Wahoo! Klonoa's long-awaited return is almost upon us with Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series releasing on 8th July. And while the wait is getting unbearable for some, Bandai Namco Entertainment Asia has dropped a comparison trailer for the game, which pits the Klonoa: Door to Phantomile and Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil remakes up against their "original" versions.
Now, "original" is in quotes for a reason, as the video for the first game is actually comparing it to Klonoa on Wii, the 2008 remake of the PlayStation original. That might be a closer comparison, but we're not complaining.
With the first game, Klonoa's shorter proportions — much closer to his PS1 model — are way more apparent when stacked next to the Wii versions. Stages like Pamela's boss arena are much brighter and have a bit of a glow to them — the water even reflects onto the walls! The colours really pop, too, adding to that cheery vibe that Klonoa exudes.
We get a bit of a look at Klonoa 2 as well with Jungle Slider, where Klonoa leaps off of a waterfall on his board. Other than the obvious resolution bump, you can see how much clearer the water looks, and how much rockier the background looks. The whirlwinds in Volk City are also much rounder.
We'll have to see how the game shapes up when it launches next month, but Bandai Namco is promising that the game will run "up to 60 fps on the Switch", so let's keep our fingers crossed!
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Are you looking forward to the upcoming collection? Let us know in the comments!
[source twitter.com]
Comments 37
I think it looks better in some places, worse in others. In particular that factory area looks a lot less detailed in the new one and the more muted colors better suit the look of it. Still, on the whole think this port looks pretty good.
I am not sure if I like the overly bright / overly saturated graphics. The remakes look definitely sharper, but some charm and finesse got lost in the process.
I'd say the originals had better colors and contrast.
@rushiosan @NielsNL I think the colours look wonderful. I'll always prefer bright and vibrant colours for games like this. It's one of the things I like about the Mario Kart 8 dx booster tracks actually.
I'd love to see some kind of additional cel-shading outlining option to be added later down the line, I think it's the main thing that I wish this new version would have to make things have that certain "edge" in the graphics department that seemed to be present in the originals.
Really excited for this.
Loving the bright colours, really makes it look vibrant but I admit possibly some detail may have been lost 🤔
Regardless, it still looks great, providing it reviews well I'll be picking it up.
Was the original really that 'dark'? I remember it be super colorful and vibrant honestly.
Still, the enviroment looks great in these new releases and the gameplay seems to be alive and well!
But...Klonoa...feels a little off? I swear, his face looks less expressive in the new game and the lack of celshading combined with all that lighting is really not doing the poor little guy any favor.
old one looks better
Any details on price?
I hope it runs well, I've never played the series and really looking forward to it.
Never played but wanted to when I was younger! Definitely interested.
Looks fine to great. As long as it plays solidly as possible.
That music is horrific 😅
I prefer the original.
The oversaturated colours might suit it but it loses detail.
Shame they couldn't find a middle road and balance them out.
Awesome! Looks like they took the time to update this properly instead of quick and easy ports.
I utterly adore these games and can't wait to play them again but, a proper sequel is what we need next.
Does anyone know if it will be available digital? Price?
I like the bright ones but as a few here have mentioned it loses details in some areas.
Does this release include a classic graphics option? I tend to really dislike the trend of brightening up graphics for remasters or remakes. I feel it almost always loses atmosphere. The worst offender is probably Halo Anniversary, but you can switch to classic graphics with the touch of a button.
Great games, but played them so many times already. Wish there was a brand new one coming out instead of these remakes.
@Ladasta Yeah the trailer might lead to a net loss in sales. Now I'm worried that that's representative of the soundtrack. I care about that in games more than most reviewers, so maybe I need to discount the praise I've heard about these games.
Whoa.. the colors are definitely better in the original, the hd graphics cheapen the look of the art style
Remember when I asked Namco to make a Trilogy port of Pac-Man World?
I take it back.
The "up to 60fps" doesn't really inspire much confidence since it seems to suggest that were dealing with an inconsistent framerate kind of like with ninokuni 2 on switch (iirc there were parts where it hit close to 60 such as interiors but it also had areas like the overworld where it had trouble hitting 30) , there were parts in the trailer where it seemed choppier than the original such as the volk city chase.
@Thomystic
iirc that song plays during one stage in klonoa 2 and i wouldn't say is overall representative of the games overall music, none of the other themes have vocals and there is some very atmospheric and intense tracks in the games.
@Ladasta
I was thinking the same thing! Does the whole soundtrack have obnoxious singing like this trailer does?
I like the look of the new one. Really looking forward to it now.
...Klonoa was on PS2!?
I'm a fan of both games so this is pure joy to me! Also, a good pickup for any collectors out there based on the originals' sales trends and going rates.
I might be getting this day one. Not sure about the new look but once I start playing the game I don't think it will matter. Would be nice if they do the GBA games too.
By the way the music in that trailer was very annoying.
@Beaucine I don't think it does, unfortunately 😕.
Game looks fine but Klonoa looks like he's dead inside. much prefer the original models.
Also that song made my ears bleed
Huh, I am actually not so sure about how to feel about this. I mean yeah in some ways they really cleaned up the visuals and it all looks more modern and high res, but with that said I think they might have changed the art style a bit too much for my taste, and the look and feel of the original games might have been lost.
Bizarre to compare it to the Wii Klonoa.
Some context: I saw a comparison video a fan did when the original trailer came out that showed they're actually bringing the graphics of Klonoa 1 more in line with the original PS1 version. The Wii game's graphics were criticized by many at the time of its release for washing OUT the color of the original while improving the graphics. At least as far as the first game goes I think what they did is more a best of both worlds.
There are not enough clips of Klonoa 2 for me to say one way or the other.
I think the song is fun and fits the level it comes from. Klonoa 2 is an OST of all time for me. One of the few non-Squaresoft games I paid to import from Japan back in the day.
The comparison to the wii version is due ti it, being the one the've used here, it seems. But they modified it in a lot of ways. The wii version was critizised for its dark colours and lack of faithfullness to the original, and i think they managed to make it more faithfull this time.
@Z-Core Klonoa 2 was.
This was supposed to show the original as being worse....right...?😅
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