This is one of my favorite games of all time, and it could be yours too

User Rating: 9 | Klonoa: Door to Phantomile PS
Klonoa: Door to Phantomile is the first game of NamcoBandai's Klonoa franchise, and the only one that seems to hold true to the original's storyline and overall mood (save for its Nintendo Wii remake). Klonoa is a large part of my childhood, I have played through it many times, and I have decided to write a review on it after blazing through everything after buying the game again on my PS3. Even if I didn't have a personal leniency and slight vexation towards this game, I would still have to point out what it did for the video game industry as well. There were many two-dimensional side-scrolling games at the time of its release, and 3D games such as Super Mario 64, Sonic Adventure, and Crash Bandicoot had come to the peak of the gaming world. If you see any games today take a two-dimensional control scheme in a three-dimensional environment, you have this game to thank, because it was one of the first to base a full game on this idea, and if you ask me it is still one of the best representations of the style's full potential. But I have to be fair with the game so people reading my review know what to expect of the game, so it is time to put my bias aside and tell you the good and bad of this game, no matter how it pains me to find and reflect on the bad.
VISUALS/SOUNDTRACK… 2/2
As I've stated above, the visuals of this game are unique for its time because it is one of the first "2.5D" platformera in the history of video games. Usually a new concept in the game world is very groundbreaking at first, but after evolving and being expanded on so much in the future it starts to become dull when delivered incorrectly; this is not so much the case with Klonoa. Granted the character creations are a little too cuddly for the rest of the game to be taken seriously, they aren't that obnoxious, and looking past them opens one's eyes to the lush, detailed backgrounds that smoothly sway across the screen as you guide Klonoa throughout Phantomile. The background is music is also basically guaranteed to get stuck in your head. Every track has a memorable melody line or a catchy beat. Some of the synthesized sounds are a little cheap by today's standards, but again; it was the 90's and this was about as fully evolved as games could get without taking up two or three discs. To sum this section up: if the view doesn't drag you in and leave you hungry for more later, the sound will. But of course this is only secondary to the reason we mainly play video games; the gameplay, which I'll get to next.
GAMEPLAY… 1.5/2
The controls are very simple. One button moves Klonoa, one makes him jump, and the other takes use of his wind ring which solves a vast majority of the puzzles in the game. The puzzles are the challenge of the game, although Klonoa is technically an action game, trying to beat up all the enemies typically leads you nowhere. Manipulating the body (through inflation) of an enemy and launching it into the right spots at the right times is what will get you through all the stages, all the extras, and essentially the boss battles too. This is vaguely hard to explain through text, but as you progress through the storyline, Klonoa's movements should become very natural and the only thing that's really going to hinder you is your own mind. A very select few of the bosses aren't completely clear on what to do and the controls aren't anything new to the genre, but the game is pretty enticing and easy to pick up and play at the same time. I'm going to give this a 1.5 out of 2, which will make more sense in the "Flow" section.
REPLAY VALUE… 1.5/2
The storyline is actually relatively short depending on how long it takes you to figure out puzzles and blaze through the main story. After you defeat the last boss [spoiler alert… kind of… it won't spoil the story though, so proceed with caution] it asks if you want to save again of course, and then afterwards it takes you straight to a map of Phantomile, labeled with every stage you have already visited. Next to each stage label is a small zero and a large dream stone, thus challenging you to collect all the dream stones and collect whatever Phantomilians (another item of which there are six in each level) you didn't pick up during the main storyline. The dream stones you picked up in the story mode don't carry over in this mode but the Phantomilians do, which I don't understand. I can't tell if this was a mistake or a force-feed of replay value. One of the things I love most about this game is the fact that it tells you a lot about what to do without saying much of anything about it at all, that definitely draws me into the game more, but when it comes to this scenario, I am just not sure. For that reason I am going to give this aspect a 1.5 out of 2, so I don't spoil any storyline or uncover any more of the game's secrets.
STORYLINE/REASON TO GO ON: 2/2
The reason I hate the cute character designs in this game is not because I am a guy and was never into the cutesy stuff, but because it diverts the player from a solid storyline. I'm not saying the game has to be a gore-fest to have a great storyline, but I can't help to feel that this storyline was dumbed down somewhere along the way to appeal to a younger market, and it really didn't have to. I mean, I'm glad it did because I've probably been playing this game since I was 7 and it hasn't lost any of its luster, but … anyways. The storyline does keep an underlying mystery going. From the very beginning there is an explosion outside of a windmill where Klonoa and his best friend Huepow are sleeping and Klonoa states that it was just like in his dream. They go to check it out and run into Balue who informs them of Lephise and the moon kingdom. The player thinks "why is this important?" so they must go on. Before you beat the first boss, Lephise is kidnapped. Basically once you figure out one thing in the story, another question or two will come up. If only I could spoil the ending for you, one of my favorite endings of any media… ever. If you're not going to play this game, if this sounds like an utter pile of crap that you would never see yourself playing in a million years, that's fine, but you have to go YouTube all the scenes or something. This game constantly pushes you forward to the end of the story, and the end is just… wow… don't take my word for it though.
FLOW: 2/2
The most stupid title of a section for a game review ever I swear… Anyways, this basically just refers to the overall programming (as seen by the player). You can put bells and whistles all over a bike, but if it has a broken chain and square wheels, then the only reason anyone could ever buy it would be for comedic effect or something to light on fire. So I guess this section is about finding any illogical holes or things that don't make sense and seeing if everything meshes together or not. I decided to throw this section in as the last one because it can either be the really boring part to skip over or the climactic part that changes your entire opinion of the game... and because when there is a lack of "Flow" in a game, I notice it and it makes me want to scream. I guess I will keep it in my head until I finish this review though. The animations, menus, and character-to-platform reactions all move very smooth. Even with the blocky graphics, everything is very fluid. Sometimes in some of the harder levels I feel Klonoa becomes "confused" with faster movements and will hover too early after he launches an enemy out from under him, but maybe I'm just trigger happy with the X button, I don't know. Speaking of the X button, I have to appreciate the alternate control settings in the game. There aren't even that many buttons in the game to get used to, but if you don't like them, you can change them. For that aspect, the time period in mind, and personally I've been saying that a lot but to clarify I still think a lot of Klonoa holds up by today's standards. The "sequel" for PS2 I have played a few hours of and fundamentally not much changed (except the entire storyline, but that is a heated, angry rant for another time). Random tangents aside (and screenname pun not intended), there aren't any major glitches, bugs, or uncomfortable issues with the game, so I think it earns a 2 out of 2 for this section.
OVERALL RATING: 9/10
Well if you read the whole review then you already know that I would recommend this game to everyone and anyone and that the game is not only a great and addictive experience but a bit of an overlooked historical gem of the 64-bit era. I would say I'm pleased with the overall rating because it isn't necessarily a perfect game and not everyone is going to be as mind-blown by it as I was/still am. If you pick it up I hope you enjoy it and are fully prepared for the challenges… that the cutscenes will bring to you… and that's all I can say without majorly spoiling anything so I hope you enjoyed and thanks for reading.