From the creator of some of Capcom's "other" well-known
franchises besides the "Street Fighter" series ("Ghouls and
Ghosts", "Megaman", "Resident Evil" and the underrated SNES
game "Demon's Crest") comes a throwback 32-bit game in
which classic gameplay attempts to substitute for flashy
32-bit graphics and music; it's a losing effort IMHO.
"Tomba!" has its moments and there are enough additional
sub-quests and RPG-like elements to make it worth a rental,
but in the long-run it just doesn't deliver the thrill and
addiction of a "Crash Bandicoot", "Gex" or "Klonoa". Then
again, I'm a platform freak that found "Yoshi's Story" a
charming and enjoyable romp despite its ridiculously low
difficulty level; you may find "Tomba!" a hell of a lot
more interesting than I did.
The story of the game doesn't particularly endear me to the
main character, or make me relate closely to his plight.
You're a pink-haired boy that was minding his own business
walking by a jungle when a bunch of evil pigs ambushes you
and steal your prized gold bracelet (they need it for some
black magic business), given to you by grandfather. As
Tomba begins to persue the bacon bad guys, he gets caught
up in the rumble of the jungle that the locals are engaged
in (the many side-quests already mentioned), and in order
to progress further in his bracelet-recovery mission Tomba
will have to play good samaritan. A little too much like
Titus' SNES game "Prehistorik Man", but who says every PSX
game must have 3D routines to be enjoyable?
GAMEPLAY / FUN FACTOR: C+
Like in Lobotomy's first-person shooter "Powerslave",
"Tomba!" opens up previously-closed sections of levels
already cleared when the main character finds the
appropriate new item or ability. That platform/roof too
high/far away for Tomba to reach? Get some new pants!
That river blocking your path? Learn how to swim! Etc.
The control for "Tomba!" is very tight and precise with the
digital pad (my Dual Shock is out of commission at the
moment, so no comment on how it handles this game), the way
any 2.5D game should be in today's market. There are a few
hard jumps and unreachable spots that will have Tomba
dying/falling repeatedly, but practice will eventually make
for jumping perfection.
"Tomba!" starts easy and then gradually gets harder and
harder, with the small quests and RPG-like elements
gradually increasing the depth and value of the game; one
moment Tomba might be trying to rescue missing people or
animals, and in another he might be looking for missing
objects. My main gripe with the game is that it's just too
damn boring and repetitive (despite the many little
quests), and that all of what we've seen has been seen
before in countless 8 and 16-bit games, including the
already-mentioned games designed for Capcom by "Tomba!"
creator Tokuro Fujiwara. With the exception of using the
background and foreground to jump/interact "into" the scene
(Tomba can climb walls, jump into vines, flip between two
planes, etc.), this game doesn't feature a trick that
hasn't been seen before and done better. Classic gameplay
or outdated concept? Your personal feelings will make the
decision, but I'd rather be playing "Jersey Devil".
GRAPHICS / VISUALS: B
More colorful and full of lush and vibrant hues than your
average "brownish" PSX game; it's like if Mr. Fujiwara felt
guilt from the lack of primary colors used in Capcom's
"Resident Evil", and went nuts with the greens, pinks and
assorted rainbow colors that populate the worlds of
"Tomba!". There are a lot of polygons being pushed by the
PSX, and the use of the medium-resolution guarantees a
speedy frame-rate that never slows down; the characters
seem like sprites imposed over the polygon-heavy
backgrounds, but of that I'm not 100% sure. Although they
don't play exactly alike, "Tomba!" has that 'fake 3D' look
of Namco's "Klonoa" and Crystal Dynamic's "Pandemonium!"
series. I read somewhere that the US version of this game
had gourard-shading added to the graphics to make it more
appealing to the eye-candy conscious American public, but
"Tomba!" feels and plays just like any other 32-bit
platform game released before today.
MUSIC / SOUND EFFECTS: C
Dead-average sound effects populate the world of "Tomba!",
with birds that chip, foot steps that leave a sound effect
and a lot of tribal and prehistoric chants and yelps. Give
the developers of "Tomba!", Whoopee Camp, a budget for
sound effects because this first game from them feels
lacking in the polish of the environmental sounds. The
music is a tragic affair of its own through and through,
with lousy 'happy' music full of repetitive samples and
beeps that have no harmony whatsoever. "Tomba!" is a game
that demands that its audio be lowered and a CD/cassette be
played on the background to keep the gamer's sanity in
check.
OVERALL: C+
For a company that used to have a well-publicized bias
against 2D platform games, Sony has really turned its act
around and allowing some good one's to come over to America
(we'll cast a momentary blind eye on Jaleco's "Punky
Skunk"). "Tomba!", besides its horrendous music and sound
effects, isn't a totally horrendous game that will make you
puke your guts out at the sight of Nintendo-like cuteness;
it could be argued that the goofy hero/villains/story
combined with the RPG-like gameplay make it an ideal game
for the whole family, something that isn't common in the
narrowcasting appeal of most PSX games ("Tekken 3",
"Resident Evil 2", "Gameday '98", etc.). I personally just
can't see this game selling too well to the masses, simply
because there is a 'deja-vu all over again' feel soaking up
the whole package (what's with the horrendous artwork on
the cover?). Then again, if YOU enjoyed "Demon's Quest"...
