Klonoa designer on how the character was created

Yoshihiko Arai, the original creator of the design for Klonoa, has provided a bit of insight into the character. This comes as part of a recent interview with Lost In Cult.

“Namco wanted to create some catchy designs that would appeal to a variety of customers,” Arai said. One inspiration here was Sherlock Hound, an early animated series from Hayao Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli fame.

Arai acknowledged how some feel Klonoa’s eyes are scary, which was a deliberate decision to “leave an impression in the players’ minds.” As for whether he’s a dog or a cat, he’d “like to leave that to the players’ imagination to decide for themselves.”

Lost in Cult also spoke with Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series producer Ryo Ishida, who spoke about how the release was made with Switch in mind. He also had some comments about revealing it in a Nintendo Direct. You can catch up on that here.

Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series, containing redone versions of the series first two games, can be purchased now on Switch.