Round Up: The Reviews Are In For Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series

I still wish a new Klonoa was coming. Glad for those that never played these two games though.

Both games are great platformers and Klonoa is a cool character ( I was always hoping for him in Smash ). I just hope this title does well enough for Bamco to release a new game in the series.

Though I’m still excited for this, I do think Namco shot themselves in the foot in a couple ways with this release:
—it sounds like the Switch version could’ve used a bit more attention, unfortunate considering Nintendo fans would be most likely to gravitate toward such a game.
—the weird inconsistent pricing across territories. $40 US vs almost 50 £ 😬 and others…
—a bit lacking in bolstering the package with extras: concept art, history, etc.

I’ll still get it. I love the series. I just think if the reception to it to this collection is lackluster Namco will think the character doesn’t have future potential—which it does.

Kinda weird how you pay 20 bucks for 5 random costumes though.

Haven’t played the remaster but played the first game recently. I don’t really agree that you’d need to have nostalgia to enjoy it. I thought it was a really pretty and extremely unique platformer. Does it show its age and have difficulties associated with that? Yes. But still very worth playing for those who can accept such things

the problem is the port in my opinion. its a really bad one. the graphics are far from top notch but it stutters all the time. and still the wii version looks better, except the resolution ofc. I hope they will patch the frame rate but i wouldn't expect it when you know how those porting deals usually work with porting developer studios

Somehow I completely missed Klonoa’s existence while growing up lol. It looks intriguing though, so I’ll probably end up trying it one of these days.

@Nontendo_4DS runs crappy and that ruins a platformer for me. absolutely not recommend to play on the switch.

@Slain Hmm I'm not sure if it should be successful to be honest... its a very bad port, very loveless especially on the switch. if it's successful then namco is getting away with it. on the other hand a new 2.5d klonoa would be great (if it runs well)

Demo made the game seem preety average

Sister site?! I never knew! I popped over there now and its the same login and the site is amazing. Cant believe I didn't know about it.

@jojobar Thats how I feel about all these games releasing in recent years that run at a janky eye bleeding 30fps. They are getting away with it due to lack of people kicking up a fuss.

Looks rubbish to me.

@Ironcore They've got an Xbox One too: https://www.purexbox.com/ I didn't know they all had the same login!

@Ironcore don't get me wrong i have no problem with 30fps at all if the game looks great. the problem with klonoa is that it does look like a high res ps2 game but has a permanent stutter. there are unity engine games on the switch that look far superior and run constant 60fps butter smooth ( ori and the will of the whisp)

My only complain with the game on PS5 are the graphics. It runs with 4K/60 fps and that's great. But the game could look better, didn't expect something like raytracing, but here and there it looks solid and at some points, it looks a bit ugly. It's more design choice than technic.
Klonoa 2 seems to look better.

never played these growing up and only knew of them prior to these remasters cuz of Slopes Game Room's full history video. but it has always struck me as looking rad--I understand that the industry used to be flooded with these sorts of colorful mascot platformers, and to an extent I wish modern genre entries had more relevance outside of Nintendo again. for one, there aren't as many ways to over-monetize these kinds of games. secondarily, variety is the spice of life but the general tone with AAA's can be an absolute dirge. I enjoy Dad of Boy and will probably enjoy Returnal, etc. when they too escape the PS landscape. but gd if the AAA industry will only allow super-serious-for-realz drudgery outside of Nintendo and Fortnite. we need more lighthearted, vibrant games, like Mario, MediEvil, Crash, Sly, Croc--hell, give me Blinx or (for example of a more recent failed revival) Knack again if you have to. cuz rn, you can only really get those sorts of things from indies otherwise. (and yeah, obviously Minecraft and LBP/Sackboy would count too, but they are a tad more modern as series.)

Klonoa, on the contrary, is clearly brimming with life. I want games like these to be a big deal again without qualifications. I know Bandai Namco wanna do more with Klonoa if it does well, so fingers crossed.

@jojobar yeah port could have been better but it's still a much better way to play than PS1/Wii/PS2.

It’s a pretty lacklustre package if you’re judging it as a rerelease, and a €50 one at that. It’s very much just the two games and nothing else. It’s not something I’d say you need to kick down someone’s door to play, but if you like platformers, you should check it with out when it’s perhaps cheaper.

@Piyo it feels like Namco has set it up to fail with the pricing and lack of promotion.

The original Klonoa 2 in the days of the PS2 metacritic'd at 91% making it one of the best platformers at the time and certainly on the PS2. Klonoa 1 Wiimake got an average of about 77% which is quite decent. Loved them both myself so this is a great package. Got it for under £40.

Strange there isn't more player knowledge about Klonoa 2 amongst PS2 or platformer fans. It was quite highly rated.

I fear this will ultimately damage the Klonoa IP and reduce the chances of a new game.

If you're going to try to revive what's always been a respected but somewhat overlooked IP, ffs do it right and make it special. I'm getting the feeling from the comments that this port hasn't done that.

Tried the demo and that was enough for me, Klonoa 1 plays a lot better than Klonoa 2, but they're both quite tedious.

Found it a little plodding.

Think I'll wait for a discount.

While the collection is good I feel they could had easily fit both the GBA games in here too to make it a much better value collection wise.

@RobotReptile £50?? Its £36.99 almost everywhere in the UK?

I was excited for this title. never played the originals and couldnt find a decently priced wii version when I found out about it. But recently I realized I will prolly never be able to get through my backlog of games, and might even start selling a few titles, hence I will be more selective from now on what I am gonna be buying. So I think I will give this one a pass, mostly because of the performance issues and the lack of nostalgia which might have made up for it.

(suggestion for any one who may not want to hear voices (of a certain language of a certain Phantomile) in the KLONOA Phantasy Reverie Series mentioned in the article on this page while playing it: adjust its volume for them to its lowest setting)

i've been thinking about it since people online have been kind of in a froth at the idea that this needs to sell well for another to be meade lately and, do we need another klonoa? countargument is "what does 'need' even mean here" I guess but I don't know why we can't just let dormant series lie sometimes, and that's as a klonoa fan

All these remakes and remasters and there's still no Hogs Of War remake/remaster. Also a Champions: Return to Arms and Tomba would be nice 😉

Never heard of Klonoa, but I don't have a PS1. I played the demo yesterday and thought it was great. One of the better platformers I've played. Maybe I'll get it if I can clear out my backlog.

I've been really enjoying these games I like how they made klonoas design look closer to his PS1 version and not the modern sonic lookalike from the Wii remake

He looks like the youngest Warner brother. I can't remember his name. Never heard of Klonoa until recently.

@Slain
Those versions do perform quite a bit better than the switch version of this collection, even on psone the original was extremely smooth for a 3d game.

I just played the demo in docked and handheld mode to check the framerate. It is kinda really fluid but also a bit choppy. Still i don't think like it is game breaking at all. I think the game feels great. The controls are very fluid and the artstyle is unique and colourful. Everything feels cute and joyful. I will certainly buy the games.

My first experience with Klonoa was the Klonoa demo for the PS 2 that came with the console. A year ago i played Klonoa Empire of Dreams for the Gameboy Advance. Cool game but a bit too much on the puzzle/ riddle side. I prefer more skill based platformers that don't break the flow of running and jumping around too much.

And yes please bring Tomba back. Another game that is too expensive nowadays.

Having JUST played through the Wii version this weekend, I eagerly tried the Switch demo. The Switch version is passable, certainly fun and lovely to look at. But the framerate is terribly inconsistent which results in little “hiccups” or stutters continuously, at least in docked mode. Compare to the Wii version which is 480p of course but also is a silky smooth dream to play.

This is another routine sloppy/rushed port situation. Perhaps it can be patched. Back when Switch ports performed admirably (which was a clear objective for many years by 3rd party devs) it was an easy pick to go for the Switch version, because you were gotta portable version included! But with recent low-effort ports like this, the choice is admittedly not as clear.

It feels unreal to be playing Klonoa again and I hope this remaster does well enough to warrant a new entry.

@FishyS yep. And people shouldn't sleep on the existing 2D Klonoa games for GBA and Wonderswan, they're actually brilliant, even arguably better than the mainline home console klonoa games. And the 2D games play identically, because Klonoa is a 2D game regardless even though it's displayed using 3D polygonal models (except for the odd section where you end up walking around yourself because the path loops in a rising spiral or whatever). So absolutely nothing is lost (and actually, the 2D games look even better than the 3D ones, at least better than the original versions of the 3D ones, if not the new remake versions too).

A sequel to klonoa for the GBA using 2D pixel art graphics (and even just borrowing pre made assets that were made for the GBA game to save time) would be amazing.

Actually I can see some indie developer trying it. Because the puzzle platformer gameplay is so simple really. It'd be easy to make a good rip off of it, if they refuse to make any new Klonoa games. Indie developers could have our back then, just like we got a new Donkey Kong Country game a couple years ago (the yooka laylee 2d platformer, also Kaze and the Wild Masks which is much closer to the original DKC games than DKC tropical freeze is, even) and we've got a number of pixel art smash bros clones on the switch at the moment like Duckgame and Rivals of Aether. And so on. There's no reason why an indie developer couldn't make a 2D pixel art fake Klonoa game.

I still have the Wii version of Klonoa and I absolutely love it, plus it’s worth quite a bit of money now. I’ve also played Klonoa 2 on PS2. I was tempted to get this remaster but the majority of the reviews say it isn’t worth it and it’s poorly done. So I’m gunna pass on this, and it’s a shame because I really would love to see a brand new Klonoa game in the future.

Not challenging enough for me. This is a game for Kirby fans.

@Mr_Fox Not every game needs to be challenging to be fun

@Mgalens yeah but they display at 4:3 at lower res, so play those versions if you enjoy that stuff.

I've got (fond-ish) memories of enjoying this on PS2 but I downloaded the demo and was very underwhelmed.

@CorePrideX True, games like Animal Crossing etc are good examples. But a platformer without tricky jumps that test your reflexes is as exiting to me as a paint by numbers set.
I didn't say it was a bad game. Just something I would have enjoyed more as a 12 year old.

@Mgalens That's cause unlike the collection versions, those original versions were created with their exclusive platform in mind. Notice Klonoa games were always exclusives before this. Klonoa 1 & 2 were PlayStation exclusives, Klonoa 1 remake is a Wii exclusive, and Klonoa 1 & 2 The Dream Saga were GBA exclusives. This collection lacks optimization performances cause it tries to shoehorn it to multiple platforms when Switch and PC are all it should had focus on.

@Slain
would be nice if the games had a performance option on switch since i would be okay with choosing a lower resolution if it meant playing the widescreen versions on switch in 60fps

@Mgalens

YES this is what (most) every game needs! i feel like standing and clapping for your comment!

in general, it seems like im always using software on hardware that is 90% adequate to run that software. im talking switch, phone, laptop, smart tv, and on and on, most of my life.

@Mgalens you would think they would be able to lock in a solid 50 fps. That would be better then a juddering 60 fps.

@Mr_Fox have you played it? It gets quite challenging at points. Not at all on the same level as a Kirby game

@Drb Played about halfway through the first one on PS1. The hardest parts were harder than the hardest Kirby moments but overal it really felt like The Crystal Shards.