Kaze no Klonoa 2: Sekai ga Nozonda Wasuremono / Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil (PS2) (2000)
Developer: Namco

Review by Faididi and Co.

Is there beauty behind the veil?

Story: Average

The puppy-like hero named Klonoa is summoned again to save another realm of dreams. Waking up in a world called Lunatea, he sets out with his wind magic and his new friends to stop the invasion of a dark force. Visiting a strange land should be exciting, but this story turns out to be sadly formulaic. Although all the characters whom Klonoa meets differ from before (due to circumstances beyond his control), they fill the most basic archetypes, hide no unexpected twists, and even spew out a lot more preaching. For unclear reasons at one point, Klonoa's innocent, child-like demeanor abruptly transforms into a worldly, mature one. The antagonists' tragic personalities are now fully cliched, and the final villain is the worst of all: an ultra-emo furry.

Gameplay: Above Average

Namco's Kaze no Klonoa 2: Sekai ga Nozonda Wasuremono (Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil) is an action platformer that sticks close to the formula of its predecessor, Door to Phantomile. Our hero's signature move serves both as an attack and as a leaping maneuver, because he can capture enemies and throw them at other obstacles, but he can also toss his captives downward when he is in midair to boost himself upward. Although Klonoa moves along preset paths (including many alternate routes), the game's world is three-dimensional, and he can throw enemies at targets located in the background and the foreground. Strangely, our hero can now suck up only three hits, half of the past amount, before he gets wasted.

A positive change is found in the limited 2-Player assistance, in the form of one of Klonoa's new friends, the puppet-like Popka. This sequel isn't a true 2-Player game, because all Popka can do is to give Klonoa an extra vertical boost, as an optional aid meant for younger Players.

Whereas Door to Phantomile shows off a truly breathtaking world, however, this game doesn't quite do the same. The exotic paradise aesthetics are gone, being replaced by stale factories, cities, and other relatively drab modern-day scenery. Don't get the wrong idea; the level and enemy designs are still expertly built around Klonoa's abilities. Among the new highlights are the option to finish certain levels in any order, the museum scene where gravity can be flipped, special color-coded bad guys who can be used to break puzzle-like objects, another special kind of enemy who can enhance his throw-jumps, and the hoverboarding scenes that has Klonoa cruising down rivers or slopes (coincidentially mirroring Iguana's Aero the Acro-Bat 2). Nevertheless, the first game has had our hero kicking up sparkling trails of light as he explored twilight palaces. Something feels lost when the most magical thing Klonoa does in this sequel is launching himself through the air via tacky circus cannons.

Controls: Excellent

However else this sequel differs, the controls continue to be responsive and intuitive. Klonoa also has fun new poses that make him look good or yell a lot.

Graphics: Excellent

The colorful, attractive visuals capture the beauty of the game's world. The characters, who are now all rendered in real-time 3D along with the environments, are lovingly detailed and fluidly animated. The heavy use of lighting effects makes everything appear even better.

Audio: Above Average

The audio work is almost as good. The sound effects remain strong, while refinements to the characters' constructed language leave their speech sounding more natural than before. Alas, the music is noticeably less inspired, and some of it lacks a surprising amount of harmony. For example, the factory town's tunes grate harshly against the ears. On the bright side, a certain scene has the distinction of featuring a catchy song with lyrics that are fully sung in the constructed language, and that's just damn awesome.

Overall: Above Average

Kaze no Klonoa 2: Sekai ga Nozonda Wasuremono has the impossible task of surpassing Door to Phantomile, yet followers of that magical classic need not be disappointed. Despite the generic story and the less memorable scenery, this still-impressive sequel boasts exciting platforming action, great controls, fabulous graphics, and one very special song.

OST: Above Average

Published by Scitron Digital Content, the Kaze no Klonoa 2: Sekai ga Nozonda Wasuremono soundtrack contains all the music from the game. In addition to the full version of the song, Stepping Wind (Wahoo Stomp), it also comes with a karaoke version as a bonus track.

(View Stepping Wind's lyrics.)