Klonoa: Door to Phantomile (PS1, 1997)
Graphics-8 Sound-8 Control-7.5 Challenge-7 Story-5
Level Design-7.5 Frustration-7 Fun-7.5 Originality-6
Overall Score-7.5
+
Some interesting mechanics (use enemies to pull switches, saving every inhabitant unlocks a bonus level and beating the game unlocks a level select, save feature, hit power ups and double jump - throw enemies into and out of the screen)
Hidden items
Cart rides and water slides
Yoshi's island style controls
Decent variation
Alternate paths
Good art direction
Nice cinematics during cutscenes (expressive characters and good camera work)
Good bosses
Nice cutscenes (skippable!)
Some innovative level design (bosses, light/dark level)
Minor puzzle elements
+/-
Mostly long levels with lock/key progression
Cutesy
They could've implemented Huepow into the gameplay (something like Pepelogoo in Monster World IV perhaps)
-
Backtracking for generic items (and for enemies to use, they sometimes don't respawn)
Collectathon tendencies
The twists in the paths are sometimes disorienting
Can't look up/down (leaps of faith)
Can't adjust jump height
Messed up hover control on water slides (you keep moving along with the water)
Somewhat slow paced (can't run)
Hit detection isn't perfect
A bit tedious having to wait for platforms to arrive
No difficulty options
Somewhat short (~11 levels)
Can't replay levels until you've beaten the game (to go back for lives or people to rescue - this becomes a problem if you save without watching your lives count since you can end up with just 1 life on the final level)
Silly and cliché story
Level Design-7.5 Frustration-7 Fun-7.5 Originality-6
Overall Score-7.5
+
Some interesting mechanics (use enemies to pull switches, saving every inhabitant unlocks a bonus level and beating the game unlocks a level select, save feature, hit power ups and double jump - throw enemies into and out of the screen)
Hidden items
Cart rides and water slides
Yoshi's island style controls
Decent variation
Alternate paths
Good art direction
Nice cinematics during cutscenes (expressive characters and good camera work)
Good bosses
Nice cutscenes (skippable!)
Some innovative level design (bosses, light/dark level)
Minor puzzle elements
+/-
Mostly long levels with lock/key progression
Cutesy
They could've implemented Huepow into the gameplay (something like Pepelogoo in Monster World IV perhaps)
-
Backtracking for generic items (and for enemies to use, they sometimes don't respawn)
Collectathon tendencies
The twists in the paths are sometimes disorienting
Can't look up/down (leaps of faith)
Can't adjust jump height
Messed up hover control on water slides (you keep moving along with the water)
Somewhat slow paced (can't run)
Hit detection isn't perfect
A bit tedious having to wait for platforms to arrive
No difficulty options
Somewhat short (~11 levels)
Can't replay levels until you've beaten the game (to go back for lives or people to rescue - this becomes a problem if you save without watching your lives count since you can end up with just 1 life on the final level)
Silly and cliché story