Well, Tombat! is a Metroidvania about a chirpy, pink-haired jungle boy and is a game that is perfectly representative of its era when the transition from 2D to 3D was underway. Tomba doesn’t just move left and right, but also makes use of transition angles that shift perspective. This may seem like a gimmick, but it holds up surprisingly well today.
Tomba is fighting against a gang of evil pigs and interacts with his world in two ways, either by stuffing random objects into his pockets and mouth or by biting things and people. It is simple, yes, but when combined with the Metroidvania aspects, it manages to be something special. Tomba will do various quests that sees you needed to take him back and forth through various areas, and you will find new power ups, equipment and abilities that will let you move on to new areas. What makes things stand out though, is the off-beat nature of the game, like Tomba storing birds in his stomach to keep them safe.
It needs to be said that this is a great remaster of Tomba! and the game’s visuals shine bright here, along with the excellent music thanks to the Carbon Engine used by Limited Run Games for its reissues. A number of quality of life feeatures have been added as well, such as save states, a rewind feature, and a CRT filter for those who want to recapture the old look of the game. It is things like this that make this re-release of Tomba! stand out well, and that is not all of it. And to comment more on the music, the soundtrack is fully remastered here and there are even new contributions added from Tee Lopes, known for working on Sonic Mania, Shredder’s Revenge and the upcoming Metal Slug Tactics.
This re-release also includes a great amount of bonus materials, almost like something out of a Digital Eclipse release. Foe instance, there is high-res box art from multiple regions, full scans of instruction manuals as well as a collection of art and level design documents. There is even the inclusion of an old TV commercial for good measure as well, but the highlight is the new interview with the creators of Tomba! who give insight int the design of the game, its genesis and why it is what it is.
