Klonoa changes the platforming genre with some brand new mechanics to make for a fun, addicting, yet flawed experience
The great unique thing about Klonoa lies in 2 key elements the game has that most platformers don't. For one thing the game is 2.5D, which still see very few games do despite the fact that this game came out more than 10 years ago. The only 2.5D games I can think of are Klonoa and Kirby 64.
But anyways, this 2.5D mechanic is real cool, as you will often find times when you actually have to throw an item in front of you as in towards the player, or behind you, as in away from the player. This offers for some fun boss battles as well as some good puzzles and well hidden secrets. It is also cool because you will often see a path you are going to take further down or a path you've already take in front of you or behind you in the background Playing a 2D game in a 3D environment just feels great and is a nice little thing to play with.
The other new feature Klonoa has that most platformers don't is the ability to grab, hold, and throw enemies. In Klonoa, touching any enemy will hurt you, and the only way to get by them is by grabbing them, holding them, and simply running by. The trick is that while holding an enemy you can at any time throw it at a switch or another enemy, or you can use the enemy to do a jump in midair, or a double jump. This is used lots with platforms that can only be reached with a double jump, and switches that require an enemy to activate. This adds more to the puzzles and bosses, and this plus the 2.5D element offer from some great puzzles and bosses that you just won't find in other platformers.
The game's levels and bosses are just well done, the boss battles are fun to do, and the levels have good variety that will keep you coming for more. The graphics are good for a Wii game, and most of the songs were directly ported from the PS1 version, hard to say if this is good or bad. Newcomers will enjoy this wonderful soundtrack, long time players may have preferred remixes, but it is fine.
The difficulty is just right, you'll die on the levels many times but there are checkpoints so it won't be frustratingly hard. The bosses are also a good difficulty, the bosses will take a couple tries and offer a bit of trouble. The only problem with the difficulty is that the secrets are not well hidden, you can easily find all the secrets on a level the first time you play it so there is little replay value there.
But that is not all to do when you're done. You can replay the levels backwards and go through a bonus level as well as some timed stages which you will like to do after you complete the game, so there is replay value.
However, the biggest flaw of the game is its length. The game is only 12 levels long and with 7 boss battles. You could beat the game and the secret levels, and get all the secrets in about 12 to 13 hours, so the game won't keep you preoccupied for long. However, the game launches at a price of $30, so the length is justified, and the game as a whole is well worth the $30.
Another thing about Klonoa is that it is a bit story driven, unlike most platformers. Every level will start and end with a dialogue scene and occasionally there will be one in the middle of a level. Personally, I thought there were far too many cutscenes and most of them were made real long when they didn't have to be. There will be lots of parts in which you will just get bored and skip the scene, and I do with you could speed up the scenes or that they were not so long and there weren't so many.
Overall, Klonoa makes for a very good game that you will enjoy from start to finish. Since I have not played the PS1 I can not say whether those that already played it should buy it. But if you haven't or have never heard of the series, this is most definitely a must buy for you.
Overall Score: 8.25 + 2.5D (0.50) + Enemy mechanic (0.50) + Good bosses and levels (0.25) - Length (0.75) - bad cutscenes (0.25) = 8.50