DF Retro: The Klonoa Saga - Every Game Reviewed - Part 2: From PS2 To PS5!
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- Опубликовано: 28 май 2024
- DF Retro's journey across the generations of Namco's Klonoa saga concludes in this second part, where John Linneman - joined by Coury Carlson from My Life In Gaming - take a look at every Klonoa game and spin-off ranging from PlayStation 2 all the way to the recent PlayStation 5 remakes, with plenty of interesting diversions along the way.
Chapters
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:27 - Vision 1-1 Klonoa - The Next Generation
00:09:34 - What Makes the Gameplay Special?
00:13:14 - The Magnificent Soundtrack and Audio
00:18:18 - The Story of Klonoa 2
00:25:04 - Vision 2-1 Klonoa Beach Volleyball
00:28:38 - Vision 2-2 Gameboy Advance Games
00:41:36 - Vision 3-1 Klonoa's Guest Appearances
00:46:44 - Vision 4-1 Klonoa on Nintendo Wii
00:58:03 - Vision 5-1 Klonoa on Modern Platforms (PS5, Switch etc)
01:14:27 - Conclusions and Credits
Many thanks to our retro backers on the DF Supporter Program for making content like this possible. Put simply, work like this, with this level of depth, would not be possible without you! Join us at / digitalfoundry
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Игры
I played Klonoa 1 for the first time after watching your last video, almost finished and have absolutely loved it. Keep up the great work DF 🙂
Having never owned any Sony systems, I enjoyed the demo and just picked up the remasters on Switch after this! Disappointing that it has performance issues, but I find despite best intentions the place I end up actually playing this sort of game is Switch, even if I own them on PC. Seems like a good way to get away from my desk and relax.
@@halfling_barista I do the same thing with games I own on PC or through Gamepass. I try the game out, like it, but then end up buying it on Switch and actually enjoy it more due to the fact that I can play it in my bed 😅 Steamdeck would be an addiction if I had the funds... Too many Steam games sitting dormant in my library because I'd rather play them on something else.
@@spencerhon4430 with the money you save from not having to rebuy games, the Steam Deck can pay for itself
@@spencerhon4430 Yep exactly
@@spencerhon4430 Steam Deck is available to order right away, no more waiting in queues. Get the cheapest one if you're light on funds, can upgrade storage down the line. Better than the Switch, especially if you're buying games twice.
The Klonoa 2 demo was the first thing I played on my brand new PlayStation 2 in 2002. For that reason it has always resonated with me, and helped to develop my love for the series.
Same here! I hadn't played the game since the demo was released
Thanks for shining a light on Klonoa
I still remember this being the first video game that made me cry. I finished this back in 2008, but oddly enough, didn't cry at it. But when I re-watched the ending of the game on RUclips shortly after, the tears finally came.
Have never even heard of this game and yet watched both DFR episodes. And i can see how it has made countless fans happy. That's why I love DF Retro. Keep at it champs.
If you liked what you saw, you should pick it up! They said there is even a chance for a third game if it sells well enough!
This is by far the best Klonoa video (as series) on RUclips. As a fan of Klonoa I'm glad a top tier channel like digital foundry dedicates this kind of work to a niche series
There is something fascinating about Klonoa. Maybe because it feels like it could have been a huge mascot in an alternate reality. Thank you for producing these videos.
Klonoa 2 is just so smooth and fun to play.
Slept on this series for it's entire existence but this is now a must play for me
Thanks for this videos, maybe now Klonoa get some deserved love.
Fun fact - Klonoa Beach Volleyball was last Namco game released on PSX
Not quite. From Wikipedia:
The final licensed PlayStation game released in Japan (not counting re-releases) was Black/Matrix 00 on May 13, 2004; counting re-releases, the final licensed game released in Japan was Strider Hiryū on October 24, 2006. The final licensed game released in North America was FIFA Football 2005 on October 12, 2004, and the final licensed game released in Europe was Moorhuhn X on July 20, 2005.
@@ryanschwartz4959 I didn't said that Klonoa Beach Volleyball was last PSX game ever, it was just last NAMCO released game on PSX. Black/Matrix was developed by Flight-Plan
Soon this series will have been going on long enough to make a DF Retro: DF Retro Episode 1, episode
Rich is one of those gamers that was always the first to support a game no matter how obscure it was
O man! Seeing footage from GBA titles brings back so many memories:)
Another fantastic DF Retro!
Wow Everyone! Great job John, Coury, and yes Audi too. Such a high quality production!! Thank You. You guys really brought forward the Klonoa series in my eye, and answered all my questions and curiosities. I really look forward to my Sunday DF Retro. And yes, I watch all Digital Foundry productions. Thank you all at Digital Foundry, you’re really getting into an incredible groove, keep up the great work!!
I need to finish Klonoa 2, I remember playing the demo on the OPM demo disc, it made a good impression way back then.
On another note, I'm glad DF is doing a Retro series on Klonoa, not many people would've asked for this.
Beach vollyball is nutty, it's interesting to see the Klonoa 2 design for Klonoa on PS1
There is so much love and care in those video, it's a joy to behold. Thank you for your fantastic work :)
This whole franchise is criminally underrated
Tbh when everyone agrees that they're underrated... they're not really underrated anymore
still great games
What an incredible retrospective. Thank you so much for giving one of my all-time favourites such a thorough treatment. Superb :)
Will for sure give this series a try! Thanks for the inspirational content!
Thanks for the fantastic trip down Klonoa memory lane, John. I definitely hold these two games in high regard. Despite starting with SMB as my first game ever Klonoa pulls on the heartstrings just as hard.
Also, fuck yeah that Ace Combat 2 music was a welcome surprise!
klona and tomba are two games that aged very well for the psx
Surprised about the lack of critique for the Klonoa 1 remake in the collection, the wind bullet doesnt move with slopes and the jumping feels a little off (maybe a consequence of shortening the character and not adjusting the level geometry). And the Klonoa Wii cutscenes feel extra awkward with the ps1 voices, it is extremely obvious it wasn't made for them in mind.
The jumping in the collection fells wrong because Klonoa is shorter, but everything stayed the same, even his jump height.
I'm also kinda suprised that he never talked about the missing effects in the collection like the missing transparency for the ghosts, 6-1 looking kinda bad, or how bad the Ghadius boss fight looks.
Great videos guys, these last two made for a great Sunday morning coffee time. Love em, can't wait to see what yall do next.
Like with most multiplatform titles published by Bandai Namco in Japan, the official Japanese website for Kaze no Klonoa 1&2 Encore features a table showing how all versions compare with each other.
On Switch the game runs at up to 1920×1080 in docked mode and at up to 1280×720 in portable mode, and targeting 60 frames per second.
On PS4 it runs at 1920×1080 @ 60 FPS, it has no PS4 Pro support.
On PS5 it runs at 3840×2160 @ 60 FPS.
On Xbox One and One S it runs at 1920×1080 @ 60 FPS, it has no Xbox One X support.
On Xbox Series S it runs at 2560×1440 @ 60 FPS, and on Xbox Series X it runs at 3840×2160 @ 60 FPS.
Thank you for your Klonoa coverage John, I thoroughly enjoyed it
Great work guys this is definitely a love letter to the franchise
Thank you so much for this series, amazing work 💜I have Klonoa 2 on disk on PS2 and recently played thru and almost 100% it on pc recently with higher graphics and it was such a fun time.
I used to play klonoa 1 at my grandmas house. Such a 💎 of a game.
I love these DF Retro retrospectives so much! John really puts a lot of effort and passion in all of these!
A very great detailed explanation John! You should be a game consultant for these remakes before physical copies are released. Thanks for this!
I played Klonoa 2 last year (after loving the first game) and I loved it every much as I did the first one. The soundtrack is awesome, and the Ruin of Sadness music track is probably the most atmospheric track I’ve come across in a game, ever. I made sure I got 100% in the game too, I felt a great sense of accomplishment when I finally did it.
I like your speculation about the Kingdom of Sorrow. That all completely passed me by in my playthrough!
Never played these before. John's enthusiasm sold me on the remakes tho, gonna pick it up on PC!
the breakdown of the Wii version's visual design is prime DF content, that game looks excellent and I had no idea
Thank you guys.
what a masterpiece John.👏👏 thanks for sharing the history and giving us a hope for the franchise
Always always a treat when the crew make a DF Retro, specifically PS1/PS2 era, and more specifically when it's a Japanese IP. Love it! Thanks guys!
Hope to see more. Maybe a DF Retro on cyberconnect2's Tail Concerto and spin offs/spiritual successors? Cheers again!
Beautifully crafted video
DF Retro brightens my day. Feel like a kid again xD
Really great and hard work. Thank you 💕
Klonoa 2 is a masterclass in game design, this is why the ps2 was so flippin great, there’s not many games with this level of artistry on the original Xbox or even the GameCube outside of Nintendo’s own games, Klonoa 2 is such an amazing game.
John really loves to remind people he knows Japanese huh 😂
Good video
The og PS2 Klonoa 2 is such a strikingly beautiful game. I prefer it over the remake in almost every regard. It absolutely “holds up.”
Really cant wait for your plague tale Requiem Tech Analysis!!
I will never forget this series in my whole lifetime. I have recently replayed both mainline games and the 2 GBA platformers each on original hardware in preparation for the action RPG. These four games are more or less required to get most of Klonoa Heroes' story due to the appearences of most characters that are featured within these games. I'm probably not ready, help.
Beyond a PS1 demo of the original Klonoa, this is one of those games/game series that I just missed out on. I got the PS5 remaster of the first two games and they absolutely stand up to the test of time.
Also, these videos are my fave on this channel. Keep them coming. (could we perhaps get a Wipeout one? I've probably asked about that before :p )
Particle effects are one of my favorite special effects. Ever since the first Killer Instinct on arcade I've been in love with particle effects
Thank you John for making this series. I really wanted to take a look at the re-release and this video made me appreciate the older versions, especially the PS1 which is a generation of graphics I'm usually not a fan of. It is a little sad that the original versions and Wii still hold so much charm left in them vs some part of the re-release. Still I will be checking out the compilation. Thanks again for the deep dive into this little gem of gaming history!
i love DF always talking about games that i never give any attention, never thought klonoa was a master piece looking forward playing this remake.
This was a great video series, but I am surprised that DF didn't mention that Klonoa 1 in the new remake collection, only has mono audio. There is no stereo audio in the new Klonoa but the audio is in stereo on the Playstation. That's my biggest issue with the new remake.
Also worth nothing is that while the Klonoa 1 remake uses the PS1 voice tracks, there are two moments where it actually doesn't. Both Klonoa's iconic scream during the scene with Grandpa & the entire final cutscene feature super crisp audio, instead of the usual muffled audio, & were likely sourced from the Wiimake. While I imagine final cutscene went that way due to how it was no longer FMV (& likely would have mismatched over time), I can't tell why that one voice clip during the Grandpa scene got changed, outside of maybe just wanting to emphasize that moment in higher clarity.
Klonoa 3 please 🥺 it's a must !!!
DF Retro videos have become my favorite thing to watch on an early Sunday morning.
Great stuff again, John! Love learning about Klonoa from this perspective. Always heard about it growing up, but never knew much. Definitely want to pick up the remakes at some point!
Really enjoy these.
This is a great video have uploaded on my birthday
wow I wasnt expecting a klonoa loving from you guys but I'm not complaining 😍
Great video! I kinda prefer the Wii remake and the original PS2 version to the Fantasy Reverie ones. The new ones somehow lack... soul. Still gonna buy it though to support my boy Klonoa!
23:58 Most of the notable remaining visual glitches in Klonoa 2 on PCSX2 were fixed yesterday! They should not exist anymore when using the hardware renderers (OpenGL or Vulkan) on version v1.7.3497 onwards. The software renderer did not have these issues, and is the recommended way to play if you want the most flawless experience; there is only one known issue with it in Klonoa 2. Although, using the software renderer means that you cannot use upscaling.
Fantastic. This is why I love DF
DF Retro is a rare treat, I love it.
Awesome use of Motor Species at 42:03, from the the RR4 soundtrack.
Amazing as always, just to notice at 1:00:00 you switched the screen for original Ps vs Ps5 :)
Would love to see the Gameboy Advance trilogy and even Museum entry ported in a collection, similar to the Phantasy Reverie Series package, to modern systems. Would be an excellent way to own and be able to conveniently play all the games. Heck, throw on the beach volleyball game too as a bonus!
Regardless, I’m excited to dive into Klonoa 1 & 2 on my Switch soon. These games look so special and I’m thankful to have a modern way to play them!
About Klonoa appearance in RRT4, there are also a few preset Klonoa themed decals in the car design menu. :D
I first learned of Klonoa from Namco x Capcom. Cool to see it mentioned here!
Gosh, I still have my Birthday list word document from early 2000s where I wanted Klonoa 2 on PS2. Alas, I never did get it. But now I have a chance to play the game with the Phantom Reverie Collection :)
Tekken Ball looks like a clear predecessor to that beach volleyball game. Likely an easy and cheap way to get use out of the physics engine that was already developed. That Tekken 3 mini game had a lot of fans and some surprisingly fun depth. I envision Namco seeing that and looking for ways to keep "Klonoa Works" IP push going.
Great stuff as per usual, John. I almost feel as though the Remake comparisons should be their own video, I loved seeing those differences, I feel with more development time or passion, the remake for 2 could have been wholly better than the original visually, but alas, it falls short in many ways.
Klonoa 2 is my spirit animal.
Another masterpiece by John and the rest of the crew
I would love a DF Retro on the Burnout series! It's one of the most legendary series of all time and famous for pushing the technical limits of the OG Xbox and PS2.
Well, once again you prove that namco would be better served just giving you their entire marketing budget instead of wasting it on whatever they're doing with it. Bought the remake of 1 and 2 because of this video.
Klonoa failing to capture an audience to me was the real death knell of the mascot platformer. Intense character appeal, beautiful visuals, heart wrenching story, iconic music, tight level design, innovative mechanics... If Klonoa couldn't make it, no one could. That said, two mainline games, two GBA spin-offs and three remakes (edit for Wonderswan, PS1 volleyball and GBA arpg) does at least show that Klonoa got futher than most, and each game is good.
It would be nice if John had maken a comparison between Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series and Klonoa 1 running on Dolphin and Klonoa 2 running on PCSX2.
In the cameo portion, there was ya missed. Over on the DS, Namco released a spot-the-difference puzzle game called QuickSpot (also recently released on Switch!). In the game you are given similar looking pictures on each screen and on the touch screen you tap the spots with differences. And of course, what are some of the pictures? Klonoa artwork! If I'm not mistaken, it's original artwork made just for QuickSpot. Not sure if they come back for the Switch release.
When I bought Klonoa 2 I was so excited about the 5.1 feature on the box and was like where is it when playing.. Open a support case with Namco. They then explainsd the fact it's only during cut scenes.
I love these videos
I probably will never appreciate the series the way it is expressed by John. But I do enjoy watching his in-depth commentary on his feelings over two videos.
Thanks for that retrospective + review, it saved me from spending money on the next gen remakes. I'll just finally get myself a Retrotink 5X and stick to the original PS1/PS2 releases.
😁 finally bit the bullet and bought the PS5 version, thanks coury and john 🤗
Great video as usual! What about a Kirby retrospective?
Great videos! The music sounds awesome. Be good if the remake had the option to play original versions. I'd rather play them. Doesn't look like there's an Australian copy of the Reverie Series for Xbox.
Thank you very much for this in depth review, I will pick it up on the switch although I wish it had English and was better optimized. It will still be worth it Is overall.
I've been saying for years that the PS2 had the first polygonal games that have aged really well
Klonoa beach volley ball was the only klonoa i ever played and was surprised to learn there were other games
Seems like the biggest weakness of the modern remake is omitting many carefully crafted artistic lighting effects, making the games appear more generic/low budget.
Damn, over one hour. :O
It looks like Moo Attack is a tribute to Namco's earlier Cosmo Gang (コズモギャングズ) mechanical redemption shooting game.
It's sad to see how the art direction and lighting (with the exception of the dynamic lighting) took a bit of a nosedive in the Klonoa 2 remake, but I still plan to buy the game(s) on PC. Great analysis, both the original and the second game on PS2 are among my favorite platformers so it's really nice to see the series as a whole get this kind of attention.
Just in time
I wasn't sure if those nitpicks of Phantasy Reverie were a parody, honestly. I suppose it's a good thing if one of the gripes about the package are a loading icon appearing for a split second.
The remakes/remasters are completely worth it. Sure the second game has flat lighting in some parts but for the most part both versions are excellent. People should just buy those so we could get a third game lol and then revert back to the originals if you so choose but if you're a physical collector Phantasy Reverie series is still a must have
John is a legend
I think it would be so cool if you guys did a DF Retro on Tomb Editor, the newish Tomb Raider Level editor. I'd love to see the levels you would make!
One of my favourite effects in Klonoa 2 is the visuals of hitting an enemy with a wind bullet, completely missing in the Reverie remake for just some really dull VFX. I do not care for remakes featuring a new development teams "stylish alterations" and it's so fucking exhausting seeing so many remakes decide they know better ESPECIALLY when it's not even the same damn people remaking it.
Am here to give "a like" only since I can't watch klonoa 2 spoilers. Am grinding special stage on klonoa 1 at moment.
Top notch retrospective but Klonoa is still mushed together with Punky Skunk in some part of my brain.
The Madden part was funny because in my country a store had a PS4 prelaunch showcase, anyone can go and try out a PS4, and what game did they pick to show the power of the PS4?
FIFA, there were few PS4 you could try and all of them had FIFA
im really surprised df guys dont know what cel shading is >.>
Yeah, that bugged me a bit, too.
People tend to call anything with outlines "cel shading", even if the shading itself is smooth and doesn't look anything like animation cels.
John's point still stands- that it's a distinct visual style that's lost in the remake- but that wasn't cel shading in Klonoa 2.
Good video as always. I am interested in giving the series a shot, but considering some of the changes and cutbacks to the remake, as well as how mixed the performance is on older consoles, I may skip it.
Even with the changes and small performanche issues, it's totally worth it and you definitely shouldn't miss it!
I feel like Klonoa 2 must have had the remastering of its levels outsourced or something, so inconsistent. The quirks of PS2 rendering taken advantage of for some of the original's effects were probably hard to get working in Unity but still, having the first level in the game look so terrible is particularly inexcusable.