Klonoa door to the fun times
Okay, so before I begin - in case it doesn’t become apparent during the course of this excuse for a review - I am a bit of a Klonoa fangirl. (that is, when I’m not throwing the controller down, screaming, after my attempt to shave a couple of seconds off my best time on the bonus level has been thwarted ONCE AGAIN.)
So, yeah. Klonoa: Door To Phantomile on the PS1 is one of my favourite games ever. In case it passed under your radar back in 1998, Klonoa was a harmless 2.5D side-scroller centering around Klonoa and his best friend, a ring spirit called Huepowand their quest to save the Diva, Lephise, from the evil Ghadius. All pretty blah, righ? Well, an innovative gameplay system in which you could use your enemies as weapons and tools after hitting them with a wind bullet (provided by Huepow) coupled with an ending so messed up, it ripped out your heart and served it to you on a plate with garnish, were the things that made me clutch it to my non-existent bosom all those years ago.
Take all this into consideration and you’ll understand why I was simultaneously filled with a terrible foreboding and sick with joy when I heard there was gonig to be a remake of my holy of holies, and on the Wii, no less.
Luckily, as it turns out, almost everything from the ‘Pop!’ sound when confirming your name to the cheerful tune on the title screen was delightfully familiar. Some of the differences include the addition of more hearts for Klonoa, meaning he can take more hits before dying (which I’m certainly not complaining about!) and a few revisions in the dialogue - for example, Lephise is now a ‘Songstress’ rather than a ‘Diva’. All in all, the only thing that didn’t sit well with me was the horrible voice change for Klonoa. Luckily, it can be changed back.
Visually, it looks very nice indeed. The levels (or ‘visions’, as they’re called here) are laid out exactly the same, but with a complete overhaul graphically. Much improvement is made on the original; this is especially apparent on the Jugpot levels with backwards-flowing waterfalls which are simply stunning. It’s obvious a lot effort has been taken with lighting effects and shadows and it all adds up to a visual showpiece.
The amazing soundtrack is kept the same, which was a big relief to me. The whimsical, breezy tunes fit perfectly to the colourful bouncy world of the earlier levels, becoming more sombre and atmospheric towards the end. By your second playthrough, you’ll be humming along.
A few extras have been added to the new version - most notably, an option to play the levels backwards after you’ve finished, costumes, and character gallery. There’s also the challenging extra vision which was unlockable in the original. #
All in all, Klonoa is well worth picking up - for new fans who need an introduction to the world of Phantomile and for old fans wanting to revisit. There’s enough similarities and differences to keep everyone happy, and for the comparitively cheap launch price of £25 it shouldn’t bankrupt you, either.
Wahoo! - Nadia Deane
