Director Yuji Naka Criticizes Square Enix for Releasing Balan Wonderworld in Unfinished State
One of 2021's most infamously disappointing games was Balan Wonderworld. The game, which was a collaboration between Yuji Naka and publisher Square Enix, was met with a very negative reception at launch, with many criticizing lacking game design and a general lack of polish. It turns out one of the game's biggest critics is none other than director Yuji Naka, as he has recently publicly criticized it and revealed that he has finished a legal battle with publisher Square Enix for removing him from his position six months ahead of Balan Wonderworld's release.
Balan Wonderworld was first revealed in August 2020. The game was touted as the return of Sonic the Hedgehog creator Yuji Naka, who would be teaming up once again with Naoto Ohshima, the character designer for the likes of Sonic and NiGHTS. The game was to be published by Square Enix, and was being co-developed by Ohshima's studio Arzest and Balan Company, a new subsidiary of Square Enix founded by Naka.
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When Balan Wonderworld launched however, the game was instantly met with negative reception, becoming one of the worst reviewed games of 2021. This was mainly due to bizarre game design decisions, uninspired level design, and technical issues across all platforms.
Now, Naka has revealed that he has been part of a quiet legal dispute with Square Enix since the game released, claiming that the publisher removed him from his position as Balan Wonderworld's director for criticizing its decision to release an outsourced version of the game's soundtrack, and for requesting more time to develop the game. In a Twitter thread posted today, translated by Twitter user Cheesemeister, he slams Square Enix,
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