Tomato Adventure (Video Game)

***Tomato Adventure*** is a role-playing game that was originally released for the Game Boy Advance on January 25, 2002, and was later re-released on the Wii U's Virtual Console service on August 26, 2015. It was developed by AlphaDream and published by Nintendo. The game was only ever officially released in Japan. An unofficial English fan translation was released on July 27, 2021 which allowed the game to gain more popularity among a western audience almost twenty years after its initial release.

## Development History

*Tomato Adventure* was initially created as a Game Boy Color game called *Gimmick Land* after Nintendo approached AlphaDream to develop a role-playing game for them. AlphaDream had practically finished development on the game when Nintendo announced that they wanted the team to port the title over to their newly released Game Boy Advance system with minor adjustments.

## Gameplay

*Tomato Adventure* has players take control of a rabbit-like creature named DeMille. In the overworld, players are free to move DeMille around and interact with various non-player characters.

Certain overworld areas contain enemies that trigger a turn-based battle sequence when they are touched. During these battles, DeMille and his party attack their foes using Gimmicks. In order to use these weapons to their full potential, the player must successfully complete a minigame that is unique to each weapon. The difficulty of these minigames can be altered outside of battle by changing the level of the Gimmick. The higher level a Gimmick is, the more damage it will deal in battle.

Typical gameplay is occasionally broken up by various overworld minigames. There is also an optional card-based battle game called Gimica.

## Reception

The game did not receive much positive reception when it was initially released, and it was clear that the game was not as popular as AlphaDream and Nintendo had initially anticipated. In January of 2019, several members of AlphaDream were interviewed by GameInformer's Kyle Hilliard following the release of their new game; *Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story*. When asked why *Tomato Adventure* never received a western release, Yoshihiko Maekawa stated; "The reason why is the age group we were targeting was a bit too low and a bit too small. We also had some trouble with the battle system, and it wasn't received well at the time of the release."

Since the games initial release public opinion towards the game has changed, especially among a western audience. Dedicated fans of the *Mario and Luigi* series were interested in learning more about the origins and inspirations for these role-playing games, which lead to more online discussion surrounding *Tomato Adventure*. DeMille and the Tomatrio also made cameo appearances as spirits in *Super Smash Bros. Ultimate* for the Nintendo Switch, which lead interested players to research more about the game. After the bankruptcy and closure of AlphaDream in October of 2019, avid fans of the company were left wanting more content. This could be a possible reason for the resurgence of interest in the game that ultimately led to the development of the unofficial English fan translation.

Today, *Tomato Adventure* has a much more positive reception, with many people considering it to be another great role-playing game in AlphaDream's lineup. Many fans even consider it to be a "hidden gem" role-playing game on the Game Boy Advance.