Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil Review

What do you think of when you hear the term “great platformer game”?  You probably think about one of the various Mario or Sonic games from over the years.  If you’re feeling particularly nostalgic you’ll probably go all the way back to the 8-bit era to describe the perfect platformer game from when you were a kid.  Well when I think of a great platformer I think of an overlooked classic for the PS2 called Klonoa 2: Lunatea’s Veil, which is, in my opinion, one of the savviest titles in the genre.  Whether it be the story, the characters, or the gameplay itself, I love almost every aspect of this game, and I’m going to go through it step by step to explain why I feel this way.  So grab a few winks (and a few dollars) as we follow the dream traveler into his second adventure!

One of the best platformers out there.

One of the most important aspects of a good platformer game that I think everyone can agree on is the necessity of tight and responsive controls.  They should be deceptively simple so that any gamer can pick up the control and have fun, yet with a hidden depth that allows more experienced players to achieve a greater level of skill than is at first apparent.  And Klonoa 2 delivers.  Not once, while I played through the entire game, did I ever find myself blaming the controls for some mistake or other, it was always I that was at fault.  On top of this the use of the grab button (or wind bullet, as it’s called in game) while at first a seemingly simple tool for using enemies as projectiles then evolves into a nuanced double jump that will make you into a master of your environment.  And when combined with a forgiving jump system (you can hover at the apex of your jump for a moment if you hold the jump button) this allows the player to really get into the various puzzles and challenges the game has to offer.

Kill the enemy by throwing enemies at it!  Yes!

And speaking of challenges, the game play in this title is nothing to sneeze at, with a variety of different types of stages and challenges to ensure that the player will never grow bored.  Whether it is a simple side scrolling platforming stage, or a surfing stage, or even one of the six boss stages the game has to offer, Klonoa 2 has a lot to do, and I haven’t even mentioned the bonus challenge stages yet!  For the rookie gamer there is plenty of challenge to be had in simply clearing the 16 main visions and beating the six boss stages to clear the game’s story mode.  But for the hardcore gamer there is the challenge of not only beating all of these stages, but to do so while also collecting all six pieces of the dolls that are hidden in each stage while also collecting 150 gems in the same stage in order to unlock everything the game has to offer.  And believe me, this is no easy feat to accomplish on the later stages!  And on top of this you have time trial versions of the bosses, challenge stages, and art gallery which become available as you collect these items, adding yet another layer to an already impressive game.

Collect 150 gems in a stage to unlock bonus artwork.

This brings us to the issue of the story, which I also feel is praise worthy because of the way in which it seamlessly combines simplicity with depth in a way that manages to appeal to all audiences.  On the surface it’s a simple enough story about saving the world from destruction, yet there are subtle story elements that add extra depth for the astute gamer.  As such it can serve as either an extraneous method of progressing through the game for younger and less mature gamers, while leaving older gamers with a message on what it means to overcome and accept sorrow into your life, lest you throw yourself into imbalance.  This layered approach to storytelling really lends the game towards all audiences, as anyone can pick up and enjoy this game regardless of age or understanding.  It is, in my mind, a truly universally appealing game.

Aw, who's an adorable enemy?

This can also be felt in the way the game approaches its character design, in the way in combines outward appearances with meaningful personas.  All of the characters are anthropomorphic and adorable, leaving a favorable impression on younger gamers (hell, most of the enemy designs are freaking adorable!) who were, admittedly, probably most of the game’s target audience.  Yet these seemingly simple characters turn out to have a lot of depth as you progress through the game, lending credence to their plight and adding a level of empathy towards these characters that otherwise wouldn’t be present.  A great example of this is the character Leorina, who acts as an antagonist throughout the game yet has enough depth that by the time you finally defeat her you feel a surprising amount of empathy towards her plight.

Our protagonist, the Dream Traveler.

The last aspect of the game I’d like to mention is the sound and art design, which is really rather well done in my opinion.  Sure, graphically the game isn’t as sophisticated as modern titles, but it still has a rather charming feel to it and holds up rather well given its age.  But even if it was a visual nightmare it would still be worth mentioning if only for the music that permeates throughout the game.  With over seventy different pieces of music composed by eight different artists, the music of Klonoa serves as an incredible addition to an already impressive game, making this dream world really seem to come to life.  And I also found the odd voices of the different characters to be a nice touch, as it led an air of universality to the game through all of the characters being able to understand each other even though they all spoke differently.  Really, the game has just superb sound design and the Klonoa Works team really deserves a lot of credit for this addition.

As such I highly recommend this game to anyone who enjoys platformers, knows someone who does, or who wants to share a videogame experience with a group of people regardless of age or intellect.  It is a fun game with a lot of replayability and a huge heart.  If you see this game in your local game store make sure to pick it up.  At only five dollars a copy you have very little to lose and a lot to gain.

Galerians: Ash Review

Oh man, where do I even start with this one?  Well, I picked up Galerians: Ash (or "The Last Galerians Ash” if you read the manual.  Some consistency would be nice guys.) for two reasons.  One, I was intrigued by the art style, which is fairly unique for the PS2, and two, it was only $3.99.  As such the art style was enough to convince me to get this game.  After all, what was four bucks to try a game you’ve never heard of before?  In retrospect though that was four bucks I could have spent on tacos, or Robotech: Battlecry, or invested in my future.  Instead I got one of the most mediocre action RPGs I’ve ever played: and that’s saying something.

 The game in question.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.  Looking at the part of the game that drew me to it in the first place, the art style, I really can’t complain.  The graphics were certainly nice enough for a PS2 title, and the animation in the various cut scenes certainly lived up to my expectations.  There is little doubt that the graphical aspect of the game is certainly its best feature, promoting an atmosphere unlike most of what I’ve experienced in video games.  Add in a decent, if unmemorable, musical score and ambient noises and you have a game that has a solid background in which for the player to experiment with.  Unfortunately, this is then put to waste with sluggish controls, poor level design, and dull frustrating game play that will make you curse the fool who created the charge attack!

Well, at least it looks nice.

Not that there’s anything wrong with charge attacks if they’re done properly.  Hell, one of the best features of games like Megaman X was the ability to charge up your attack for massive damage.  The problem is when you make the charge attack into the only attack option in the entire game you begin to run into some issues.  For instance, high-speed enemies become a source of tremendous hatred and frustration, as by the time you’re able to get off enough attacks to kill them all you’ve probably lost a good chunk of health simply because you can’t get an attack off quickly enough.  This wouldn’t be so bad if you weren’t immobile while charging, meaning that there is no way for you to dodge incoming attacks if you want to attack yourself.  On top of this enemies continuously respawn when you kill them, making every room into a test of patience.  You could, of course, skip these waves of enemies, but they are not actually infinite and for every enemy you kill you get orbs that boost your energy for attacks and health (hence the RPG aspect of the game), meaning that there is no reason for you not to farm the enemies as they spawn.  This adds a level of tedium to an already painful combat system, leaving one to wonder why they should bother fighting at all.

Now hold still so I can hit you!

On top of this, some aspects of this game are just so thoroughly unbelievable that it disrupts any chance of true immersion the game might have had.  Like why are there endlessly pivoting flamethrowers guarding the main lobby to a nuclear facility?  Does that seem like a bad idea to anybody else?  Or how about the stupid key card system that you rewrite with the special machines that let you name them after different planets (one at a time I might add!) so you can open different planet doors?  But don’t worry; you only need to unlock each door once and its unlocked forever!  Does that seem horribly convoluted and inefficient to anyone else?  Now I know video games have a history of this sort of thing, and there have been stranger key card systems in supposedly realistic games, but it really takes away from what is otherwise supposed to be a fairly realistic game setup.  It makes it difficult to take the game seriously.

Visually intriguing, rationally confounding.

The final nail in the coffin of this game, so to speak, is the story.  The problem here is that the game is a direct sequel to the original Galerians, meaning that if you haven’t already played the first game you are going to have no idea who these characters are or what the hell is going on.  I was fortunate enough to have the manual for the game, which has an eight page prologue describing the events of the first game for the player's convenience.  This is not good story telling guys!  And god help you if you don’t have the manual, as I was confused enough by what was happening even after I bothered to sit down and read the whole thing.  All this does is serve to alienate players who haven’t already beaten the first game, which I would guess was most of their target audience.

All in all, I really can’t recommend this game to anyone other than fans of the original Galerians game for the PSO.  Clunky game play combined with a confusing story and unbelievable set pieces just render the game, at least for me, unplayable and almost completely unenjoyable.  If you really want to play an action rpg then I’d have to suggest Monster Hunter Freedom Unite for the PSP.  Sure you can’t upgrade your stats by farming bullshit enemies like in Galerians: Ash, but trust me when I say there is nothing more enjoyable than slaying a giant Wyvern with nothing but your own skill and a bit of practice.  Anyway, that’s it for me.  I hope you enjoyed this review and get ready for next time, when we look into the oft overlooked Klonoa 2: Lunatea’s Veil.