Klonoa Door to Phantomile

Klonoa: Door to Phantomile is a gloriously fun 2.5D platformer, made by Namco and considered to be one of the absolute gems of the PSX.

The story goes that one day Klonoa goes outside only to see the Ring Spirit, Huepow come crashing down into the glade. They dance and play and later go to bed. They're woken up by another crash a something hits the mountaintop, this crash signifying the spread of a shadow over the land, and the appearance of Ghadius and his servant Joka. Ghadius then proceeds to kidnap the Diva and fly away. This story may sound VERY normal and predictable, but trust me when I say it turns into one of the least predictable in-game stories ever with about 5-10 major plot twists. The storytelling is done well, with every character having a personality, and there being a good amount of humour at the start.

You play as Klonoa and the game involves the usage of a d-pad and only two buttons. Despite this, the puzzles manage to be very involving and the game mechanics work very well. Left and right move you left and right on the world, whilst X makes you jump. If you press and hold X in mid-jump you will flap your ears allowing you to float for a couple of seconds. The O button makes you fire out Huepow in front of you as a wind bullet. You can aim the shots not only left and right, but also into the foreground and background of the level. If Huepow hits and enemy that isn't defending then the enemy will turn into a ball and will appear above you head. With a ball above your head you can perform two new moves. O now makes you throw the ball as a projectile, whilst pressing X in midair makes you throw the ball downwards, hitting anything beneath you as well as making you perform a double jump.

The game plays like a 2D game, however you're in a 3D world. You can fire into the foreground and background, however you can only traverse there if a pathway curves round over there.

The music is, quite simply, some of the best you will ever hope to hear in a video game. It's well-structured, yet at the same time manages to retain the same fun attitude that is found in the music of many SNES and Genesis games.

The sound effects are good, though nothing great. However the voice acting is brilliantly well done. It's done so that, instead of saying what appears on screen, they say a sort of well-structured gibberish as if speaking their own language.

The graphics were out of this world back in the day, and still look good even today. The world looks lush, the characters have a cute 2D depth to them, and the FMVs are quite possibly the best looking you will see on the PSX.

The design element is often handled very well. Some levels have their own little gimmicks that define the level, and there are 5 different types of worlds you will frolic through. The enemies, though they have rather generic attacks, all manage to be both cute and interesting. My only complaint on the design side of things is that a couple of the bosses are rather lacklustre, although all the other bosses are amazing.

This game is truly gaming bliss due both to its VERY fun and relaxing nature, as well as its amazing music and storyline. If you haven't played it before then go buy it now. You will not be disappointed.

Storyline = 10/10
Gameplay = 10/10
Controls = 10/10
Music = 10/10
Sound Effects + Voice Acting = 8/10
Graphics = 9/10
Design = 9/10

Final Score = 10/10