Game:

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game (2010)

Duration: 1:10:46

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Tomomi is a fairly obscure and zany "Metroidvania" with a cute aesthetic featuring 8-bit pixel graphics with big character illustrations that immediately reminded me of "Scott Pilgrim vs. The World™: The Game". In fact, the character illustrations were so strikingly similar that I had to do some extensive research to make sure Paul Robertson wasn't involved in some way, but the main illustrator and developer of the game, Shiruko (currently affiliated with "NUL2 Studio"), most likely took inspiration from his spunky character designs. Released in March of 2022, this would be Shiruko's second major work, with their first being a free game by the name of "Heavy Metal HUNGRY" released back in 2014. Like HMH, Tomomi is made with an iteration of the "Game Maker Studio" engine and is mechanically an evolution in some ways while restructuring the gameplay into a more cohesive experience.

The game is named after our titular heroine of love and justice, Tomomi, who is a deadly femme fatale and OL (office lady) roughly 170cm tall with a slightly shady past who has become a hero-for-hire for an unknown organization to fight an "evil" terrorist group known as "Animalia" who have created a superweapon that can enslave the world. Aiding her in her quest is her obligatory supporter, a young woman named Rico, who has infiltrated Animalia's main complex and now you'll slice and dice your way through levels while encountering strange characters and learning a little more about Tomomi than you may want to know! The game lasts just a couple hours if you rush through it, but you can get a few more hours and laughs out of it if you aim for all the achievements and find all the secrets.

True to a solid Metroidvania experience, Tomomi features one fairly large, sprawling map to explore with several optional areas, secret walls, hidden abilities and grindable goodies to get. Players will earn experience by defeating lots of enemies and while enemies don't have unique drops, most will offer cash which can be used at different shops to upgrade your abilities even further. Tomimi herself is a combination of a samurai and ninja and moves swiftly and gracefully through levels and can acquire the ability to super dash, double jump, throw shuriken, summon a spirit sword, turn into a dog, and more! As such, she's a capable hero... but she's also a bit dimwitted and kind of a lewd pervert who lusts for other women, so she has garnered a fairly dubious reputation among heroes. All that said however, she has a good heart (even sympathizing with her enemies) and is great at what she does, which is kicking butt! Rico also has her quirks... but you'll have to play the game to find out!

Tomomi is fairly easy for the most part and there are many upgrades to tailor your experience towards an easier or more difficult run. For example, you can develop Tomomi faster if you pool upgrades into earning more money and you can restore health by destroying enemies if you're the type that's more prone to getting injured. There are also plenty of save points, warp points and vending machines to help you navigate areas and level ups will help improve your basic abilities, but purchasing all the upgrades will basically render you invincible (but it requires a ton of cash). Movement is practically seamless (there is a small delay after Tomomi does her three-hit combo which can be cancelled out with shuriken or other means) and Tomomi can quickly and easily ascend heights or drop down platforms. There is a bit of an "animal vibe" to the game if the evil group's name didn't give it away, but as the first commercial release by NUL2 Studio, it's good fun.

Fans of 8-bit throwbacks with a large explorable map will find a lot to like about Tomomi and the game's fairly low asking price of $8 makes it even easier to recommend. There is one "potentially" glaring flaw with the game though: I could not, for the life of me, get any of the achievements to trigger -- I've met the criteria for them, but I can't even get basic ones like exploring the map, so this is something the dev will have to look into when time permits. I don't really play these games for achievements, but it's something to consider. This is a video of the game in action. You can get the game at:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1229390/TOMOMI/

It is eventually planned for a Nintendo Switch release and will likely come with some form of QoL improvements. Enjoy.

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