Tomba! Special Edition Review – WGB

My first experience with Tomba! (Also known as Tombi!) From the demo disc posted on the front of the official PlayStation magazine. What I found on that disc was a strange hodgepodge of genres and ideas, all compressed into a strange mess. But this is my Tomb! The adventure is over. I’ve never played the full game. Come 2024, Limited Run Games announces Tomba! Special Edition, a new version of Whoopee Camp’s 1997 platformer/RPG/adventure game. Let’s take a jog down memory lane, shall we?

First, let’s find out what this special edition is. If you were hoping for updated graphics or other major changes then I’ve got some bad news: visually and mechanically this is almost exactly the same game that released on PS1 in 1997. I say almost because the emulator is actually upscaling the game a little Bit.

But something useful has been added, namely a handy rewind feature that lets you jump back in time, much like the recently released Sly Cooper on PlayStation. This is a great addition, especially in a game like this where the platforming requires a level of precision that the controls don’t always provide. Now you can also save your game at any time, not just at a set point. Again, a great addition. The music has also been remastered, but you can swap back to the original music. You can also choose to play the game in several different ratios, including stretching it to 16:9. I’d recommend sticking to 4:3 though, as it looks weird otherwise.

There are also some cool extras included in this set. There’s an interview with creator Tokuro Fujiwara, as well as a museum with never-before-seen developer notes, original packaging, game manuals, and more.

If these changes, or lack thereof, don’t feel like they justify the £20 price tag, then… well, yeah, I get it. For some, Tomba is entertainment! There aren’t any major changes or tweaks on modern consoles Exactly what they want – a way to play games as intended For others, paying £20 for emulated versions of PS1 games is too much to ask, especially when you’re Sony yourself Classic games are currently being released at lower prices.

game itself

grave! Very strange. There’s no other way to describe it. Even in the PS1 era, weird things were commonplace, Tombi! was Weird. It combines 2D and 3D, side quests, RPG-style upgrades, and many other elements into a unique package. It was conceived by Tokuro Fujiwara, who left Capcom in 1995 to form Whoopee Camp. He sought to create a less difficult game than what he was known for, choosing the platformer genre for its relatively simple nature.

As the titular cave child with inexplicably pink hair (which everyone loves to comment on), you are robbed one day by a gang of evil pigs. As if their beatings weren’t insulting enough, the pigs also steal Tomba’s grandfather’s bracelet. They robbed it with their ill-gotten gains. Angry at this turn of events, Tomba followed them to a nearby village, where he was told to find the 100-year-old wise man. The wizened old man tells Tomba the story of seven evil pigs who came to power. Their subordinate Koma Pig stole Tomba’s bracelet because they were hoarding gold for some nefarious reason. To retrieve his grandfather’s heirloom, Tomba will need to travel the land, kick some pig butts, and ultimately use a magical pig bag to discover where the evil pig lurks.

This brief plot summary is just the beginning of the game’s weirdness.

Tomba! It’s primarily a platformer, albeit a very floating one. Tomba has great leg muscles, as he can leap into the air after snorting cocaine like Tigger from Winnie the Pooh, and he has a fair degree of control even in the air. He can sometimes spin around the pole and even jump back and forth on different 2D planes from time to time. It was a clever design that brought a sense of depth to the world that other 2D platformers at the time lacked.

Various enemies will jump on them and be bitten by Yuba. Click the button again and Tomba will easily throw the enemy away. But if jumping on them doesn’t work, Tomba also has a handy throwing weapon that he can also throw a few feet in front of him.

For the most part, the game doesn’t require the player to be too precise, but there are a few sequences that require you to land on small ledges that are very frustrating. Tomba’s aerial control took some getting used to, and a decidedly inconsistent strike zone didn’t help matters.

These weren’t the only frustrating moments. Tomba! It’s a product of its era, including some puzzling PS1-era designs. The world is laid out with a hint of Metroidvania, often having you stumbling across locations with new items or abilities that will hopefully allow you to progress. I don’t mind admitting that I opened up some old walkthroughs to figure out what I needed to do next. Maybe I’m just getting older and softer and used to modern games that subtly (and sometimes, not so subtly) point you in the right direction. Tumba! It’s great to let you indulge in your own silliness, and sometimes the game’s silliness.

There were a few sequences that were so annoying that they almost made me stop playing. One section of the world involves using special mushrooms to make Tomba laugh or cry, but when they’re active they prevent you from using your boomerang, and also activate randomly, leading to a bunch of annoying deaths. The key is to find regular mushrooms that heal Tomba, but when you’re going back and forth between special doors and characters that need Tomba to express those emotions, dying can be very annoying because Tomba will randomly run forward while crying.

Some of the confusion stems from the game’s interesting design. It’s all based on non-linear “events” that serve as tasks. Some are optional and some are required to move the story forward. Almost all of this boils down to finding a specific object. Keeping track of all of this can be confusing at times, but it can be satisfying to finally figure out what you need to do. As you complete these small tasks, Tomba will earn points that can be used to unlock new abilities, such as swimming. This is a fun role-playing game.

So far I sound a bit negative about Tomba! Special Edition, so let me clarify – this is an old game and I have a hard time going back in time like this sometimes. But that doesn’t stop the game’s quirky charm. Even now, in 2024, it still feels unique. There’s nothing like it and it makes me eager to try Tomba! From what I can reliably know, 2 is a better game. The good news is that Tomba 2 has been confirmed to get the same treatment.

In the six or seven hours it took to complete the game, I jumped on dwarves’ heads and bit them, learned their language, ate a lot of mushrooms, helped monkeys find their pants, met some old guys, fought evil pigs, and got angry A few times, a few times impressed, and finally a bit confused and helping a village by brewing some wine. Not bad to spend a few hours on.

This is a difficult game to review because it depends a lot on what you expect from this special edition version. This is in many ways a faithful recreation of the original game. Some of the quality of life improvements are great and make the game a lot smoother. However, the lack of graphical upgrades and even faster loading times may be a sticking point for some.

In the end, I enjoyed my time with Tomba! Special Edition. I can’t lie: it feels clunky and awkward, but that’s largely down to my inability to enjoy older games at times. I guess I’ve been spoiled by all the comforts of modern gaming.

But put that aside for now, Yuba! is a fascinating game. It’s weird, it’s quirky, it’s a mix of elements from multiple genres. It’s easy to see why it did so well when it was launched in the ’90s.