On a nostalgic whim, I purchased Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klonoa_2:_Lunatea%27s_Veil] on the PS2. And as I began my revisit into that cute, 3D-sidescrolling platformer, I began to feel like I had seen it all before. Not in a sense that I had played the game before (which I had), but in the sense of I had experienced the same gameplay elements in another game.
And then at the first boss, it hit me. The game mechanics of Klonoa 2 are strikingly similar to the ones in the N64 title Kirby and the Crystal shards.
For example: Klonoa 2 is a 3d sidescrolling platformer in which you snatch up enemies to help you to solve puzzles and generally navigate the levels. You grab them to jump higher, and you can throw them at each other, simply causing them to "pop" like balloons. Some enemies have shields and even spears, meaning you have to navigate behind them to snatch them up. Some have various powers that cause different things (some explode after a time to clear obstacles and others let you drill right through obstacles). The boss battles also consist of the same thing: picking up smaller enemies that pop out at random and throwing them at the boss's weak spots.
Kirby and the Crystal shards is also a 3D sidescrolling platformer in which you snatch up enemies. You can either swallow them and absorb their powers, or throw them at other enemies, causing them to "pop" like balloons. This game also features enemies with shields that guard them in the front, and spears to keep you at a distance. You also use these enemies and their various powers to solve the puzzles of the levels. Some of them give you the power to explode, drill, or jump high. The boss battles consist of sucking up other smaller enemies and spitting them at the boss whenever their weak spot is showing.
Need more proof? Here are videos of the first boss battles from each of the games:
(The battle starts about halfway in on this first one).
They are laid out identically: you as the player are on a circular track, with the boss in the middle. The way you beat them the same--you dodge the enemy when it invades the track, and when you're safe pick up a smaller enemy (or an apple) and hurl it at the boss in the center. The aesthetics are quite different, of course, but the gameplay is so similar it's impossible to ignore. Several other Kirby bosses are laid out in this same circular fashion, and so are other Klonoa bosses as well.
As far as I've been able to research, none of the main people behind Klonoa had anything to do with Kirby, and vice versa. So what do you all make of this? Does this change your opinion of either game? To me, both are fun and have plenty of features that are inherent to them. This just struck me as a bit odd. I have no qualms with developers taking ideas and elements from here and there to build their own game, but I have never seen such a case of blatant element re-use from two totally different franchises.
And then at the first boss, it hit me. The game mechanics of Klonoa 2 are strikingly similar to the ones in the N64 title Kirby and the Crystal shards.
For example: Klonoa 2 is a 3d sidescrolling platformer in which you snatch up enemies to help you to solve puzzles and generally navigate the levels. You grab them to jump higher, and you can throw them at each other, simply causing them to "pop" like balloons. Some enemies have shields and even spears, meaning you have to navigate behind them to snatch them up. Some have various powers that cause different things (some explode after a time to clear obstacles and others let you drill right through obstacles). The boss battles also consist of the same thing: picking up smaller enemies that pop out at random and throwing them at the boss's weak spots.
Kirby and the Crystal shards is also a 3D sidescrolling platformer in which you snatch up enemies. You can either swallow them and absorb their powers, or throw them at other enemies, causing them to "pop" like balloons. This game also features enemies with shields that guard them in the front, and spears to keep you at a distance. You also use these enemies and their various powers to solve the puzzles of the levels. Some of them give you the power to explode, drill, or jump high. The boss battles consist of sucking up other smaller enemies and spitting them at the boss whenever their weak spot is showing.
Need more proof? Here are videos of the first boss battles from each of the games:
(The battle starts about halfway in on this first one).
They are laid out identically: you as the player are on a circular track, with the boss in the middle. The way you beat them the same--you dodge the enemy when it invades the track, and when you're safe pick up a smaller enemy (or an apple) and hurl it at the boss in the center. The aesthetics are quite different, of course, but the gameplay is so similar it's impossible to ignore. Several other Kirby bosses are laid out in this same circular fashion, and so are other Klonoa bosses as well.
As far as I've been able to research, none of the main people behind Klonoa had anything to do with Kirby, and vice versa. So what do you all make of this? Does this change your opinion of either game? To me, both are fun and have plenty of features that are inherent to them. This just struck me as a bit odd. I have no qualms with developers taking ideas and elements from here and there to build their own game, but I have never seen such a case of blatant element re-use from two totally different franchises.
