The 2000 Game Boy Color version of Tomb Raider was not originally centered on Lara Croft; it was adapted from a cartoonish space adventure prototype called Salvage. Artist Matt Charlesworth recently recalled the development process of this title and the subsequent retroactive downgrade of its review scores.
After creating loading screens for Tomb Raider III, Charlesworth began experimenting with low-level assembly and pixel art for the Game Boy Color alongside programmer Sean Dunlevy. The two completed the Salvage prototype in one or two months, with gameplay resembling Flashback and Another World. They then realized this design could be adapted into a portable version of Tomb Raider, which received approval from Core Design head Jeremy Smith.
The team considered the original Tomb Raider to be a 3D evolution of Prince of Persia, Another World, and Flashback, so the 2D handheld version continued with similar actions and mechanics. As the workload increased, Fergus Duggan, Paschal McGuire, and others joined the project: Duggan handled background art, Charlesworth focused on creating Lara, enemies, and animations, while Lee Pullen assisted the team in depicting action within the low-resolution constraints.
The game took about a year to complete and was ultimately published by THQ. Charlesworth stated that the game received at least one perfect 10 score from a Game Boy-focused print magazine, but after the magazine noticed its ranking was higher than Pokémon and The Legend of Zelda, they retroactively lowered the score several issues later. This account comes from the developer's personal recollection; the name of the magazine and the original score page have not been made public.