Foreword: I have never played the original versions of the Klonoa games, so this remake is my first approach to the series.

That said, despite not being without flaws, I enjoyed my time with everyone's favourite cabbit, so much so that I got all the achievements (not a difficult task, but still...).

So, what can I say about this Phantasy Reverie Series?



PROS:


+ GAMEPLAY

As many gamers know, the fundamental aspect of a platformer is the consistency and precision of its movements; from this point of view, the game does its job in a way that's not perfect, but still broadly decent: Klonoa moves fluidly and predictably, responding quickly to the player's controls (for the record: I played the whole game with a controller), even if a few rare times on platform edges I happened to fall down even when it was obvious I wasn't over the edge...


+ CHARACTER DESIGN

I've always had a soft spot for furry, brightly coloured characters; in this respect the game did not disappoint: I especially liked the round shapes and colour palettes of Klonoa, Huepow and Lolo, and also their personalities make them likeable, if a little clichéd.


+ PLOT

Wow. For such a colourful platformer, I was quite surprised by the endings of the game's two chapters; especially the first one, which has something I have rarely seen in a video game: a sad ending. This is a thing I always have respect for.



CONS:


- OPTIMISATION

I won't sugarcoat it: this game is poorly optimised. The recommended specs include a GTX 660 graphics card to play at 1080p at 60 fps with settings at ‘high’; well, even though I played with a GTX 745, the game barely ran at 20 fps. To run it at 60, I had to reduce the screen resolution to 720p, in windowed mode and with the graphics settings at ‘low’. Not good.


- ANIMATIONS

Now, I wasn't expecting a Pixar-like level of animation, but I expected at least some fluidity in the movements; instead, I didn’t even get that: during cutscenes, the characters move in a wooden and lazy manner, like they were animated in 5 minutes at most.


- PRICE

I have to say, for what the game has to offer, the price tag is pretty hefty: at 40 US$ (and even worse in the EU: 50 €!) the quality/price ratio is not great. Fortunately you can buy the game at a 75% discount during sales, so at least you won’t spend too much (that’s how I got my hands on it).


To summarise: if you enjoy retro mascot platformers, get this game when it's on sale. This way you can enjoy a good entry in the genre without overpaying for it.

7/10 would wahoo again.