In the late 90’s, the platform genre faced a bit of an identity crisis. The technical weight of consoles like the original PlayStation meant, for almost the first time, the ability to extend our gaming world into a true three-dimensional space. However, this meant that there was a whole new aspect of the problem for developers, making design choices that weren’t previously considered.
If you see a game like Super Mario 64, The game has large and explorable levels, but you can see that those levels are very sparsely arranged. Naughty Dog’s approach at Crash Bandicoot was to create a graphic and striking playground and bounce around, but the action had to be included in the hallway. Games like Pandemonium! Phantasy: Door to Phantomir has chosen another option. Although it’s a complete 3D world and character, gameplay was limited to movement in a two-dimensional plane, like the platformers we already knew and loved.
The reason we’re traveling this little memorable path right now is that it’s more interesting as an antique, a weird little game that’s a bit historically important, than the game that Klonoa actually plays. As a snapshot of the past, playing Klonoa with Super Mario 64 or Crash Bandicoot was both recently re-released to see how different developers tackled the same issue. It’s an interesting experience. That’s why we’re thumbs up for the Klonoa Phantasy Reverie series.
The collection here consists of two games. There are Klonoa: Door to Phantomile, which was first released on PS1 in 1997, and Klonoa 2: Lunatea’s Veil, a PS2 game in 2001. Of the two titles, Lunatea’s Veil is a nice looking, mechanically sound game, but both are of the same quality. Each game can be defeated within 6 or 7 hours, Klonoa 2 has longer ticks, each game has secrets and collectibles, and its play time can be extended by another 2 hours.
The storytelling of the two titles is overly saccharin, and the cutscenes are probably a bit too long, given how little material is. If you loved these games as a kid, or if you have kids playing games with you, it may be worth the long story to enjoy the nostalgia and the price. If you’re a newcomer to the series in your thirties looking for platform fun, the Skip button may soon become a second property.
Gameplay controls Klonoa, a kind of weird cat kid with wings in his ears, through multiple fantastic and dreamy settings. Other than running and jumping, Klonoa’s main skill is the ability to grab enemies and use them as tools and weapons. If you tap the jump button twice after grabbing the bad guys, Klonoa will use them as a stepping stone for double jumps, destroying creatures in the process. Tap the circle to throw one enemy as a missile and kill another.
Collect gems at each level, jump over deadly holes, take care of your enemies in one of the ways described above, rescue prisoner villagers, and finally reach your final goal and move on to the next stage. Fight boss characters on a regular basis. Nothing else you’ve seen in 12 great games here, but if you’re a big fan of 2D platformers, these two games are probably on your radar.
Both games are mostly fun, do nothing particularly innovative, but are completely unpleasant platform games that blow away certain charms. These are titles reminiscent of the old days when mascot platformers were about cute animals that saved the world while cheering them with dazzling childish delight, and you really do it. I can’t hate it. The biggest problem we have here is that the game (both) gets a little tricky towards the end after a relatively easy start, with occasional spikes along the way.
Door to Phantomile has been remastered from the 2008 Wii remake rather than the 1997 original, but otherwise both titles are a glossier, more colorful version of the game you remember. is. There is a pixel filter so you can make your game look a bit older school if you want. There is also a new Easy Mode that offers infinite life, so after you die you can continue as many times as you need from the last checkpoint instead of using Continue to play the entire level. You can also play in co-op, but the second player will play a role in supporting Klonoa’s journey, not as another character.
As is often the case with this type of remaster, I think there are some surprises among Klonoa enthusiasts regarding the appearance of the door-to-phantom meal. The visuals are now 4K, which is better than ever at the technical level, but artistically, some levels and textures look a bit flat, and Klonoa’s character model is a little different. In fact, I like the look of Door to Phantomile with the pixel filter turned on, but I’m not sure if it’s right or wrong here. Whether you like the look of the game is almost entirely up to you.
Conclusion
The Klonoa series is a relatively unadorned remastered collection. There are some quality of life improvements, and the game has a fresh lick of high-definition paint, but if you didn’t like Klonoa at the time, you wouldn’t like it now. If you weren’t playing Klonoa at the time, you don’t have the nostalgic goggles you need to stare at these games and see more. There are few pretty good platformer couples and others. That’s fine. ..
