I wonder this because the game seems very much aimed at children. I wonder, though, how much Balan Wonderland will push this concept forward or if the demo is the ceiling in terms of complexity. I really enjoyed the freedom that players have in the demo, as well as the creativity of the different power-ups. Or, alternatively, you can dodge the gusts and use the Dragon power-up to launch a few fireballs at it. The boss fights in the demo feature a specific power-up that make it a lot easier, but there’s some freedom to use other power-ups as well.įor example, one boss flings wind gusts that you can spin right back at them with the Wolf power-up. What becomes evident too is that the power-ups you encounter in each Chapter are somewhat themed around the story, which is also a cute touch.Ĭombat isn’t terribly difficult at any point. The main character and Balan, through their actions, are able to stop the mysterious evil entities that are causing the storm and are able to help the farmer. Chapter 1 is about a farmer whose crops are struggling due to a storm. No one really speaks other than Balan – the mysterious entity that is guiding the main character through its “Wonderworld.” And instead, Balan Wonderworld expresses itself through character emotion, colors, sound, and music.Įach chapter seems to tell its own short story. The story leaves a lot of up to the imagination, and I mean that affectionately. These Gemstones change the properties of the Tims and they can then be used to assist you with various different perks when you’re out exploring in a Chapter. The main reason to do this is to get Balan Statues which can be used to unlock new Chapters, add new worlds to explore, and progress the game.Īlso, you can collect different color gemstones that you can feed to these cute bunny-bird-like things called Tims that hangout in the overworld. For example, a gear power-up that you can get in Chapter 6 can be used to access an area in Chapter 1. There are areas and puzzles in earlier levels that can only be accessed using power-ups from later chapters. There’s some value in backtracking with these power-ups too. There are even some sillier ones like a Witch/Fox power-up that turns you into an invincible cube that you can use to quickly break certain boxes while sliding. There is also a Pig power-up that enables butt slamming, which can damage enemies and jam certain platforms into the ground to solve certain puzzles or reach new areas. While in this state, you can glide and catch winds to extend your flight. To give you a taste, there is a Sheep power-up that allows you to puff up (kind of like Kirby actually). In just the handful of levels that are available in the demo, there are ten different power-ups and each level challenges you to make use of their unique abilities. You can read our Balan Wonderworld review here.These power-ups are numerous, creative, and niche. Yuji Naka is no longer with Square Enix, having left the company in June 2021. I think Square Enix and Arzest are companies that don't care about games and game fans.” “I wanted to think about various things and put it out in a proper form as an action game. “Personally, I'm really sorry that I released the unfinished work ‘Balan Wonderworld’ to the world,” he added. “I'm really sorry for the customers who bought the unfinished Balan Wonderworld,” he said. Moreover, Naka would have liked more time to polish the game, and release it in a much better state. He went on to apologise for the state of the final product, although, it sounds like he wasn't routinely consulted or as involved in development as he should have been. “However, it doesn't matter because the schedule is decided by the producer, not me, and the tight schedule is decided by the producer,” he lamented. Naka notes that staff working on the game did “their best”, although a tight schedule meant that their efforts were ultimately hampered. Naka recounts how roughly six months before the release of Balan Wonderworld, he brought a lawsuit against Square Enix to be removed as director, which has since been resolved. Released last March to an almost universal critical panning, Balan Wonderworld offered a colourful adventure with some neat ideas, but was ultimately a dull and confused mess.Īs per a lengthy Twitter thread published by Naka, it sounds like the game's development was somewhat troubled, and, as director, he had grander plans to deliver an action game in “proper form”. Sonic the Hedgehog creator Yuji Naka has revealed that he filed a lawsuit against Square Enix to have his name removed as director of 2021 platformer, Balan Wonderworld.
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