STELLA'S TOMB RAIDER: UNFINISHED BUSINESS WALKTHROUGH
LEVEL 1: RETURN TO EGYPT |
Updated: 5/5/24(†) |
STARTING INVENTORY: Pistols (unlimited ammo), compass.
LEVEL MAP by VGCartography (used with permission)
Return to Egypt Video Walkthrough by Eldincy
ROOM ABOVE LARGE POOL: Slide into the level. Approach the edge and the trapdoor opens. Take a running jump (without pressing Action) across the gap and climb up into the right opening to find a large medi pack (1). Return to the trapdoor and jump down into the water. Swim straight ahead to the sand bar, climb out and shoot the crocodile (1) in the water. Do things look a bit familiar? That's right; it's TR1 and Khamoon all over again!
FLOODED CAVE WITH SPHINX & OBELISK: Jump into the smaller pool on the other (north) side of the sand bar and swim past the underwater opening on the right to lure a couple more crocs (2-3) out of hiding. Climb out on the ledge to shoot them. Pick up a small medi pack and magnum clips (2-3). Then go underwater into the cave the crocs came from to retrieve some shotgun shells (4).
Swim back across the smaller pool, climb over the sand bar and jump back in the main pool. Swim to the front left corner of the sphinx, where the edge is a little lower, and climb out. Go behind the sphinx's head and pick up some shotgun shells (5). Underwater, near the base of the obelisk, you'll also find 2 sets of magnum clips (6-7).
Climb out of the water on the ledge near the obelisk (on the west side). If you like, you can shoot the panther (4) running around in the next area through the small rectangular windows or the nearby fence. That way you won't have to face it head on later. (Notice the shotgun and shells on the ground beyond the fence. You'll be getting them soon.)
Jump from the ledge to the top of the obelisk. Standing there opens a door underwater between the sphinx's paws. (Its location is shown in this screenshot.) This door is timed to close after a little while, but the timer doesn't start until Lara leaves the top of the obelisk. So you can pick up the magnum clips (8) before jumping into the water. Swim down behind the carved block in front of the sphinx and follow the passage to the room with the pharaoh statues, where you'll hear the chimes indicating you've found SECRET #1. At this point the carved door reopens and stays open. You can surface inside the secret room to breathe, but there's no place to climb out of the water and kill that crocodile (5). So turn around and swim back out. The croc will follow you back to the main pool. Climb out of the water on the ledge or sand bar so you can shoot it. Then return to the secret room to pick up the goodies: a small medi pack and 2 boxes of shotgun shells (9-11). Return to the main pool and swim through the tunnel to the left of the obelisk and below the metal fence.
NOTE: You can take a shortcut to the SHOTGUN by using the so-called "fence bug" to run through at one of the seams. If you're not familiar with this trick, check out my see my useful bugs page (https://tombraiders.net/stella/goodbugs.html) for instructions and screenshots. Note that if you want all the kills, this actually ends up taking longer than the normal route. See the note on the Fence Bug Shortcut at the end of the walkthrough for more info.
POOL NEAR CAT TEMPLE: Surface near the entrance and swim to the right. Climb out of the water in the doorway with the square arch over it. A panther (6) lurks inside the room (2 panthers if you didn't kill the other one through the fence earlier). If you want to conserve health, you can jump back in the water, swim back through the tunnel to the first pool and shoot the panther through the windows or fence. Once you've killed the second panther, pick up a small medi pack and a box of shotgun shells in the room, plus the SHOTGUN and another box of shells in the sandy area outside (12-15).
Now swim across the pool toward the three painted columns in the northwest corner. As you go, another crocodile (7) appears in the northeast corner of the pool between the cat temple and the panther room. Climb out on the base of one of the columns or on the sand behind them. Kill the croc and then jump back in the water once more to retrieve the shotgun shells (16) on the bottom near the green boulder.
Climb back out of the water near the painted columns and jump over to the gold wall surrounding the cat statue. From the gold wall in front of the statue, you can target the 3 panthers (8-10) that appear on the ledges high above. It's not necessary to kill them since you won't be going up there, but you can do it if you want to.
Jump into the small pool below the cat statue and pull the lever to open the gold door on the west side of the pool near the pharaoh statue. To get out of the pool, pull up on the slanted ledge behind the cat statue and quickly backflip to land on the pedestal. Now, head for the gold door.
NOTE: If you're playing the PC version of the game and want to get up inside the building with the silver symbol of Hathor, you can download Jeff Reid's patched savegames. The 5th save in the group for level 1 will put Lara there. From that spot you can get to various interesting spots at the top of the room. Instructions for using savegame and .zip files can be found on my help page.
ANTEROOMS & ROOM WITH PILLARS & SPIKES: Enter and proceed, but watch your back. When Lara reaches the second set of painted columns in the second inner room a panther (11) attacks from behind. If you turn around and hop backwards, you can see it coming. Continue to the third room, which contains more painted pillars and a spike-lined pit. Take a standing jump to the base of the first pillar on the left. Walk across it, turn around and safety drop to the flat spot below (shown in this screenshot). Or, from the doorway, jump down to the near left corner, slide down the slope and jump over the spikes to land on the flat spot in the far left corner. Walk through the spikes into the darkened doorway.
NOTE: If it's too dark to see what you're doing here, try turning up the brightness on your monitor. Or, if you're using Glidos, click "Adjust" on the startup screen and move the Gamma slider to the right.
DARK PASSAGE & SECRET ROOM: (The following sequence is illustrated in these screenshots.) After exiting the spike room, follow the dark passage to the right and climb up onto the block ahead. Walk to the opposite edge of the block above more spikes. Take a standing jump to grab the next ledge; pull up. Again walk to the edge, turn Lara a little to the right and jump over another pit of spikes to the next ledge. Carefully hop down to the step below, taking care not to run on into the next spike pit. Jump across that pit to the next ledge. Then climb into the doorway above on the right. Inside is SECRET #2—a large medi pack, magnum clips, and 2 boxes of shotgun shells (17-20). The exit door opens when you approach it and you emerge back at the spike room. Take a running jump from the doorway to land on or grab the base of the second pillar on the right. Drop to the floor and once again walk through the spikes into the dark cave entrance.
SANDY CAVE WITH CAT STATUE, SPIKES & MOVABLE BLOCK: This time go to the left. The passage turns a corner and opens into a wide sandy area. Turn right and follow the narrow path toward the cat statue on the high ledge. The statue transforms into a live panther (12). Pull up onto the rock ledge on the right where it dips down in a V. Kill the panther then jump across to the ledge with the carved square pillar. Follow the tunnel to the left of the pillar, proceeding slowly to avoid a boulder that drops from the ceiling. Jump across the gap where the boulder fell in. Then climb the stairs on the right to emerge above the carved pillar. Drop down onto the pillar and collect the shotgun shells (21). Climb back into the opening at the top of the stairs and turn around to face out over the cave.
HIGH ABOVE CAVE WITH CAT STATUE: Hop back from the edge and then take a running jump to grab the ledge ahead and pull up. (This and the subsequent jumps are shown in this series of screenshots.) Cross the ledge and look ahead and to the left, where you'll notice some shotgun shells on a high ledge. That's where you're headed. To get there, first turn around so Lara's back is to the open cave. Sidestep to the right as far as you can. Then jump to the right to land on a sloped block facing uphill. Slide back, grab the edge and traverse to the right until you can pull up on a flat spot. Turn around again and take a running jump to the ledge with the shotgun shells (22). This is SECRET #3 and will be the SHOTGUN itself if you missed it earlier. To get down, safety drop to the greenish-tan rocks below. Then drop/slide to the ground.
SANDY CAVE WITH CAT STATUE, SPIKES & MOVABLE BLOCK (AGAIN): Return along the path leading away from the ledge with the cat statue/dead panther. At the T, turn right and go over a low sand hill to the far side of the cave. Here you'll find a carved stone block (leave it alone for now) and a field of spikes. Pull out your shotgun and walk carefully through the spikes. A panther (13) emerges from the dark opening ahead. Kill it without jumping around so Lara doesn't get impaled. Pick up some shotgun shells (23) on the flat spot to the right and another box of shells (24) on the ground near where the panther emerged. (Alternatively, walk through the spikes, step up on the low block with the shotgun shells and shoot the panther with pistols from there.)
NOTE: The dark opening behind the second box of shells leads to secret #3, which you should already have gotten if you followed this walkthrough. If not, avoid that area for now. The boulder trap inside is easier to bypass from the other side. See the walkthrough above.
Return through the field of spikes to the other side of the cave. Pull the first carved stone block out of the way. Climb over it and push the second block twice to proceed. Follow the tunnel to a pool.
POOL & WOODEN BRIDGES: Across the pool there's a panther (15) on patrol. Ignore it for now and instead walk up the short ramp to the right. Jump across to the little island with the pedestal and key on it. Another panther (14) appears from behind the pedestal. So immediately backflip to the ramp where you started or jump up on the pedestal and kill the cat from there. Kill the first panther (15) on the south ledge from the safety of the island. Then take the GOLD KEY (25) from the pedestal. When you do, the camera pans up to a cat statue on a high ledge, which is now illuminated. That's where you'll be going shortly.
CROCODILE CAVE: Take a swim around the island to draw out 2 crocodiles (16-17), climb out on any of the low ledges (near the entrance, on the island, etc.) and shoot them. Now head for the west end of the pool and locate a small underwater opening to the left of the silver grate. (This screenshot shows the spot.) Swim through this passageway, which turns twice to the right before opening onto a pool with a greenish stone structure. Climb out of the water and immediately run forward and jump onto the dark green stone block to avoid 2 more crocodiles (18-19) that come out of the floor-level openings. Kill the crocs with pistols to conserve ammo. Pick up the MAGNUMS and some clips (26-27). Two more crocs (20-21) emerge when you pick up the small medi pack (28) on the ground. Jump back onto the block to kill them. There's one more crocodile (22) in the water. You may need to take a dip to get its attention, or swim back to the pool below the wooden bridges, climb out of the water and then shoot it.
POOL & WOODEN BRIDGES (AGAIN): Pick up some magnum clips (29) on the bottom of the pool in the southeast corner. Climb out of the water on the ledge just above where the clips were. (This is the same ledge where you killed the second panther earlier.) Start up the ramp but stop in the room on the left to get a small medi pack (30). Continue up the ramp and then follow the wooden bridges to the top of the room. When you reach the landing at the top of the last bridge, turn around so you're facing down the bridge. Jump straight up to grab the ledge overhead. Pull up, turn around and jump to the opposite ledge.
Climb the two block steps. Ignore the tan slope below on the right for now. Instead, climb up on the left then down one more step to get a large medi pack (31). Turn around and climb back over the step to the top of the tan slide.
CROCODILE PIT: At the bottom of this chute is a small, dark room containing 2 crocodiles (23-24). This is the same room from which the crocs emerged into the CROCODILE CAVE. If you didn't already explore that area, there will instead be 5 crocs in the pit. You don't have to slide into the pit unless you want all the kills. (If you'd rather avoid it, just climb down the block steps and jump to the ledge on the left. Skip down to the next paragraph.)
The best way I've found to deal with the croc pit is to slide down the chute facing uphill, grab the edge at the end and, as you drop, draw the shotgun. It works well in close quarters; you'll only need one clean shot for each beast. When you're finished, safety drop through the opening opposite the two small ones. This deposits you in the passage between the movable blocks and the pool. Return to the top of the wooden bridges. This time climb into the opening above on the right.
LOW-CEILINGED ROOM WITH CROCODILE: A crocodile (25) scurries out of the low opening ahead. If you're out of shotgun shells, you can jump over to the ledge above the bridge (where you climbed up before) and shoot it from there with pistols. When it's dead, drop and hang from the ledge over the water and traverse to the right until you can pull up. Take the shotgun shells (32). Jump over to the cat statue. Behind it is a small room with a locked door. Use the GOLD KEY to open it.
BLUE-GREEN ROOM WITH THREE BOULDER-TRAPPED RAMPS: Enter and step to the left or right to avoid the 3 boulders that come rolling down the ramps. There are 2 panthers (26-27) roaming behind the fences on the left and right. You can shoot at them through the bars, but don't worry if you can't kill them yet. You'll have another chance soon. Head for the corner to the right at the base of the three ramps. Climb down onto a fenced-in ledge to retrieve some shotgun shells (33). (You can shoot at the panthers from here.) Climb back up, cross to the left side (when facing the ramps) and climb down to another green stone ledge that isn't fenced in. Finish off the panthers from here if you didn't before. There's a third panther (28) in the room on the far left. You can draw it out and jump up on one of the blocks to kill it if you like. Inside this room are 2 small medi packs (34-35) on low ledges.
Come back out to the room with the green blocks. Enter the passageway in the northeast corner (next to the green block where you climbed down). At the first bend in the passage, you can climb up near the cat statue for a vision of the area outside. Follow the ramp to the top. Pick up the small medi pack (36) and use the switch to open the doors at the top of the boulder ramps.
Return down the ramp to the room with the green blocks. Cross to the northwest corner (near the fenced-in ledge where you got the shells earlier). Draw that shotgun before entering the hallway, since another panther (29) lurks just inside. After killing it, continue up the ramp. At the bend in the passage, vault up onto the ledge ahead and follow the dark passage around to the left then down to a small, well-lit alcove with some shotgun shells (37) and magnum clips (38). For some reason, the fence that previously separated this alcove from the room with the green blocks has disappeared. So you can return through the dark passage, or go out into the room and up the passage in the northwest corner. Continue all the way up the ramp to the fenced-in area near the entrance where the three boulders landed. Pick up the small medi pack (39).
Now, if you like, you can use a variation on the fence bug to get through the bars. Position Lara facing the fence with her right foot just to the right of one of the seams between floor tiles (as shown in this screenshot). From this position she should be able to vault up through the bars to the floor above. Or take the long way: Return down the ramp to the room with the green blocks, cross to the northeast corner and climb back up the green ledges.
Approach the boulder ramps. Each time you walk up any of the ramps, a boulder is released. You can walk or run up the ramps, jumping to an adjacent ramp to avoid each new boulder, but I found this method easier: Take a few steps out onto middle ramp. Turn 90 degrees, drop back and hang from either edge. Traverse up the ramp, past the spikes, until you reach the flat area at the top where you can pull up safely. Shoot the panther (30) below before dropping down and entering the next room.
TALL ROOMS WITH WOODEN BRIDGES - SPIKES & POOL BELOW: Here you'll find a pair of wooden bridges over spikes. Take a standing jump to the first bridge, then a running jump to the second. (Climb up near the cat statue to the right of the second bridge if you'd like another view of the outside.) Jump around to the various alcoves to pick up 2 small medi packs and 2 boxes of shotgun shells (40-43).
Drop into the pool below and quickly swim through the underwater opening to avoid the 2 crocodiles (31-32). Follow the passage forward, upward, then left into a low-ceilinged room with squat, square pillars. There are some shotgun shells (44) ahead on the right, but you can wait to get them. Instead swim to the far left corner and pull the lever, which opens the door next to it. Swim through, climb out of the pool and immediately kill an attacking panther (33). (There's a carved block to the left of the pool that you can climb on to shoot the panther from safety.) Now finish off the crocs and go back to the underwater room with the lever to retrieve those shells.
SANDY OUTDOOR AREA WITH SILVER FENCES: Return to the sandy area and explore carefully. The area to the right of the pool (left when facing the pool) has goodies strewn on the ground, and a double boulder trap ready to be sprung. You can see the boulders up in the ceiling, so you'll be able to figure out where they'll roll. Either rush in and backflip/side flip out, or run in and head for the safe area on the left. When the coast is clear, pick up 2 boxes of shells and a small medi pack (45-47).
Watch out for the concealed spikes in the area with the silver fences and more visible spikes. When you go through the opening in the fence, another panther (34) emerges at the top of the slope, and when you pick up the right box of the 2 boxes of shells (48-49) in the fenced-in area, a third panther (35) appears in the desert beyond the fence to the south. If you position Lara with her back to the fence before picking up the shells, then draw weapons immediately after, you can get in a few shots as the panther comes around the fence toward her.
After getting all the goodies, return to the pool and climb over the carved block to the right. The cat statues transform into 2 mummies (36-37). You can try climbing on the block or jumping to the top of the sandy mound to kill them from safety. Or use the shotgun for quick, close-up kills.
The standing mummy on the other side of the wooden bridge above the small pool is not a threat. Approach the pool, climb down onto the ledge in the near right corner and shoot the crocodile (38) in the pool. When it's dead, swim down to pick up a small medi pack (50). Climb back up to the wooden bridge. If you've had enough, cross the bridge and approach the standing mummy to finish the level. However, if you want all the kills and pickups, you'll need to make a foray out into the desert.
INTO THE DESERT: Advance slowly across the wooden bridge toward the standing mummy. When you're nearly across, it will drop down into a room below. Don't go past the end of the wooden slats, or the level will end prematurely. Instead, turn about 45 degrees to the left, hop back and take a running jump, initially aiming just to the left of the corner block. In mid air, tap the right direction key to pivot Lara in the air and land on a flat spot just beyond the stone structure (as shown in this screenshot). Do not try and land on the stone structure or the level will end. (NOTE: If you have trouble with this method, there are a few alternatives at the end of the walkthrough.)
There's a panther (39) running around out here, so quickly climb up onto the back of the stone structure if you want a safe spot from which to shoot. Just be careful to only stand on the three blocks at the back. If you stand toward the front, the level will end. (The safe spots are outlined in this screenshot.)
The standing mummy is now prowling around at the bottom of the hole in the stone structure. You may be able to hear it growling, and you can see it if you look down into the opening, but you can't target it.
Once you're out here in the desert, stay away from the outer edges of the area because the sand is deadly hot! (Guess the level designers didn't want players straying too far.) From the back edge of the stone structure, hop down near the two palm trees and walk straight ahead then to the right. Off to the left there's deadly sand. Climb the dunes to the two square pillars. (One safe path is shown in this screenshot.) Below these pillars is a pool with some goodies on the bottom. Swim down to pick up the UZIS and 2 sets of Uzi clips (51-53). After picking up the guns, there will be a panther mummy (40) running around above. If you climb out on the square ledge in the far left corner of the pool, you'll have a few extra seconds to shoot before it reaches Lara. Another mummy (41) lurks beyond the fence (in the spike-and-boulder area where you were before). If you look for it right away, you can easily shoot it before it gets to Lara.
To get back inside the fence, take a running jump from the low sand hill over the corner of the fence. Return to the wooden bridge where the standing mummy was. This time go all the way across to finish the level.
FENCE BUG SHORTCUT: In the FLOODED CAVE WITH SPHINX & OBELISK near the beginning of the level, you can take a shortcut to the SHOTGUN by using the fence bug to run through at one of the seams, like the one shown in this screenshot. However, if you want all the kills, this actually ends up taking longer than the normal route. If you're not familiar with the fence bug, check out my see my useful bugs page at https://tombraiders.net/stella/goodbugs.html for instructions and screenshots.
After picking up the gun and shells, enter the room on the right to find more goodies. The second panther appears only when Lara walks across the bottom of the short ramp leading to the exit. So either do this and then jump into the water to avoid the panther, exit the way you came so as not to trigger it, or back down the ramp with the shotgun drawn and kill it when it appears in the far left corner of the room. The crocodile does not appear in the POOL NEAR THE CAT TEMPLE unless you first swim about halfway through the long underwater tunnel leading back to the sphinx area, then swim back toward the cat temple and the four painted columns.
ALTERNATE METHODS FOR GETTING OUTSIDE THE FENCE NEAR THE END OF THE LEVEL: There are several ways of getting out of the fenced-in area into the desert. One method is described above. You can also use the fence bug to get through the fence near where you picked up the two boxes of shotgun shells. See my Useful Bugs page for detailed instructions including screenshots. Or, you can use a slightly tricky but completely legal jump in that same fenced-in area. Details and screenshots are on a separate page. (Thanks to Jeff Reid, John Witzel and Theresa Jenne for the fence bug info. More thanks to Berty for the legal fence jump and to Gary Mitchell for the jump from the bridge to the desert.)
†UPDATE HISTORY: 5/25/09 - First update since I began tracking changes. Added various screenshots, including screens for all secrets. Revised several sections for clarity. Added fence bug details and links to Useful Bugs section.
2/5/24 - Added VGCartography's level maps, with permission. Visit VGCartography on DeviantArt for high-res versions, and follow on Twitter/X and YouTube for more fantastic game maps.
5/5/24 - Added sequential kill and item counts in the walkthrough text.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Special thanks are given to the participants in the alt.games.tombraider newsgroup, without whom some parts of this walkthrough couldn't have been written.
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