Klonoa: Empire of Dreams

"It May Be Cute But It Doesn't Mean It's "Kiddie""

Klonoa: Empire of Dreams

What It Is
This is a platformer that is more heavily a puzzle game than action, although you will find both in your adventures as the cute little puppy-cat-thing, Klonoa, and his round little buddy, Huepow. I have been a huge fan of Klonoa since Door to Phantomile on PSX and more recently Lunatea's Veil for PS2, and I was overjoyed to get a portable version of this game. I truly hope Namco will continue to bring us more Klonoa and I do believe a Klonoa 2 is announced for GBA!

Control
One thing I have to point out before I say anything else is the fluidity of this game. The controls are perfect; it just FEELS GOOD playing it. It's hard to put into words, but it just has that feeling like the better you get at the game, the more you command the controls. That ''no ceiling'' feeling is something you might not even really notice until you play a game that doesn't have good control. But gameplay on Klonoa is smooth as silk, you will not be frustrated at all. The only other game with control this sweet is Yoshi's Island.

How It Looks
Graphics are beautiful. Simple, but beautiful. It's a colorful, bright little game and I think the reason all the Klonoa games are always sleepers is because the cute characters give people the idea that it's a kiddie game. It is not a kiddie game. Klonoa and the other characters have a strange, surreal appearance, and rightly so, since this is a dreamworld. The bosses are awesome 3D style and scroll in and out mode-7 style. All the Klonoa games give you, at some points, a dizzying feeling of height & depth.

How It Plays
A lot of the puzzles are some real thinkers and require a bit of creative innovating & logic. It's one of those games that when you finally realize what you're supposed to do, it's as plain as day, but before you figure it out you're really scratching your head over it. But it's FUN, not frustrating! With a little experimentation & persistence you will find yourself climbing your way to the next level. The bosses are challenging but not impossible...like all Klonoa games the bosses have definate patterns and once you learn them you can use this to your advantage (and advance!).

What I like is that you're not being timed to hurry through levels. You have all the time in the world, and yet the challenge is even more complex for it. What's even better is the levels are fun to re-do, and you have the option of replaying any levels you complete as many times as you desire, since there are objects & prizes you may miss the first time through. So going back for that extra star or to reach those gems you missed the first time is far from tedious. In fact I'd play the same level 3-4 times each before moving on, just for fun, and it didn't even seem the least bit repetitive.

The bonus levels include a fun, fast snowboarding gem-collecting run and a scrolling level which you must keep up with, and is quite a bit more difficult.

Sound
The music isn't complex like the PSX/2 games but it's sufficient for the GBA. I think the GBA is rather limited to begin with in the sound department, and most games just make the best of what they've got to work with. The music may get a little repetitive for some players, it really didn't bother me much, and I love the sound effects ^_^

Final Score
Overall I give the game a 9/10. It is not quite perfect, as I think perhaps there could have been a little more variety to some of the levels, and the bonus levels could have been more than 2, and the music could have been a little better. But a 9 is very near perfect and this little-acknowledged game is a real gem to have in your GBA collection. The Klonoa games have all been notoriously limited in supply so if you see it, nab it before they are all gone.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/25/03, Updated 03/25/03