When I first heard about Tomba! Special Edition, I was excited. I immediately jumped to conclusions and thought it was a remaster. But it’s been re-released by Limited Run Games, so it’s not really. This version of the game runs on their Carbon Engine, which is really a user-friendly frontend for emulators. This version does do some things that the original couldn’t that go beyond emulation. Regardless, this is still a great game that continues to stand on its own as a remarkable open platformer, even if you can get considerably better visuals out of the most popular PlayStation emulator.
Upon booting the game up, it’s clear immediately that Tomba! Special Edition has absolutely received some TLC beyond pure emulation. The intro movie plays and has clearly been upscaled to 1080p. This is true for all the game’s movies, improving upon the grainy original footage. Past that, the game has an all-new menu, as opposed to the one used in the PS original. It’s got a high-res animated background, plus a bunch of extras comprised of game manuals, box art, concept art, and some really neat interviews. Probably the most enticing aspect is the remastered soundtrack, which you can toggle in the menu.
When playing the game itself, though, it’s very clearly simple emulation. You can choose between the original PS aspect ratio, 4:3, downsampled, or stretch it to 16:9. As for filters, all we get is a CRT filter. Tomba! Special Edition can be rendered at a max of 1080p and the game does look decent here. However, the options are so limited that the game’s visuals just don’t look nearly as good as they would in, say, Duckstation. That offers a widescreen hack as opposed to simply stretching the image as is done here, plus the additional filters can really make the art pop more. It’s a shame because emulators are very much capable of more than what’s on offer here. Not to mention that maxing out at 1080p is honestly pretty weird here in and of itself.
While playing the game, you can bring up a separate menu that lets you swap between aspect ratios and the CRT filter on the fly. Plus you can save and load. One area of note is that this uses the same save utility as saving in-game, which is neat. There’s also a rewind feature to boot that’s easily accessed via the left trigger if you’re using a gamepad. Aside from that, playing the game is just like it’s always been, including the same load times when entering a new area. Across the board, I wish more had been done and a lot of fans will understandably want to play with remastered music, though, meaning there’s still reasons to prefer this version.
As for the game itself, it’s a hybrid 2D and 3D game, making use of sprites and polygonal models. It’s a platformer where you attack enemies by jumping on them and then throwing them. The game world is large, extremely colourful, and loaded with sidequests and secrets to find. There are also top-down sections that let you move freely, plus you can equip new weapons and pants (yes, pants. That’s all Tomba’s wearing!!) There are various weapons to use as well, although they only stun enemies and don’t actually harm them, as only throwing them can do so.
It’s as enjoyable as it was in the 90s, as, aside from its sequel, there isn’t much out there quite like Tomba! It’s just an incredibly unique, charming experience from start to finish, whether you’re chucking pigs around or clinging to the walls on a windswept mountain. The extras here are fantastic, from the remastered music, upscaled videos, and various bonuses, but I wish there were more graphics options, more filters, widescreen, and more. The game deserved a full remaster, even if it’s still highly enjoyable in this form.
Tomba! Special Edition: Tomba! Special Edition is still a great game, but a regular emulator does it better than Limited Run Games has decided to provide. Still, this is an easy way to dive into a classic and the only way to play it with remastered music and upscaled videos. – Andrew Farrell
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