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GBA | Action | Klonoa 2: Dream Champ Tournament

Boxart for Klonoa 2: Dream Champ Tournament
Klonoa 2: Dream Champ Tournament 9 screen shots
  • GRAPHICS: 4.0
  • SOUND: 3.0
  • CONTROL: 4.0
  • FUN FACTOR 4.0
  • AVG USER SCORE n/a
  • AVG CRITIC SCORE 4.0

Review: Klonoa 2: Dream Champ Tournament

Review by FOUREYEDDRAGON | 02/24/2005 | 19:35:35 PM PST

Adventuring in a brain-teasing and colorful world only spells out another challenging Klonoa experience.

As in like past Klonoa games, Dream Champ Tournament makes the platform genre seem like a fun carnival atmosphere rather than one of those standard run-and-jump affairs.

Side-Scrolling Enigma
In this latest adventure, big-eared Klonoa is racing against other dream travelers to become the Dream Champ. To do this, he must dash left and right and collect star, sun, and moon fragments that are scattered about. But you don't have to understand the story in order to enjoy Klonoa 2--the action is much more than collecting things.

Klonoa challenges the mind rather than your twitches of well-timed thumb presses. Klonoa's unique powers enable him to capture enemies and use them to solve a variety of mind-bending puzzles. Some brainteasers require you to use captured creatures to get an extra boost for a higher jump, while others in later areas entail you to combine multiple foes to open a door. Each level is designed to make you think hard about how to advance to higher platforms, enter passageways, and collect objects that initially seem out of reach. By the third world (five worlds total), itching your head and having question marks painted in your mind will be common as the challenges subsequently become drastically more difficult.

Cutesy, Colorful, and Challenging
Klonoa's world is certainly eye-catching. Each area is as whimsical-looking and vibrantly colorful as the next. The sporadic hoverboard races, however, seem dull and uninspiring--thankfully, you don't have to play through them often. And although Klonoa looks like a kiddy game, half way through and you'll realize that some of the tests aren't for kiddies.

Dream Champ Tournament continues the Klonoa puzzle adventuring tradition in fine form. Don't get fooled by the cartoony visuals--this is one game that'll make you think long and hard in a good way.