7 Great Platforming Video Games (That Have Been Forgotten)

Though Mario and Sonic, the pioneers of the platforming genre, were Japanese creations, the majority of the characters that followed in their footsteps in the 1990s and early 2000s, including Crash, Spyro and every other entry on this list bar Ape Escape's Spike, were the brainchild of Western developers.

Klonoa was an exception, with original release Door To Phantomile being one of Namco’s many forays into different genres after they took the initial Playstation release by storm with Ridge Racer and Tekken. It was distinctively Japanese in style and tone, with some attributing its lack of success in North America to an overreliance on ‘kawaii’ cuteness. The game nevertheless looked phenomenal for its time, mixing traditional 2D side-scrolling gameplay with 3D graphics to create a distinctive and thoroughly immersive experience.

PS2 follow-up Lunatea’s Veil was similarly well-received, before a series of genre-blending titles on the Game Boy Advance diluted the property somewhat. A remake of the first game intended to kickstart the series once more on the Wii failed in 2008 and the character has been seemingly consigned to the scrapheap.

Nobody has ever been able to decide if Klonoa is a dog, cat or rabbit. but what does seem certain is that we’ll never see him again. A trademark filing for a potential new game was uncovered in 2019, but given the swift cancellation of webcomic and anime projects it’ll probably never see the light of day.