Is Bandai bringing back Klonoa for modern consoles?
Klonoa is not the most popular video game franchise. The series made its Japan-exclusive debut in 1997 before heading to the west in 1998 with Klonoa: Door to Phantomile for the original PlayStation. Since then, Bandai has released multiple sequels and spin-offs to the 2.5D platformer such as 2001’s Klonoa 2: Lunatea’s Veil and a Japanese-exclusive action RPG in 2002. Unfortunately, since then, Bandai hasn’t released a new installment outside of remasters. Bandai’s latest attempt was Klonoa (a remaster of the original 1997 title) for the Nintendo Wii back in 2008 in Japan and 2009 for the rest of the world. Unfortunately, while critics loved the remaster, not enough people bought it worldwide to warrant a remaster of the 2001 sequel. Bandai also subsequently dropped its plans for a third mainline title as well as an anime movie. Having said that, Bandai’s latest trademark filings is peculiar as it suggests that a revival of the franchise is imminent. Back in 2019 September 2019, Bandai sparked rumors about the return of Klonoa after the company filed trademarks in Japan. Although nothing came of this, several more trademarks filed followed in September 2021, including “Waffuu Encore” and “1&2 Encore”. But, that’s not all, Bandai appears to have filed a new trademark for the “Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series” in the UK as well as in Canada and Europe. Fans are speculating that the word “series” suggests that Bandai is planning on remastering both the series’ first two games. If this is true, it would make sense for Bandai to file trademarks for the name in multiple countries to prepare for an international launch. Of course, this is all conjecture. Until Bandai confirms anything, it’s best to take everything that you just read with a grain of salt.
