Retro Review: Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil (PS4)

The Dream Traveler returns.

 Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil is the sequel to Namco's 1997 charming little platformer, Klonoa: Door to Phantomile. A game I've been meaning to play ever since I beat the first one, it's recently been remastered as part of the Klonoa Fantasy Reverie Series for modern systems so I had to check it out. Released in 2001 for the PS2, it sees our hero back on another adventure in a brand new world that's threatened by darkness. Featuring new levels, friends, and enemies, how does Klonoa's second outing fare?

 Our story begins when Klonoa gets transported by mysterious force into the world of Lunatea. He meets clumsy priestess Lolo and her spunky friend Popka, whose on a journey to travel across Lunatea's four kingdoms and ring their bells in order to dispel the darkness that's emanating from the fifth bell's kingdom. Klonoa joins them and along the way, they'll deal with the antics of sky pirates Leorina and her sidekick Tat, who also are after the same goal.

  The story was good as the adventure is packed with initial mystery and shocking moments despite the cheery premise. Klonoa is grown up now and helps Lolo overcome her feelings of inadequacy over the game. Even the villains such as Leorina have their own tragic backstories that were relatable too. Without spoiling much, the ending was a sad yet bittersweet one.

Klonoa is on another dreamy adventure.

 Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil is a 2.5D platformer where you control Klonoa as you beat enemies, solve luzzles, and fight some cool bosses. Klonoa can grab enemies with his wind bullet and either use them to get an extra jump or throw them at other enemies or items such as eggs in the backgrounds, which house neat goodies. New in the sequel are hoverboard stages where Klonoa will skate through levels evading danger and using enemies to nab collectables. They were fun to play, fast-paced, and by far were the most replayable of the bunch.

 The levels were good and packed variety as you'll go through a bustling and cheery carnival kingdom, a war-torn kingdom that serves as the backdrop for the platforming, and an ice kingdom that houses an abstract maze to explore to name a few. Levels will often shoot you into the background, where you can flip switches, collect keys, and beat enemies to advance. As you progress through the game, levels gradually get longer and difficult, requiring you to use all the skills you've learned to navigate puzzles, stage hazards, and boss fights. Speaking of those, the bosses were clever and required you to memorize certain patterns to beat them. My faves were against the tank, Leorina, and the final boss.

Gameplay starts-off simple but gradually gets challenging.
The hoverboard levels were especially fun.

 Klonoa 2 took around 7 hours to beat with me getting all of the collectables. Replay-value is good as the hoverboard levels were always enjoyable and Hard Mode being unlocked. Granted, the collision detection was wonky as often you'll throw items or enemies at objects and it won't register. Like its predecessor, the wind bullet's range is short, which made grabbing enemies a little tricky.  The Fantasy Reverie Collection adds an Easy Mode with infinite lives as well as offering a longer range wind ring. There's 2-player co-op where Popka will give Klonoa an extra jump and that's it. The additions were nice though I would've liked to see concept art/sketches and developer interviews of the games as bonus content.

 Klonoa 2 holds up remarkably well for a 2001 game, namely due to the cartoony art-style and bright choice of colors. The HD remaster polishes up the models and backgrounds, giving it a more modern look. I've played the PS4 version and it ran well at 60fps. Also worth noting is Maze of Memories' level design being a visual stand-out especially with its wacky and upside down nature, almost akin to Alice in Wonder Land. 

  Like its predecessor, voicework is gibberish yet amusingly it gave characters a bit of personality despite you not understanding anything. As for the soundtrack was great and. It may not reach the levels of Door to Phantomile's but tracks such as Stepping Wind, Baguji's theme, Volkies Song, Moonlight Museum, and the ending theme.

Klonoa 2 looks and sounds sharp thanks to the remaster.

 Overall, I was happy to have finally played Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil as it was an amazing time. The gameplay was fun, challenging, and charming-- easily making it one of the best platformers I've played. The story and characters were a step-up as well as the colorful presentation. In short, it's a great sequel that lives up to its PS1 big brother. Fans of the dream traveller and genre fans shouldn't miss out on it.