Tomba! is a game I didn't even know existed until a few years ago when a friend was lamenting this loss of his copy, having lent it many years earlier to a friend who never returned it. Great game, it turns out. I both understand why my friend would be so upset about losing it, but also why his ex-friend would be so inclined to steal it from him.
Tokuro Fujiwara of Ghosts N' Goblins fame was both the director and art designer on Tomba!, which probably explains both why it feels so good to play and why it's so great to look at. The titular Tomba has a very particular way of moving, a specific gravity to him, which gives platforming a well defined feeling. Similar to Ghosts N' Goblins, it feels as if a lot of consideration and care was put in to designing how Tomba control. If I jump as Tomba I know where I'm going to land, and that's the key to making any platformer feel good. The character designs are equally as great, and the 2D sprites that depict them compliment the vibrant 3D environments they're set in perfectly.
Tomba! has an interesting structure to it, being primarily built around completing individual missions and earning points which can be cashed in for items, upgrades, and to advance the story. A sizeable amount of these missions are optional, you only need so many to complete the game, and this in turn provides the player with quite a bit of freedom in how they want to take on the adventure. Puzzle-platformers can be pretty hit-or-miss with me, but I really liked figuring out some of the missions in Tomba!, and looping around to previously explored locations while chipping away at them never felt tedious or frustrating like they might in other games.
It also has the distinction of being the only game I've played that actually made my Raspberry Pi overheat, which is... interesting. I'm curious how exactly the game is rendering its characters and environments and if something about that process just isn't optimized. I also experienced quite a bit of slowdown which might not be present if played on actual hardware. I am curious how well the game runs in other emulation environments, but have yet to test it on my Pi 4.
Really though, it's a testament to how fun Tomba! is that I was not only willing to push through bouts of slowdown and having to let my Pi cool down but had a pretty damn good time despite it. It's a shame this series was so short lived, but poor sales of both Tomba! and it's sequel put Whoopee Camp under pretty quickly. Then again, considering how "good" Tomba 2 is...
Tokuro Fujiwara of Ghosts N' Goblins fame was both the director and art designer on Tomba!, which probably explains both why it feels so good to play and why it's so great to look at. The titular Tomba has a very particular way of moving, a specific gravity to him, which gives platforming a well defined feeling. Similar to Ghosts N' Goblins, it feels as if a lot of consideration and care was put in to designing how Tomba control. If I jump as Tomba I know where I'm going to land, and that's the key to making any platformer feel good. The character designs are equally as great, and the 2D sprites that depict them compliment the vibrant 3D environments they're set in perfectly.
Tomba! has an interesting structure to it, being primarily built around completing individual missions and earning points which can be cashed in for items, upgrades, and to advance the story. A sizeable amount of these missions are optional, you only need so many to complete the game, and this in turn provides the player with quite a bit of freedom in how they want to take on the adventure. Puzzle-platformers can be pretty hit-or-miss with me, but I really liked figuring out some of the missions in Tomba!, and looping around to previously explored locations while chipping away at them never felt tedious or frustrating like they might in other games.
It also has the distinction of being the only game I've played that actually made my Raspberry Pi overheat, which is... interesting. I'm curious how exactly the game is rendering its characters and environments and if something about that process just isn't optimized. I also experienced quite a bit of slowdown which might not be present if played on actual hardware. I am curious how well the game runs in other emulation environments, but have yet to test it on my Pi 4.
Really though, it's a testament to how fun Tomba! is that I was not only willing to push through bouts of slowdown and having to let my Pi cool down but had a pretty damn good time despite it. It's a shame this series was so short lived, but poor sales of both Tomba! and it's sequel put Whoopee Camp under pretty quickly. Then again, considering how "good" Tomba 2 is...
One of my favorite overlooked PSOne games of all time. From the lovingly animated opening, to the charming 2.5D platforming nature of it, Tomba! is a very cozy game for me. If you know what you're doing, the game will probably only take you 2-3 days max, but people new to the game will probably spend at least a week finding out where to go and how to find side quests, additional items, etc. The biggest downside to the game has to be it's completely underwhelming boss battles. The Evil Swine you're tasked with defeating have fun personalities for the brief time you meet them before a battle, but never appear again after they're defeated. It would have been nice if maybe they had cutscenes where they taunt you in their area which their located, but I understand the team being limited by only so much they could for their first outing on the PlayStation. Overall, if you've never played Tomba! before, I'd definitely suggest giving it a try. I just wish it was more widely available on more current gem systems instead of having to find a PSOne copy of it , or dig up your old PSP/Vita/3 to get it off of PSN. Come on Sony, it can't be that hard to get PSOne games running on the 4 & 5!
One of my fave games of all time and also one of the most forgotten besides people quoting the dumb GDQ memes revolving around Tomba 2. I loved this game so much I beat it in like a week and immediately played through the entire thing again. Just go listen to "The Village of All Beginnings" and tell me you aren't instantly charmed.
I was not ready for how good this game is.
How I wish I liked this game, the characters are very charismatic, the world is very alive, and the music is very pleasant, but the game is very frustrating in several moments with blind jumps, some enemies that don't give you enough time to react, and the open map doesn't work very well in a more "linear" 2D platform game like this, but what really bothered me a lot was the lives' system, the extra lives don't respawn, and the game saves the exact amount of lives you had at the time, so if you saved the game with 0 lives, be prepared to see the title screen and load the save multiple lives, because when this game has no mercy, it REALLY has no mercy. Maybe in the future I'll give this game a second chance, because I feel like it's a game that really deserves it, and maybe it was Skill Issue on my part, but I didn't find the controls and the gameplay fun enough for me to keep playing it.
Evil pigs, giant eggs, farting flowers, butterflies, mushrooms, a hungry monkey, a lost dwarf child, a thousand year-old wise man and a pink-haired feral boy. Yes, Tomba! may not be your average game but it’s certainly an overlooked gem.
https://blog.gingerbeardman.com/2010/10/21/tomba/
https://blog.gingerbeardman.com/2010/10/21/tomba/
cute lil thang. the debate (is it toom-ba or tom-ba) rages on
Decent enough platformer with an open world idea that fairly quickly devolves in backtracking. Thankfully Tomba! (Tombi! for us PAL fans) isn't that massive to begin with, eliminating most issues; not only that, there are many passages between levels that really give the impression of a three dimensional world (is this an idea that will be used later? Tomba! 2 fans rejoice).
In short, Tomba! is a fun little game with a charismatic gremlin as a protagonist and many, many, many small quests to give us busy work. It was and still is very original and worth checking out, but some quests will give you an headache (I'm still laughing that in order to get the golden medal in the race, you literally have to do JUST PRESS RIGHT).
In short, Tomba! is a fun little game with a charismatic gremlin as a protagonist and many, many, many small quests to give us busy work. It was and still is very original and worth checking out, but some quests will give you an headache (I'm still laughing that in order to get the golden medal in the race, you literally have to do JUST PRESS RIGHT).
Una leyenda del plataformeo de PS1. Con una jugabilidad fantástica, un apartado visual precioso y una banda sonora que aún sigo recordando y tarareando de vez en cuando.
Un grandísimo juego con una secuela mediocre que hundió la franquicia.
Un grandísimo juego con una secuela mediocre que hundió la franquicia.
Overrated platform by PlayStation nostalgia fanboys. I'll return to finish it one day, but I liked Klonoa much better, just to name one.
I am kinda ashamed to say it because I LOVE the aesthetic of 90s wild wacky anime prehistoric boys.
I am kinda ashamed to say it because I LOVE the aesthetic of 90s wild wacky anime prehistoric boys.
This game is a serious challenge of wits compared with the second one. I didn't know that the director is Tokuro Fujiwara ( Ghost's n, Goblins) until I reached the windy and lava areas.
The game doesn't tell you anything and throws you into the game with some lives, if you lose all of them it's absolute game over and either start a fresh one or load a game, hopefully with some lives because you will need some later.
Platforming is beetwen standard and hell, the windy mountain and the lava cave is the hardest part of the game and to a lesser extent the jungle.
About puzzles, there's nothing really hard but I would like to know where I can get the events page, aside the others, because only items page is available at the beggining.
The game doesn't tell you anything and throws you into the game with some lives, if you lose all of them it's absolute game over and either start a fresh one or load a game, hopefully with some lives because you will need some later.
Platforming is beetwen standard and hell, the windy mountain and the lava cave is the hardest part of the game and to a lesser extent the jungle.
About puzzles, there's nothing really hard but I would like to know where I can get the events page, aside the others, because only items page is available at the beggining.
Very sad I didn't enjoy this as it actually seems to have some things going for it.
Being a big fan of Klonoa I had always heard about this game but never played it until now and yeah I definitely get the hype
If I want to imagine really hard a perfect action adventure game I can just think of this game instead and save on some brain power
De los mejores juegos de la PSX y punto.
It's neat but rough around some edges game-design wise. It's an open exploratory platformer, more similar to a Westone title than the typical Metroidvania type of game you'd expect from that kind of genre. It's basically a much expanded take on the Monster Land series. The basic progression is composed of exploring the world to find various tasks and quests that need to be done, and figuring out where to go and how to do them. The levels have depth in them, allowing you to jump in and out of various layers of the foreground and background to explore, giving it a bit of a 2.5D feel (though it's certainly no klonoa visually). The controls feel really tight, the plot doesn't take itself very seriously, the visuals are that colorful pre-rendered silicon graphics ass vibe that we are sorely missing in this day and age, and the soundtrack is funny with its doofy MIDI samples.
Unfortunately there are some major gripes I did have with this game. The biggest problem of all is that despite the fact that this game goes for an explorative "search all the levels for the objectives and secrets" approach to its game structure, there is still a system of limited lives put into the game. Running out of lives just hucks you back to the title screen where you need to reload your last save like most games, but saving in this game also saves the amount of lives you currently have, so saving with a low life count puts you at significantly higher risk for losing progress if you mess up. Couple that with the fact that some areas in the game have bottomless pits that kill you instantly and a problem kinda arises. The conflict between the game structure that wants you to search every aspect of the map and the life system punishing potential leaps of faith/adventurous ideas makes the game feel at ends with itself. I did eventually find a workaround, as save points are quite frequent and saving/loading doesn't take that long. I basically saved my game at every save point like they are level checkpoints, and if i died, I loaded my save back up before the death jingle could finish playing so I didn't lose anything. An inelegant solution, but it worked. My only other problem would be that sometimes the game doesn't really give you a very solid sense of direction/where to go/what to do, but that's kinda the nature of these sorts of games. The map doesn't really help, and all the game really gives for direction is like one-sentence descriptions for each objective that usually don't say much. If you are a kid with endless free time playing this though, that's no issue, but if you are a busy person like me I'd def rec using a guide.
It's a super interesting game for sure and I understand its cult status among PS1 fans. I'd suggest giving it a shot if you like exploratory action games, but it's not one of my personal favorites.
Unfortunately there are some major gripes I did have with this game. The biggest problem of all is that despite the fact that this game goes for an explorative "search all the levels for the objectives and secrets" approach to its game structure, there is still a system of limited lives put into the game. Running out of lives just hucks you back to the title screen where you need to reload your last save like most games, but saving in this game also saves the amount of lives you currently have, so saving with a low life count puts you at significantly higher risk for losing progress if you mess up. Couple that with the fact that some areas in the game have bottomless pits that kill you instantly and a problem kinda arises. The conflict between the game structure that wants you to search every aspect of the map and the life system punishing potential leaps of faith/adventurous ideas makes the game feel at ends with itself. I did eventually find a workaround, as save points are quite frequent and saving/loading doesn't take that long. I basically saved my game at every save point like they are level checkpoints, and if i died, I loaded my save back up before the death jingle could finish playing so I didn't lose anything. An inelegant solution, but it worked. My only other problem would be that sometimes the game doesn't really give you a very solid sense of direction/where to go/what to do, but that's kinda the nature of these sorts of games. The map doesn't really help, and all the game really gives for direction is like one-sentence descriptions for each objective that usually don't say much. If you are a kid with endless free time playing this though, that's no issue, but if you are a busy person like me I'd def rec using a guide.
It's a super interesting game for sure and I understand its cult status among PS1 fans. I'd suggest giving it a shot if you like exploratory action games, but it's not one of my personal favorites.
PS 1 classic. More down to the ground than Tomba! 2
But has its own climate, tons of side-quest and great ideas for locations. It brings back times that when they tried to make bugless game with tons of content like tommorow was end of the world.
But has its own climate, tons of side-quest and great ideas for locations. It brings back times that when they tried to make bugless game with tons of content like tommorow was end of the world.
Super novel concept and gameplay, but platforming is a bit jank and has frustrating sections.
A strange one. I love these early games that try to figure out how to play with a new medium (PS1/3D graphics) and sometimes stumble into brilliance and sometimes completely miss the mark. You get a good amount of both with Tomba, but the things they got right are more memorable than what they got wrong.
The event system is odd by today's standards but honestly I wonder why it never caught on. I was always happy to see another event message pop up and completing another event for the list was just as satisfying. Sometimes the event names/descriptions really hung you up to dry, and without using a guide it can be frustrating to run into the right NPC or small room to progress the game.
I really liked this game despite it's flaws and am looking forwards to playing the sequel;
The event system is odd by today's standards but honestly I wonder why it never caught on. I was always happy to see another event message pop up and completing another event for the list was just as satisfying. Sometimes the event names/descriptions really hung you up to dry, and without using a guide it can be frustrating to run into the right NPC or small room to progress the game.
I really liked this game despite it's flaws and am looking forwards to playing the sequel;
This game, and its sequel, are key childhood games for me. Having recently played some of it again, I can tell you it still holds up. It's a very unique platforming, with a very charming aesthetic. Can't really think of anything that plays quite like it, with metroidvanias coming closest but that may be a bit of stretch from me. Forgotten gem.
Exceptionally weird for a platformer - to the point where it can be a bit of a turn-off, initially. But if you give yourself a while to feel out its rhythms and get used to the overwhelming oddness of the movement, platforming, level design, quest design, character design, menus, etc., it's actually quite a compelling little adventure.
Feels a bit like a game made by aliens, but hey, different is good! That said, there were probably better ways to do some of the stuff in here, lol.
Feels a bit like a game made by aliens, but hey, different is good! That said, there were probably better ways to do some of the stuff in here, lol.
As a kid I obsessed over this game, but only had the demo. That snippet was enough to captivate me for YEARS. I loved the humour, the inventive characters, design, and quests, and the jaunty music that went along with it. The evil pig bags are always on my mind.
Que nostalgia! Lembro de jogar bastante quando criança, agora finalmente pude rejogar essa maravilha e cara....apenas joguem, ele tem elementos de RPG, com missões e tal, mas com uma aparência de jogos de plataforma 2d, os gráficos são lindos até hoje.
I BARELY remember playing this. I came across the disc years later and was like... oh yeah I totally played this for a very insignificant amount of time. All I remember is wishing I was playing Mario or Crash instead. LOL
It's honestly fun, but waaay too hard man for my kid self
Evil pigs with a lust for gold have taken over the world and it’s up to you, Tomba, to help restore it.
Tomba! is a non-linear platform adventure game, which is a joy to explore as it’s littered with hidden secrets, interconnected levels and abundant puzzles. The backtracking was a pain at first, but later on resolved by a very special flying friend. It’s a little gem of a game.
Tomba! is a non-linear platform adventure game, which is a joy to explore as it’s littered with hidden secrets, interconnected levels and abundant puzzles. The backtracking was a pain at first, but later on resolved by a very special flying friend. It’s a little gem of a game.
Like a lot of other people, I was very surprised by how much I ended up liking this game. It's a top 10 PS1 game.
Another game that I liked a lot that I never got around to playing the sequel of. Somewhat similar to Astro Boy in that it combines platforming with adventure game elements. Hard to find many parallels with this in modern games.
This game is legitimately hilarious and has tons of creativity. Sometimes it’s really fun to play but there’s also a lot of repetition to get through which gets old fast.
Desafio dos 1001 plataformers (1/1001)
Como conheci: eu joguei a demo desse jogo num desses CDs de demonstração do Playstation. Gostei bastante e decidi comprar o jogo completo.
Gráficos: 3/5
A maioria são sprites, que mais parecem feitos de papel. Mas são bonitos e coloridos, e mesmo a parte 3D também é bem feita pra época.
Som: 3/5
A trilha sonora é bem decente, não é das mais memoráveis mas é bem boazinha. O trabalho com os sons também e legal.
Destaque: The Mermaid's Singing Rock - essa música é bem bonita
Jogabilidade: 4/5
Os controles são bem responsivos, tem uma evolução muito boa em relação às armas e às roupas. Usar os ítens é relativamente fácil também, e o jogo tem um backtracking bem bacana que aumenta o fator replay.
Item destaque: o Baron é muito, mas MUITO ÚTIL no backtracking.
Diversão: 5/5
O jogo é bem divertido, tanto nas missões principais quanto nas secundárias. Apesar de bem difícil em alguns momentos (principalmente naquela maldita floresta dos cogumelos), sua dificuldade é bem justa.
Carisma do mascote: o Tomba tem um design bem marcante com seu cabelo rosa. Apesar dos jogos de plataforma serem apinhados de homens das cavernas, ele é bem característico e carismático com seu estilo anime.
Como conheci: eu joguei a demo desse jogo num desses CDs de demonstração do Playstation. Gostei bastante e decidi comprar o jogo completo.
Gráficos: 3/5
A maioria são sprites, que mais parecem feitos de papel. Mas são bonitos e coloridos, e mesmo a parte 3D também é bem feita pra época.
Som: 3/5
A trilha sonora é bem decente, não é das mais memoráveis mas é bem boazinha. O trabalho com os sons também e legal.
Destaque: The Mermaid's Singing Rock - essa música é bem bonita
Jogabilidade: 4/5
Os controles são bem responsivos, tem uma evolução muito boa em relação às armas e às roupas. Usar os ítens é relativamente fácil também, e o jogo tem um backtracking bem bacana que aumenta o fator replay.
Item destaque: o Baron é muito, mas MUITO ÚTIL no backtracking.
Diversão: 5/5
O jogo é bem divertido, tanto nas missões principais quanto nas secundárias. Apesar de bem difícil em alguns momentos (principalmente naquela maldita floresta dos cogumelos), sua dificuldade é bem justa.
Carisma do mascote: o Tomba tem um design bem marcante com seu cabelo rosa. Apesar dos jogos de plataforma serem apinhados de homens das cavernas, ele é bem característico e carismático com seu estilo anime.