Klonoa Series

1. #1Plot

   The game is set in Phantomile, a land fueled by dreams people have at night. An anthropomorphic animal named Klonoa has had a dream about an airship crashing into a nearby mountain known as Bell Hill, and the next day an airship does indeed crash into the mountain. Klonoa and his friend, a "ring spirit" named Huepow, decide to investigate. They find a dark spirit named Ghadius and his henchman Joka on the mountain searching for a magical moon pendant so he can turn Phantomile into a world of nightmares, all the while kidnapping the diva Lephise in order to prevent her from renewing the world with her "Song of Rebirth". After a brief scuffle, Klonoa finds the pendant under a bell and ventures back to his home in Breezegale, where his caretaker, Grandpa, tells him that the chieftess of the nearby Forlock Forest, named Granny, knows about the pendant. The pendant is left with his caretaker.

   Klonoa and Huepow travel there to find Granny, but end up having to detour to the kingdom of Jugpot to stop the water from flowing backwards, which was something done by Ghadius in order to kill off Forlock Forest. After rescuing Granny from Joka, she tells them about a legend that involves the pendant, the legendary moon kingdom, Ghadius and "the dream not of this world". Granny asks about where the moon pendant's being kept, and Klonoa answers by saying that Grandpa has it. Joka eavesdrops on the conversation, and ventures off to steal the pendant before Klonoa can arrive back. Once there, Joka ends up bombing Klonoa's home while Grandpa is nearby, stealing the pendant after doing so. Klonoa is unable to reach Grandpa in time and he ends up dying in Klonoa's arms, but not before telling him to get the pendant back, which he says is his destiny. Klonoa is distraught by the loss of his caretaker, but Huepow reminds him of their mission.

   With the help of the flying fish Pamela, Klonoa and Huepow head to the Temple of the Sun and confront Ghadius at the top, asking him about his motivation in turning Phantomile into a world of nightmares. Ghadius answers by saying he is motivated out of revenge against those who banished him. Ghadius disappears, and Klonoa ends up battling Joka. After Joka's defeat, the moon kingdom, Cress, appears. Klonoa and Huepow make their way there with Pamela's help. There, Huepow reveals himself to be the prince of the moon kingdom, saying that his "ring spirit" form was merely a disguise. Klonoa continues to help Huepow and they make their way to Ghadius, whom they eventually defeat. However, an ancient nightmarish beast known as Nahatomb, who was birthed using the diva Lephise as a living battery and Ghadius' own nightmares, is revived just before he dies. Klonoa and Huepow eventually defeat Nahatomb and restore peace to Phantomile, with Lephise thankful of her rescue.

   Later, a noticeably guilt-ridden Huepow finally tells Klonoa the truth; that he was never from Phantomile at all and that all the memories they had shared together prior to their adventure were fake. Klonoa is distraught by the news and initially thinks of it as a lie, but Huepow reaffirms that it is the truth. Huepow then mentions that when Lephise sings the Song of Rebirth, Klonoa will not be able to stay in Phantomile any longer. Moments after, Lephise begins to sing, and a vortex appears in the sky, slowly sucking Klonoa forcefully back to his own world. Now realizing that the bond they shared was truly real despite the fabricated memories, Huepow chases after Klonoa and grabs his Wind Ring, with Klonoa himself clinging on to it, not wanting to leave Phantomile. Eventually, the ring slips from Huepow's hands, and Klonoa is taken back to his home world. The vortex closes, and Phantomile is restored back to normal.

2. #2Gameplay

   Klonoa: Door to Phantomile is a side-scrolling platform game. It is presented from a 2.5D perspective; the environments are rendered in 3D but the gameplay takes place on a 2D plane. The player moves the protagonist Klonoa along this path; he can run left and right, jump, and hover for a short period of time. The path may often curve, overlap itself, or branch into different directions. Paths visible in the background may be traversed later in the stage.

   Klonoa can grab enemies using a large ring inhabited by his spirit friend Huepow. After grabbing an enemy, they are inflated in a similar manner to a balloon and the player can either throw them as a projectile weapon at other enemies, or use them as a springboard to perform a larger jump. Enemies can be thrown into the foreground or background as well as along the 2D plane. The stages are laced with obstacles that must be traversed by using a combination of these techniques.[6] Some stages end in boss fights which take place in circular 3D arenas or head-on against a 2D plane.

3. #3Development

   Klonoa: Door to Phantomile was developed by Namco and directed by Hideo Yoshizawa as his tenth project. Yoshizawa is known for having previously directed Ninja Gaiden (1988) for the Nintendo Entertainment System. The idea for Door to Phantomile originated when Yoshizawa wanted to create a more cinematic game following his dissatisfaction with other developers not prioritizing story. The game was originally planned to be an adaptation of the manga Spriggan, but the licensing fell through. Not wanting their work wasted, the team morphed what they had built into an original game. The original concept was more serious and featured robots and an "ancient ruins" motif. The main character was a robot that would defeat enemies with spinning iron balls. This idea was dropped for a dreams motif and a more comical story. Yoshizawa established the dream concept because he was interested in exploring the idea of where dreams go when they are forgotten. He envisioned a world where these dreams could be collected and felt players could relate the setting to their own dreams and experiences. Namco felt that the game would appeal to a wide audience, thinking the adventure-like aspects would be enjoyed by children and the emotional plot twists would be appreciated by adults. Lead designer Tsuyoshi Kobayashi conceptualized the fast-paced action gameplay. Originally the game used three buttons, but was reduced to two for quicker input and faster play.

   Klonoa and other characters were designed by Yoshihiko Arai. The initial designs of Klonoa had a shadow-like design and the character was called "Shady". Arai felt that this design lacked color and dropped it. His next design had cat eyes and long ears, as he believed that a person's eyes and silhouette are their foremost features. He added a large hat and necklace to give him a childlike and mischievous quality. The character has features of a dog, cat, and rabbit but is not explicitly any particular animal.[13] His hat features a Pac-Man design. After Klonoa was designed, the setting and other characters were designed around him. Having now adopted a dreams theme, the enemies were designed as nightmarish.[10] Klonoa and Huepow's movements in cinematics were based on motion capture data. Some of the cinematic animators acted out their own motion capture in addition to professional actors. Differences in the character movements can be spotted with a close eye, according to the developers. The 3D graphics and cinematics were made with LightWave 3D. The levels were designed in Softimage 3D. The background music was the work of several different composers, each working on their stages independently.

4. #4Reception

   Critics labeled Klonoa: Door to Phantomile as Namco's first notable 3D platformer and a bid for creating a gaming mascot. GameSpot called it "one of the best side-scrollers in years". Critics praised how the game built upon simple controls and maneuvers to create interesting gameplay. Computer and Video Games liked how the game's level design lent itself as a "satisfying puzzle element" rather than just "an exercise in platform skills". IGN wrote that it was perhaps the best platformer on the market, and "the first 2.5D platformer that makes use of classic 2D game elements without sacrificing the versatility of a 3D environment". Critics praised the level design and diverse environments. Although well made, some argued that it was somewhat formulaic and lacked innovation. Edge explained that "it uses platforming mainstays to create a surprisingly pleasing, if generic, gaming experience." Game Informer recommended it to fans of classic platformers. Ulrich Steppberger of Man!ac praised the game, and only was critical of the game's short length.

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