Klonoa 2 Dream Champ Tournament

Wahoo! If you’ve played any Klonoa games, you’d instantly recognize the voice of the big-eared dream traveler. In his most recent GameBoy adventure, Klonoa takes some time off from his traveling to participate in a Dream Champ Tournament.

The game begins as Klonoa is mysteriously transported to a bustling hall filled with other creatures and people. Shortly after reuniting with some familiar friends from past Klonoa games, the announcer explains that everyone present has been invited to a tournament open to only the best dream travelers. Klonoa and company decide to give it a shot, and so begins Klonoa 2: Dream Champ Tournament.

Klonoa 2 plays a lot like its predecessor. You begin on a world select screen and using a miniature Klonoa you decide which one you’d like to visit. Each world has a distinct look and feel, and is laid out in a path for the player to follow. The path ends with the last level the player was at, and upon completion the path continues further.

The levels in Klonoa 2 are split up into three different types. There are normal levels, where you can take your time to find the exit. These are known as the puzzle levels, and feature many situations that will require problem solving. If you’re unfamiliar with Klonoa, the idea of the game is to capture enemies using your special magic ring, and then use them either as weapons, a stepping stone, or many other things. Each different enemy has different attributes and uses, and as you progress the puzzles grow more complicated, encompassing many different enemies’ attributes.

At certain points in your journey you may be faced with a split path, which usually happens when there’s an action level up next. Since this is the case, action levels are typically voluntary and not necessary in completing the game. In an action level you will either be controlling Klonoa on his hover board through various obstacles, or across a continually scrolling level. In the scrolling levels you must keep up with the screen, because if you fall behind or get stuck Klonoa will be knocked out. These tend to be the more difficult levels, especially if you are attempting to collect all the dream stones.

Finally there are boss levels, where the goal is a little bit different than previous Klonoa games. Klonoa is faced with the task of racing a rival to the exit of a level, all while encountering enemies and avoiding traps. These levels can be pretty tough, but are a nice change of pace sometimes.

At the end of each level you are given a rank based on the dream stones you collected, damage you sustained, the amount of retries used, and if you found the hidden sun stone. Also, if you find all of the dream stones in a level, a piece of a hidden picture is revealed. Finding all the dream stones in an entire world reveals the whole picture.

Klonoa 2 is a fun and challenging GameBoy Advance game that is very faithful to the series. I encourage gamers young and old to at least try it out, because whether you’re skilled or a beginner, a challenge can be found in a Klonoa title. It also helps that the characters, levels, and enemies are very charming and creative. I love to see more Klonoa games are coming out, now hopefully we’ll see a Klonoa 3 for the PlayStation2.

Gameplay: 8.3
Klonoa 2 has the same simple yet challenging gameplay that the rest of the series features. Expect puzzles and creative uses for enemies to reach each stage’s goal.

Graphics: 8.5 
All the onscreen characters are very colorful and detailed, set to distinct backgrounds that separate the different worlds. Not the best looking GBA game, but better than most.

Sound: 8.7
Yet another feature that has survived through each new title, Klonoa still makes the same noises as in his other games. The music also carries the Klonoa charm with happy and well-written tunes.

Difficulty: Easy
To just run from the beginning of a level to the end is not that difficult. Even though each world progressively gets a little more difficult, it is still not too tough to get by on the minimum. However, trying to get a good rank and collect all dream stones in another story…

Concept: 8.0 
Despite the fact that Klonoa games don’t see much change from title to title, it almost doesn’t need it. We still see some minor additions in each one, but in the end it’s the gameplay that makes Klonoa so great.

Overall: 8.5
Klonoa 2 is a game any age of gamer can enjoy. Depending on how you play a level it can be easy or challenging, so no matter what experience you’ve had with video games you can still enjoy Klonoa 2.