Klonoa: Door to Phantomile – Путешествие в мир Фантомиля

1997 video game
the 1997 PlayStation game

Klonoa: Door to Phantomile is a platform game developed and published by Namco for the PlayStation in 1997 and the first game in the Klonoa series. The story follows Klonoa and his friend Huepow in their efforts to save the dream world of Phantomile from an evil spirit intent on turning it into a world of nightmares. The player controls Klonoa through a 2.5D perspective; the stages are rendered in three dimensions but the player moves along a 2D path. Klonoa can grab enemies and throw them as projectiles, or use them as a jump boost to navigate through the stages. The game was directed by Hideo Yoshizawa, who conceptualized the setting as a dream world that could appeal to children and adults. The Klonoa character was designed early on and the environments and other characters were designed around him. Door to Phantomile received positive reviews, being praised for its clever platforming, impressive graphics, and cutscenes. Some critics thought it lacked in certain gameplay innovations and was excessive in its Japanese cuteness. In retrospect, it is considered one of the best 2.5D platformers and PlayStation games. The game spawned a direct sequel, Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil, for PlayStation 2 in 2001, as well as multiple other titles. Two remakes of Door to Phantomile have been released: a 2008 remake for the Wii, and a high definition remake in 2022 alongside Klonoa 2 in the Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series compilation for multiple platforms.

Klonoa: Door to Phantomile is a side scrolling platform game. It is presented from a 2.5D perspective; the environments are rendered in 3D but the gameplay takes place on a 2D plane. The game was originally planned to be an adaptation of the manga Spriggan, but the licensing fell through. Not wanting their work wasted, the team morphed what they had built into an original game. The original concept was more serious and featured robots and an "ancient ruins" motif. The main character was a robot that would defeat enemies with spinning iron balls. This idea was dropped for a dreams motif and a more comical story. Lead designer Tsuyoshi Kobayashi conceptualized the fast paced action gameplay. Originally the game used three buttons, but was reduced to two for quicker input and faster play. Klonoa and other characters were designed by Yoshihiko Arai. The initial designs of Klonoa had a shadow like design and the character was called "Shady". Arai felt that this design lacked color and dropped it. His next design had cat eyes and long ears, as he believed that a person's eyes and silhouette are their foremost features. He added a large hat and necklace to give him a childlike and mischievous quality. The character has features of a dog, cat, and rabbit but is not explicitly any particular animal. His hat features a Pac Man design. After Klonoa was designed, the setting and other characters were designed around him. Having now adopted a dreams theme, the enemies were designed as nightmarish. The 3D graphics and cinematics were made with LightWave 3D. The levels were designed in Softimage 3D.

The game was revealed at the 1997 E3 trade fair with a video demonstration. In previews, both IGN and GameFan compared the 2.5D gameplay to Pandemonium!. The game was also presented at the 1997 Tokyo Game Show with playable demos and an actor in a Klonoa costume. The game was published by Namco on December 11, 1997 in Japan. The soundtrack was published by Nippon Crown in February the following year. It was originally going to feature only a selection of songs because the entire score could not fit on a single disc. It was postponed so it could be upgraded to a two disc set to fit the full score. Japan also received a manga based on the game, published by Enix in March. Namco published the game in North America in March 1998, It struggled to gain sales in North America. It was also re released for Japanese mobile phones in July 2009, and as a downloadable PSone Classic on the PlayStation Network in December 2011.

Critics labeled Klonoa: Door to Phantomile as Namco's first notable 3D platformer and a bid for creating a gaming mascot. GameSpot called it "one of the best side scrollers in years". Critics praised how the game built upon simple controls and maneuvers to create interesting gameplay. Critics praised the level design and diverse environments. Edge explained that "it uses platforming mainstays to create a surprisingly pleasing, if generic, gaming experience." Ulrich Steppberger of Man!ac praised the game, and only was critical of the game's short length. The cinematics received praise, with Edge believing they rivaled some film CGI. The game was deemed the Platform Game of the Year for 1998 by videogames. com, which called it a "sleeper hit" and "a triumph from an unexpected source."

Klonoa: Door to Phantomile is remembered for its blend of 2D gameplay and 3D visuals. Critics praised it for retaining classic side scrolling gameplay while still keeping alongside the industry's transition to 3D. GameSpy, Polygon, and GamesRadar+ ranked it as the 5th, 10th, and 25th best PlayStation game of all time respectively. In 2015, Hardcore Gaming listed the game on their 200 Best Video Games of All Time. The game spawned a series of sequels, including a direct sequel titled Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil (2001) for the PlayStation 2, as well as other titles for the Game Boy Advance. The original game was remade as Klonoa in 2008 for the Wii, titled Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series, was released July 8, 2022 for multiple platforms. The remaster is built from the Wii remake but incorporates elements from the PlayStation original. An anime film set in the same universe as Door to Phantomile was announced in 2016, but was then canceled in 2019.