I've been saying this time and time again: Get outside help. I mean (and I loathe to admit this), look at how much Shiroe was able to accomplish on the project in a short time. Now, imagine getting together at minimum 10-20 encoders with such an equal talent, a faithful attachment to Klonoa, and a bit more "sticktuitiveness", I. E. "don't abandon the project after 1 week". Something like what Tomato was able toaccomplish with Mother 3. Might still take a long time, but at least it might get somewhere.
And on the subject of remaking it....Not a great idea. it could be liable for a Cease & Desist, at which point you'd lose all that hard work. Either that, or it'll generally get nowhere, like all good fangames...or Vincentmrl's planned Klonoa DtP Vision 1-1 remake.
(Though, I'll give credit where credit is due: S. Z.'s engine has gone a faar greater further than most other fangames that I've seen planned out on here.)