''Tomba!'' is a 1997
platform-adventure game developed by Whoopee Camp and published by
Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), formerly known as Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE), is a multinational video game and digital entertainment company wholly owned by multinational conglomerate Sony. The SIE Group is made up of two legal co ...
for the
PlayStation. It was released in Japan in 1997 and in other territories the following year. The game centers on the eponymous
feral child
A feral child (also called wild child) is a young individual who has lived isolated from human contact from a very young age, with little or no experience of human care, social behavior, or language. The term is used to refer to children who h ...
as he attempts to recover his grandfather's bracelet from an evil race of anthropomorphic pigs.
Creator
Tokuro Fujiwara
, sometimes credited as Professor F or Arthur King, is a Japanese video game designer, involved in the development of many classic Capcom video games. He directed early Capcom titles such as the run-and-gun shooter ''Commando'' (1985), the platf ...
developed ''Tomba!'' after leaving
Capcom in 1995, founding Whoopee Camp as director, producer and lead designer. He chose the game's 2D
side-scrolling perspective for the format's straightforward nature, and created a
non-linear "
event
Event may refer to:
Gatherings of people
* Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion
* Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest
* Event management, the organization of e ...
" system to differentiate the game from other platforming titles. ''Tomba!'' was received positively by critics, with praise for its controls, visuals, and varied gameplay objectives. However, the game's audio received a more mixed reception. Despite the game's lackluster commercial performance, it was followed by a sequel in 1999, ''
Tomba! 2: The Evil Swine Return''. ''Tomba!'' maintained a
cult following years after its debut, and was re-released on the
PlayStation Network in 2011.
Gameplay
''Tomba!'' is an
open world Metroidvania
Metroidvania is a sub-genre of platform video games focused on guided non-linearity and utility-gated exploration and progression. The term is a portmanteau of the names of the video game series ''Metroid'' and ''Castlevania'', with games in the ...
game with
RPG elements.
The player controls the titular character Tomba, who must explore his home island, defeat the evil Koma Pigs and recover his grandfather's golden bracelet. Most of the game takes place in a
side-scrolling perspective. However, Tomba can occasionally climb over walls to move between the foreground and background as separate areas. Some areas allow the player to explore them in an
isometric view. Along with the ability to jump, Tomba can attack enemy characters by leaping onto and biting into their back before tossing them in a straightforward trajectory. Tomba can also attack enemies by obtaining various weapons, such as
flails and
boomerang
A boomerang () is a thrown tool, typically constructed with aerofoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight. A returning boomerang is designed to return to the thrower, while a non-returning ...
s. Signposts scattered throughout the environment state how to use the game's controls and abilities,
while a select few can be used to save the player's progress.
When Tomba interacts with a certain character or environmental element, an "
event
Event may refer to:
Gatherings of people
* Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion
* Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest
* Event management, the organization of e ...
" may be initiated, in which Tomba is given a task to accomplish or an obstacle to overcome. Such events may consist of finding a lost item, rescuing a stranded character or clearing a blockade in the imminent path. Upon completing an event, the player is rewarded with "Adventure Points", which can be used to access additional events and unlock specifically-marked chests. Multiple events can be undertaken at once and often do not require being cleared in any specific order. The game features an inventory system that displays the player's current collection of items and events. The game includes a total of 130 events.
The player begins the game with a maximum of four "
vitality points" that are represented as a series of yellow bars on the upper-left corner of the screen. Tomba loses a vitality point if he is hit by an enemy, touches a sharp object, or falls into deep water. Vitality points can be restored by eating fruit. When all vitality points are depleted or if Tomba falls down a bottomless chasm, the player loses a
life
Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...
. If all lives are lost, the game
ends prematurely.
Plot
Years ago on an uncharted
archipelago
An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands.
Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Arc ...
, a group known as the Seven Evil Pigs appeared and used their magical powers to tarnish the land. Their underlings, the Koma Pigs, began terrorizing the populace with their mischievous pranks. Years later, a curious and energetic boy named Tomba diligently protects his grandfather's grave and wears a gold
bracelet
A bracelet is an article of jewellery that is worn around the wrist. Bracelets may serve different uses, such as being worn as an ornament. When worn as ornaments, bracelets may have a supportive function to hold other items of decoration, suc ...
as an heirloom. One day, Tomba's bracelet is stolen following a confrontation with a group of Koma Pigs. He pursues them to a nearby village, where he is directed to the 100-Year-Old Wise Man. The Wise Man tells the story of the Seven Evil Pigs' rise to power, and reveals that the Koma Pigs are stockpiling gold. He advises Tomba to find his bracelet by hunting the seven Evil Pigs hiding throughout the land. He also describes the Evil Pig Bags that could reveal the Pigs' hiding places, and suggests learning more from the Dwarf Elder in the next village. The Dwarf Elder gives Tomba a blue Pig Bag and tells him that the Bags can reveal the entrance to an Evil Pig's hideout if Tomba approaches it. However, he warns that the individual Evil Pigs do not hide in the same area where they have cast their spell. Tomba explores the continent and gathers the rest of the Pig Bags. In the midst of his travels, an older Wise Man informs Tomba that the gold being hoarded by the Seven Evil Pigs is the source of their power. After Tomba captures the Seven Evil Pigs and lifts their spells over the land, an eighth Evil Pig Bag manifests within his possession and reveals the lair of the Evil Pigs' creator and leader, the Real Evil Pig. After defeating the Real Evil Pig in his trove of gold, Tomba recovers his bracelet and leaves it resting upon his grandfather's grave.
Development
''Tomba!'' was created by
Tokuro Fujiwara
, sometimes credited as Professor F or Arthur King, is a Japanese video game designer, involved in the development of many classic Capcom video games. He directed early Capcom titles such as the run-and-gun shooter ''Commando'' (1985), the platf ...
, who left
Capcom in December 1995 after 13 years as an employee. Fujiwara's motivation stemmed from a desire to create new and original games, which he felt he was unable to do within Capcom. Upon exhausting his accumulated vacation days, Fujiwara resigned immediately following the release of ''
Resident Evil
''Resident Evil'', known in Japan as is a Japanese horror game series and media franchise created by Capcom. It consists of survival horror, third-person shooter and first-person shooter games, with players typically surviving in environments ...
''.
Fujiwara soon established the independent development studio Whoopee Camp,
and became the director, producer and lead designer of the studio's debut game ''Tomba!''.
Fujiwara chose to make a side-scrolling game as he believed this fundamental experience would excite players in a straightforward way. To distinguish ''Tomba!'' from other action games, Fujiwara designed a
non-linear event system, as well as Tomba's gradual growth in abilities and resources.
''Tomba!''s score was composed by Fujiwara's longtime Capcom collaborator
Harumi Fujita
is a Japanese composer best known for her work at the video game company Capcom.
Works
References
External links
*
Brave Wave profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fujita, Harumi
1961 births
Capcom people
Japanese composers
Japanese women composer ...
, who eagerly approached Fujiwara for a position upon learning of Whoopee Camp's establishment. The game's Japanese version features the song "Paradise" by Tokyo Channel Q as its opening theme,
and "Que Serã Serã" by Fumitaka Fuchigami as the ending theme.
Release
''Tomba!'' was released in Japan on December 25, 1997. Promotional plush figures of Tomba and a Koma Pig were distributed in limited quantities around the game's original release date.
The figures were also offered as prizes in a
sweepstake
A sweepstake is a type of contest where a prize or prizes may be awarded to a winner or winners. Sweepstakes began as a form of lottery that were tied to products sold. In response, the FCC and FTC refined U.S. broadcasting laws (creating the ...
run by ''
Gamers' Republic'' in 1999.
Though Whoopee Camp retained a close relationship with Capcom, the North American publishing rights for ''Tomba!'' were given to
Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), formerly known as Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE), is a multinational video game and digital entertainment company wholly owned by multinational conglomerate Sony. The SIE Group is made up of two legal co ...
. ''Tomba!'' was released in North America on July 16, 1998 and in Europe on August 28, 1998. The international release was improved, with shorter load times, more responsive controls,
Gouraud shading
Gouraud shading, named after Henri Gouraud, is an interpolation method used in computer graphics to produce continuous shading of surfaces represented by polygon meshes. In practice, Gouraud shading is most often used to achieve continuous li ...
on background elements, and other visual improvements.
The intro theme "Paradise" was retained for the American release, but with the vocals removed. The game is titled ''Tombi!'' in European territories; Erik Engström of ''
Hardcore Gaming 101
''Hardcore Gaming 101'' is an online video game magazine founded by Kurt Kalata. Kalata established the site after graduating college, when he noticed the overabundance of game strategy guides, and felt that someone should create more books abou ...
'' speculated that the change was motivated by the fact that "tomba" is an
Italian word
Italian (''italiano'' or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. Together with Sardinian, Italian is the least divergent language from Latin. Spoken by about 85 m ...
meaning "
grave
A grave is a location where a dead body (typically that of a human, although sometimes that of an animal) is buried or interred after a funeral. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as grav ...
". The theme song of the television series ''
No Sweat'' was used as the opening theme for the European version.
''Tomba!'' was re-released on the
PlayStation Network in Japan on July 6, 2011.
Distributor
MonkeyPaw Games spent one year formulating an English-language distribution deal with Sony and Fujiwara. The English-language version of ''Tomba!'' was re-released on the PlayStation Network in North America on June 19, 2012 and in Europe on October 3, 2012. The deal between MonkeyPaw Games, Sony and Fujiwara did not initially include the game's sequel, and the involved parties elected to wait until ''Tomba!''s re-release showed satisfactory sales figures before arranging the sequel's re-release. In the month of its North American debut, ''Tomba!'' was the third best-selling
PS one Classic.
Reception
''Tomba!'' was met with positive reviews upon release, obtaining an aggregate score of 84% on
GameRankings.
The events were praised for their variety, quantity, and non-linearity. Mark Cooke of ''
GameRevolution
''GameRevolution'' (formerly ''Game-Revolution'') is a gaming website created in 1996. Based in Berkeley, California, the site includes reviews, previews, a gaming download area, cheats, and a merchandise store, as well as webcomics, screenshot ...
'' noted that ''Tomba!'' was the first platform game to grant such freedom, following attempts by
RPGs such as ''
The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall''.
However, John Ricciardi of ''
Electronic Gaming Monthly
''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (often abbreviated to ''EGM'') is a monthly American video game magazine. It offers video game news, coverage of industry events, interviews with gaming figures, editorial content and product reviews.
History
The m ...
'' and Joe Rybicki of ''
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
''Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine'' (often abbreviated to ''OPM'') was a monthly video game magazine, published by Ziff Davis Media. It was a sister publication of ''Electronic Gaming Monthly''. The magazine focused exclusively on PlayStation ...
'' warned that the overlapping events may easily result in players getting sidetracked.
The game's side-scrolling segments were considered reminiscent of platform games from earlier generations, particularly Fujiwara's past titles ''
Ghosts 'n Goblins'' and ''
Ghouls 'n Ghosts
''Ghouls 'n Ghosts'', known as in Japan, is a side-scrolling platform game developed by Capcom, released as an arcade game in 1988 and subsequently ported to a number of home platforms. It is the sequel to '' Ghosts 'n Goblins'' and the secon ...
''.
Cooke, however, felt that the lack of innovation made the gameplay "a little too tired".
Several reviewers praised the responsiveness of the controls.
Rybicki cited the high amount of load times as a negative point,
and John Broady of ''
GameSpot
''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
'' criticized the limited save system as a "chore", suggesting that a system that saves the game after each event would have been more logical.
The game's visuals were lauded for their bright and colorful presentation,
smooth character animation,
and combination of 2D character
sprites and 3D polygonal environments.
Crispin Boyer of ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' compared the game's visuals to ''
Klonoa: Door to Phantomile'', particularly in the "almost perfect marriage" of its disparate graphical elements.
Cooke described the hand-drawn cutscenes as endearing and humorous, and regarded the introduction to be the game's best feature.
All four reviewers for ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' appreciated the game's eccentric and lightly humorous tone,
as did Rybicki, who found the game refreshing after a glut of
post-apocalyptic
Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; ast ...
three-dimensional
third-person shooter
Third-person shooter (TPS) is a subgenre of 3D computer graphics, 3D shooter games in which the gameplay consists primarily of shooting. It is closely related to first-person shooters, but with the player character visible on-screen during play. ...
s at
E3 1998.
Erik Engström of ''Hardcore Gaming 101'' saw influences by various
anime
is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...
from the late 1970s and early 1980s; he compared the game's rural and fantastical setting and occasional scatological references to
Akira Toriyama's ''
Dr. Slump
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama. It was serialized in Shueisha's anthology magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from 1980 to 1984, with the chapters collected into 18 ''tankōbon'' volumes. The series fol ...
'', and compared the Koma Pigs to the ''
Yatterman
is a Japanese anime television series broadcast from January 1, 1977 to January 27, 1979, comprising 108 episodes. It is the second and longest show in the ''Time Bokan'' series by Tatsunoko Productions. The series succeeded ''Time Bokan'' a ...
'' character Odate Buta.
Reactions to the audio were more mixed. Some were impressed by the soundtrack and considered it catchy, with Cooke declaring that the game "may set a new high water mark for platformers."
Others were more apathetic, with Bro' Buzz of ''
GamePro'' finding the sound effects "minimal to an extreme" and claiming that the music was "limited to one catchy but repetitive, goofy tune".
Sequel
Despite ''Tomba!''s positive critical reception, its commercial performance proved lukewarm; the game did not sell enough copies to qualify for inclusion in Sony's
Greatest Hits
A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...
, although it sold well enough to justify a sequel. Whoopee Camp released ''
Tomba! 2: The Evil Swine Return'' for the
PlayStation in 1999, and the game was also met with positive reviews. However, it sold less than its predecessor and Whoopee Camp disbanded after its release. ''Tomba!'' later garnered a
cult following.
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
External links
*{{MobyGames , /tomba
1997 video games
Fictional feral children
Metroidvania games
PlayStation (console) games
PlayStation Network games
Side-scrolling platform games
Single-player video games
Sony Interactive Entertainment games
Video games about children
Video games about curses
Video games developed in Japan
Video games scored by Harumi Fujita
Video games set on fictional islands
Video games with 2.5D graphics
Video games with isometric graphics
Video games with oblique graphics
Video games with pre-rendered 3D graphics
MonkeyPaw Games games
Video games about pigs