A mixed bag.
I'm a believer that 2D Klonoa is better than 2.5D Klonoa. Moonlight Museum is a must play in my book. Empire of Dreams was a fun way to bring it to GBA. But I gotta say, Dream Champ Tournament was a step back.
I don't like the art direction, it's arguably downright ugly. The bonus stages are tragic. And the pacing lacks. But it's not all bad. Some of the puzzle elements they introduced expanded the 2D Klonoa dynamics in a way that felt new. The middle chunk of the game feels really polished and fun. But then you end up in slow motion underwater levels and the momentum is lost.
So yeah, it was a mixed bag. A definite step backwards despite finding inventive new folds to the puzzle platforming. There's definitely enough here that I'm left baffled it's the last 2D Klonoa. Hopefully the Reverie Series leads to a reboot of some sort, though I imagine that'll be 2.5D unfortunately.
Wahoo!
[Emulated/played on Anbernic RG35XX]
I'm a believer that 2D Klonoa is better than 2.5D Klonoa. Moonlight Museum is a must play in my book. Empire of Dreams was a fun way to bring it to GBA. But I gotta say, Dream Champ Tournament was a step back.
I don't like the art direction, it's arguably downright ugly. The bonus stages are tragic. And the pacing lacks. But it's not all bad. Some of the puzzle elements they introduced expanded the 2D Klonoa dynamics in a way that felt new. The middle chunk of the game feels really polished and fun. But then you end up in slow motion underwater levels and the momentum is lost.
So yeah, it was a mixed bag. A definite step backwards despite finding inventive new folds to the puzzle platforming. There's definitely enough here that I'm left baffled it's the last 2D Klonoa. Hopefully the Reverie Series leads to a reboot of some sort, though I imagine that'll be 2.5D unfortunately.
Wahoo!
[Emulated/played on Anbernic RG35XX]