Every couple of years, a core childhood memory resurfaces and sends me hunting for a bizarre PlayStation game my brother and I obsessed over but never actually played in its entirety. The internet search goes like this: game on red-and-black PS1 demo disk featuring feral child with pink hair tackling pigs and trees that look like butts. The results tell me the game I’m looking for is the 1997 platformer Tomba!, and I giddily bask in the nostalgia. Then I forget all about it, and the cycle eventually repeats. Imagine my surprise when a trailer popped up earlier this summer announcing Limited Run Games’ rerelease of Tomba! in all its wacky glory for modern consoles. Tomba! Special Edition is now available digitally for PS5, Nintendo Switch, and PC, with physical editions, plushies, and a themed NEO S controller on the way. In finally playing it all the way through almost 20 years after its original release, I’ve discovered that Tomba! is even more unhinged than I remembered. Tomba, the player-character, is a wild child who lives outside of society, hunting boars and sleeping under the stars. His peace is disrupted when a group of delinquent pigs steals his grandfather’s gold bracelet, leading him on a quest to find and defeat the Evil Pig ringleaders. The game, a 2.5D platformer, maintains its original PS1 graphics and gameplay, with some quality of life additions like a rewind feature to help navigate tricky spots. Every aspect of the game is absurd, from scaling walls to communicating with characters by jumping on their heads. The Mushroom Forest is a particularly memorable location filled with creepy, anthropomorphic flowers and mushrooms that inflict Tomba with various ailments. Despite the convoluted map layout and frustrating boss fights, revisiting Tomba! was a joy, immersing me in its silly charm and nostalgic soundtrack. Limited Run Games’ Special Edition release solidified the game’s place in my memory, as it is truly unlike any other game I’ve played.
