Perhaps the most over-rated under-rated game of all time.
Now, to be fair, I do not know when this game was originally released. Perhaps 2.5D was a huge deal back then, but in light of some fantastic 3D platformers available today, the whole 2.5D concept seems rather gimmicky.
The game itself is short. You will blow through this thing real quick. There are a number of items to collect in each level though, which can lengthen the amount of time spent with the game.
The characters are cute, and the much ballyhooed story is actually quite well written, though the tragically sad ending was a bit overhyped.
In the end though, platformers are all about control, and the fact of the matter is I have played better. Much better. Control over Klonoa is not as tight as it could be and the jump mechanic is a bit erratic as you hold down A to jump higher, but if you hold it down too long you start to float a bit. Grasping an enemy to propel you higher into the air, where you can then grasp another enemy to gain even higher altitude is a decent play mechanic, but it can also prove to be more frustrating then fun in some places.
The graphics are nice and cartoonish but the soundtrack was largely forgettable with the exception of the Sun Temple Vision 5-1 tune which I still have stuck in my head.
I wish I could have played this back when it was originally released to be able to give it more of an objective review, but as it is, this struck me as a middle of the road platformer. There is nothing horrifically wrong with it, there are just better platformers out there, especially for the Wii which is loaded with them.