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Tomba!/Tombi! (PS1, 1997)

Tomba!/Tombi! (PS1, 1997)

Subgenre: 2.5D* ARPG/Action Adventure-ish (NPCs, quest/mission-based within an interconnected world, experience system of sorts (ability bars that unlock the use of three optional magic gems, very interactive side view environments), Collectathon (lots of fetch quests, roughly half of the 130 quests are obligatory?, you're usually kept from progressing until you collect a bunch of items and complete one or more fetch quests in each area, sometimes you're locked out of sub areas because they're "very dangerous" which really means the same thing)


Perspective: Side View/Top Down View (towns) Hybrid


Other: *Double plane gameplay in most areas and you can rotate the view 45 degrees in some areas

  • Mostly linear structure (mostly linear main path in terms of the areas, can beat the wind or fire pig bosses first and then beat the rest of the bosses in any order (besides the final boss), some quests can be done out of order in the late game, the sheer amount of quests picked up as you’re finishing other quests makes the game feel less linear)

  • Teleport items (the one-use wings let you go back to any previously visited area and the bells take you back to the old mens' rooms) - there's also a recruitable flying dog later on which has the same function as the wings and can be used freely

  • Basic quest log (doesn't help much for the most part though as the descriptions tend to be short and vague)

  • Can check the world map at any point (unusual in that it's fairly zoomed in on the current area and vaguely shows its paths as well as most save points and path crossings, can move the cursor around and check area names for any visited areas, the map doesn't show where locked chests or quest givers are though)

  • Frequent save points (15 slots per card, shows current location and some stats) - can restore your health by reloading a save or visiting one of the elders or the bird bath

  • No area maps like in Super Metroid for example

  • Some puzzles and platforming puzzles

  • Can escape from boss battles

  • Extra lives system which is a bit redundant in a game with frequent save points

  • Partial control config (only the face buttons can be remapped)

  • Several chests are placed in mundane spots without a platforming/exploration/puzzle/combat challenge leading to them


Playthrough - Video Review - Mini Review



Influenced by: Probably Zelda series, possibly Super Metroid, Bionic Commando (NES) or Umihara Kawase (SNES), Quackshot or Ducktales 1-2, SMB3 or SMW, Clockwork Knight


Influenced: Possibly Klonoa, Shadow Complex, Strider 2 (ARC/PS1), Ape Escape

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