Alright, so: it's a good way to enjoy two classic platforms.

I have to say that Klonoa 1 loses a lot its charm from the original game, being a hybrid of 2D and 3D. Klonoa 2 is fine like that.

It still felt a cheap remaster, especially for the cutscenes. But as the most approachable way to get into these 2 games it's a valid option. But debatably the og PS1 Klonoa would be better than this remaster.

Let it be known that this double-pack served as my introduction to the series and that I have not played the originals. This review is purely about the games themselves rather than the quality of the remaster.

That said, these games were such a welcome surprise! Klonoa himself moves fairly slow and doesn't have too many fancy moves to his name, which I initially thought would hinder my enjoyment, but I found that it worked very well for what the game was aiming for. Levels encourage exploration and light puzzle-solving (especially in Klonoa 2) on top of its platforming challenges, and they all work together nicely.

The atmosphere of these titles is breathtaking. I'm a sucker for dreamlike worlds, and Klonoa absolutely delivered. Colorful visuals are accompanied by the games' incredibly dreamy and smooth soundtracks, combining to form an experience that feels incredibly nostalgic even on first impression. Klonoa 2 especially grabbed me with its soundtrack, sprinkling in bits of drum and bass and jazz amongst its usual dreamy feel.

The Klonoa games also feature light storytelling as part of their presentation (more than the average platformer) and the stories told add to their personality! I didn't expect the emotional moments these games threw my way at all.

Ultimately, I can't help but recommend these games! The movement takes a bit to click, but once it does, things fall in place nicely, and you're left to enjoy the ride.

Wafuu!
Klonoa 1:
An adorable game with a more emotional ending that I was ready for. The platforming was tight, and the balloon mechanic in general was super enjoyable to play with as well. Especially the last level you unlock after getting all the unlockables in every level. That stage was my favourite. It's short but worth every minute. Extremely high recommendation from me!
Klonoa 2:
(Coming Soon)

A serviceable way of playing the duology. For ppl getting into the series, this is THE BEST WAY of getting into the series.

The games present are classics. Narratively and gameplay wise, everything is intact. However, some of the "remastering" doesn't translate well. Door to Phantomile feels like a salvaged version of the Wiimake, and while it brings back the original script and the original design, a bunch of graphical oversights and omission of the good features of the Wiimake are suprisingly absent. A perfectly fine way to play Door to Phantomile, sure, but the original version is the way to go.

Klonoa 2 doesn't deal with the same issues, however. Since there never was a Wiimake for Klonoa 2, the Playstation 2 version remains intact, however, it suffers from a weird bloom effect??? Like some characters are just radiating light for some random reason. While that is a thing, the environments look better in my opinion. If the bloom was removed, this would easily be the definitive way of playing Klonoa 2. Unfortunately, you can go either way imo.

My biggest issue with the game is the optimization on the Switch. I know the switch isn't the strongest console out there, but why does a Wii and PS2 game suffer from constant frame drops? It feels very unprofessional. However, I'm still fortunate that this game exists. This was the first way I played Klonoa 2. However, I wish they added things such as emulated versions of the original games as extras, the spinoffs/gba games for good measure, and some neat bonuses and extras that make the package the best way to get into this magnificent franchise.

[Only Door to Phantomile!]

I actually own the original PS1 Door to Phantomile, but I've never played past the first two visions (what the game calls its stages for some reason), and pure convenience (mainly my PS3 not reading discs particularly well and the controller also not being completely reliable anymore) led me to now play this remake instead.

And, you know, it's a fine remake. It looks a bit cheap and the cutscenes lose a lot of power when using in-game graphics rather than just reusing and upscaling the very charming FMVs of the original game, but at least the absolutely fantastic soundtrack and charming, gibberish voice lines haven't been touched at all. The core gameplay of Door to Phantomile also feels basically just like I remebered it, which is to say that it's good. Nothing remarkable to be honest and the game does play basically the same from the first stage to the last, though the difficulty curve feels does amp up at a good pace and the game's short enough that its fairly few gameplay ideas never really grow stale. The 2.5D also still looks great, which does suddenly make me wonder why basically no platformer released after Klonoa tried a similar approach with it's stages that wrap themselves?

Anyway, it's a fine platformer, though there are certainly better playing ones with more interesting mechanics than just jumping around and throwing inflated enemies. Surprisingly, the biggest strength of Door to Phantomile lies in its writing. It's deceptively simple and starts out like the most generic platformer you could ever imagine, but gets progressively more interesting throughout the game, and manages to have some surprisingly though provoking moments and dialogue that will stick with me for quite som time, plus the unbelievably sad ending that I had somehow not spoiled myself on before playing the game. I didn't cry over it or anything, but it certainly made me feel some type of emotion, and isn't that all we want from our games, truly?

This collection legit made me love Klonoa. I never tried the series before but now the Wahoo Boy can join my list of "Favorite Silly Dreamwalker Scrinklos" (the list also includes Rayman, Nights, Kirby, Kat from Gravity Rush and I guess Dom fro Inception?? I dunno)

I gotta admit: I feel as a collection is kinda lacking, at least compared to other types of similar bundles: it lacks a lot of extra features you can look for in stuff like the Megaman collections, so Concept arts, galleries, or other little extra things that are always appreciated (even the title screen lacks a theme, like come one that was the easiest thing)

But aside from that the game featuers are incredible: two amazing platformers that offer an amazing environments full of oniric characters, a gameplay that combines floatier 2D platforming with a unique 3D puzzle solving, and stories that... will honestly leave you speechless on multiple occasions.

Admittely I feel Klonoa 1's charming aesthetics and stronger story moments are not as well represented and I kinda wish there was an option to play the original version...

But aside from that this collection is important: it revives and gives justice to one of the most underrated mascots in the videogame pantheon, and just trying it out may help this little guy come back more in the future.

Klonoa is great, I highly recommend it!

Finally got around to finishing these.

I had zero exposure to Klonoa before playing these and I was shocked at just how Kirby-coded they are. From enemy to level design, it really feels like the developers wanted to make their own take on that kind of game. And for the most part, it works.

The barebones nature of the first game was way less appealing than the jam packed variety in the second game. It really is a case, in my opinion, where the sequel is just a fully realized version of the first game. Can't see how anyone would prefer the first game tbh.

So yeah, I had fun with these. Much more so with the second game.

A really fun old school 2.5D platformer. Me personally I didn’t play the original Klonoa games back on PS1/PS2 so from the day this remaster was announced I planned to play it sometime. And I’m glad I did. This is a really charming duology of beloved classics revamped for the modern age. The first game has a surprisingly emotional story & an incredible soundtrack to go along with it. The second Klonoa was definitely a lot tighter in the gameplay department though & is an amazing experience in its own right so really what you get is two pretty solid games that can be pretty challenging at times. Throughly enjoyed my time with this collection & I highly recommend you get this if you love platformers.

I would absolutely love to see Klonoa come back so let’s show Bandai Namco that there’s still an audience that wants this furry lil fella to have another chance. Wahoo!

Klonoa is cool as fuck! The two games included in this collection are incredibly creative with its mix of 2D and 3D, as well as various stage gimmicks that the game always finds ways to make feel fresh. While neither game is very long, nothing overstays its welcome and from beginning to end they’re just really fun games. Of course, this what I would say in a review of the two games as games, and not as a modern remake.

I don’t mind that the game doesn’t look as polished as other 2D platformers that have released in even the last decade because the art direction makes up for it, aside from a few ugly looking areas. I just really wish this game ran at a stable frame rate. Even as someone who can barely tell the difference between 60 and 30 fps, this game’s frame rate bothered me at times. Aside from the frame rate overall not being smooth, there are occasional frame drops when there’s too much on the screen, and for a remake of a game that’s over 20 years old, and a game that doesn’t look like a modern release, it’s a bit of a problem. Especially for a game with the mechanics of Klonoa, with really fun aerial momentum based puzzles and platforming. The mechanics are so fun that I’d almost buy a whole game in the style of the optional unlockable challenge levels.

Overall, while I can’t say much about how it compares to the original games, I can see how long time Klonoa fans could have been disappointed by this. However, as my first time playing a Klonoa game, I loved this. Although the first game has a much stronger story that almost made me tear up at the end (I probably could have cried if I wasn’t holding back my tears with every bit of my soul because of the embarrassment I would have felt crying to Klonoa), the second game has such better level design that I have to say I liked the second game more. If you have any interest in the game or enjoy other 2D platformers, I’d recommend playing this, or emulating the original games. Here’s to hoping for a new Klonoa game.

"Why do you wish to save the world?"

Pleasure cannot exist without pain - the seemingly impossible task of viewing sorrow as a reprieve from joy, instead of the other way around, in order to save yourself from what would surely be a flat, insensate existence; and to deny such a core part of the human experience would subject yourself to a form of disdain we (evidently) haven't even fully diagnosed yet. We have to move on, we have to... even if it's objectively going to suck. You know that feeling you get when you just know you're playing a new favorite? God it's been so long. Was not expecting such mature stories about how hard it can be learning to co-exist with your own emotions, feeling lost in the world until you're reminded of the things that intrinsically connect us all. Despite sharing obvious similarities, this is everything that Pac-Man World: Re-Pac wanted to be. Reminds me of the brand of old-school magic I found in - of all places - Balan Wonderworld's good moments, though there are elements from many of the best 3D platformers in here. What with such colorful storybook art design (the enemies look like Squishmallows and are called "Moos"), effervescent characters, lovable music, and occasionally brain-melting puzzles. My one major complain about the otherwise fun set of moves here is how stupidly specific the wind bullets have to be in order to function, but otherwise I loved pretty much every minute of these. I definitely like the second game more than the first, but they're both wondrous adventures with some of the greatest levels (and feats of platforming therein) in the history of the genre.

Surprisingly really good!, I wasn't expecting that. The story is really really good (how did the funny wahoo cat rabbit almost make me cry??????) The game themselves ultracharming, with really good characters, music and pure joy in general.

And the tone changes in this game what???????????? Hello?????

I didn't even know anything about Klonoa (I thought it was from Sega, like Billy Hatcher XD) and I bought it blindly because it was at a cheap price.
If you have the minimum curiosity about this game, buy it, it will surprise you as it surprised me and for the price you get quite the quality for your money, you won't regret it for sure.

Wahoo! Klonoa best boy