are just for show. They won’t do any harm. Pick up a rocket behind the pillar on the right. Use flares or pistol fire to illuminate a series of small, translucent platforms in the pool. Hop from one to the other to get to the far side of the pool. From the last platform, take a standing jump into the opening. There’s a short ramp on the other side. Be sure to angle the jump so Lara doesn’t slide into the swinging burner. Pick up more flares at the right end of the ledge.
LEDGES AND WALKWAYS LEADING UP TO FINAL CONFRONTATION:
After getting the flares, go to the left end of the ledge and position Lara at the middle of the ledge facing the small, square, flagstone ledge ahead. Take a standing jump to that ledge, timing the jump to avoid the burner. When Lara lands on the small ledge, the camera view shifts to a wide-angle shot. Sophia Leigh begins to climb up the ledges on her side of the mutagen pool.
(NOTE: For those who haven’t played TR3, Miss Leigh was one of the bosses in that game. She had gotten her well-manicured hands on one of the four original artifacts, the Eye of Isis. Her goal was to live forever and, failing that, to leave a spectacular corpse. Although Lara apparently defeated her last time around, she’s ready for a rematch.)
Jump the gap to the next ledge. Then run around the corner to the right, making a tight U-turn to go up the ramp. Climb or jump onto the low step with the small medipak. Jump to the grated ledge below the dangling mutant and climb to the next ledge for another small medipak.
If you really want that large medipak on Sophia’s side of the gap (and Lara’s probably going to take some hits to get it), I recommend climbing up to the step with the first small medipak (not the one above the grate) and taking a running jump from there across the gap to the ledge with the large medipak. Climbing up to the small medipak causes Sophia to climb a little higher as well, so she won’t blast Lara right away when she jumps across. Grab the medipak and either immediately take a running jump back to the side where you started, or continue forward and hide in the far left corner. When you take the medipak, another heartless brute comes down from near where Sophia is. You’ll have time to take him out if you’re hiding in the corner and watching as he descends.
(NOTE: Avoid the pillar on which Sophia is standing. When Lara gets near it, Sophia’s powerful energy repels her. A very cool effect. Just be sure it doesn’t knock Lara off the edge, or save your game first if you want to test it.)
When Sophia nears the end of one of her rounds of energy blasts (there are generally 11 of them), hurry back across the gap. You want to make sure Lara’s makes it to cover before Sophia is done powering up, because that first blast is the strongest.
Get the 2 small medipaks if you didn’t earlier. From where the second medipak is (just above the grated ledge with the dangling mutant), run to the left and duck behind the square pillar. Sophia’s energy blasts can’t harm Lara here, so use this for cover until you’re ready to move on. Climb onto the low ledge. Then jump to grab the higher ledge above and pull up. When you do this, Sophia starts to climb up on her side of the gap, so you don’t have to worry about her shooting right away. Once on the ledge above, vault onto the low flagstone walkway on the left and run around to the left into the cave in the back corner. There’s a large medipak inside guarded by another of Sophia’s burly minions.
On the far side of this area is a wide stairway with another large medipak at the bottom and a switch flanked by two small doors at the top. Run along the left wall toward that area. When you approach the steps, another burly guy appears, and a meteorite boulder rolls down the steps. Kill the guy, pick up the medipak, run to the top of the stairs and pull the switch.
(NOTE: There’s also an area off in the far left corner where you can run for cover. There’s a small pool here, which may come in handy if the guy with the torch sets Lara on fire. But other than that, there’s not much to do there.)
Once behind the doors, you’ll need to act quickly. Four heartless brutes move in—three from ahead, one from behind. (Again, the Desert Eagle is the weapon of choice here if you’ve got the ammo.) When you’ve dealt with them, pick up a small medipak near one of the bodies and another small medipak plus flares at the back of the room. Go through the doorway on the left near the bars. Slip carefully past the swinging burner and use the switch on the wall near the steps to open a trapdoor above. Climb the ladder at the top of the stairs. Continue along the passageway. The door closes behind you.
Pick up the rocket at the far end of this area and get ready for the final confrontation with Sophia. You’ll only need one rocket if you time your hit exactly right, but that’s not easy. If you need additional rockets or medipaks, see the note below.
If you’re ready to go, climb onto the wall overlooking the mutagen pool, to the right of the support pillar in on top of the wall. Climb up one more level to the step with the large medipak. Another meteorite descends into the pool, blocking Sophia’s energy bolts for a moment so you can grab the medipak and jump down without getting hit. You don’t have to take the medipak, but you must at least climb onto the wall in order to make Sophia climb to the upper ledge on her side—the one with the HAND OF RATHMORE sitting on the steam vent. You can only destroy her if she is on this spot.
Take a moment to observe Sophia from the safe spot behind the wall. She shoots 11 energy bolts (with the occasional pause for maniacal giggling) before she pauses to power up. You want to hit her just as she starts to power up. Here’s the easiest technique I found: Position Lara behind the wall and facing it, on the low ledge at the left end of this area, near the spot where you picked up the rocket. Lara is safe here even when she’s able to see Sophia. Stand with your weapon of choice drawn. I don’t recommend the grenades or harpoons, since they tend to arc downward, missing their target at this distance. But one rocket, a few rounds from the MP5 or Uzis, or even the pistol or shotgun will do the job. Count the energy blasts and fire when ready. When you do hit Sophia dead-on just as she’s starting to power up, you’ll notice static energy swirl around Lara. Then Sophia will let out a groan and fall down.
Now go to either end of the wall and jump down onto the perpendicular stone wall at either end of the pool.
(NOTE: At both ends of each of the side walls there are small rooms containing some goodies— 6 rockets and 2 small medipaks in all. And, if you don’t yet have the ROCKET LAUNCHER, you’ll find it here instead of one of the rockets. You won’t need these once you’ve killed Sophia, but if you haven’t conserved ammo and need more, you can get it at the price of a little health loss.)
Jump from the end of the stone wall to the long room below Sophia’s final position. Climb up to where she was standing and reclaim the HAND OF RATHMORE. When you do, a small door opens at the back of the long room below. Enter there and slide down the ramp into a pool. Climb out and make your way down to the beach. Approach the hot-air balloon to end the level—and the game.