Klonoa 2: Dream Champ Tournament stands against everything a Klonoa game stands for.
The story is a complete farce.
Gone is the thematic storytelling about feelings, dreams and nightmares that even Empire of Dreams featured prominently. Instead we're treated to this generic tournament storyline that settles for one dimensional characters with no interesting dialogue whatsoever. Klonoa, Lolo, Popka? They don't have any of the charm or flair they had in Lunatea's Veil. Gantz especially feels like a half-assed attempt at replicating the success of Shadow's debut over at Sonic by making him an edgelord rival, but without the subtext that made Shadow such a special character. Not even his attempt at giving Klonoa his due respect feels convincing in the slightest because the writers don't know how to write him without composing the most edgy dialogue known to mankind.
That's not even to mention random boxer guy from Empire of Dreams whose name I never bothered remembering because why the fuck would I. Genuinely pathetic attempt to make me even care about him or his fate when he suffers from the same lack of character, and in fact the implications that him and Klonoa are friends makes the lore... worse? Suddenly there's a massive gaping plothole here because they barely even knew each other during EoD! Does this mean that Klonoa can freely travel back to past settings he was sent to? Does that even make sense? If that was the case, why would Klonoa not return to Lunatea to visit Lolo and Popka? Or better yet, to Phantomile to visit Huepow? Whatever. Story sucks. Moving on.
The levels are memorable... for the wrong reasons.
To give Dream Champ Tournament credit: It does add almost every element from both Empire of Dreams as well as new ones from Lunatea's Veil to add more variety to puzzles. It also attempts to make amends for an issue the previous game had by actually adding obstacles within worlds that fit with the setting, such as the chains of a train for the Northern Express, or the growing plants in the forest. As a puzzle platformer, Dream Champ Tournament does a decent job with its puzzle variety and challenge to the player.
However, Klonoa isn't just a puzzle platformer. It's a puzzle platformer with ever-changing, kaleidoscopic dream aesthetics that aims to tell a meaningful story at its heart. And as if mercilessly ripping the heart and crushing it into pulpy carnage wasn't already heartless (haha.) enough, Dream Champ Tournament takes two steps back for every step forward they make with their game design.
The pacing of the overall game in terms of its settings is significantly worsened compared to Empire of Dreams - instead of 7 levels per world, Dream Champ Tournament opts for NINE per world. And much like its predecessor, this game's levels also far outstay their welcome, except its much worse due to the increased amount of levels.
Even the non-traditional levels have lost their charm. Autoscroller levels remain untouched, however the air board levels and "boss" levels can fuck off and die for all I care. It almost seems like Namco wanted to take a leaf out of Sonic in the case of the former, specifically Advance 1's psuedo-3D special stages. However, ADV1's special stages notoriously suffered from insufferable depth perception that single-handedly ruined the appeal of them. So the exact same thing happens with Klonoa. Depth perception is a myth and so is my sanity after experiencing one of these levels.
The "boss" fights, meanwhile, actually do have some practicality. I personally think that all the races tie into the narrative of the story well while also challenging players with obstacles they've come across in a particular world. This would be fine if, you know, THERE WEREN'T ALREADY EIGHT FUCKING LEVELS BEFORE THIS FUCKING 5 MINUTE LONG BOSS FIGHT DEAR GOD WHAT WERE THEY THINKING THIS GAME IS ALREADY TEDIOUS ENOUGH AS IT IS-
The last thing that has to be mentioned is the difficulty curve. Empire of Dreams was notoriously difficult as it was, with the latter half of the game reaching Kingdom of Hueponia (Lunatea's Veil final level) levels of difficulty. But at least that game had a steady difficulty curve, easing the player into the meat and potatoes slowly introducing more and more elements and mechanics gradually. Dream Champ Tournament, meanwhile, expects you to have already MASTERED that latter half of Empire of Dreams, and chooses instead to indulge itself in puzzle platformer torture porn unlike any other. The difficulty curve was so fucking steep, I was already struggling by the end of the second world. Some of these puzzles are so notorious, failing some may even force a fucking reset! AND KLONOA 2: DREAM CHAMP TOURNAMENT HAS THE FUCKING GALL TO IMPLEMENT A RANKING SYSTEM THAT TIES INTO THE 100% PROGRESSION, WHICH INCLUDES THE NUMBERS OF TIMES YOU RESET. The further I progressed into this game, the less I felt like I was playing a Klonoa game. By the time my playthrough ended, I instead felt like I was playing a 400 IQ Brainage ass puzzle platformer that only exists to punish, punish and punish.
I quit before the even finishing the third world.
Call this a skill issue, but I didn't come here for a super challenging puzzle platformer. I came here for a Klonoa game. And I came out bitter and disappointed.
Final rating: 2.5/10
Focus: HOW KLONOA 2: DREAM CHAMP TOURNAMENT FUNDAMENTALLY FAILS AS A KLONOA GAME.
Theme: Utter disappointment.
The story is a complete farce.
Gone is the thematic storytelling about feelings, dreams and nightmares that even Empire of Dreams featured prominently. Instead we're treated to this generic tournament storyline that settles for one dimensional characters with no interesting dialogue whatsoever. Klonoa, Lolo, Popka? They don't have any of the charm or flair they had in Lunatea's Veil. Gantz especially feels like a half-assed attempt at replicating the success of Shadow's debut over at Sonic by making him an edgelord rival, but without the subtext that made Shadow such a special character. Not even his attempt at giving Klonoa his due respect feels convincing in the slightest because the writers don't know how to write him without composing the most edgy dialogue known to mankind.
That's not even to mention random boxer guy from Empire of Dreams whose name I never bothered remembering because why the fuck would I. Genuinely pathetic attempt to make me even care about him or his fate when he suffers from the same lack of character, and in fact the implications that him and Klonoa are friends makes the lore... worse? Suddenly there's a massive gaping plothole here because they barely even knew each other during EoD! Does this mean that Klonoa can freely travel back to past settings he was sent to? Does that even make sense? If that was the case, why would Klonoa not return to Lunatea to visit Lolo and Popka? Or better yet, to Phantomile to visit Huepow? Whatever. Story sucks. Moving on.
The levels are memorable... for the wrong reasons.
To give Dream Champ Tournament credit: It does add almost every element from both Empire of Dreams as well as new ones from Lunatea's Veil to add more variety to puzzles. It also attempts to make amends for an issue the previous game had by actually adding obstacles within worlds that fit with the setting, such as the chains of a train for the Northern Express, or the growing plants in the forest. As a puzzle platformer, Dream Champ Tournament does a decent job with its puzzle variety and challenge to the player.
However, Klonoa isn't just a puzzle platformer. It's a puzzle platformer with ever-changing, kaleidoscopic dream aesthetics that aims to tell a meaningful story at its heart. And as if mercilessly ripping the heart and crushing it into pulpy carnage wasn't already heartless (haha.) enough, Dream Champ Tournament takes two steps back for every step forward they make with their game design.
The pacing of the overall game in terms of its settings is significantly worsened compared to Empire of Dreams - instead of 7 levels per world, Dream Champ Tournament opts for NINE per world. And much like its predecessor, this game's levels also far outstay their welcome, except its much worse due to the increased amount of levels.
Even the non-traditional levels have lost their charm. Autoscroller levels remain untouched, however the air board levels and "boss" levels can fuck off and die for all I care. It almost seems like Namco wanted to take a leaf out of Sonic in the case of the former, specifically Advance 1's psuedo-3D special stages. However, ADV1's special stages notoriously suffered from insufferable depth perception that single-handedly ruined the appeal of them. So the exact same thing happens with Klonoa. Depth perception is a myth and so is my sanity after experiencing one of these levels.
The "boss" fights, meanwhile, actually do have some practicality. I personally think that all the races tie into the narrative of the story well while also challenging players with obstacles they've come across in a particular world. This would be fine if, you know, THERE WEREN'T ALREADY EIGHT FUCKING LEVELS BEFORE THIS FUCKING 5 MINUTE LONG BOSS FIGHT DEAR GOD WHAT WERE THEY THINKING THIS GAME IS ALREADY TEDIOUS ENOUGH AS IT IS-
The last thing that has to be mentioned is the difficulty curve. Empire of Dreams was notoriously difficult as it was, with the latter half of the game reaching Kingdom of Hueponia (Lunatea's Veil final level) levels of difficulty. But at least that game had a steady difficulty curve, easing the player into the meat and potatoes slowly introducing more and more elements and mechanics gradually. Dream Champ Tournament, meanwhile, expects you to have already MASTERED that latter half of Empire of Dreams, and chooses instead to indulge itself in puzzle platformer torture porn unlike any other. The difficulty curve was so fucking steep, I was already struggling by the end of the second world. Some of these puzzles are so notorious, failing some may even force a fucking reset! AND KLONOA 2: DREAM CHAMP TOURNAMENT HAS THE FUCKING GALL TO IMPLEMENT A RANKING SYSTEM THAT TIES INTO THE 100% PROGRESSION, WHICH INCLUDES THE NUMBERS OF TIMES YOU RESET. The further I progressed into this game, the less I felt like I was playing a Klonoa game. By the time my playthrough ended, I instead felt like I was playing a 400 IQ Brainage ass puzzle platformer that only exists to punish, punish and punish.
I quit before the even finishing the third world.
Call this a skill issue, but I didn't come here for a super challenging puzzle platformer. I came here for a Klonoa game. And I came out bitter and disappointed.
Final rating: 2.5/10
Focus: HOW KLONOA 2: DREAM CHAMP TOURNAMENT FUNDAMENTALLY FAILS AS A KLONOA GAME.
Theme: Utter disappointment.