Tomba! (PlayStation, 1998)

Years ago, I had this game in my hands in EB, but I didn't buy it because I thought I should rent it instead. When I did, I kept it for about 3 weeks and paid a ridiculous amount in late charges. The game was that good.
The goal: skillfully manuever the pink-haired Tomba through a colorful world of Pigs, Curses, and Events. The gameplay is unique in that not only is there a fair amount of action, but there aresome RPG elements, like dialogue, item collection, and experience. And unlike some modern games, there are plenty of subquests to keep you busy for a few weeks, granted you don't play the game for 10 hours a day.
The unique character and genuine enjoyment I got out of this game is what caused me to look for this game 10 years later.
Other 2D Playstation platformers I'd reccommend are Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (One of the best games ever created) and Skullmonkeys (An underrated game with great music, claymation graphics, and pure side-scrolling tactic)

Tomba is like a blast from the past, with a twist. On the surface, it looks just like the side-scrolling platform games of the 16-bit era. You'll find the requisite jumps, attacks, tricks of timing, and monsters (evil pigs, no less!).

But Tomba adds to this tried-and-true formula. There are numerous "events" Tomba must complete in order to advance through the game. For instance, near the beginning of the game, you learn that you must clear some fog in order to move forward. It's up to you to find out how to complete this task; it takes a bit of exploration to figure this puzzle out. Once you've gotten rid of the fog, you have "cleared" an event, and you can move on. Not all events are so straightforward; some tasks are downright cryptic, and you can have several events to clear at any one time, so playing Tomba requires some concentration.

Tomba sports fresh, very cheerful graphics, decent sound and music appropriate for a platform game, and smooth controls. There's a lot of moves to master, but signposts along the way teach you how to use your controller as you progress through the game. Some areas of the game allow you to explore the foreground and the background of the level as separate areas, but don't let that fool you: Tomba is at heart a 2D game.

The only real drawback to playing Tomba is the limited ability to save your progress. In order to save a game, you must find one of the special signposts scattered throughout the levels; it's a chore to save your game when you want to. A much more logical option would have allowed you to save your progress whenever you cleared an event.

But that's just a minor complaint. Tomba is a great game well suited for anyone who wants a break from the glut of 3D action games out there.

First of all,this game came to us very quickly.When it did'nt work on the new PS2 system I emailed seller.She said I could return it no problem.Then I looked on the internet and this game was one of a few that will not work on the new system.My mistake.After digging my old PS system out of the crawl space and hooking it up,the game works great!!!I'm keeping it.Seller was so nice about taking it back if I decided to that I will always deal with her in the future.My hat's off to my favorite eBay seller!! Scott.

Spyro is purple. But the game is still fun and cool. Here, we have Tomba, who has PINK hair. How bizzare. I know. Well, either way, it's still a neat game. Let's start the review shall we?

Story 10/10: Tomba's grandpa has a golden bracelet but one day, some evil pigs (yes pigs) took it!! Now Tomba is out to get back the bracelet and get rid of the pigs. Now, let me just say that you'll hardly ever see that pigs are the enemies in a game. That's why this is so unique. Great Story!!!!

Music 10/10: There are some really catchy tunes in this game. It really fits the cute and colorful settings, in my opinion. Nothing more to say. Great Music!!!!

General Sound 10/10: There's Tomba's shouts and there's even some voice acting but that's only for a little portion of the game. The bridge creaks when you walk across it. The waterfall sounds great. Basically, everything in the game sounds good. Nothing else to say. Great General Sound!!!!

Graphics 9/10: It's kind of blocky at times but otherwise, they're not half bad. Everything is very colorful and vibrant. The pigs look good. Tomba looks good. Everything looks good. Good Graphics!!!

Controls 10/10: They're easy to get used to. You have Circle to attack, X to jump, Triangle to go to the menu screen, and Square to Animal Dash. They're nice and responsive but when you're dashing, Tomba will skid a little before he stops if you let go of Square. However, that's a nice touch...even though it could get you killed. Great Controls!!!!

Gameplay 10/10: You might think it's a game where you just go past the levels, killing enemies and fighting the boss to move on. You're wrong, though. You see, in this game, you're given...well...let's call them missions. There are MANY missions in this game and to acquire them, you need to talk to certain people or go to certain places. Once you've completed a mission, it'll say so and, chances are, you will gain an item. These missions add a nice touch and originality to this game. There are also the bosses...all who are pigs. You need to get a bag of their ''element'' and then go to the place which will open the doors to them. Then, to fight them, you need to get them in the bag but you'll find out. The enemies...hmm...well, your weapons can't kill them outright, but you really wouldn't want to. The only way to kill them is to jump on top of them and then throw them at an object or on the ground. It's simple enough. Great Gameplay!!!!

Replay Ability 7/10: The only reason why you would want to replay this game, in my opinion, is because you haven't completed all the missions. You do get something special for completing them all, I'm sure (although I forgot). Otherwise, there's no other reason. Ok Replay Ability!

Difficulty 10/10: The enemies are easy but the game itself isn't easy. It's completing the missions that are hard. Some are kind of obvious on the solution but some aren't as obvious and some are just plain hard (like the one with the ''go-cart''). However, it's because of the simplicity of everything else that gives this game a good score on difficulty (note that it's not rated on how hard, so if it got a 10, it wouldn't mean it's super hard). Great Difficulty!!!!

Length 9/10: Long enough. Enough said. Good Length!!!

Other: You gotta love the pink hair.

Buy or Rent? Definitely BUY!!!

Overall: 10/10

I bought this for my husband he loves it he is getting close to beet the game I like the way it ain't got no sctraches or nothing

Thank you for tomba but it freezes to frequently i have waited 9 years for this game and im quite happy with it. Just hand me some opinions on how to stop the game from freezing all the time

I purchased a game from this seller and it arrived looking better than explained and very quick. Great ebayer!

I am extremely pleased with the Tomba! playstation game. I own Tomba! 2 and was trying to determine if Tomba! was still available. I was not surprised to find sellers selling this game for $60 or more, but I was shocked to find this game selling for $30 and in very rare to mint condition.

This game is the bomb. If your looking for a fun game this is the game for you. I like this game a lot.

Tomba is a small franchise that died way before its time.
I love the creativity of this game, and especially the almost infinite supply of sidequests. Tomba has typical graphics for the early PSX games, so don't expect PS2 graphics. This game will keep you entertained for hours as it did when I was younger. I bought it now to re-new my young love of this pink haired lil guy :D

its a Great game , its an old game , and really rare , its a collectors item, so im werry exited to have it

THIS GAME IS ROCKIN'! AND VERY ADDICTIVE SO BEWARE DO NOT START PLAYING LATE OR YOU WILL BE UP TILL DAWN. IT HAS AWESOME GRAPHICS SO DO NOT LET THE FACT THAT IT IS A PS1 GAME ONLY DETER YOU. DO NOT HAVE A PS1 WELL START SHOPPING EBAY. GET THE GAME AND HAVE SOME FUN!

This seller was very understanding, polite, and professional. The speed at which my product was shipped was amazingly quick, so much so, that I found myself caught off guard when the product arrived in the mail. The product quality I felt, was even better than the seller had actually described, so I was extremely delighted with the products condition. This seller will not let you down!

I have TOMBA 2 and enjoyed playing it. Now I have TOMBA 1 and it is exactlly as described. I am having hours of fun playing both

I was skeptical buying a used playstation game from Ebay as playstation discs tend to scratch easily and then refuse to play. The product that I purchased was in near-mint condition with only 2-3 very faint, very superficial scratches that did not affect game-play whatsoever. It came in a crack-free case with the original, complete cd/game booklet.

The game itself is WONDERFUL!!! I had only played the demo many years ago and was never able to find the original game. Later on I found out that it was rare, and my best chance would be to check out Ebay. The game is very detailed, with AMAZING graphics, catchy background music, realistic sound effects, and a great storyline/plot. There are many mini-quests along the way with tasks to complete in order to advance in the game.

The first day I got it I spent close to 2 hours playing it with my boyfriend and we both had a blast! It can be addictive...after we stopped for awhile, we both wanted to start playing it again in order to find out what happens next!

Overall a great game, and a great transaction. A+++

Bought Tomba for my son's christmas present. He finds it to be in perfert working condition. No probs or errors. He loves it!!!! Thanks!!