When famous Bandai Namco characters come to mind, fans tend to think of either retro arcade characters like Pac-Man and Mr. Driller, fighting game characters like Heihachi Mishima from Tekken, and Ivy from Soulcalibur, or the myriad of characters from the Tales series.
Bandai Namco has many more characters in their library, with the amount increasing every time a new game comes around. Klonoa is another beloved Bandai Namco series, but there are some things that even its most passionate fans may not know.
8 Klonoa Was Almost A Completely Different Being
Before becoming some sort of cat-rabbit hybrid, Klonoa was originally going to be a robot-like stone statue with a human's soul trapped inside, with the game's story being about how that trapped human soul would become a human again.
According to director Hideo Yoshizawa, the combat in the Klonoa game featuring this version of the character also would have been different, as it would have had the player swinging enemies against walls to damage them. Although Klonoa started development prior to the premiere of the Medabots anime series, this ultimately unused version of Klonoa would probably feel right at home in it.
7 There Were Two Japan-Exclusive Titles
Most of the games in the Klonoa series have launched outside of Japan, but two particular games never did. The first game in the series to remain in Japan was Kaze no Klonoa: Moonlight Museum, a game for the Japan-exclusive Wonderswan handheld console. Moonlight Museum also predates all of the Klonoa games that launched on Game Boy Advance, making it the first handheld title in the Klonoa series.
Klonoa Heroes: Legendary Star Medal, the second game to remain Japan-exclusive, launched for the Game Boy Advance in 2002. Klonoa Heroes was also the third Klonoa game to launch in Japan in 2002 since both Klonoa Beach Volleyball and Klonoa 2 launched in Japan earlier that year.
6 Klonoa Has Playable Appearances In Other Games
Klonoa may have never made it into Super Smash Bros Ultimate, but being a somewhat popular Bandai Namco character, Klonoa has still made a handful of playable guest appearances in other games. These playable appearances include, but are not limited to, Japan-exclusive sports games like Smash Court 3, Family Tennis Advance, World Kicks, and Pro Baseball Famista Online 2010, racing games like Alpine Racer 3 and MotoGP, and even strategy games like Project x Zone.
Klonoa must also be a big fan of baseball since he appeared in both Pro Baseball Famista 2011 and Famista Dream Match, in addition to the 2011 entry.
5 Klonoa Has Had Plenty Of Cameo Appearances Too
Klonoa has had various cameos in a lot of other games as well. Klonoa has appeared throughout the Tales series as a statue, a plush toy, a costume for specific characters, and even a summon. Klonoa also appeared as an equippable keychain in Soulcalibur 5, which may be the closest thing fans ever get to playing as him in the series.
Klonoa has also appeared in artwork featured in series like Ridge Racer and Tekken. While some of these cameos might not be as notable as his playable appearances, it's still nice to see that the series is still fondly remembered despite having not released a brand-new entry in several years.
4 There Was A Volleyball Spin-Off
No stranger to playing sports, Klonoa also played volleyball in his own previously mentioned sports-based spin-off, Klonoa Beach Volleyball, which launched for the PlayStation in Japan and Europe in 2002. Other characters from both the PlayStation and Game Boy Advance entries are playable as well, but four of them must be unlocked.
It is also the first Klonoa game to feature multiplayer, with an interesting feature being allowing two players to share one controller if they did not have a multi-tap to connect extra controllers, a feature that some modern games still use now but was uncommon in the early aughts.
3 There Is An Unused North American Redesign
Before the release of Klonoa on Nintendo Wii, a remake of Klonoa: Door To Phantomile, Bandai Namco shared a redesign meant for North American audiences. The redesign didn't change Klonoa's outfit too much but changed the color of his shoes and, most importantly, removed his hat, possibly due to a change of ear shape that made him look more bat-like.
Fans did not like this change, so it was never actually used. It's understandable, though, as it looks like a character that would appear in the Sonic the Hedgehog comic book series or Sonic Riders. Maybe that's what they were going for, but it was better to stick with Klonoa's classic appearance.
2 There Was Almost An Animated Film
In 2016, an animated movie based on the series was announced, which was to be produced by Henshin, with manga artist Hitoshi Ariga serving as the scriptwriter and character designer. According to producer Rob Pereyda, the movie was "definitely not a re-hash," so it may have had an original story.
In 2019, just three years after the movie was announced, it was revealed that it had been canceled. The exact reasons that the movie was canceled are currently unknown, but fans have speculated that it might have been due to lacking necessary funding. With any luck, maybe in the future, Klonoa will get an animated show on one of the many streaming services available.
1 There Were Several Comic Adaptations
The Klonoa movie may have been canceled, but there were still several comics based on the series. The first comic, Klonoa of the Wind: Four Cell Manga Theater, is a gag manga published in 1998. The second manga based on Klonoa, Shippuu Tengoku Kaze No Klonoa, is a comedy manga by Hiroshi Katou that was published in Corocoro Comic in 2002.
The third and final comic based on Klonoa, Klonoa: Dream Traveller of Noctis Sol, was a webcomic written by Jim Zub and illustrated by Hitoshi Ariga that was published on Bandai Namco's ShiftyLook website starting in 2012. Due to ShiftyLook shutting down in 2014, the comic was never finished.