Square Enix has filed a trademark application for the influential graphic novel The Portopia Serial Murder Case and an unknown game called Paranormasight.

It has recently been revealed that Square Enix has filed trademark applications for The Portopia Serial Murder Case and Paranormasight in the last ten days. At the same time, Koei Tecmo Games and Bandai Namco Studios have filed trademark applications for various titles for several possible purposes.

The Portopia Serial Murder Case, one of the most prominent trademarks involved, is a lesser-known game in the West. However, its influence on the storytelling potential of role-playing games can still be felt in video game franchises such as Danganropa and the Ace Attorney series.

Information on Paranormasight is currently unknown. The news certainly raises questions for the franchises involved.

Among the many trademark news, the trademark filing for The Portopia Serial Murder Case has fans guessing what Square Enix has planned for the game. The Portopia Serial Murder Case was designed by Yuji Horii, creator of the Dragon Quest series. The game was initially published in 1983. It is perhaps one of the most influential titles in the visual novel genre. It has inspired many of today’s game designers. So the news of Square Enix’s title announcement led to speculation. The question is whether the publisher intends to revive the game with a remaster or remake.

In other news, Koei Tecmo’s recent trademark filings for several Metaverse games are speculated to be purely for protecting trademarks, but there is still no official information on the filings.

Bandai Namco’s trademarks included a slew of titles and logos for possible upcoming indie games. These include Endrays, Excycle, Hook & Kaiju and Shigeru Planet. The company filed these trademarks on November 11 – the same day as Koei Tecmo’s filings.

Currently, the only English-language version of The Portopia Serial Murder Case is a mash-up of various fan translations and interpretations. These result from more than a decade of effort to bring the interactive film story to overseas audiences. Unfortunately, nothing has been said about what these marks mean. So fans will be forced to wait for more information about the companies’ plans for these new trademarks if any.

Source: Gematsu