PS3

Klonoa: Door to Phantomile

Platform

Time to beat: about 6.3 hours
Plays offline: Yes

Overview

Klonoa: Door to Phantomile is a 1997 platform game developed and published by Namco for the PlayStation. It is the first game in the Klonoa series. The story follows Klonoa and his friend Huepow in their efforts to save the dream world of Phantomile from an evil spirit intent on turning it into a world of nightmares. The player controls Klonoa through a 2.5D perspective; the stages are rendered in three dimensions but the player moves along a 2D path. Klonoa can grab enemies and throw them as projectiles, or use them as a jump boost to navigate through the stages.

The game was directed by Hideo Yoshizawa, who conceptualized the setting as a dream world that could appeal to children and adults. The Klonoa character was designed early on and the environments and other characters were designed around him. Door to Phantomile received positive reviews, being praised for its clever level design, impressive graphics and visual appeal. Some critics thought it lacked in certain gameplay innovations and was excessive in its Japanese cuteness. In retrospect, it is considered one of the best 2.5D platformers and PlayStation games.

The game spawned a direct sequel, Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil, for PlayStation 2 in 2001, as well as multiple other titles. It was remade for the Wii by Paon in 2008; a higher-definition remaster of said remake alongside Klonoa 2 are included in the Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series compilation.