So, who remembers Tomba!? Also referred to as Tombi! in Europe, it was a distinctly Japanese platformer that charmed many a PS1 participant all the best way again in 1997. Usually weird however nearly at all times shiny and cheery, Tomba! supplied one thing very totally different to the style’s blockbusters, like Crash Bandicoot or Spyro. It was a curious mix of sprite-based, 2D platforming and layered 3D environments. It even had RPG components.
The sport at all times deserved one other crack at discovering a wider viewers, and so we’re delighted that Tomba! Special Edition exists. It is a port that comes geared up with a few key fashionable conveniences: the power to save lots of anyplace, and a rewind possibility. Within the unique launch, saving may solely be accomplished at signposts scattered all through the title’s interconnected environments, and really discovering them may turn into one thing of a chore — particularly should you have been in a rush to set the controller down.
For sure, these new options can spare you from rather a lot of potential frustration. Tomba! is not a very laborious recreation, but it surely can be surprisingly tough — and a bit of tedious at occasions. As talked about, the journey is ready throughout an internet of interconnected areas, and so there’s fairly a little bit of backtracking so as to entry beforehand unreachable places, or to complete off a quest.
Yep, Tomba!’s bought quests. The pink-haired protagonist runs right into a bunch of bizarre characters on his travels, and generally, they’re going to cough up a job, and a subsequent reward once you’re accomplished. From discovering misplaced canine to fixing unusual riddles, the sport’s world is filled with daft little storylines. The one downside is that really retaining observe of your present aims may be troublesome. There is a quest checklist and a map, however you may nonetheless want to recollect who requested for what and the place.
As such, backtracking, full with chatting up each NPC within the neighborhood, can begin to bathroom the expertise down. To be honest, it is not like the sport’s world is particularly sprawling — however you may nonetheless end up having to exhaust each chance once you hit a wall. Was there a hidden quest that you simply missed? A treasure chest with a particular merchandise? Possibly you needed to discuss to that one NPC not as soon as, however a number of occasions? It will get a bit… convoluted from time to time, in typical PS1-era trend.
However even with these annoyances, there is a critical quantity of allure and madcap 90s power that runs throughout Tomba!. It may be an intoxicatingly odd journey that nonetheless feels distinctive shut to a few a long time after its preliminary launch — and that is partly all the way down to the core gameplay, which has, fortunately, stood the take a look at of time.
The platforming’s a satisfyingly tactile mixture of leaping, leaping, and grabbing. Certainly, our shorts-sporting hero can seize absolutely anything — together with his enemies — and he may even clamber up most partitions, which results in some attention-grabbing stage design. You are additionally afforded a number of directional management throughout a soar, and though the sensitivity can take a bit of getting used to, it provides a sort of skill-based edge to Tomba! that is not essentially current in comparable titles.
It simply feels persistently enjoyable to play when you’re within the zone, pouncing from ledge to ledge, swinging on branches, and chucking evil pigs throughout the display screen. What’s extra, the journey would not outstay its welcome, clocking in at round 7 hours — in all probability much less should you make common use of the aforementioned rewind system.
The efficiency can be just about flawless on PS5, as you’d rightfully count on. Though having mentioned that, the port does throw up some surprisingly lengthy load occasions when coming into sure places. Do not get us incorrect, the pig-themed load screens are joyous, however the lengthier breaks could be a tad jarring.
Conclusion
Tomba! remains to be a bizarre and largely fantastic little platformer, full of character and allure from starting to finish. A few of its extra convoluted design components can frustrate, and the backtracking’s a little bit of a slog at occasions, however the core, grab-happy gameplay stays satisfyingly enjoyable. And, with the addition of limitless saves and a rewind operate, it is laborious to not respect and revel in this revived PS1 oddity.