
In an interview with IGN, Naka, who joined Square Enix in 2018, said that the president of Square Enix gave him “once chance” to make a full-scale platform game. The backstory behind the game’s plot is more interesting than the actual story. He reminds me a little of Baron Samedi - maybe it’s the hat. When he’s on-screen, he steals the scene. There’s something creepy about him, but the amazing animations make it hard to look away.
#Balan wonderworld rating skin
The details are so sharp and crisp that it almost looks like his skin is made out of felt. The cutscenes look amazing, and Balan’s character design is flawless. Once inside, you’re introduced to Balan, the magical theatre creature from the game’s box art. I picked the male character, and the game opens with him dancing on the street before wandering into a strange-looking building with “Wonderland” in neon above the entrance. You get a slightly different opening cutscene. You choose between a boy or girl character with some minor customization options. When I started up the game, I was blown away by the art style. With the legacy of Sonic and Nights into Dreams and the track record of Square Enix, Balan got a lot of hype. Just take a look at how awesome the announcement trailer looks.


Many saw Balan as the spiritual successor to Nights into Dreams, and with one look at the titular character Balan, it’s clear why. Published by Square Enix, Balan is the first collaboration between Yuji Naka, the creator of Sonic and Nights into Dreams, and Naoto Ohsimi, the artist behind Sonic, since their days at Sega.īalan was even produced by Noriyoshi Fujimoto of the Dragon Quest games. So I downloaded Balan Wonderworld and gave it a shot.Īfter about 10 hours of gameplay, I have some thoughts….īilled as a “wondrous and spectacular… “family-friendly action-platformer from the creators of Sonic the Hedgehog,” Balan Wonderworld - not Balan Wonderland for some reason - was supposed to be one of 2021’s must-play games. I started wondering, “ Can it really be THAT bad?” I thought that maybe the game just couldn’t live up to the hype. Head over to Metacritic, and they give it a 35/100 based on the critics’ reviews. IGN calls it a “ consistently boring platformer” that’s a “mess of undercooked concepts.”Įven the typically upbeat guys over at Nintendo Life didn’t have much positive to say about it, writing that it feels like it’s “ straight out of 2001 (not in a good way).” To say that reviews for Balan Wonderworld have been bad would be charitable.
