Klonoa 2 Part 2
Feel free to listen to this track while reading my thoughts on Klonoa 2.
I beat the game. The story did not evoke the feeling of melancholy that I thought. It was just too overt. It’s basically Inside Out where each kingdom represents different emotions. Turns out, the kingdom of sadness was disconnected from the rest of the world and its king is upset. One of the characters refers to him as a “pure lump of sadness.” After that, you grab your snowboard to stop him.
Yet, I did feel something when playing the final level, the level that contains the song I linked. It’s a long level and there are many stretches where you have no solid ground to rely on. It’s just a gauntlet of different tests that you have to work through. It felt oddly powerful, like I was helping Klonoa overcome something. Is this what Celeste feels like?
Super Galdelic Hour
“Are you going to post these on your forum?”
“Yeah”
“Maybe you shouldn’t. You don’t want to…encourage anyone.”
“This is what the people want. It’s what they asked for.”
You are a contestant in a extraplanetary game show being broadcast from a pirate satellite. You are a stuffed animal transformed into a girl wearing an animal costume. This is the meaning of Super Galdelic.
There is a war in my head. There is so much about this aesthetic that I love, but I don’t want to tell anybody that I have played this game. The colors and retro psychedelic design are incredibly creative. One backdrop is a giant watermelon slice with audience members looking through the bite marks. I even like how the characters’ faces are animated and the poses that they make.
On the other hand, the animation for Kuma, the bear costume wearing contestant, is atrocious to the point of being offensive. She is the only plus-sized contestant and a total klutz. A brass fanfare discordantly announces her entry. It’s so mean-spirited.
The mini-games are mostly bad except for hip-sumo. I think that one is actually good. It’s a game of chicken to see who will stick their butt out and risk getting smacked into the water. I hate it and I love it.
As you play through the single player campaign, you gradually rack up more sponsors. These sponsors are for things like bubble gum and exercise gear. Their ads will start to appear on loading screens and give you more money for buying costumes. Buying costumes is fun! I like the glasses and reflective dresses! You can put a mushroom on your character’s head. That’s all I need!
Please don’t tell anyone I know what this game is.