Tombi! Special Edition Review (PlayStation 5)

by Jim Smale · August 6, 2024

Tombi! Special Edition Review, For this Tombi Review, limited Run Games finally gives us another Tomba, or Tombi if you’re reading from PAL regions entry. An adventure platform game starring a bizarrely dressed pink-haired kid, who must hunt down the 7 evil pigs who stole his grandfather’s ring. You know, that common thing that happened a lot in the 90s.

Tombi! Special Edition Review Pros:

Beautiful graphics.
3.98GB Download size.
Platinum trophy.
A 2D platformer with 3D aspects, see something you want in the background? No problem find a ledge and climb on over!
Supports play with both the d-pad and analog stick.
Opening how to play screen which looks like a double spread game manual scan with images.
The game music can be set to Remastered or original.
Tomba Museum houses everything you could want – adverts, box art scans, development documents, high-res scanned game manuals for Japan and the USA, Official artwork, and video-like behind-the-scenes and promo material.
New items to find and buy to change your weapons, attack style, and the way your character plays in general.
The humor-injected story, never a dull moment with an excellently written script.
Controls are easy to learn.
The game uses the touchpad as the start button.
Very accessible.
Music player lets you play any song and you can play the original or remastered versions of each track.
A full inventory and map screen give it an RPG feel.
Kill enemies either with a weapon or by jumping on them and then throwing them.
Varied levels incorporate a lot of different scenarios, from strong winds to slippery hills to seesaws. The game has so many ways in which to challenge you.
Exploring villages puts you in a 3D isometric view allowing you to explore freely.
Frequent save points so you never feel you’re gonna lose a load of progress.
Enemies respawn when leaving and re-entering a screen.
Background (Wallpaper) has six color choices – default, green, blue, orange, purple, and grey.
The levels themselves have enough signposts to keep it subtle but at the same time handy to have.
Your life has bars so it gives you a chance to stay alive longer and heal yourself.
Multiple routes on some levels allow you to try and find all the hidden loot.
You can find one-ups (extra lives) in the levels.
Cutscenes are a mix of cartoon and 3D poly sequences.
Fantastic soundtrack.
Screen settings that can be bought up at any time and changed are – screen size (full/4:3/downsampled/16:9), CRT filter, and border art (off and 3 choices).
Save and load when you want.
You can rewind time to a certain point in the timeline.
The status screen brings up your exp levels, abilities unlocked, and general status.
The events menu acts like a mission log.
You have a map available at all times.
Looks retro but the players are modern.
An excellent trip down memory lane.
The game can stand up to other games in the genre.
It’s a game that is brilliant once you get used to its quirks and how you navigate the world, it’s a lot of jumping into the background or climbing up walls behind you to go somewhere new.
Health bar system, eat fruit to replenish health.

Tombi! Special Edition Review Cons:

Cannot remap the controls.
You don’t get any cheats or extras like that.
Jumping on enemies is done with an arc system, so if an enemy is in front of you, jumping will just make you jump over him instead of on him.
While some music is good, the other tunes are really droney and almost put you to sleep.
Annoying knockback upon taking damage.
Later levels are frustrating and require a lot of movement dexterity.
Transitions and loading times can be inconsistent and long in places causing some to be just a black screen.
Swinging is awkward and very frustrating.