Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil

Review by JR Clone

Translation: Look! A Klonoa 2 review

As my taste in games has broadened and changed over the years, it was not surprising that my second experience with the plucky Klonoa was very different than my first. Stopping off at a local video rental establishment a few years ago, my friend and I decided to rent a Tekken game. The staff member at the counter placed the game in box, and we were off.

After returning home, we received quite a shock when, much to our dismay, instead of a brutal fighting game, we were greeted with a disc adorned with cute creatures, entitled Klonoa: Door To Phantomille . After a good laugh and a few insults directed towards the hapless employee, we decided to pop the game in. All it took was a few seconds of cutesy platform gaming for my friend and I to turn off the system in disgust. It wasn’t until a few years later that I learned that Klonoa was actually a well-respected sleeper hit in the gaming community. With the advent of the sequel, Klonoa 2: Lunatea’s Veil, I knew I couldn’t let the chance to redeem my gaming sins pass me by.

Now, for all those out there who pass on games or even entire consoles (i.e. the Nintendo 64 or Gamecube) simply because they are too ‘kiddie’, there is a moral to this story: don’t judge a game by its cute characters, colorful environments, or harmless looking enemies. If you want ‘mature’ entertainment, go read an interesting book or watch a classic film. If you want a fun time, play Klonoa 2!

Now, Lunatea’s Veil is not an excellent game, but it is well-executed platformer that seems to succeed in every area it set out to succeed in. 2-D platforming games are a rarity in this day an age, but Namco (a company with a very eclectic line-up of titles) has delivered a fanciful adventure that will captivate the young and entertain the older set of gamers. While never seeming to strive for brilliance, Klonoa, a game that follows the established criteria of older ‘cutesy’ platforming games very well, is certainly a cut above the norm.

Criterion #1: The hero must have a quest to embark upon, preferably involving saving the world and the collection of several items which, if used together, will rescue the world that is in peril.

Yes, the classic adventure story is pretty much intact here in K2. Klonoa, the protagonist, is somehow swept away to a world called Lunatea. In possession of a ring that has great magical power, Klonoa must sound the Four Bells located within the world of Lunatea and use their ‘Elements’ to put an end to the ‘Chaos’ plaguing the land. If the Four Elements routine hasn’t been overused in video games, I don’t know what has, but Klonoa pulls it off with moderate originality and flair.

Although nowhere near as stirring as the original Klonoa, K2 certainly has its fair share of intense moments. The fact that the Chaos in Lunatea is only vaguely explained gives K2 an initially incoherent feel, but things pick up, and the inconsistencies are soon left behind. Surprisingly deep for a platforming game, K2’s characters and story elements are quite impressive given the genre they are found in.

Criterion #2: Create a colorful, lush world for the hero to explore, with several diverse areas or worlds.

K2 may not have the strict ‘world’ feel of games like Mario Bros. 3 or Donkey Kong Country , but the different areas are separated fairly easily. The general buzz around Klonoa’s visuals seems to be that while artistically impressive, K2 isn’t going to win any awards for technical features like textures, framerates, etc. To this, I respectfully say: “What joo talkin’ about?!?!” While the kind of praise K2 is getting might fit a game like Parappa the Rapper, Lunatea’s Veil is simply beautiful in almost every way.

Everything from a carnival to a barren wasteland is represented in Klonoa, and everything appears very impressive. Even though Klonoa is a 2-D game, enemies and items are constantly flying in and out of the background, and the camera often rotates around the abundant environments, so although your movement is restricted, Klonoa 2 has a depth almost on par with that of 3-D games. The heroes and enemies in K2 all have a cel-shaded look (think Jet Grind Radio), and are awfully colorful, just like the rest of the game.

Many of the graphical problems that afflict many PlayStation 2 games are almost nonexistent in K2. No flickering; no ‘jaggies’; no slowdown. Wow. Smooth and plush, Klonoa 2 is it in the graphics department.

Criterion #3: Base the game around jumping, running, and collecting various items, but add a novel gameplay element to separate the game from others

Packing an ability to grab enemies and inflate them, Klonoa’s ring adds the spice to the otherwise vanilla gameplay. Your enemies, used in conjunction with the ring, are practically your only weapons/items. Besides throwing enemies at other foes, they can also be used as stepping-stones to higher platforms, keys for opening doors, and a way to hit switches that are out of reach. Using the ring is really the only means of getting anything done in K2, so get used to it. Fortunately, Namco has given the ring an impressive list of uses, and condenses what could have been allocated to several items into one shiny piece of jewelry.

Of course, there are the obligatory items: hearts for refilling life, 1-up coins, and Dream Stones; one hundred of these gems equals an extra life.

One feature that deserves special praise in K2 is the camera. It struck me towards the end of K2 that there had not been one problem with the camera at any time. Although 2-D games don’t generally have much camera movement, Lunatea’s Veil constantly shifts from side scrolling to a 3rd person perspective without a hitch. Flawless and dynamic, K2’s camerawork is so impressive you probably won’t even know it’s there.

Klonoa 2 is certainly formulaic, but definite fun. Klonoa’s ring adds the nice illusion that you are actually doing things that you haven’t done before in a video game, and even this simple illusion was good enough for me to enjoy this game.

Criterion #4: Make sure everything is pleasant and innocuous

K2 doesn’t become overly sappy in most aspects, but sometimes overdoes the whole “cuteness” thing during cutscenes. The main thing I am referring to is the characters’ language (see tagline). I am told that the tongue of Lunatea is a hodgepodge of Japanese, Chinese, and other gibberish, and it sounds very annoying coming out of someone’s mouth. Most of the characters have high- pitched voices, and given the large number and length of cutscenes (at least for an action game), listening to what is essentially a 6-year old girl screaming nonsense gets old quickly.

Fortunately, the rest of Lunatea’s Veil finds a comfortable middle ground, so you cool teenage studs won’t have too much to worry about if your friends catch you playing K2. The music is inoffensive and merry, as well as most everything else in Klonoa 2. So, if you are five years old, you should be unafraid of getting nightmares, and if you are older than fifteen, you should find no reason to retch.

Criterion #5: The main quest should be easy enough, but include some extra challenges for more determined players

Klonoa 2 is definitely more of an enjoyable romp than a white-knuckle thrill ride. With little over a dozen levels, K2 is mostly sweet, but unfortunately short. To lengthen its lifespan, like most games of its kind Klonoa 2 has a few challenging item collecting hunts. By collecting all 150 Dream Stones in each level or all six pieces of a Momett Doll (some guy named Momett named them, what else can I say?) scattered throughout each stage, extra rewards can be earned.

These item hunts, however, are really nothing special or intriguing. K2 is the quintessential weekend rental, but for all but the most resolute, it should probably be only that.

The Bottom Line

Playing by all the rules and yet staying slightly ahead of its average predecessor, Klonoa 2 provides a pleasant ride, perhaps a little too pleasant. Enjoyable but meandering, Lunatea’s Veil is not in the least bit thrilling, and it doesn’t help that at K2’s core it ultimately uninspired. These shortfalls are made up, however, by the pleasure of playing of the game. Both its fatal flaw and its main selling point, the general feel of Klonoa keeps it from being mentioned in the same breath with the more excellent action games of the past, but definitely head and shoulders above the huge mass of mediocre titles out there.