Overview – originally developed by Woopee Camp and brought to modern platforms by Limited Run Games, Tomba! Special Edition (called Tombi! In Europe) is a 2.5D exploration platformer from the original PlayStation. Take on the threat of the Evil Pigs and save your home land from them in this colourful adventure. This title is available on Steam, PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch, with a link to each version of the game at the bottom of this review.
Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank Limited Run games for providing the copy of Tomba! Special Edition that was used for this piece, via the Keymailer service. The provision of this software has not influenced the contents of this review, all thoughts and opinions contained within are my own.
Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review, starting with the story. I will only be covering the core mechanics of Tomba!, as I do not want to spoil any of the secrets and surprises the game has for players.
Story – in an uncharted archipelago, a group known as the Seven Evil Pigs invaded and tarnished this once peaceful land. Their minions, the Koma Pigs terrorise the residents of the islands with their pranks and evil deeds. Several years later, a wild boy named Tomba encounters a group of Koma Pigs, who steal the golden bracelet that was handed down to him. Tomba Pursues them to a nearby village, where the adventure begins.
Gameplay – Tomba!, is a 2.5D adventure that has a metroidvania style of play, where the player must travel across the island on a quest to get back his bracelet from the pigs. The game plays out mostly in a side scrolling style of play, where Tomba can run, jump and use a variety of weapons on their adventure. At set points in the game, the player will also encounter villages and even a maze, which play out in a top down/isometric perspective.
There will also be enemies that appear throughout the game, which can be jumped on and thrown to defeat them, giving points for defeating most of them. The enemies may also be stunned and defeated with weapons, but not all of them can be dealt with this way. If Tomba makes contact with these enemies, or the many hazards that are spread across the islands he will take damage. If enough damage is taken, Tomba will lose a life.
Tomba has a limited number of lives at the start, but as players make their way through the game, more lives can be earned. But it is very important not to be reckless, as there are some instant death pits which will take a life immediately. If all of Tomba’s lives are lost, the game will be over and the player will be sent back to a previous save point, or from the beginning of the game. So it is important to save the game often.
Defeating different enemies will give the player experience points, which leads into the simple RPG system that the game uses. When Tomba earns experience points, they will level up one of three skills, separated by different colors. Once the level for the three skills reaches the maximum level, a new skill can be learned, but they have set unlock requirements. As the enemies that provide experience give one point each, it can take a while to reach max level.
Experience isn’t the only type of points that can be earned during play, there is also the Adventure Points, called AP in game. These points are earned by defeating enemies, performing specific actions and by clearing events (discussed further below). These points are used as a form of progression, with different boxes, chests and even events being locked behind these points. The accumulated points are displayed in the top right corner of the screen.
Now onto events, which are the quest objectives that players must clear to progress through the game. Events are often started after interacting with NPC characters or items, adding them to the event log. The types of events range from finding a specific item, delivering something to another NPC and even escort missions, carrying the target to a set location. These objectives provide AP for completing them.
Completing specific event objectives can unlock new skills for Tomba, including the ability to run faster on all fours. There are also items that can be obtained while completing events, like a bell that will take you to a safe zone, new weapons and much more. These items can also be used in to complete future events, making them very useful. The events and items can be viewed from the in game menu, with the ability to pursue multiple objectives at once.
There is a mostly non-linear approach to quests, as players can progress several in any order they wish. This works well in tandem with the exploration system that the game uses. While most of the game follows the traditional side scrolling style, there are several areas where Tomba can jump between the background and foreground. This allows for secrets to be hidden in the scenery, as well as the ability to have multiple paths in a single location.
This open exploration system allows players to approach the game at their own pace, freely moving within the limits imposed by the game. There are also some paths that will loop around to other areas, giving the world an interconnected feeling. This relatively small open world can be confusing to navigate, but thankfully there is a map that players can use. The map will fill out over time, showing different areas that have been discovered during the adventure.
The last thing to discuss is the new features, including various quality of life improvements that have been made. This new release of Tomba!, has the ability to freely save and load wherever the player wants to, alongside a rewind feature that lets players undo mistakes. Then there is the museum, where various documents and videos of the game’s development can be found. To round it out, there is also a music player, that lets players freely listen to the soundtrack.
Now with the gameplay covered, it is time to cover the other aspects of this release, starting with the controls.
Controls – as this was originally a PlayStation title, the controls have been carried over in a 1 to 1 manner. However, this causes a little confusion on the Nintendo switch, as buttons like A and B have their functions reversed, with B going forward and A going back. Aside from this minor hiccup, the game plays relatively comfortably with any controller on the switch. There is no issue in terms of lag or delay, which makes the game feel snappy and responsive.
Difficulty – this is a challenging title that can get pretty tough, as there are many traps and enemy spawns that can kill if players are not careful. There are also areas where difficulty can feel a little unfair, especially in areas with pits or hazards. This is due to the knock back when taking damage, which will send the player flying back potentially killing them if they fall into a pit. Luckily the rewind and free save systems that have been added can lessen this difficulty.
Presentation – as a PlayStation game, the visuals are a mix of 3d models and 2D sprites, which was the style of the time. These carried over to the switch quite well, with a smooth frame rate, the ability to add filters to the visuals and multiple screen size options. The animations have been remastered but the intro is sadly cropped. The music has also been remastered, with new mixes of the music, but the original soundtrack is available as a bonus.
Final Thoughts – I played a part of Tomba! way back on the PlayStation through demo discs, which I had a lot of fun with. This made the announcement of it coming to new platforms a welcome surprise. I very much enjoyed my time with this game, exploring the world and completing the objectives. Some of the areas felt a little unfair due to knock back and pits, but it didn’t sour my experience too much to make me stop playing.
This release is perfect for players who want to return to the game, or have seen it but not had a chance to play it. The addition of the rewind and free save, along with the museum and music player make this the definitive way to play Tomba!. However, the game itself is not without its issues. There are some cryptic mission objectives, along with some areas where the difficulty will spike and punish the player, which can be of significant frustration to players.
In the end, I give Tomba! Special Edition a final score of 4/5. This is a very good emulation of a classic, through the power of the Carbon Engine, offering an authentic and challenging experience with some new features for modern systems. The addition of development materials is the cherry on top. If you want to check this title out for yourself, a link to each version of the game will be below.
Link to Nintendo Switch version (HERE)
Link to PlayStation 5 version (HERE)
Link to Steam version (HERE)
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