Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series (PS5)

While by no means unsuccessful, the Klonoa series is one of Bandai Namco’s lesser-known properties. Although it did well enough to have two mainline games and a series of spin-off titles largely on handheld devices before petering out in 2002, a failed attempt at a revival through a Wii remake of the first entry caused the series to fall into obscurity, with its only form of legacy support for the longest time being a short-lived webcomic on the now-defunct ShiftyLook website. While the series did interest me after I stumbled upon it, I wasn’t really able to truly get into it due a number of factors, that is until the announcement of Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series (JP: Kaze no Klonoa 1&2 Encore), a collection of the first two games, Door to Phantomile and Lunatea’s Veil, remade for modern platforms. For whatever reason, the game did not receive a physical release in North America, so I resorted to importing a PS5 copy from the UK just to own one. After finally getting to experience both games through this collection, I found myself thoroughly enjoying this hidden gem of a series.

The first game, Klonoa: Door to Phantomile (JP: Kaze no Klonoa: Door to Phantomile), was originally released on the PS1 in 1997 (1998 in the US). Between the two games, it is possible to play this game digitally through PSN and I have tried to do so on the PS Vita, however I kept failing in the early game and didn’t really touch it again until this collection.

One day, a mysterious ring crashes into the ground, where Klonoa pulls it out and a creature named Huepow pops out of it. Klonoa then wakes up as if from a nightmare, but Huepow and the ring remain at his side. As they explore the world, a mysterious evil force named Ghadius, along with his minion Joka, kidnap Diva Lephise, whom Klonoa and Huepow set out to rescue.

Klonoa (left) and Huepow's (right) first meeting.

Though the story starts out simple enough, it actually gets deeper the further it goes, with an exploration of the nature of dreams and nightmares as Ghadius’ plan becomes more apparent. Although I had been spoiled on the ending beforehand, which I won’t divulge here, it somehow did not take away from the emotional impact of said ending, as I had forgotten some of the finer details over time. That being said, while the story is pretty self-contained, the ending does neatly lay the groundwork for the sequel, Lunatea’s Veil.

At the start, the remake presents two difficulty options, Easy and Normal, each of which alter the gameplay in some way. From my understanding, Easy brings gameplay closer to the Wii version, but not exactly (max. 5 Hearts, 1/3 damage, infinite Lives, Wind Bullets fly farther), while Normal restores the gameplay of the PS1 original (max. 3 Hearts, ½ damage, 3 Lives, Wind Bullets fly regular distance). While the game isn’t absurdly difficult, I chose to play the game on Easy, if only because of the difficulty I still had when playing the aforementioned port of the PS1 version. This release also has a two-player option, in which the second player can give a Support Jump that has a cooldown. Although I didn’t really need the Support Jump during my playthrough, there was only one section in the late game where I resorted to using it, if only because I lacked the dexterity to pull it off as intended.

The main gameplay is that of a 2.5D platformer, in which you can use Wind Bullets to grab enemies and inflate them, making larger ones docile or turning smaller ones into ammunition. Holding the jump button without grabbing enemies allows you to flutter and extend a jump, however holding or double tapping the jump button while holding an enemy enables a double jump, which can also tie into some gameplay sections. Though taking place on a 2.5D plane, some areas have multiple paths, with exploration encouraged by finding keys needed to unlock specific doors. Some sections include travel via water currents, on which you can control your speed to either travel faster or slow down enough to grab a midair object.

The game features a number of collectibles, each of which serves a different purpose. Each level, or Vision, has 150 Dream Stones, with green stones counting as one and blue ones counting for five, and collecting 100 Dream Stones or a 1 UP Coin grants you an extra life. Hitting a Dream Spirit also temporarily doubles the value of Dream Stones, making it easier to collect 100 of them at a time. While the extra lives don’t matter on Easy difficulty, collecting all 150 Dream Stones does count for 100% completion, as does rescuing all six Phantomilians in each level, plus rescuing all Phantomilians across all Visions unlocks an extra Vision. Additionally, health is refilled by collecting Hearts, with the amount refilled depending on the size of the Heart. Lastly, Clocks serve as checkpoints where you respawn upon losing a life, and while respawning resets most of your collectibles, rescued Phantomilians are thankfully the exception.

The gameplay takes a 2.5D perspective.

Most Visions are split into two levels, the second of which has a boss fight at the end of it. The bosses themselves aren’t too difficult for the most part, as they usually involve throwing inflated enemies at the boss in some way, though a couple of them were more challenging for me. Bosses also have multiple phases in which they switch up their pattern in some way, however, losing a life during the fight starts you back off at the beginning of the encounter. Thankfully, as the final boss is by far the longest fight in the game, losing a life starts you off at the beginning of each phase, of which there are three.

For Door to Phantomile’s visuals, the existing Wii remake is used as a base, with some of the designs altered to be more in line with the original PS1 release. As a result, the remake has a greater degree of graphical fidelity that gets the most out of the game’s appealing visuals and bright color palette. For those who want to get the full old-school experience, there is also an optional Pixel Filter in the settings that further replicates the PS1 game, though I opted to play with the filter off by default.

The music also stands out, featuring some appropriate and memorable tracks that are perfectly listenable out of context. While there isn’t any full voice acting, with the actual dialogue being in subtitles, the characters do speak a fictional language that is internally consistent, though I could tell at times that said language was somewhat based on Japanese (such as “jiji”, derived from “ojiisan”, being used for “grandfather”). Character names are also spoken more clearly and provide some basis on how you’re supposed to pronounce them, however unlike the fictional language in Star Fox Adventures, this aspect of the fictional language in Door to Phantomile somehow doesn’t feel out of place.

The second game in this collection, Klonoa 2: Lunatea’s Veil (JP: Kaze no Klonoa 2: Sekai ga Nozonda Wasuremono), was originally released for the PS2 in 2001. From my understanding, this game did not sell very well, resulting in high aftermarket prices in recent years, plus it did not receive an official digital release, unlike its predecessor. I have been able to find a copy in the wild, however the high prices turned me off from actually trying to play it until this collection.

In another dream, Klonoa lands in the ocean in the world of Lunatea. A mysterious duo attempts to pick him up for their own purposes, but another duo appears, forcing them to retreat. The second pair of figures, a priestess in training named Lolo and her friend Popka, rescue Klonoa, having expected his arrival as the Dream Traveler, and take him to the prophet Baguji. There, Baguji informs Klonoa about Lunatea’s four kingdoms and that each has a Harmony Bell, warning that a fifth bell is on its way that will bring chaos. With Klonoa’s help, Lolo becomes a priestess, with Klonoa given the mission to protect her as they gather the power of the Harmony Bells.

Much like Door to Phantomile, the story starts off with a simple goal, only to get deeper as it goes with a number of emotional twists and turns. Storywise, this game feels a lot more fleshed out than its predecessor, featuring more nuanced characters and a more expansive world and worldbuilding. This game also explores the topic of dreams, this time also exploring the nature of sorrow and how it fits in with the world. Though the ending didn’t have the same punch for me as the first game did, it was nonetheless emotional in its own way.

Gameplay remains largely the same.

Much like the Door to Phantomile remake, the remake of Lunatea’s Veil presents you with two difficulty options. Easy bring it more in line with the first game’s Easy mode (max. 5 Hearts, 1/3 damage, infinite lives, Wind Bullets fly farther), while Normal presumably presents the settings of the original PS2 version (3 Hearts, 1 damage, 3 lives, Wind Bullets fly regular distance). P2 Support is also presented here, this time visualized by Popka appearing out of Klonoa’s ring to help you out when the feature is turned on, and like with the first game, I ended up using this feature once to get past a difficult section.

The core gameplay is similar to that of Door to Phantomile, with some new additions and alterations to both streamline and expand on the first game’s ideas. Whereas the first game presented its level select screen like a storybook, the sequel features a more expansive map that provides some idea of how big Lunatea is. Each Vision has its own space rather than being split into two segments, with some spaces being dedicated to boss fights, or cutscenes that change based on the context of the story.

While enemies from the first game reappear, some new ones also arrive to make some sections more puzzle-like, including a new type of enemy where you have to distract it with an inflated enemy or else you take damage and cannot progress. Tornados, trampolines and cannons have also been added to aid in level progression, the first two of which give you a jump boost. Additionally, Hoverboard segments have been introduced to break up gameplay, though the 3D segments require navigating through several tight turns with accuracy that only the D-pad can provide (Klonoa’s flutter ability also helps immensely). I will also admit that, since I happened to also start playing Shaun Palmer’s Pro Snowboarder at the same time, I instinctively tried to grind and Super Ollie off ramps in the first Hoverboard section before remembering I couldn’t.

Some sections involve riding a Hoverboard.

The mechanic of rescuing Phantomilians returns, except this time they are Momett Doll Bells and collecting all of them in a Vision gives you a Momett Doll, though there is no bonus Vision for collecting all Momett Dolls. Additionally, the new Momett House area allows you to replay boss fights as time trials and collecting 150 Dream Stones in a Vision creates a scrapbook photo to commemorate the accomplishment.

The graphics are improved over Door to Phantomile and the original PS2 release, with greater detail and a brighter color palette that makes everything pop out more, though there is an optional pixel filter that makes it look more like the original version. Most notably, Klonoa receives a running design change beginning from this game, with his eyes especially taking more after a Sonic the Hedgehog character, though I thought the new design still fit with his personality.

The soundtrack is on par with that of Door to Phantomile, featuring some thematically appropriate and memorable tracks that are also listenable out of context while having its own voice distinct from the first game. The fictional language is also consistent with that of the previous game, with the actual dialogue presented via subtitles, though thankfully they don’t completely autoscroll this time, allowing you more time to read some of the dialogue when prompted to continue.

One thing that can be said for Phantasy Reverie Series as a whole is how much the PS5 version takes full advantage of the system, with lightning-fast load times and an incredible amount of haptic feedback. Though fairly minimal overall, with some more subtle implementation than some other games, the haptic feedback does wonders for the immersion, as you can feel lifts in the first game while standing on them and, among other things, conveyer belts in the second, even having instances of localized haptic feedback on the DualSense. Having seen a number of other multiplatform games not take full advantage of the PS5’s capabilities, if at all, and with so many SKUs for this collection, I appreciate the extra effort that went into this port.

Though there have been other games following the release of Klonoa 2: Lunatea’s Veil, there hadn’t been any mainline entries for over 20 years besides the aforementioned Wii remake of Door to Phantomile prior to this collection. The closest the fandom had ever gotten to a continuation was the previously-mentioned ShiftyLook webcomic Dream Traveler of Noctis Sol written by Jim Zub (who some people may know from his tenure on IDW Publishing’s Samurai Jack comics), which even includes characters from the spin-off titles, though unfortunately the comic ended on a cliffhanger due to ShiftyLook shutting down before it could receive a proper conclusion. Though the future of the webcomic remains unknown, it has since been archived and the closest the fandom has been able to get to any sort of continuation is an unofficial one by Jeyrolami called Klonoa: Dream Crusaders.

Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series is a remake collection done right, keeping the original games intact while giving them a fresh coat of paint and a number of useful quality-of-life changes. Whether or not you’ve ever played a Klonoa game before, I would highly encourage picking up a copy if you’re interested, as its success could lead to a proper third entry somewhere down the line.