Moving on from Klonoa 2
Originally uploaded Dec. 3rd, 2024.
Please play this game. I don’t make too many requests, but this is my game of the year and it’s not even close.
This year’s been a bit of a ride for me, juggling increased responsibilities at work and an expanded family at home. But I found time to try something new!
Over the span of a weekend in early September, I made it to the end of Klonoa 2 for the very first time. And what a neat little game it was! A puzzle game with charm in spades.
And of course it broke my heart. Why wouldn’t it.
The PS2 is a console that needs no introduction, given that the number of lifetime sales keeps rising year after year, far after the end of production (for whatever reason). Every “must play” game has been categorized under the sun, and yet this one slipped under my radar. Maybe my own bias against the design of the character is the reason – and I must atone for my sins.
It’s incredibly simple. Deceptively simple. A single playthrough will nab you most of the collectables – all, if you’ve got an extra hour to spare. And yet, Namco pushes that simplicity to its absolute limit. Their creativity in the way the stages are presented is not lost on me. There was always a stage where I would go “Ooh!” at a setpiece or clench my hand in victory when solving a puzzle. The further in I got, the more excited I became because they just allowed themselves to let loose with what they had.
That’s the thing, though. Above everything, the game is in love with itself. It’s absolutely oozing with a feeling that you only get from lucid dreaming – something I’m sure the devs reveled in – and not a single moment of the game slips away from that. Whether Klonoa is at an amusement park, or shredding down a mountain at top speed, or lost in a warping museum (a reference to the Wonderswan release, of all things. They loved this little thing so much), the dreamlike aura is ever present.
The way the game’s story is presented also follows the guidelines of simplicity. Usually, I’d want to understand more about a world and its people, but you get the bare minimum of what is needed – which is perfectly okay. And sure, there are twists and turns, and I could gush about the game’s antagonist, Leorina, and the way the game reveals the truth about her – but that’s not what really made me understand the game – and Klonoa as a whole.
What that is, is actually Klonoa’s role.
In the previous game (and the Wonderswan release), he’s been the star of the show, the mover and the lifter. He’s the protagonist… but not in this game. I mean, he is, but it’s handled different. He doesn’t need to learn anything. He doesn’t need to grow any more than he already has. That was what the first title was for. He’s more of a window into the dream – as it is not his own. Himself, and the player, are both outsiders.
I think the game’s real protagonist is Lolo, a priestess-to-be and Klonoa’s partner within the story. She is the one who needs to learn from him. And when she finally does, when she finally grows… there isn’t much adventure left.
The ending moved me to tears. Klonoa, surprisingly, is a series about learning to let go and move on. And every time, I’m never ready for it.
But, like him, you’ve gotta put on your bravest face and step into that unknown. Because if you don’t, who will?
I love the guy. Rock on, little dreamer.
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