The Klonoa series is one of the best-kept secrets in videogames today. Selling a complete mint copy of Klonoa's PlayStation outing, "Door To Phantomile," will actually earn you a profit if you bought it at cost. "Empire of Dreams" adds to the series' cult status by staying faithful to the franchise's charm and gameplay mechanics.



Story
"Empire of Dreams" continues the Namco tradition of setting Klonoa games in dreamworlds. This time, Klonoa's predicament is especially sticky since he's been arrested for the crime of dreaming during his visit to the "Empire of Dreams." The emperor, Jillius, is cursed and can't sleep. So out of jealousy, he has outlawed dreaming throughout the land. As punishment, Klonoa has to rid the land of five monsters that have taken over the empire.

Simple and fun gameplay
One reason Klonoa games have been so well regarded is their simple, bell-and-whistle-free gameplay. For the most part, "Empire of Dreams" is a platformer in the most traditional sense. Yet it's not like "Super Mario Bros.," where you simply try to make it to the right side of the screen. That's because "Empire of Dreams" also plays like a puzzle game where you have to find, hit, and pass through the right switches and doors at the right time, so expect to do a lot of backtracking.

Collecting gems to unlock secrets
Each stage is laden with loads of gems. Collecting them isn't mandatory to succeed in the game, but it's required if you want to unlock everything in the game. You sort of develop a love/hate relationship with gem collecting because Namco has made Klonoa easy enough to start gem collecting, but hard enough that you'll need to be truly patient to complete your collection.

With games as large as they are today, it's no surprise that "Empire of Dreams" has its fair share of unlockables and side quests to make you come back for more even after you've completed the main story. These features include extra stages that are significantly harder than the regular levels.

From time to time, the game will throw you into either a hoverboarding stage or a perpetually moving stage where Klonoa has to keep moving to survive. Both are equally challenging, especially if you're interested in getting all the gems.

Control similar to previous Klonoa games
If you're familiar with the other Klonoa games, you already know how to play "Empire of Dreams." You use your D-pad to move Klonoa around, press A to jump, and B to grab objects. It's that simple. If there's ever a reason for complaining about the controls, it would have more to do with the GBA's inherent design flaw of having the A and B buttons too close together. This can lead to some challenging move combinations.

Graphics live up to standard
The other two Klonoa games have prided themselves in being eye-pleasing 2.5-D platformers. Both utilized countless polygonal elements that made you feel you weren't just playing on a 2D track, but rather in a bona fide 3D environment. Of course, the limitations of the GBA prevent such a level of depth in "Empire of Dreams," and admittedly, it's not as visually compelling as its predecessors. Still, it does have that solid Super Nintendo look that's seen in most GBA games these days, and you can't expect much more than that. Moreover, the visuals are glitch-free, colors stay varied and vibrant as you progress, and the idea of slowdown never comes into question.

Sound is low-point
It's in the sound that "Empire of Dreams" finds its low-point. The quality of the music compositions just aren't up to par with Klonoa's other outings. The tracks never give you that, "I'm in a bizarro Disney excursion" feel that "Door To Phantomile" and "Lunatea's Veil" conveyed so well. One especially annoying track is the one used for the boarding stages. If you're not doing well on those levels, this track will simply add to your frustrations due to its sheer monotony. Some might rush to defend the GBA's sound limitations, but based on what's been heard on a GBA game like Konami's "Castlevania: Circle of the Moon," you'd think Namco would've done a better job with "Klonoa: Empire of Dreams."

The sound effects don't suffer as much. All the sound effects from the previous games have been ported over to "Empire of Dreams" accurately and faithfully. The jumps, cannon fire, and Klonoa's trademark "Whhhaa-hooooo!!!!" noises are all intact.

Sound issues aside, "Klonoa: Empire of Dreams" is a solid platformer that's loaded with its share of addictive challenges and quests. It can easily stand next to the two Mario platformers for the GBA and distances itself from the Nintendo series to make a name for itself.