Klonoa - Television Tropes & Idioms

Wahoo!

The Klonoa series comprises several 2½D Platformers starring the eponymous... creature. Exactly what he is remains undefined throughout the games' 10-year history; the only explanation being that he is a 'Dream Traveler'. That is more of a job description; Klonoa's main goal in each of the games — in which he and his abilities remain virtually the only constant — is to solve the mysteries of the dream worlds he finds himself inhabiting.

The games are, roughly in chronological order:

Klonoa: Door to Phantomile (1998, PlayStation— remade in 2009 under the title Klonoa for the Wii)
Klonoa: Moonlight Museum (1999, WonderSwan— not released outside Japan)
Klonoa: Empire of Dreams (2001, Game Boy Advance)
Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil (2001, PlayStation 2)
Klonoa: Dream Champ Tournament (2002, Game Boy Advance— not released outside Japan until 2005)
Klonoa Beach Volleyball (2002, PlayStation— landed in Japan and Europe only)
Klonoa Heroes (2002, Game Boy Advance— a top-down RPG which, you guessed it, never left Japan)

A remake of the original, this time for the Wii, was released in 2009. Klonoa also appears in Namco Bandai's Massive Multiplayer Crossover Namco x Capcom, while the character often winds up getting cameos in the Tales games (the most notable, from Tales Of Symphonia, being a full costume for the Cute Bruiser, complete with deadpan "wahoo").

Klonoa avoids some of the major issues with voiced cutscenes needing expensive localization by having the characters speak in a gibberish language that is neither Japanese nor English. Text-based translations of the dialogue are shown as in traditional games. One could easily assume that the game is using stock gibberish clips for each character, were it not for the fact that the voiced lines include recognizable proper nouns (albeit heavily accented in the Klonoa-ese; for example, the text "Klonoa" usually gets voiced as "Klo~oa"). The Wii remake offers this and a proper language track.

The series contains examples of the following tropes:

Alternate Continuity: While the two main games share the same canon, the spin-off titles are all set in alternate continuities.
All Just A Dream: the Ending of Empire Of Dreams...Or Is It?
- Wait, aren't ALL the games "dreams"? Klonoa is a Dream Traveler after all.
And Your Reward Is Clothes: In the remake. Upon completion of the game, Klonoa gains three additional outfits: his original "collar and trousers" outfit, his Klonoa 2 outfit, and his summer wear.
Backtracking: Sometimes you'll do this straight, and other times the branching paths act as Doors to Before.
Big Bad: Ghadius in Door to Phantomile.
Bittersweet Ending: Door to Phantomile...and HOW!
Blinding Mask: Ghadius' eyes (if he even has any) are permanently obscured by the enormous golden mask/headdress that he wears.
Boss Dissonance: Depending on the game, the levels are harder or the bosses are ridiculously harder. And this is a kids' game.
Bonus Level Of Hell: In Door to Phantomile, Balue's Tower, accessed by collecting all six Phantomilians in each level. Also counts as a Difficulty Spike; to get through the main game, you need to use the mook-climb once or twice in a safe environment, whereas in the Tower you have to do it repeatedly and perfectly over instant-death pits, multiple times.
Bottomless Pits: This series features many of them - especially in Vision 6-1 and 6-2 of Door to Phantomile. In the latter level, they usually had to be crossed by jumping on ''incredibly'' tiny floating platforms.
Brainwashed And Crazy: King Seadoph and Pamela in Door to Phantomile, (they get better).
Caramelldansen Vid
Catch Phrase "Wahoo!"
Check Point: In the form of floating clocks in bubbles that the player must burst to activate.
Crowning Music Of Awesome: Several of the boss themes, and a few level tracks are pretty awesome, too.
- There's also a song done entirely in the Phantomile language, and it's both insanely awesome and insanely adorable. And the lyrics apparently have direct English translations (just check out the video's description).
Cute Clumsy Girl: Lolo.
The Dragon: Joka (spelled as "Joker" in the Wii remake) in Door to Phantomile, Tat in Lunatea's Veil.
- Leorina herself serves as an unwilling Dragon for The King of Sorrow.
Dream Land
The End Of The World As We Know It: Ghadius is trying to bring about this.
Evil Laugh: Ghadius has a rather awesome one in pretty much all of the dubs.
Evilly Affable: Joka.
Fetish Fuel - Consider the central gameplay mechanic of these games: Grabbing things with Klonoa's ring, which in turn makes them swell up. Of course, since you're mainly using this on things that only get bigger when this happens, it can get overlooked.
Final Boss: Nahatomb in Door to Phantomile, the King of Sorrow in the Lunatea's Veil.
Friendship Moment
Fridge Logic If Huepow brought Klonoa into his reality, why can't he do it again?
Giant Space Flea From Nowhere: Several of the bosses.
Giggling Villain: Joka.
Heel Face Turn: Leorina and Tat in Lunatea's Veil.
Hey Its That Voice: Japanese Klonoa is absolutely not planning to take over Pekopon.
Its Easy So It Sucks: Quite possibly the only complaint about the Wii version, English voices aside.
Jerk With A Heart Of Gold: Popka in Lunatea's Veil.
Mascot Mook: The ridiculously adorable Moos.
Monster Clown: Joka/Joker is a cross between this and Villainous Harlequin. He veers more into the Monster Clown territory when he eventually crosses the Moral Event Horizon, and adopts a much, MUCH creepier voice (especially in the original game) just before the boss fight with him.
Moral Event Horizon: Joka/Joker comes across as your average incompetent villainous sidekick - until he shows what a complete bastard he is when he murders Grandpa and steals the Moon Pendant.
Nightmare Fuel: Joka/Joker's voice becoming lower in pitch and taking on a more "distorted" sound right before the boss right against him is just plain creepy.
- To some, his general appearance is made of Nightmare Fuel.
- Also, the boss themes for Joka and Ghadius, while both awesome, are surprisingly dark for a game with a (mostly) cheerful and upbeat soundtrack.
- I found vision 4-2 in Door to Phantomile to be absolutely terrifying. Stupid little bug ghost thing following you when it turns dark had me shaking, while my little sister found the silly thing adorable.
Nintendo Hard: The aforementioned bonus level, "Balue's Tower". And how!
No Export For You: Moonlight Museum didn't make it out of Japan due to the WonderSwan not catching on; Beach Volleyball didn't get to North America because Sony was trying to phase out the PS 1 by 2002. Namco subsequently decided that North America hated Klonoa for some reason and refused to localize any other games until 2005.
One Winged Angel: This happens to Leorina, against her will, in Lunatea's Veil.
- It also happens with Joka, during the boss fight against him.
Player Punch: The ending of Door To Phantomile, and, also from the same game, the scene in which Klonoa's grandpa dies after his house is blown up.
Raymanian Limbs: Joka has them in Door to Phantomile, but, in the remake, he gains gangly, stringy limbs. He regains the Raymanian Limbs in his boss fight in the latter game, though.
Respawning Enemies: Usually when needed for the Double Jump-heavy puzzles.
Ridiculously Cute Critter: Most everything, though especially Klonoa.
Say My Name: "GHADIUS!!!" (Or "Gaddy" if you listen to how Klonoa pronounces it in the original dub.)
Scrappy Level: Vision 6-2 in Door to Phantomile.
- Also, the Ark levels in Lunatea's Veil.
Sealed Evil In A Can: Ghadius, prior to the events of Door to Phantomile. Then he manages to escape...
Shut Up Hannibal: Leorina delivers and amazingly epic one to the King of Sorrow in Lunatea's Veil. The King of Sorrow is going on about how the world has ignored his kingdom for a very long time, and she (despite being heavily injured), gives him one hell of a burn, about how he chose to isolate himself instead of doing something productive. It's pretty impressive.
Snap Back See fridge logic. ^ Apparently he did.
Speaking Simlish: Did it before The Sims, possibly a subversion. It remains an option in the Wii remake.
Suicidal Cosmic Temper Tantrum: See Taking You With Me below.
Taking You With Me: Ghadius wants revenge for his imprisonment so badly, that he really doesn't care that reawakening Nahatomb will destroy him along with the rest of the world.
Ghadius: "The world has already rejected me. Now it is time for me to reject the world."
Tear Jerker: Many, many moments, most notably the ending of Door to Phantomile. The ending of Lunatea's Veil also counts, although much less than the former ending.
- The moment in Door to Phantomile in which Grandpa dies is also utterly heartbreaking.
That One Boss: Some players find the boss fights against Joka and Ghadius to be frustratingly difficult.
- All three fights with Nahatomb, as well.
- Not to mention the King of Sorrow in Lunatea's Veil.
They Changed It Now It Sucks: In late 2008, Namco Bandai quietly started a survey to see if a proposed redesign of Klonoa for the North American audience would be received well. It wasn't. In a surprising turn, though, whereas most of the (very vocal and very minority) fanbase thought they would scrap the game, Namco Bandai announced instead that they would localize it with Klonoa's traditional look.
Tomato In The Mirror: Klonoa himself.
Turns Red: Gelg Bolm in the first game does this, as do several of the bosses from the second game.
Video Game 3D Leap: Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil was a presentation upgrade, as the game mostly played on a 2D plane.
Viewer Gender Confusion: This troper honestly thought, while watching Door to Phantomile's intro, that Klonoa was a girl. Being from a non-english country and having not know good English back then, he went through ~~most of~~ the entire game believing that.
- Wasn't much different for those who could. Klonoa's voice was high pitched, and the anthropomorphic features didn't exactly lend themselves either way. But the biggest thing was The ending of Door to Phantomile comes with a heart-wrenching scene as Klonoa is torn back to his dimension. The ending dialogue between Klonoa and Huepow is remarkably heartfelt, to the point where it's hard to believe they're just good friends. Seen as a dialogue between young lovers, it's twice as impacting. Of course, Klonoa being a boy doesn't necessarily change that. This, unfortunately, lead to many a Stupid Sexy Flanders moment for many gamers years later.
Wendee Lee: Voices Karal and the Moon Queen in the Wiimake's English dub.