With the Japanese gaming market being dominated by handhelds, it comes as no surprise that rumors of sequels to major franchises, previously portable or not, will be coming to the 3DS.

This newest batch of rumors includes the possible release of a new Golden Sun, a 3D Castlevania, and an entry in the No More Heroes series.

French gaming site, Gamekyo, reported on a recent article in the Japanese magazine Nintendo Dream. This article indicated, with some degree of uncertainty, that the new Golden Sun is already in development, and that Suda 51 has also begun creating his game for the 3DS. Both of these rumors are pending confirmation from Nintendo Dream.

More interesting, perhaps, is Paul Gale's reporting on a possible 3D Castlevania being developed by Koji Igarashi. Paul's source hinted that 3D artists are hard at work on creating assets for the title, and that the new Castlevania will possibly use the 3D cameras as a control mechanism. Igarashi has expressed interest in the 3DS platform in previous interviews, so this rumor comes as little surprise- let's just hope its true!

With handheld games becoming increasingly expensive to create, it is possible that we will see many of our favorite Japanese franchises release major sequels on the 3DS, ala Dragon Quest IX on the DS. Does this mean that the rumored No More Heroes or Castlevania will come in lieu of a console counterpart? Only time can tell.