Not a legitimate review (because I just played the first world of both games), but I want to throw my hat into this ring of fire I see brewing here.
I'm willing to admit that the graphics can look a bit cheap, asset-wise. I personally think that the original Klonoa 1 looks much better than the Wii version (which this game's remake is clearly based off of). I do think that there's an argument to be made against Klonoa 2, dropping that game's cel-shaded characters for more consistent models between the two games. I think the one thing I can unanimously agree on is that the game feels a bit too bright, lighting-wise. Some of that visual atmosphere has definitely been lost in the transition.
But on the other hand, there's an attention to detail that I think would be shameful to ignore. Everything is colorful, whimsical, and animated. For crying out loud, they kept the title screen easter eggs in Klonoa 2. The level design remains untouched as far as I can tell, and that's ok in my eyes because it never needed fixing.
There's still definitely some modern gaming scum dripping off this title though. Extra outfits are cute, holding them as $20 DLC for a $40 game is not. The game assaults you with EULAs once you hit the title screen (no Bamco, you don't get my personal information). I don't know why every cutscene needs the "skip" and "speed up" buttons present at all times. It's not the most distracting thing, but like, shoo, shoo, I'm trying to enjoy the story!
Lastly, I understand the plea for the preservation of the original titles, but I see it from this perspective:
If you want to play the original Klonoa: Door to Phantomile, you have three choices. Buy it digitally for PS3/PSP/Vita (this choice will likely disappear in the near future), sell a kidney so you can afford an official copy, or emulate it. If you want to play the Wii version of Klonoa, you either sell your other kidney, or you emulate it. If you want to play the original Klonoa 2, you either sell your secret third kidney, or you emulate it.
It might hurt for some people to hear this, but most consumers tend to take the most convenient option. I don't swear allegiance to companies, but I'm personally just glad that these games are being preserved in ANY capacity. I consider the quality high enough to warrant my recommendation. If you haven't played these games and want to know what all the chatter is about, I believe that you're doing yourself a disservice by not picking this up.
EDIT: Finished both titles. I personally found Klonoa 2's remaster more enjoyable. Just make sure to turn off bloom in the settings, it helps combat the extreme brightness. Door to Phantomile was fairly enjoyable, but as a retooling of the Wiimake, I have to say that I still prefer the PS1 original overall. Something felt...off about how Klonoa controlled in that remaster. Nothing unplayable though, I still beat the Extra Vision in just under 5 minutes. I'm an old pro.
I'm willing to admit that the graphics can look a bit cheap, asset-wise. I personally think that the original Klonoa 1 looks much better than the Wii version (which this game's remake is clearly based off of). I do think that there's an argument to be made against Klonoa 2, dropping that game's cel-shaded characters for more consistent models between the two games. I think the one thing I can unanimously agree on is that the game feels a bit too bright, lighting-wise. Some of that visual atmosphere has definitely been lost in the transition.
But on the other hand, there's an attention to detail that I think would be shameful to ignore. Everything is colorful, whimsical, and animated. For crying out loud, they kept the title screen easter eggs in Klonoa 2. The level design remains untouched as far as I can tell, and that's ok in my eyes because it never needed fixing.
There's still definitely some modern gaming scum dripping off this title though. Extra outfits are cute, holding them as $20 DLC for a $40 game is not. The game assaults you with EULAs once you hit the title screen (no Bamco, you don't get my personal information). I don't know why every cutscene needs the "skip" and "speed up" buttons present at all times. It's not the most distracting thing, but like, shoo, shoo, I'm trying to enjoy the story!
Lastly, I understand the plea for the preservation of the original titles, but I see it from this perspective:
If you want to play the original Klonoa: Door to Phantomile, you have three choices. Buy it digitally for PS3/PSP/Vita (this choice will likely disappear in the near future), sell a kidney so you can afford an official copy, or emulate it. If you want to play the Wii version of Klonoa, you either sell your other kidney, or you emulate it. If you want to play the original Klonoa 2, you either sell your secret third kidney, or you emulate it.
It might hurt for some people to hear this, but most consumers tend to take the most convenient option. I don't swear allegiance to companies, but I'm personally just glad that these games are being preserved in ANY capacity. I consider the quality high enough to warrant my recommendation. If you haven't played these games and want to know what all the chatter is about, I believe that you're doing yourself a disservice by not picking this up.
EDIT: Finished both titles. I personally found Klonoa 2's remaster more enjoyable. Just make sure to turn off bloom in the settings, it helps combat the extreme brightness. Door to Phantomile was fairly enjoyable, but as a retooling of the Wiimake, I have to say that I still prefer the PS1 original overall. Something felt...off about how Klonoa controlled in that remaster. Nothing unplayable though, I still beat the Extra Vision in just under 5 minutes. I'm an old pro.
7 Comments
I think console versions are a completely safe bet, barring the Switch version (but I think most people have learned by now that they should approach the Switch version of a multiplatform title with caution). That being said, the only issue with the Switch version seems to be framerate (it hovers between 50-60). I'm playing the PC version on my Steam Deck.
I personally think you should put your worries aside. Sonic Origins was a fuckup because the gameplay is wildly inconsistent in comparison to the classics. This remake feels faithful and very satisfying. The visuals are the hangup point, from what I can gather.
Also, there's a demo version for all platforms! If you're still concerned, you can try it on whatever systems you own.
I personally think you should put your worries aside. Sonic Origins was a fuckup because the gameplay is wildly inconsistent in comparison to the classics. This remake feels faithful and very satisfying. The visuals are the hangup point, from what I can gather.
Also, there's a demo version for all platforms! If you're still concerned, you can try it on whatever systems you own.
@AtomicOldMan if you can deal with slightly overbright visuals, the rest of the gameplay and music seems totally intact, considering the secondhand prices these games go for, Wii remake of 1 included which this IS better than, $40 is fair
I’d like to thank you for this review, as someone who sees a lot of reactionary reviews on this website because I think a lot of people lose sight on more casual perspectives of gaming crowds. I think there is fair critique to these remasterings, but a lot of people want to treat casual consumers like they’re moronic just because they want to buy the most convenient and recent form of a product, which I think is very unproductive. The response I’ve seen towards the remasterings on more casual twitter and here I think speaks a lot for how cynical and reactionary a lot of niche gaming crowds are, and I think its important to call attention to that. Excellent review.
"a lot of people want to treat casual consumers like they’re moronic"
This. This is the thing that strikes me so wrong about some reviews on this website. It's the intelligent way to critique this as the infamous monolith it represents, but it isn't a holier-than-thou view on the matter - there is a strange, gross mischaracterizacion of people who did buy it, and I think it does come from a place of frustration rather than mean-spirited. But that doesn't make it okay.
Yes, this being "a way of preservation" (I repeat, it's more of a market study in product form) it's bullshit, it's asinine, it hurts the artistic dimension of our beloved hobby, but we can't be this rose-tinted: this is videogames 95% of the time. Profit and safe bets to bring something new. Yes, Gitaroo Man exists, God Hand and everything Clover Studio exists, old Klonoa exists, and all the love and care from each dev in their own ways exists. But you can never forget this is a fucking business, you speak with your money. This is the ethos the big bad companies are going for, you decide if you pay and why you pay, but the company will see only one thing: loads of green.
It is the 100% way to play Klonoa legally without spending too much fucking money. Think about this: you're paying 40$ for the original games you couldn't pay for because you either didn't exist, didn't have the money or didn't care for it back then. You can't buy the real thing anymore unless you wanna spend 500$+ or a PS3 digital copy - sucks they're pulling the plug. Yes, these versions aren't the best, in fact I'm gonna go out of my way and say at least pirate Klonoa 1, seriously. But you can't be this cynical and think, somehow, companies have something to owe you.
Videogames are art, and art is a business. Sorry, it is what it is.
I persist Namco giving the wiimake the "original" title was pretty damn bollocks though, that's some confusing/revisionist ass marketing. Assuming there was some marketing behind this. I don't know, loads of people are happy about this coming out, and I can't feel but the same. Once again, this is the least worst thing we've been dealing with regarding videogames as an industry, seriously. If you think it doesn't ecuate to the amount of money you paid (I think I do, but that's because my change currency gets the game kinda cheaper for me lmao) wait for a sale. It's acceptable to be critical, you don't need to bash on other's happiness.
This. This is the thing that strikes me so wrong about some reviews on this website. It's the intelligent way to critique this as the infamous monolith it represents, but it isn't a holier-than-thou view on the matter - there is a strange, gross mischaracterizacion of people who did buy it, and I think it does come from a place of frustration rather than mean-spirited. But that doesn't make it okay.
Yes, this being "a way of preservation" (I repeat, it's more of a market study in product form) it's bullshit, it's asinine, it hurts the artistic dimension of our beloved hobby, but we can't be this rose-tinted: this is videogames 95% of the time. Profit and safe bets to bring something new. Yes, Gitaroo Man exists, God Hand and everything Clover Studio exists, old Klonoa exists, and all the love and care from each dev in their own ways exists. But you can never forget this is a fucking business, you speak with your money. This is the ethos the big bad companies are going for, you decide if you pay and why you pay, but the company will see only one thing: loads of green.
It is the 100% way to play Klonoa legally without spending too much fucking money. Think about this: you're paying 40$ for the original games you couldn't pay for because you either didn't exist, didn't have the money or didn't care for it back then. You can't buy the real thing anymore unless you wanna spend 500$+ or a PS3 digital copy - sucks they're pulling the plug. Yes, these versions aren't the best, in fact I'm gonna go out of my way and say at least pirate Klonoa 1, seriously. But you can't be this cynical and think, somehow, companies have something to owe you.
Videogames are art, and art is a business. Sorry, it is what it is.
I persist Namco giving the wiimake the "original" title was pretty damn bollocks though, that's some confusing/revisionist ass marketing. Assuming there was some marketing behind this. I don't know, loads of people are happy about this coming out, and I can't feel but the same. Once again, this is the least worst thing we've been dealing with regarding videogames as an industry, seriously. If you think it doesn't ecuate to the amount of money you paid (I think I do, but that's because my change currency gets the game kinda cheaper for me lmao) wait for a sale. It's acceptable to be critical, you don't need to bash on other's happiness.
I do wanna make it clear for the people who decide to read through the comments: I'm not urging people to rush out and buy this so we can pressure Bamco to greenlight "Klonoa 3" into existence. Hell, I completely understand if you want to wait for a sale; I think 40 smackers is a pretty high asking price. I'm just happy that the games play like Klonoa 1+2 should, at the very least. You can decide yourself how you feel about the visual changes.
People on this site trying to drum up PSCX2, probably the most 6/10 emulator still concurrent with the modern emulation scene that even w/ recent nightly builds and its nature being a tad exaggerated, as "the way" to play Klonoa 2 despite most people not having access to a decently specced PC is really funny
Sorry for using your review thread as a snarky soapbox, just kind of ired over this bullshit being on this site too and I largely agree this is still a win for casual consumption
Sorry for using your review thread as a snarky soapbox, just kind of ired over this bullshit being on this site too and I largely agree this is still a win for casual consumption
Weatherby
1 year ago
Either way, too late now, I'm importing this from freaking Europe so I'm locked in.