Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series Review

For a while there was a real chance that Klonoa would be the lasting mascot of the PlayStation. While nowhere near as prolific as the likes of Crash Bandicoot or Spyro, this cute feline biped with wings for ears starred in two well received platformers and an obligatory sports spin off – Beach Volleyball in this case – as well as a couple of great GBA games. Unfortunately, longterm fame was not to be for Klonoa. Physical copies of the games are highly sought after and fetch high prices secondhand, and Klonoa’s legacy seemed destined to be about collecting rather than playing. That is, until the announcement of the Phantasy Reverie Series – a collection that brings remastered versions of the two original games to modern day systems. So, with that potted history complete, how do the games stand up nowadays?

As a package, Reverie Series compares favourably price wise to the secondhand originals, containing both of the main platformer titles – Door to Phantomile for PS1, and Lunatea’s Veil for PS2. However, having played through both games, I’m not sure the collection entirely justifies itself outside of the nostalgia. The first game in particular hasn’t aged well, and both can be finished in just a few hours each. There is a wealth of extras such as cutscene viewers and music jukeboxes which will surely be a treasure trove for the hardcore Klonoa-heads – although the deluxe edition DLC is hugely overpriced considering it is a couple of costumes and a digital soundtrack.

Starting up the game presents the option to play either of the two games, and choosing either takes you to a self-contained version. This means that switching between the games requires you to close the title down and restart it, which is an odd choice. Both games are mostly single player affairs, although they do offer the opportunity for a second player to help out with a recharging jump assist. This is another strange choice as it offers very little interaction for that second player and really only comes in handy for a couple of particularly hard to reach collectables. I guess this is mainly aimed at light parent and child co-op, but if you entrust the double jump to a young child, the chances of them accidentally triggering the jump and killing you are high.

Both games play out in a similar fashion as you traverse a series of sidescrolling platforming stages from a 2.5D perspective. Most of the time you’ll be moving left to right, but there is more variety than in most standard games of this genre. Verticality plays a major role and there are transitions that see you moving into the screen. Switches and eggs containing collectables can also be found in the background and you must pick up and throw enemies to activate these.

While this aspect offers a welcome level of puzzling, there are far too few examples for it to really raise the game above the competition. Picking up enemies is your main attack too, with your wind bullet enabling you to hold them above your head. Throwing these captured enemies at other foes will defeat them, whilst throwing them down whilst jumping enables a double jump – this mechanic is central to progression.

Levels are well designed and suitably colourful across both games, but there is definitely more range and variety in Klonoa 2: Lunatea’s Veil. The second game also includes more variety through skateboarding levels. This is perhaps the most glaring evidence of the series’ late 1990s and early 2000s heritage, as almost every game had to include some kind of gnarly extreme sports aspect back then. On the whole, these levels play OK, but lack the precision of true analogue control. I found that using the D-pad was far more suited to both games as Klonoa can be fiddly to control and is liable to slip off ledges and fall to his death.

Old school life counts are in place here in the standard difficulty, with hearts representing health bars too. Whilst the original difficulty is available for the real nostalgia seekers, I’d recommend playing on Easy mode to avoid the frustration of having to replay whole levels if you struggle with some of the more awkward jumping sections. These are exacerbated by the extreme floatiness of Klonoa’s jump and the punishing instant deaths you face for failure. While it would have been a change to the central mechanics, adapting this to a health penalty and respawn would have made this far less infuriating. Boss fights are much easier than the basic navigation of many levels which makes for an anticlimactic effect.

The storylines of both games are pretty nonsensical, involving Klonoa as some kind of dream ranger solving mysteries in an alternative world before being returned to his own. The first game has a far darker narrative than I remembered, but it is largely told through cutscenes that go on for what feels like forever. The remasters do allow you to fast forward or skip these, and you won’t really miss out on much by doing so. The general gist of both games is that you need to collect things to stop a bad event from happening whilst fighting off some generic baddies who are trying to make said bad event take place.

I’m in two minds with my overall feelings toward the Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Collection. The games are remastered well and offer up a great deal of nostalgic enjoyment – especially for those who played them first time around – but they are really showing their age in some aspects and I’m not sure how attractive they are to new players. Compared to how the Crash Bandicoot remake trilogy was able to spawn a full sequel, or how Spyro’s remakes made minor changes and improvements, this doesn’t have the same impact.