Ranking Klonoa 1 & 2 Bosses

Despite its cult status and relative lack of games, Klonoa is one of my favorite video game series of all time, and one reason is definitely the boss fights. Klonoa's unique 2.5D engine allows for some truly creative platforming gameplay, and the boss fights make full us of it. While not super hard, Klonoa's boss fights are consistently inventive, dynamic, and unlike anything I've seen to this day. So, I'm going to rank them from least best to best:

13. King Of Sorrow

It pains me to put King Of Sorrow at the bottom because he really is one of the best characters in the series. Despite only showing up for like ten minutes, he's made one hell of an impact on the fanbase with his cool design and tragic backstory that fits the themes of the games perfectly. However, his actual boss fight leaves a lot to be desired. The first phase is a tacked-on hoverboard fight that, while fun, isn't really explained in game. You can't even make out who you're fighting because of how quickly he's moving. Actually fighting the king himself isn't much better since the fight boils down to simply breaking his shield twice rather than actually engaging in combat with him. The sheer amount of projectiles and lasers flying around can be pretty frustrating, but the fight flies by so quickly that it feels underwhelming regardless. It doesn't even do anything with the cool concept of Klonoa getting a wind ring power-up, which is really only used to let him lift heavier objects. King Of Sorrow had all the right set-up but his fight was pretty average, especially for a final boss.

12. Joka

Joka's fight constantly toes the line between being a fittingly lengthy and challenging fight with the game's cruelest villain, and an overlong slog. It periodically swaps between day and night, just like the stage that came before it. The day phases are a ton of fun, as you have to precisely aim your throws to hit Joka without him swatting away your projectiles. If you're skilled, you can get take out a third of Joka's health. The night phase, on the other hand, has him turn into a giant monster, and the only way to turn him back is to turn every floor tile back to yellow. Monster Joka's claw swipes are fun to avoid, but lighting the floor can become a slog the more you have to do it. If you're skilled enough, you only have to deal with two night phases, but if you're not, this fight can really drag.

11. Gelg Bolm

Gelg Bolm mostly just suffers from having the least memorable design out of pretty much any Klonoa boss, basically just being a giant walking venus fly-trap. The fight itself is pretty solid, with you needing to use the springs to hit him from above, but aside from one cool setpiece with a giant apple, it's not anything too remarkable. There's also one jumping attack around the middle of the fight that can be pretty irritating to deal with as well. For me, the real highlight of Gelg Bolm is the phenomenal music. Beats From Above is a fantastic piece of DnB music which syncs up with the fight surprisingly well.

10. Leptio The Flower Clown

Leptio is another fight I don't find super memorable, but it does have quite a lot to love. On the visual front, I absolutely love the colorful setting of Joilant, as well as those striking shadows in the background. The fight itself is split up into two phases like most Klonoa 2 fights. The first phase is mostly your standard "hit the real one" boss, but being able to get in multiple hits as Leptio rolls around the arena is a pretty great mechanic. With enough speed and skill, you can practically wipe out that entire healthbar in one go. The second phase is a bit better, as Leptio dons a giant spiky machine that you have to knock over and hit him from the under side, a great usage of 2.5D. Leptio's fight is pretty easy but it has its fair share of unique ideas.

9. Seadoph & Pamela

This boss is noteworthy for being the first real emotional gut punch Klonoa's infamously dark story hits you with, as you have to fight Karal's corrupted mother Pamela. The atmosphere here is fantastic, and the music is some of the best and most dramatic in the entire game. The fight itself isn't quite as amazing though. You need to grab King Seadoph and toss him at Pamela a bunch of times, all the while dodging Pamela's dives and bubble projectiles, and the spike balls that continue to spawn. The myraid of projectiles and pit in the middle do a good job at making sure you're constantly moving, but there isn't really much in the way of the show-stopping attacks that some of the other bosses have.

8. Folgran The Armor Beast

Being a first boss, Folgran is really easy. Hell, he doesn't even try to attack you until the second phase. So why is he this high on the list? Well, for starters, I just think his design is sick. The robotic dragon design is super memorable and makes a strong first impression for the bosses to come. But on the gameplay front, Folgran may not be super tough, but he's a good test of your projectile throwing skills, with his constant spinning and bobbing up and down making his weakspot a bit harder to hit. And as the fight goes on, Folgran moves faster and faster, requiring some pretty tight timing to nail that final blow.

7. Rongo Lango

Rongo Lango is one of the most iconic bosses in the series, and for good reason. The simple but effective premise of hitting the weakspot on his back-side makes good use of the 2.5D setting, and his varied lineup of attacks constantly change the direction he's facing forcing you to strategize. On top of that, the hill-top setting is super memorable, and his boss theme is an absolute jam.

6. Ghadius

Ghadius is well-known for being the hardest fight in the series (if not the only hard fight). With a pretty beefy health bar, loads of attacks, and the ability to teleport you on top of the spinning arena, this man has the ability to quickly whittle down your health. But on the other hand, what makes Ghadius's fight so great is that you can pretty much do the same to him. Most of his attacks supply you with a lot of enemies, and being able to land upwards of half a dozen hits on him in a row is immensenly satisfying.

5. Mobile Tank Biscarsh

Biscarsh's fight is what you'd get if you took Gelg Bolm's fight and cranked it up to eleven. You still land hits by dropping enemies on its head, but now the springs launch you high up into the air, and the boss itself is a huge tank with an arsenal of homing abilities and the ability to literally bulldoze you if you're not careful. It's easily one of the most cinematic fights in the series. Biscarsh's hit-box can be a little finicky, but the fact that he shows up in the next level and starts chasing you out of sheer hatred more than makes up for any complaints I may have.

4. Polonte The Hatchling

Take a good look, King Of Sorrow, this is how you do a good snowboard fight. Despite Polonte basically just being another story irrelevant one-off, his fight is one of the biggest emotional turning points in the game since Lolo reveals her backstory and dips out of helping Klonoa. The first phase where you're unable to use your wind ring is a nice change of pace, but once Lolo steels back up and helps you out in the second phase, the Polonte goes from great to amazing. From the phenomenal music, to the many obstacles you need to dodge, to the blisteringly fast pace of the fight, Polonte is an absolute spectacle from start to finish.

3. Nahatomb

Nahatomb is Kirby levels of bonkers final bosses, containing a whopping three phases to take out. The first phase tasks you with loading all your friends' cannons while dodging Nahatomb's surprisingly tricky sweeping tongue attack. The second phase has you break a bunch of crystals inside Nahatomb's soul (?), the last of which moves insanely fast and will really test your throwing skills. But the highlight is easily the final phase, which takes the elements of the first phase and amps up the difficulty by adding in pit-falls and breakable platforms. The music is also worth praising here, with the first phase introducing the main leitmotif, the second phase having a more muted and ominous version of the tune, and the final phase bringing it on home with a more fast-paced and slap-bass heavy banger of a final boss theme. 

2. Baladium

Similarly to Polonte, Klonoa 1's fourth boss is also a pretty big turning point in the story. Right before the fight, you watch Joka blow up Klonoa's grandpa right in front of him, which immediately gives the fight a strong sense of urgency. The fight itself is really great too, with the unique concept of Klonoa being on a swing that brings him closer to and farther away from Baladium. His attacks are all super creative and take advantage of this swing. My only gripe with Baladium is the fact that his fight is too short, since despite having eight hit points, you can hit some of them at the same time speeding up the fight even more. A second phase could have elevated it to #1, but even with its brevity, the fun attacks, cool concept, great story importance, and one of the best themes in all of gaming make Baladium one of my favorite Klonoa bosses regardless.

1. Cursed Leorina

I already raved about Cursed Leorina before so I'll keep it brief. This fight has everything that makes Klonoa bosses so fantastic. There's multiple phases that utilize the 2.5D arena in creative ways, the super satisfying feeling of hitting his weak-point with a Thunder Moo, a great atmosphere, and of course, the emotional heft of having to fight your corrupted rival, all elevated even further by one of the best and most iconic themes in the entire series.