Quesada's Swan

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Here we go, into the longest and trickiest level in-story!

I'll admit, the devs did the minimap for this part better than the original. It gives off the feeling of the Fifth Kingdom being trapped in another dimension.

Aside: Though in retrospect, I'll miss the eternal sunset-like lighting.

The ark descends into the outskirts of the Kingdom.

Klonoa: "So... this is the Fifth Kingdom."
Lolo: "Are we... too late?"
Leorina: "No, we still have time."

The King of Sorrow. Our main antagonist. I wonder, how did Leorina know about him?

Klonoa: "The King of Sorrow..."
Lolo: "Come on, Klonoa. A world filled with sorrow...That wouldn't be right!" Hearing her say that makes me chuckle mirthlessly... Nf zhpu nf jr qba'g jnag fnqarff, vg'f n arprffnel rzbgvba...

Leorina tries to get up.

Klonoa tells Leorina to wait at the entrance. She...does not take that advice.

Leorina: "I'll be right behind you."

---

We begin!

There's a lot of deep meaning in this level's music, bringing to mind the previous game's context. From the samples taken from different tunes in both this game (Lolo's leitmotif, for starters) and the previous one, especially the last parts (The Song of Rebirth, which is played by a flute, (and not a singer, thank goodness, that would cut deeper) so as to taunt Klonoa), represent major moments in Klonoa's journeys.

Two Missile Glibz await at the entrance, but we brush through them easily.

We proceed using the Jetimo to get us up to the sky, landing on a trampoline.

Another trampoline boosts us up and we go west, and head inside.

The egg in the background has the first doll piece.

We run into the first of these difficult puzzles. This level, to be honest, made me give up on the game for a bit.

A big armored Moo's watching us from its perch, then chases us, a callback to the previous game's level 6-2.

The platforms aren't tiny, but the distance is a bit long. The Moo chases us, but we make it to the end, not before getting damage from it.

One Jetimo flight later, a Moo in gold armor makes its debut!

Conveyor belts are here too, huh?

We outrun the gold Moo this time and make it up to the ledge...

We jump down and meet two armored Moos.

I outrun this duo of giant Moos, down to an area near a bunch of creepy masks at the end.

The dream sprite was meant to get the stones from these Moos.

---

We use the Kiton and climb up to a small roof, where the second doll piece is.

The circle of rocking chairs behind us is basically trying to remind Klonoa of Grandpa. But Klonoa is not going to be stopped by this.

We take another Kiton and make it to the higher parts of the area, where we see another familiar creature from the previous game, a Slazza!

More empty furniture, more reminders of Klonoa's Grandpa again.

We cross further, passing more mini-tornadoes and see the third doll piece way above a trio of vanishers!

A trampoline jump later, we make it to a death-defying course, an abyss with just Goomis to cover the gap.

The Slazza on the landing is the one that's meant to stop us, but we're too quick for it!

This part, with the Likuri puzzles, namely the second one, was where I gave up on the game temporarily.

Now for the last puzzle...

That's it for this area!

After 20 years, I still got it after all!

---

Now this part with the red Goomi, and another long, endless gap is more tense than difficult...

Fourth doll get!

Once I made it to the other side, I laugh a bit because of how close we would've been to falling if I made one mistimed press...

Next obstacle, another mini-reminder of the Slazza tower from last game...

Lucky it's a bit easier now.

Another Slazza's in the background, throwing its blades on the platform.

Red Goomis are our only support in crossing the gap, as we meet another one at the landing.

We make it to a turning road, grab one of the Slazzas, and crack open the egg behind the turn.

Another snag, rollers!

We grab the Slazza on the other side, and make it to a dead end!

A trio of creatures appear, and we jump up to grab the Jetimo!

A short walk to the next obstacle now.

---

A yellow Kiton appears next to a blue one. Probably that's the more durable one.

We make it up and out!

Now we're in the thick of it...

We use the red Goomis, carefully dodging the burners.

And fall in the midway point!

I breathe, and remain calm. I made it through this level years ago, and I can do it again.

Inside again, where a giant, spikey crab awaits.

I take on the dream sprite challenge, grabbing stones from the crab, and the ones in the path forward.

So this is where the last doll piece is.

Two yellow Kitons spawn! One to take us to the other side, and another to lead us out of the center once we get the doll piece.

We follow the path of the indestructibles carefully.

We get the last doll piece! Getting out, though, ends with Klonoa in the drink!

---

Alright, now what's next?

A moving platform with a big trampoline, huh?

After three moving platform trampolines, with plenty of flamethrowers and indestructibles, we finally make it to the end! Oh my god, what a long and tense level this one is!

There's where the King is...

I do some level replays and stop my session here.

This level's music, as I said in the start, has a lot of deep meaning to it regarding Klonoa's character development since the first game. The title itself, which I didn't find out about until years later, reveals the name of the kingdom proper: Hyuponia. It's a slight variation of Huepow's name. Here is also the minimap theme when in the Kingdom of Sorrow.