Lost in the land of dreams

Out of all of the recognizable Pac-Mans, Tekkens and Ridge Racers Namco has created over the years, Klonoa is one that has always stood out, despite its relative obscurity.

The series is hardly a household name: after first appearing in the colorful platformer Door to Phantomile on the PS-one 12 years ago in, Klonoa, the titular cat-thing, has only had a handful of other games on a small selection of consoles.

Someone over at Namco-Bandai clearly likes us. Not only did they decide to remake the original game in gorgeous modern tech, but they’ve also released it on the Wii, a console still sorely lacking in good games three years after its launch.

But even without Nintendo’s li’l white box this game is still a blessing. I’m a huge proponent of platfomers, even though the genre is all but dead these days. Outside of the likes of Super Mario Galaxy, quality platforming experiences are getting harder and harder to find.

Klonoa still has the goods—and then some. The game’s unique mechanic, using a ring to inflate enemies which can then be thrown to break objects, hit switches or thrown down as a one-two attack and double jump, owes a bit to Yoshi’s Island, but the design is used effectively and in a unique way.

For starters, the game looks like it’s in 2D, albeit with 3D backdrops. That means there’s no pesky 3D camera to go and screw everything up, as in, say, damned near every Sonic game since Sonic Adventure on the Dreamcast.

More importantly, Klonoa‘s still a hell of a lot of fun, even after all these years.

As far as design goes, that’s essentially it. You utilize Klonoa‘s enemy inflation ability to progress through the colorful 2.5D world of Phantomile, collecting gems and solving puzzles. It’s definitely simple in concept, but like any good platformer things ramp up as they go along.

Not that the levels ever get truly difficult. The series may have a small but devoted following, but it’s never been hard to get through one of these games. That doesn’t mean it should be brushed off as strictly for kids, either.

What it boils down to is that for real gamers, Klonoa has always been about the quest for perfection. Each level has 150 gems scattered throughout, and for the completionists, this is undoubtedly where the game’s true challenge lies. You’ll need to master the limited use of Klonoa‘s abilities in order to collect them all.

Freeing trapped citizens from the clutches of the evil villain, who wants to blanket the world in nothingness and nightmares, is also incentive for replay, as freeing them all will unlock an extra level.

Interestingly, the lightness of Klonoa‘s whimsical world is undercut at times by its comparatively dark story, and has an ending that’s more melancholic or disconcerting than happy, a big plus in my book.

The only bad thing about Klonoa is that you’ll be left wanting more (in which I direct you to the game’s PS2 sequel, if you haven’t already played it). Clocking it at only 14 levels—that’s with the bonus unlockable one—most seasoned platformers can easily finish the game in three hours or less.

Thankfully, despite being current-gen tech, the game goes for around $30, and beyond the feelings of separation anxiety you’ll undoubtedly have when everything’s finished, is worth every penny.

The developers even went all out and included control options for every available Wii controller configuration. Even the standard Wiimote/Nunchuk setup works well, though I recommend plugging in an old-school Gamecube controller for real platforming bliss.

The bottom line is that you can’t buy platforming this good—yet that’s exactly what Klonoa offers (that, and a phenomenal soundtrack).

Just be sure to play it with the original “Phantomile” language-track, because experiencing this game with English voice acting is definitely a detractor to the world’s sense of immersion.

And, if you’re still not convinced, consider this: like Nintendo’s recently Wii-released (yes, that’s a pun) Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, the more people that pick up Klonoa, which I’m clearly and strongly urging you to do, the more likely it is that the series gets more attention from Namco-Bandai. More sales equals more games, and in a console mired in as much crap as the Wii, this is particularly important.

If you have a Wii and you like platformers, Klonoa is a must-own and a no-brainer, and that’s all you need to know. Now, if only the Wii supported downloadable content …