The game centers on the eponymous feral child as he attempts to recover his grandfather's bracelet from an evil race of anthropomorphic pigs.

[1][2] The player controls the titular character Tomba, who must explore his home island, defeat the evil Koma Pigs and recover his grandfather's golden bracelet.

[4] Along with the ability to jump, Tomba can attack enemy characters by leaping onto and biting into their back before tossing them in a straightforward trajectory.

[6] Signposts scattered throughout the environment state how to use the game's controls and abilities,[7] while a select few can be used to save the player's progress.

Such events may consist of finding a lost item, rescuing a stranded character or clearing a blockade in the imminent path.

[11] The player begins the game with a maximum of four "vitality points" that are represented as a series of yellow bars on the upper-left corner of the screen.

Tomba loses a vitality point if he is hit by an enemy, touches a sharp object, or falls into deep water.

[10] Years ago on an uncharted archipelago, a group known as the Seven Evil Pigs appeared and used their magical powers to tarnish the land.

Years later, a curious and energetic boy named Tomba diligently protects his grandfather's grave and wears a gold bracelet as an heirloom.

In the midst of his travels, an older Wise Man informs Tomba that the gold being hoarded by the Seven Evil Pigs is the source of their power.

[18] After defeating the Real Evil Pig in his trove of gold, Tomba recovers his bracelet and leaves it resting upon his grandfather's grave.

Upon exhausting his accumulated vacation days, Fujiwara resigned immediately following the release of Resident Evil.

[21] Fujiwara chose to make a side-scrolling game as he believed this fundamental experience would excite players in a straightforward way.

from other action games, Fujiwara designed a non-linear event system, as well as Tomba's gradual growth in abilities and resources.

[24] Promotional plush figures of Tomba and a Koma Pig were distributed in limited quantities around the game's original release date.

in European territories; Erik Engström of Hardcore Gaming 101 speculated that the change was motivated by the fact that "tomba" is an Italian word meaning "grave".

[30] Distributor MonkeyPaw Games spent one year formulating an English-language distribution deal with Sony and Fujiwara.

[35] On July 12, 2023, Limited Run Games announced they would be working with Fujiwara to release an enhanced version of Tomba!

was the first platform game to grant such freedom, following attempts by RPGs such as The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall.

[46] However, John Ricciardi of Electronic Gaming Monthly and Joe Rybicki of Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine warned that the overlapping events may easily result in players getting sidetracked.

Some were impressed by the soundtrack and considered it catchy, with Cooke declaring that the game "may set a new high water mark for platformers.

"[43][46][47][51] Others were more apathetic, with Bro Buzz of GamePro finding the sound effects "minimal to an extreme" and claiming that the music was "limited to one catchy but repetitive, goofy tune".

's positive critical reception, its commercial performance proved lukewarm; the game did not sell enough copies to qualify for inclusion in Sony's Greatest Hits, although it sold well enough to justify a sequel.