Genre: Adventure
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Developer: Namco Bandai
Players: 1
Retail Price: $30
Availability: Wii
If there ever was an anthropomorphic mascot character that deserved a better shake than they received, it’s Namco’s Klonoa. This little guy periodically peeks his floppy-eared head out of the swamp of obscurity to offer curious and adventurous gamers well-imagined platforming quests, only to be shoved back beneath the surface by the invisible hand of ignorance. Its a shame that most people don’t realize what they’re missing, but they now have the opportunity to correct the error of their ways. Klonoa has pretty much relaunched on the Wii, and its budget-esque price will hopefully help it gain the attention it deserves.
Klonoa is, in essence, a 2D platforming game. The catch is that the levels are actually in 3D. Imagine a stage in Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. series. The characters can only move left, right, up and down, but the levels are in full 3D. This perspective allows the level designers to flex their creative muscles — sometimes you can see other parts of the level in the background, or even interact with objects off of the main path.
The game’s main character has a couple abilities to help him on his quest. Obviously, Klonoa can jump — it wouldn’t be much of a platformer otherwise. However, he can also grab enemies. They can then be thrown to kill other enemies, toggle switches, or more usefully be used as a double-jump. Once an enemy is used for the jump they’re gone, so its important to time your jumps correctly. You’ll be left searching for another enemy to replace the one you’ve already used otherwise. Luckily, the game is fairly liberal with respawns. He also has a floaty-hover, similar to the one found in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island, and a freshly-added tornado move to stun enemies. Incidentally, you can complete the game without using the new maneuver — I didn’t even know it existed until I was through with the main quest.
The game is pretty much a stage-for-stage remake of the original “Door to Phantomile” on the original PlayStation, though the CG movies have been redone with the in-game graphics. This is probably the best move possible — I’ve always been of the mindset that CG movies that don’t resemble the game serve to take the player out of the experience, both when it switches to a movie and then when it returns to the actual game. It also helps that the graphics are some of the best on the system. Klonoa’s world truly is a dreamstate and everything is as smooth as silk. Unlike the graphics, the redone sound is something to avoid. Luckily, you can switch the dialogue from English to Phantomile in the settings. The voice work isn’t bad, but it doesn’t have the same charm as the original sounds.
The game is admittedly a quick playthrough, somewhere between five or six hours for the main game, though dedicated fans will enjoy the extra challenges (stress on “challenge”) added in the reverse levels. Its also a nice touch that you unlock several new costumes when the game is through, though there isn’t any real reason to use them aside from aesthetic purposes.
The game’s aggressive price-point should make this a no-brainer for any Wii gamer who isn’t solely interested in entertaining a large group of people or breaking a sweat with the Balance Board. Klonoa deserves a chance to shine — think of him as chance to make up for that stray puppy you found as a child that your mother wouldn’t let you keep. You’ll thank yourself for it in the end.
