Klonoa Door to Phantomile (PS1)

Released in 1998 for the PlayStation 1, Klonoa Door to Phantomile is a Japanese platform game developed and published by Bandai. In an era where platformers were a dime a dozen, the franchise has never been given the recognition that it deserved. The game takes place in Phantomile, a world fueled by the dreams of the inhabitants. Klonoa, a cat like boy, is immune to having his dreams be used by the world. Klonoa goes on an adventure to find out what is happening to Phantomile, and how he can fix it.

Klonoa Door to Phantomile is unique in the sense that the entire game is played from a 2.5D perspective. Most times Klonoa plays like a normal sidescroller. However, there are parts when 3-D elements are also implemented into the game. The PlayStation was developing a lot of 3-D games at this time, and it was very refreshing to have a game that was able to implement both 2-D and 3-D so seamlessly. Klonoa has become a cult classic among gamers, and there even were a few sequels released for the PlayStation 2 and GameBoy Advance. In 2009, when Namco merged with Bandai and released a remake of Klonoa Door to Phantomile for the Nintendo Wii. Gamers were able to experience the entire game in beautiful redone graphics and small changes to gameplay.

All in all, I think that Klonoa Door to Phantomile is a good game. The original PlayStation one version is a bit expensive, but the Wii version still sells for a reasonable price. Klonoa is a great way to revisit the past and truly understand the 2-D to 3-D transition that video games went through.