Synopsis
Aside from sporting a wacky pink hairdo, Tomba! offers a long and brain twisting experience that mixes the traditional 2D side scrolling action/platformer with the elements of a role-playing game. The game starts out simple enough with the evil Koma Pigs stealing Tomba's bracelet, which was given to him by his grandfather. You assume the role of Tomba and begin your adventure. Little do you know that the quest for your bracelet will turn into so much more.
Because of its role-playing elements, in Tomba!, your character will gain experience points, develop new skills and learn new things. He has seven abilities that can be learned throughout the duration of the game. Once all three experience meters reach level ten (in order to do this, Tomba must do certain things), he will unlock and learn an ability.
Tomba also makes use of weapons and items. Among his weapons is the default blackjack (a spiked ball with a rope attached), a grapple and various boomerangs. Each weapon has a specific purpose and certain ones should be used at different times; a grapple for high-up places and the boomerang for distance attacks. He'll come across a wide variety of items along the way ranging from charity wings (teleportation to already visited places) to the 1,000 year-old key (opens 1,000 year-old treasure chests).
Breaking the mold of the traditional platformer, Tomba! is more non-linear rather than it is a level-to-level game. As you journey along, you will come across people who need something or a town that requires your help. Every time you collect an item that someone or something needs, it is referred to as an event. There are over 130 different events in all -- some of which can be completed at random or in any fashion you'd like.
