Tomba!

Overview

Tomba! (originally released as Tombi! in Europe) is an action-adventure platforming game by Whoopee Camp for the PlayStation. Players take control of the pink-haired, primal Tomba on his quest to rid his land of the Evil Koma Pigs, which have mutated and warped the landscape and nature. At its core, Tomba! is an 2D platformer, but it differentiates itself from other 2D side-scrollers by having multiple planes, RPG puzzle solving, and 130 quests guided a unique missions system that reduces the game's linearity. The game was a critical success, but did not sell very well; it is regarded as a cult classic nonetheless.

It was subsequently re-released via PlayStation Network in Japan in 2011 and in North America and Europe in 2012 (the latter being based in the US PlayStation version, hence retaining the original name “Tomba!”, unlike previous European releases), as a part of the “PS One Classics” line – a version which was ultimately compatible with PS3, PSP, and PS Vita.

Gameplay

A lot of the gameplay in Tomba! is that of taking missions from NPC's around the world and completing them. Over the course of the game players will do battle with a variety of enemy but the majority of the game will be spent fighting evil pigs. The most basic pig is the pink pig where all they have that can hurt you is a lousy old pitchfork, but later players will run into different types of pigs which can shoot fire, ice, and other elements. The fighting isn't all that complex, as players can just simply jump on an enemy's head and then that will make Tomba grab the pig. Once players have grabbed the pig they simply hit the jump button again to throw the pig, killing it.

Story

Tomba is a eccentric young jungle child from a mysterious island. The Island that Tomba lives on has been invaded by The Koma Pigs and their evil pig followers. Using their magical powers, they transform Tomba's lands into a bizarre landscape. In the Opening for the game. Tomba attacks a number of evil pigs that are raiding a near by man's buggy. Tomba is knocked out during the scuffle and the pigs steal his Grandpa's gold bracelet.

Tomba sets out on a quest to retrieve the bracelet, which requires vanquishing the 7 Evil Koma Pigs leaders. Trapping them involves finding Evil Pig Bags, keys to entering each realm of each Evil Pig. When Tomba confronts an Evil Pig, he can throw and seal them into their Evil Pig Bag. Along the way Tomba will help the other inhabitants of his island fight against the evil swine invaders to receive Evil Pig Bags and other key items. Some side-missions are purely for fun and irrelevant to the Evil Pigs storyline.

Reception

Even though Tomba! was received well by critics, it did not do well in sales. It never even reached Sony's Greatest Hits status. However it did gain a sequel, Tomba! 2: The Evil Swine, but Whoopee shortly went out of business afterwards.

Backwards Compatibility Issues Legacy and PSN Re-Release

Although many players enjoyed Tomba when it first came out, many gamers have been unable to properly play it since the original release. When the PlayStation 2 first came out, it was announced that it had complete backwards compatibility. All PlayStation 1 games were suppose to be playable on the new console. Later in its release, the PS2 was revealed to not be completely backwards compatible in that it could not play the original Tomba!. The problem was never fixed. The problem carried over to the PlayStation 3 as well.

Due to legal issues surrounding the property, re-releases, reboots, or sequels proved troublesome. It was thought that the rights to Tomba! may be in legal turmoil forever, but in May 2012 MonkeyPaw Games announced that they had successfully acquired the rights to re-release the original Tomba! on PSN, and they did on June 19, 2012 in the US for $9.99.