Klonoa Beach Volleyball

Klonoa Beach Volleyball, known in Japan as Klonoa Beach Volley: Saikyō Team Ketteisen! (クロノアビーチバレー 最強チーム決定戦!, Kuronoa Bīchi Barē: Saikyō Chīmu Ketteisen!, "Klonoa Beach Volleyball: Strongest Team Playoff!"), is a 2002 sports video game developed and published by Namco for the PlayStation. It is a spin-off of the Klonoa game series, and has the distinction of being the last game Namco published for the PlayStation.[1] Its release was limited to Japan and Europe, with the European release notably featuring the characters speaking in multiple languages, such as English, Spanish, French, Italian and German.[2] This marks the first time the Klonoa series would include separate languages as options, which would not happen again until the release of Klonoa, the Wii remake of Klonoa: Door to Phantomile, years later.

Klonoa Beach Volleyball
European cover art
Developer(s)Namco
Publisher(s)
Director(s)Hideyuki Ishida
Producer(s)Tsuyoshi Kobayashi
Artist(s)Yoshihiko Arawi
Composer(s)Kanako Kakino
Yoshinori Kawamoto
Kazuhiro Nakamura
SeriesKlonoa
Platform(s)PlayStation
Release
  • JP: April 25, 2002
  • EU: September 20, 2002
Genre(s)Sports
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

This is one of the only Klonoa titles to feature a multiplayer mode, allowing up to four players to compete in pairs against the other team using a multitap.[3]

Overview

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Klonoa Beach Volleyball features three main modes: a multiplayer mode, a championship mode and a training mode which houses the in-game tutorial. In the championship mode, players choose a team of their choosing and make their way through a beach volleyball tournament that consists of five rounds. In the penultimate match, it is revealed that Garlen, the host of the tournament, intends to take over all sports resorts unless the player's chosen team happens to win. Winning the last match allows the player to watch an ending sequence featuring the leader of their chosen team as the credits roll.

Gameplay-wise, Klonoa Beach Volleyball plays just like a proper 2v2 beach volleyball game, with the goal being to keep the ball in the air and return it to the other side of the net. If the opposing team drops the ball, the player's team earns a point, and the opposing team gains a point if the player's team drops the ball. If one team has ten points or higher, they win the match. In addition, all playable characters have a unique special move that is worth a maximum of nine points.

The roster consists of numerous characters from across the history of the Klonoa series, and there are twelve in total each with their own unique stats. Below is a list of all playable characters. Unlockable characters are marked in bold.

  • Klonoa
  • Lolo
  • Popka
  • Chipple
  • Heart Moo
  • Joka
  • Leorina
  • Tat
  • Guntz
  • Garlen
  • Nahatomb
  • Super Garlen

In addition to the playable cast, Huepow also prominently appears as the referee, and several other characters make appearances in some specific character endings.

Reception

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Super GamePower gave it a score of 9.5/10.[4]  

Consoles+ gave it 80% score.[5]

References

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  1. ^ https://twitter.com/JohnAndersen21/status/1103632637523038213 [bare URL]
  2. ^ "Klonoa Beach Volleyball - Multi-language demos". YouTube.
  3. ^ IGN Staff (January 22, 2002). "Klonoa Hits The Beach Volleyball Court". IGN. Retrieved April 24, 2011.
  4. ^ Mathias, Lord (June 2002). "PlayStation: Klonoa Beach Volleyball". Super GamePower (in Portuguese). Brazil: Nova Cultural. p. 37.
  5. ^ "Speedy: Klonoa Beach Volleyball". Consoles+ (in French). France. September 2002. p. 140.
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