A retro game is making a comeback in the world of gaming.
Video game distributor Limited Run Games recently announced it is releasing the cult-classic PlayStation game Tomba! to modern gaming consoles, handheld or otherwise, and the PC.
Tomba! made its first appearance in the video game industry when its developer, Whoopee Camp, released it in 1998 in the US for the PlayStation 1.
Tomba! In The 2020s
Limited Run Games mentioned on its official Twitter account that Tomba! would return to the gaming world after more than 20 years for fans of the cult-classic game to enjoy through modern-day consoles.
According to the game publisher, the game will return alongside its creator, Tokuro Fujiwara, to bring the game to modern consoles via the Carbon Engine. As a result, the game will be available for fans to play on the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
Limited Run Games has yet to give information on the game's release date.
According to a Gamespot article, Tomba!'s re-re-release will feature a brand new original soundtrack from the mind of the legendary composer Fujita Harumi. Critics heavily criticized the game's original audio when it was first released in 1998. Whether the new soundtrack will negatively affect fans' experience of the game is up for debate.
We say re-re-release because Sony previously re-released Tomba! and its sequel in June 2012 and Feb. 2014, respectively, on the PlayStation Store's PSOne Classics section, according to PlayStation Blog's article.
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However, Sony may have silently delisted the game from the PS Store as part of Sony's move to close the PlayStation Store for the PlayStation 3 and Vita, which the company discontinued on April 19, 2021, per a separate PlayStation Blog article.
Regardless, the game's re-re-release is a welcome announcement to the cult classic's fans and video game preservers, such as the Video Game History Foundation (VGHF). It recently found that 87% of classic (retro) games released in America are now critically endangered and are difficult to access for various reasons.
The study allegedly proves that the video game industry only managed to make 13% of its history available to people despite the arguments from the industry's main lobbying group - the ESA or the Entertainment Software Association.
Why Tomba! Became A Cult Classic
"Tomba!" is a side-scrolling action-adventure platforming video game from the PlayStation 1 era that utilized the console's ability to render 3D graphics to its advantage. It is also one of the many platforming games released in the late 90s, like "Spyro the Dragon" on the PS1, "Super Mario 64," and "Banjo-Kazooie" for the Nintendo 64.
It tells the story of the titular character Tomba (or Tombi if you live in Europe) as he journeys to retrieve his golden bracelet and rid the continent of the Koma Pigs' evil and greed for everything gold.
The game became a cult classic because of its unique (at the time) mechanic that has its character and stage design utilize the PlayStation 1's capabilities to render 2D and 3D backgrounds, per IGN. This, along with the game's personality, made it popular with people at a time when the gaming industry was taking its first few steps toward 3D gaming.
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