Mr. Driller and others could be on their way back very soon.
The publishers at Bandai Namco are usually known for taking care of their older properties and celebrating them with new releases. For instance, the Namco Museum compilation for Nintendo Switch, as well as the previously released Katamari Damacy Re-Roll, which is a huge hit with fans. But a new report suggests this is merely the beginning, as a handful of registrations indicate some old-school faves are making a comeback.
A Twitter account by the name of Piercesword revealed that Bandai Namco Entertainment filed five trademarks with the surname Encore – indicating they could get the same revamp treatment as Katamari Damacy did. The trademark is rather recent too, filed earlier this month.
A couple of the names will be familiar with importers – Genpei Touma Den Encore (released here as Samurai Ghost on the TurboGrafx 16) and Wagyan Land Encore (based on a side-scrolling platform game). But there are three that will stand out with anyone that grew up with gaming between the TurboGrafx and PlayStation era.
The first is Mr. Driller Encore. The last time players saw this little digger make his way underground; it was back on the Xbox 360 with an online-enabled downloadable game in 2008. His return would be a welcome one, especially with today’s gaming networks set for competition.
Then there’s Splatterhouse. The last we saw of Rick and the Terror Mask, they were revitalized in 2010 with a 3D action game for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Though fans loved it, it didn’t quite sell as well as the publisher expected, and a sequel never came about. However, the filing of a Splatterhouse Encore trademark suggests we’ll see the series again soon. That said, it’s unknown if Bandai Namco will bring back the classic arcade/TurboGrafx title with a revamped style, or the 2010 game.
Finally, there’s Klonoa. This underappreciated platforming series got a boost of life on the PlayStation 2 with the sequel Lunatea’s Veil before a revitalized version of the original PlayStation game came out for Wii. With Klonoa Encore, it sounds like Bandai Namco could bring back one (or maybe both) of the hero’s original adventures for a new generation to enjoy.
The publisher hasn’t said a word about these filings, but the chances are that we could hear something in the months ahead about their return. Fingers crossed!
Published: Sep 17, 2019 06:22 am