Some difference in the instruction text.

No intro FMV, goes straight to the title screen.

Compiled around 3 months before the initial Japanese retail version.

In the platformer genre, though, this is arguably the best one on the market. If there's anything to gripe about, it's that it doesn't have enough levels, and the bosses are difficult to kill, to say the least. It's overly cute in some ways, but even that's flawless. Each stage is straightforward, as it should be, but likewise, there're enough secrets to keep the expert gamer enthralled.

Klonoa succeeds as a good all around platformer and not just a good two and a half dimension game. The game just feels like there's more in the level than just a set of rails. Also, a fully 3D level lets the designers wrap more level into a smaller area, so that the tracks end up overlapping each other and also hint at areas ahead. It's especially nice that you can jump from one path to another, and that those paths are clearly defined. Klonoa uses the 3D environment in clever ways, introducing branching paths, which is a more seamless way of getting to bonus areas than handled in older platformers. Camera control is also excellent, without any angles that hinder gameplay, unlike the Pandemonium series. There is no place where you feel confined to two dimensions or locked out of areas you can't reach. As you progress from stage to stage, you learn new moves almost effortlessly. Learning how to grab your enemies and use them as springboards and barrier is a subtle art, and although not necessary, the grab and jump becomes a powerful tool to get bonus items.

Like the best platforming games, it starts you out with basic ability exercises, and begins to ramp up the difficulty. From the first level on, you're going to love the game design. Namco's Klonoa, for example, is probably the first 2.5D platformer that makes use of classic 2D game elements without sacrificing the versatility of a 3D environment.

Leave it up to the Japanese game designers, though, to perfect an American concept. Between two-dimensional platformers like Tomba and 3D world-exploration platformers like Gex 2 exists a strange creature called the two and a half dimensional platformer, otherwise known as '2D game done with polygons.' The subgenre got created with Sega's Clockwork Knight, and in general, hasn't been very popular, primarily because the games may look good, but the gameplay is stuck on invisible rails.

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