Klonoa Heroes

"Klonoa and crew in their first action-RPG"

So our long-eared platform star has made his third title on the GameBoy Advance as an action-RPG, Klonoa Heroes: Legend of the Star Medal. The game stars Klonoa, as the title alone suggests, and along with his two pals, Guntz and Pango. However, this title was only released in Japan (though language barriers are thin, as you'll find yourself catching on to the game play rather quickly), for reasons unknown, in December 2002.

Plot: 7/10

Either you've seen Aoi's translated script of the game, or you know Japanese quite well, then you will understand the plot. While my Japanese isn't that fantastic, I understood a portion of the game to get an idea of the plot.

Plot involves Klonoa wishing to become a hero and so he tags along with Guntz, who is on a mission, in doing so. Guntz's mission apparently involves in killing a man, said man then kidnaps Lolo, Klonoa's friend, and whisks her away to the moon. Klonoa and Guntz then team up with Pango, who is looking to find the cure to his son's sleeping illness.

A fairly good plot, for what you would be expecting from the Klonoa games. It isn't the best thing, as it is rather uninteresting in the start of the game; however it unfolds in the mid-point of the story, or perhaps when reaching to the climax, it really depends on how you see it.

Graphics: 9/10

I'll have to say, the graphics for this game are rather impressive. They're not the best, but for a game that's already four years old, it's better than most of the recent GBA titles in terms of graphics.

The graphics are bright and attractive, though some worlds will burn your eyes, such as world 5, Volk City, in colors of high contrast. However, it makes up for interesting cutscenes that will grab your attention.

Music: 9/10

I keep saying this for the Klonoa games, but I think the best aspect of the series is the music. While the past two GBA installments weren't too impressive in music, Klonoa Heroes surely makes up in music. Some are from old stages in the past games, such as Breezegale, from Door to Phantomile, and Volk City from Lunatea's Veil, but they still keep to their classic tune.

The music captures the feeling of the events quite well. If there's a huge problem where Klonoa and Co. are in deep trouble, the music will portray a sinking feeling. If the crew is relieved, then the music would be more cheery and joyful.

The theme song to the game, ‘Sign of Hero' by Kumiko Watanabe, is also a nice tune. Whether the game needed a theme song, I don't know, but it's a fairly good song. It's Japanese, as expected, but still cute.

Sound: 6/10

Okay, this section isn't too much unless if you're looking to see me bash the game for a moment. The sound effects aren't too impressive; they aren't bad, but they aren't worth much for me to praise.

I'll admit that it keeps some sound interesting. The sound suits at times. When Klonoa waves his wind saber around, it'll provide a whoosh. When Guntz whips out his guns and shoots someone in conversation, it sounds a bit like a pop-gun, but not too much during gameplay. Last, you have Pango's bombs which explode a moment later after tossing them about.

However, one thing I loved to itty bits were the sound clips for the characters. Nothing better than hearing Guntz scream ‘Damn you!' when taking massive damage. *Bad joke, sorry!* Though, after awhile, the voice clips will get annoying with how often Klonoa screams 'Wahoo' when making a critical hit, which seems to be often, and might annoy some of the people around you.

Controls: 9/10

The controls are rather smooth; nothing to say about them. They aren't too tight or loose and everything flows quite well. Only thing you might have difficulty with is understanding the menus if you don't catch on fast. Other than that, all is well in the game.

Difficulty: 6/10

For an action-RPG, it's not that hard. It's not too hard, as the beginning of the game is filled with easy enemies and simple puzzles, and remains easy until the near end of the game. When it reaches near the end, the enemies and puzzles are quite challenging, which is a shame, because the game doesn't boil up in difficulty, but rather jumps straight to ‘hard' from ‘easy'.

Otherwise, it'll give you something to play. It's a lot harder than the past GBA installments to Klonoa, but otherwise it's not something that's extremely difficult. Average, no?

Enjoyment: 9/10

Okay, maybe it's just me saying 9 because I'm a huge Klonoa fan. Don't hit me, it might lean over to a 7 or 8 for you, I was considering putting 8 down. I got hooked to the game rather fast after it came in the mail, and I just spent almost every day playing it. It might not interest you too much if you're new to the Klonoa games or just not a lover for Klonoa Heroes.

I'll have to admit, I got bored at some parts mainly because of having to level up the trio to defeat a boss. Or a few parts of the storyline, but that was probably after I played the game for a second time around. It's rather hard to say. I'll admit there are times where I'm not too interested in playing it and will tuck it aside to play something else, but otherwise it's quite enjoyable.

Replay Value: 5/10

Eh, not the strong point of the game. After you defeat the final boss you pretty much have done it all. You get to hear the full version to ‘Sign of Hero', you get a music player on the title screen to jam to some tunes (though you lose it if you start a new game, meaning you have to complete the game all over again to earn it, that made me one sad panda), and you unlock five extra visions. Or it might be seven, not too sure.

The visions give you best equipment for your characters, and give you the highest difficulty in the game. The catch? You don't get anything out of playing the extra visions. That's just it; it doesn't give you much for after defeating the final boss.

Overall: 9/10

Overall, I give it 9 out of 10. It's not the best game for the GBA, but I think it leans over to high regards. It's a very cute game, probably Klonoa's best GBA title. It's a shame it never made it out of Japan, though it supposedly had a release date for Europe in 2004…

Rent or buy? Well, you can't rent it, obviously, so your only option is to buy it. It's hard to say. If you're a huge Klonoa fan, then, by all means, whip out a credit card for an import site, it's not bad for $50. I should know I was desperate enough to order it on PlayAsia. :P

Of course, there's always emulating as an option. It's nice to play; I started out on the emulator before noticing the missing graphics and decided to just go for an import. Not a Klonoa fan? Well, you might enjoy it. Most likely you'll find yourself bored in the start of the game, but then hooked to it near the end for when the plot unfolds and the game becomes difficult.

It's really just taste. I would say go for it if you have the money, but the other reviews might tell you otherwise. Aha. It's a win-lose situation. You'll hate it or you'll love it, you might even be neutral. Now I'm not helping, am I?

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/21/06, Updated 06/27/08

Game Release: Klonoa Heroes: Densetsu no Star Medal (JP, 12/13/02)