Klonoa's first handheld adventure is fun but short.
Klonoa and his buddy, Huepoe are asleep when suddenly some armed guards bust into his home and arrest Klonoa for "dreaming." Apparently Klonoa has stumbled into the Empire of Jullius ruled by a king who suffers from insomnia and therefore outlawed people having dreams. Though instead of locking Klonoa in prison he bargains with him to go slay four monsters tormenting the kingdom in exchange for his freedom.
Gameplay is the standard 2D platforming everyone is familiar with. Klonoa has a minimal moveset. He can shoot air bullets to grab enemies then use said enemies to knock down doors, hit switches to bounce up higher. There are three star keys to collect in each level that opens the door goal. Each of the five worlds have 9 levels but can be shortened to 7 becuase the surfing and scrolling stages can be skipped. Though the surfing stages are fun and not to be missed.
The biggest issue with the game is it's not only short but also really easy. Honsetly Dream Champ Tournament had much more challenging boss battles and puzzles. This game you could breeze though in maybe two hours and there's little reason to return to the stages once they're beaten.
However I can't complain too much as I only spent $4 on this title. If I had spent $30 on it, I might have been harsher but it was worth it for me to experience the entire Klonoa series now.