Almost a year ago, Limited Run Games announced that it was working on a rerelease of Tomba!, the PlayStation 2.5D platformer. And after nearly 12 months of silence, Tomba! has re-emerged, and it’s coming to Switch on 1st August 2024 (thanks, Gematsu!).
Tomba! Special Edition is an enhanced rerelease created for modern consoles using the Carbon engine. Plus, original creator Tokuro Fujiwara has been working with LRG to bring the classic back to life. It’s not just a straight remaster, either — Special Edition adds new features to the 1997 classic to help introduce the game to a whole new audience.
In a PlayStation.blog interview, Fujiwara — alongside Vice President of Marketing at LRG, Alena Alambeigi — spoke about the challenges of making the PlayStation original, speaking specifically about the blend of 2D and 3D visuals to create a 2.5D platformer. The duo also chat about Tomba’s impact, and why now is the right time to bring the game back.
Fujiwara was originally a director and producer at Capcom who worked on tons of classics such as Ghosts ‘n Goblins, Bionic Commando, Mega Man 2 (and many other Mega Man games), and is credited for coming up with the idea of remaking his horror RPG Sweet Home. He left the company in 1996, and Tomba! was born out of a desire to create something original.
Tomba! isn’t just a straight platformer — it has open-world and RPG elements, plenty of sidequests to discover. But as mentioned above, Special Edition will be adding new features to the game. As listed on Steam, this includes the ability to save anywhere, rewind any time, toggle on analogue control, a museum full of concept art and design documents, a remastered soundtrack, and an interview with Fujiwara.
