Klonoa is one of my favorite video game series of all time, and while the first game is already amazing, the second entry in the series Lunatea's Veil is also an absolutely fantastic game of its own. As a matter of fact, it's so good that I can't really decide which of the two is better, so this review will double as a comparison of sorts to hopefully finally determine which Klonoa game is best.
Story: Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil generally has a lighter story than the first game. Klonoa arrives at the dream world of Lunatea, where he teams up with priestess-wannabe Lolo and her sidekick Popka to find elements from all of Lunatea's kingdoms before they fall in the hands of a pirate named Leorina. I feel like there's a strong team dynamic between Klonoa, Lolo, and Popka that we just don't see in the first game, and the world of Lunatea is much more fleshed-out than Phantomile was. We get a world map to see how all the kingdoms tie together, as well as several descriptions of the different kingdoms. Granted, the story does get pretty dark in its second half, with Lolo getting a pretty tragic backstory, Leorina getting cursed with the power of the elements, the ultimate antagonist being the literal King Of Sorrow, and of course, Klonoa having to leave in the ending. However, I think in terms of emotional impact, the first game still prevails. Nothing beats having to see Klonoa lose everything he's ever known and loved, learn his life is a lie, and be sucked away to another world against his will. Lunatea's Veil is more Lolo's story than Klonoa's, and she is really well-developed, but she still ends the game a lot better off than Klonoa did in the first. Which game has the better story? Well, I think the story of Lunatea's Veil is generally better told, but Door To Phantomile had the stronger impact.
Winner: Tie
Gameplay: As described in my review of the first game, Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil is a 2.5D platformer where you can grab enemies and throw them at stuff. While the gameplay is pretty much exactly the same as the first game, there are enough improvements made that I can categorically call Lunatea's Veil the better entry in this regard. For starters, Klonoa only has three hitpoints instead of the first game's six, making for a generally harder entry. This was a good change since Door To Phantomile is admittedly really easy, to the point where I could breeze through it without losing a single life. In addition, Lunatea's Veil adds a bunch of entirely new enemies that you can grab, including Kitons you can use to fly, Erbils you can use to blast to higher areas with a powerful electric stream, and color-changing Likuries that lead to some really clever puzzles. Even more, this game introduces hoverboarding segments that are legitimately a super fun break from the standard gameplay that appears just enough to feel fleshed out without overstaying their welcome. However, this is one gameplay addition I don't quite love and that's the cannons, which can shoot Klonoa to another part of the level, usually in the background. What I love about the first game is the fact that you can see an area in the background and just physically walk there, but in this game, you'd really just need to find a nearby cannon. Granted, these cannons do lead to some pretty great puzzles, usually involving bombs, but they do limit the awe factor that the first game had. Outside of that, though, Klonoa 2's gameplay is generally a lot better compared to the first game.
Winner: Lunatea
Level Design: The levels in Lunatea's Veil are generally a bit more well-designed than the ones in the first game, at least to a degree. Each level is focused around a bunch of gimmicks and mechanics, and they take the time to fully flesh them out. The first game's levels do this at times, but not nearly as well as Lunatea's Veil does. The second game's stages are also a lot more setpiece-heavy, with each stage including a ton of unique areas and things to interact with. For example, Joilant is an amusement park level that lets you play around with nearly every ride and tent in the park, even taking a brief detour in a haunted house. It's the type of platformer that constantly leaves you guessing what you're going to be having to deal with next. However, I also think these levels just don't quite have the same maze-like feel as the first game's stages. I frequently compared Door To Phantomile's levels to Zelda dungeons, with keys and locks, central hubs, and even some instances of nonlinearity. Lunatea's Veil's stages feel a bit more straightforward when it comes to navigation, and even their more complex levels focus more around one-room puzzles than figuring out where to go. In addition, Lunatea's Veil has a bunch of levels that are modified versions of previous stages, which I've never really been a fan of. These levels are still fun and all, but I don't love having to retread old ground. Still, Lunatea's Veil generally does have a lot of fantastic stages (Both Ark stages, Joliant, Maze Of Memories, Kingdom Of Sorrow, all the hoverboard stages), but it and Door To Phantomile have different strengths when it comes to their level design.
Winner: Tie
Bosses: The boss fights in Lunatea's Veil are almost all better than the first game's. The bosses in Door To Phantomile are mostly great, but the first four can be pretty short and easy (looking at you Baladium), and the fight with Joka is a weak spot in an otherwise fantastic game. Lunatea's Veil, on the other hand, gives all of its boss fights multiple phases and attacks that make them a lot more dynamic than the first game's. The fights with Polonte and Cursed Leorina in particular are both easily the best in the series, they're epic, exciting, emotional, and very lengthy. However, just like in Door To Phantomile, Lunatea's Veil does have a weak boss of its own, and it's the last one. The fight with the King Of Sorrow isn't a bad fight and I think the character himself is really interesting, but the fight itself is both disappointingly lacking in flair and scope, while also being oddly irritating. It has a neat hoverboard phase, but it kinda comes out of nowhere and feels tacked on to the start of the fight. Compared to the massive final battle with Nahatomb, I can't fault anyone for feeling a bit let down. Outside of that, though, the bosses in Lunatea's Veil are categorically better than in the first.
Winner: Lunatea
Replay Value: Okay, I'm a bit split on which game is better in this aspect. On one hand, Lunatea's Veil has the longer campaign, with not only more levels but longer levels. While I never felt like the first game felt too short, there's definitely nothing wrong with a longer Klonoa game and it still never feels like it overstays its welcome. In addition, the optional content includes an extra bonus level, a boss rush, and a scrapbook you can unlock by collecting Dreamstones. However, this is where things get a bit iffy, because you don't just have to collect Dreamstones. You have to collect every Dreamstone, all 150 in each level, to unlock all the Scrapbook pages. With most of the levels being at least 10 minutes long (or hoverboard stages), doing this is an absolute pain and makes 100% completion not all that fun. In addition, those aforementioned modified stages do feel like padding, which leaves me wondering whether or not the added length of Lunatea's Veil is all that much of a good thing. Sure Lunatea's Veil does have more content and replay value, but when some of that content is repeated levels and a pretty major completion objective is just plain tedious, I think Door To Phantomile might be the more replayable game for me.
Winner: Phantomile
Art Direction: This is probably the one aspect that I can say Lunatea's Veil doesn't quite stack up to its predecessor in. Now don't get me wrong, Lunatea's Veil is a beautiful game with creative and colorful environments, fantastic texturing, and some really amazing backgrounds, especially in Joilant. However, it lacks the thing that made Door To Phantomile such a striking game: 2D sprites on 3D backgrounds. I repeatedly mention that the 2.5D element is what really makes the Klonoa series stand out, and the fact that Klonoa is an entirely flat and 2D character in the first game makes the 2.5D perspective that much more awe-inducing. It's also why I don't love the visual style of the Wii remake nearly as much. Still, I don't want to say that I don't like how Lunatea's Veil looks. I still think it looks amazing to this day and the dreamlike aesthetic is something I really want to see more of in video games. But Door To Phantomile's unique art direction still makes it my favorite-looking game in the series despite its age.
Winner: Phantomile
Soundtrack: This is the part that I am the most split on, because both soundtracks are fantastic. The score for Lunatea's Veil is predictably a lot larger than the first, and is arguably better-crafted, using leitmotifs for all of the areas and characters incredibly well. Just like in Door To Phantomile, the music slowly gets more intense and darker in tone as the game progresses, leading to some absolutely phenomenal endgame music-wise. Songs like Cursed Leorina, The Ark Revisited, and Mirage are some of the best in the series, and that's not even including the fantastic earlier songs like Going To Lunatea, Path Of Goddess Claire, Make Believe Ver 2, Jungle Cruise, Volkies Song, and Maze Of Memories. In addition, Lunatea's Veil has a wider variety of genres and instrumentation, and the lack of PS1 compression means it sounds a lot better than the music from the first game. However, there's just something so beautiful about Door To Phantomile's ethereal and somewhat medieval-sounding compositions. Songs like Sad Forest Drum, Count Three, Dawn Over Dawn & Dark Into Dark, The Closing Encounter, and Red Head Coronia are just so unique and unlike anything I've ever heard in a video game. And I think overall, aside from Cursed Leorina, the boss themes in Door To Phantomile are generally better than the more ambient boss themes in Lunatea's Veil. If I had to say which soundtrack I preferred, it would probably be different each day, it's just that hard.
Winner: Tie
Final Result: Tie
Overall, I hope this review illustrates why picking a favorite Klonoa game is so damn hard. Both entries have their own strengths and weaknesses, and when I usually say an entry does something better, it ends up being with an asterisk. If I had to give an answer, I'd say Lunatea's Veil is the better game, but Door To Phantomile left a stronger impact on me, probably because it was the first I played of the two. Still, Lunatea's Veil is a phenomenal platformer with fantastic gameplay, a compelling story, creative level design, fun boss fights, great art direction, and a beautiful soundtrack. It's everything a sequel to the first game should be and more.
5/5 Stars
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