Klonoa is on sale for 77% off at Fanatical (Steam key).
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Klonoa is a great 2.5D platformer, arguably the best of that particular odd style of platformer (which had, like, 2.5 years in the sun, lol). The game’s challenging, but fair IMO. And it oozes with cutesy charm, and has a storyline that goes in a very surprising direction at the end of it (don’t worry, I won’t spoil anything). I don’t think it’s an all-timer for the genre, but it’s worth a playthrough (and I keep meaning to give the PS2 sequel a go… someday). Eventually this first Klonoa got a remake on the Wii, but I personally prefer its crunchy PS1 look. Feels more dreamlike in an uncanny sort of way, I suppose!
Super Mario Sunshine is a 3D platformer I personally do not like. For a long time it seemed most people agreed it was a lesser Super Mario game (perhaps even the “least,” as far as mainline entries go), but in more recent years it seems loads of gamers have a lot of fondness for it. A nostalgic soft spot for many-a-Gamecube owner, of course, but a lot of newcomers have also been won over by its summertime vibes. I could never get used to its controls and physics though, and would get frustrated by most of the levels’ challenges pretty quickly. It’s also one of the few 1st-party Nintendo games I’ve played that I can safely call “jank” – I presume it was rushed out for release to give the ailing Gamecube a boost, so it didn’t get the level of polish that pretty much all other Super Mario games get. An odd but interestingly chaotic little period in Mario’s history.
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I finally have an excuse to play Sunshine. Though I will be playing it on Switch for convenience.
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I was about to hit you up for a discount code.
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The reason why this game club exists is you! I enjoyed reading basically every post in the Retro Game Club thread and am now diving into the retro games available on NSO Switch subscription and I like to think it’s because I enjoyed reading everyone’s journey experiencing old timey wimey games.
Anyway just wanted to say thank you. Your write ups on the games y’all played were really interesting. :))
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Very nice of you, Roach! I’m always meaning to post more here and in the forums in general. I recently got myself a new Anbernic device (the RG Slide), which has given my retro gaming a large boost—so maybe I’ll try documenting the games I play through on that.
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Got started on Klonoa, it’s really cute!
His hover jump thing feels a little slow, but otherwise it moves really well for a PS1 platformer. I love how the levels make use of their newfangled 3rd dimension, with multiple paths that weave in and out of the background. And each level having 6 villagers to rescue feels like a nice compromise, encouraging exploration without fully descending into collectathon excess.
Visually and musically it’s all extremely charming, and the surprisingly frequent cutscenes have a fun storybook feel. I’m digging it!
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I started this yesterday. It’s approach to 3D in a 2D platformer and cuteness reminds me a lot of Kirby 64 so far
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Totally, they’ve got a lot in common! Though Klonoa is sadly unable to turn into a refrigerator.
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Rolled credits on Klonoa! Had a great time with the slightly more complex levels in the midgame, especially one set in and around a giant mechanical clocktower. Your ability to sorta “shift lanes” between multiple different linear paths, all within one level, is really nifty and feels like a style of exploration totally unique to the 2.5D perspective. Grabbing and throwing enemies to power your double jump takes on a lightly puzzle-y vibe that I really dug as well.
The endgame levels weren’t quite so strong, with platforming challenges that stray from fun into frustrating, and a few bosses that overstay their welcome. But the aesthetic remains lovely throughout, and the story hits some surprisingly heartfelt beats along the way.
All in all, a super charming couple hours, and I’m left really curious about its sequel on the PS2!
Edit: Forgot to mention, I was playing on emulator and my memory card got irretrievably corrupted in the run-up to the final battle. Definitely keep some save states handy to avoid possibly losing a bunch of progress!
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nice cat in box 
Love the color too.
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I’m nearing the end myself. I’m a bit surprised at how difficult some segments can be, and how tedious a few boss fights feel. I think it’d definitely roadblock a younger gamer at many points.
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actually now, the game keeps quitting out during the final boss and some of my save states seem to be corrupted which is frustrating
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Oof. I wonder why the saves keep corrupting at the same point. I was planning on playing the remaster so hopefully I don’t run into any issues.
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I’m guessing you’ll be fine. I swapped cores and thankfully didn’t lose my save data. This one is known to have better compatibility but funnily enough had more noticeable framerate issues.
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Just cleared Klonoa. Focused on it over Super Mario Sunshine since I already played that pretty extensively as a teen. People today comment on Sunshine having some troublesome controls or other issues but I didn’t notice them at the time, it just felt like a smooth Mario platformer with a fun tropical vacation setting and unique platforming tools with the FLUDD. Exploring around the hub world was a major highlight for me.
Klonoa is cute and charming but certainly a bit weighed down by some boss fights that drag and some other frustrating sections near the end. I think it also would have benefitted from a few more mechanics and moves. Klonoa’s kit is pretty limited but it is the first entry.
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Okay back to back posting time cuz I do really wanna discuss confusing lore implications. More so in Klonoa. Though there is some curious bits in Super Mario Sunshine like the race dude in the Pianta costume being the Running Man in a couple Zelda games, and how Bowser tells Bowser Jr that Peach is his mama?? Why did he do this? And who is his mom then?
But in Klonoa, some moments hit a lot harder than you’d expect for such a cutesy game, like when his grandpa dies and Huepow is just all like “okay I know that sucks, but you gotta focus bro” and then at the end Huepow just reveals that this ain’t even Klonoa’s real world and his memories are fake??? So did his actual grandpa not die? Does he even have a real grandpa? What is happeninggggg?
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Seriously, what is going on with Klonoa’s grandpa, I’m so confused. Was he created as a new part of the dream world when Klonoa got summoned there? Was he a preexisting resident of the dream, and then Huepow overwrote his memories to make him think Klonoa was his grandson?
Obviously the answer is “it’s dream logic, don’t think about it too hard”, but like, what happened.
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Oh my god this game is so cute. It’s killing me. All the little noises Klonoa makes are adorable.
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