Perhaps the most unsung hero of the platformer world has continued his legacy: First Playstation, then a smashing Playstation 2 debut... and now, Klonoa has made his way to the powerful handheld GBA system. A big fan of Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil, I could hardly wait to see what portable fun I could have with the GBA's Klonoa: Empire of Dreams. Luckily for me, Namco wasn't about to disappoint me.

If you're not familiar with little Klonoa, he's an absolutely adorable, and equally impossible to define, furry little black and white cat-like creature with long ears that have a star shaped tip. He also has a profound inclination to travel in his dreams - a habit that tends to get him in some pretty interesting situations. When Empire of Dreams opens, it's this very ability that gets our hero in trouble - causing him to be the target of some abject envy from the ruler of the land he has stumbled into. You see, the problem is, the ruler can't sleep, and so he doesn't care a dust-ball for Klonoa. So, to punish Klonoa for his good fortune, he sends Klonoa on a perilous journey. Good thing you're there to help out!

Klonoa is a scrolling platformer filled with plenty of things to dodge, grab, throw, leap over, solve, and much much more. The name of the game is jump and grab - namely grabbing your enemies who will inflate into projectile weapons when you seize them. You will be able to use these enemies-turned-arsenal to eliminate other enemies, activate items across the screen, and perhaps most importantly, master the ever important double-high jump. Also included in Empire of Dreams are blocks with the face of your enemy, which are indestructible, and will often have to be manipulated into other areas of the playfield to help you progress. Keys return as an important part of Empire of Dreams as well - leading to various hunt and finds to unlock doors. Also familiar to previous Klonoa players are "extra life" coins and crystal collecting. One notable difference is that in order to complete a vision you must collect three stars in order to unlock the door to complete the field.

In Klonoa, you clear "visions" rather than fields  - appropriately named for the adventures of our dream traveler. Games will be saved automatically as you complete each field - and you can go back to replay any fields you have already completed. This is especially helpful if you are getting low on extra lives since you can go back to easier fields and earn some more either through crystal collecting or "extra life" coins. Each world will have a number of different visions and each world will have a big boss to defeat in order to progress to the next world. Klonoa will also once again take on some adventures on his "hover board" which adds even more variety to the mix.

Graphics are once again "par excellence" in the GBA rendition of Klonoa. Klonoa is just as we know and love him from this agile black and white form to his Pac-Man hat. Everything down to the cutscenes has a light, cartoony feel and the colors are bright without being hard on the eyes. Enemies look just like they did before - with a couple new baddies to add to the mix. Level design is well done, as is background design - giving you plenty of new directions to go - and the visions never feel repetitive. The only thing that could have used some more variety is the music - but handhelds rarely have been known for their musical accompaniments.

It is important to note that while Empire of dreams retains similar elements of gameplay and the same great quality, Empire of Dreams is an entirely new adventure that throws enough new twists and turns into gameplay that makes it anything but a scaled down version of Lunatea's Veil. Ultimately, Klonoa: Empire of Dreams fulfilled everything I could have wanted in sequel to the Klonoa series, as well as in a GBA game. Thanks Klonoa (and Namco) for many more hours of fun and addictive gameplay that makes me glad to be a gamer!

Gameplay: 9
All the fun and frivolity of Klonoa's past incarnations have returned - along with a few new twists. This scroller always flows as smooth as silk and never fails to throw some interesting and challenging puzzles in your path to keep you hopping. It's a tough job to make a game so simple at heart and yet so complex in scope - the Klonoa team has perfected the formula!

Difficulty: 8
Klonoa's difficulty levels are perfectly increased as you progress. The first few fields are warm ups and the player is given plenty of chances to stock up extra lives for the harder fields. 

Concept: 8.5
Klonoa is still an incomprable hero. His darling looks, from his catlike face to his truly unique "star-tipped" ears, is unlike anything I've seen in another game. A core platformer - the Klonoa legacy is anything but common - including addictive gameplay and meticulous care to level design that shows it's a step above the rest.

Overall: 9
Klonoa: Empire of Dreams is one of those games that makes me glad I bought a GBA. Addictive, famously frivolous, and yet so well designed that even the most serious gamer can enjoy it; Klonoa just simply rocks the GBA world. If you're buying anyone (including yourself) a GBA this holiday season, or for any occasion at all, do them (or yourself) a favor - buy Klonoa: Empire of Dreams.