Balan Wonderworld - What Happened?

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Gameplay Footage By: / xcagegame
Edited By: / kawaii3droofie
Matt Art By: / krooked_glasses
Intro By: / 2snacks and / littlevmills
Track List:
BGM B02 Menu A3 - Yokai Watch 3 OST
The Door of Emotions - Custom Robo Battle Revolution OST
BGM 00013 - Unnamed Track - Dragon Ball Z - Burst Limit OST
Night Play - Chibi Robo OST
The X Files Theme Song
Do Your Best! - Custom Robo Battle Revolution OST
Shifty Eyed Dog - The Simpsons Soundtrack
Afro Tea House - Shin Megami Tensei - Devil Summoner OST
The Yoshi Clan - Yoshi's New Island OST
SHINOHARA_THEME1_L - Raw Danger OST
07-Boss Battle - Digimon World 4 OST
M17 mix-0 - DICE: DNA Integrated Cybernetic Enterprises (PS2) OST
Shop 'N Squirtle - Pokémon Channel OST
307 Nanjo's Theme - Persona OST
2-07 Talent Selection - Danganronpa V3 OST
Danger 1 - Yu-Gi-Oh! GX - Spirit Caller OST
Gang Headquarters - Virtua Cop OST
15 Warriors - Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon N64 OST
16 Super Saiyan Trunks' Theme - Dragon Ball Final Bout OST
The Man Who Fell for a Princess - Main Theme (Outside) - Balan Wonderworld OST
NCS_BGM_TITLE - Big Brain Academy - Wii Degree
35 - Bomberman Generation
35 - Undead Yard - Digimon World 4 OST
Donut - Persona Q - Shadow of the Labyrinth OST
47. Stronger - Balan Wonderworld OST
#mattmcmuscles #balanwonderworld #whathappened

[@Mclarenboy100]

Update: Naka has now been arrested for insider trading alongside two other Square Enix employees. What a goddamn nosedive for this guy.

[@BrinIoca]

Double update: he’s been sentenced

[@hungryburger1170]

must've been the only way to make money at Sega and Square Enix

[@NidotheKing]

Balan will show up at the prison and dance Naka to freedom.

[@pkre707]

I wonder if he knew the game was going to bomb and told people to dump stock before SE’s earnings report.

[@lego174]

"The reason I'm in here, Is because of that fake hedgehog!"

[@lasz1979]

That "Wonderworld" and "Wonderland" thing is gonna become a Mandela effect thing for some people many years from now.

[@lasz1979]

@@valletas "The X-Files theme plays"

[@kpr4225]

I've somewhat worked with this game pre release and most people kept making that mistake too, it's a really bad title and it's weird that never stuck out to them

[@borby4584]

So we gotta absolutely document that “yes, this is Balan WonderWORLD.”

[@Dramgon_]

Could it be because of Boogie Wonderland or Alice in Wonderland, maybe??? Wonderland rolls of the tounge way better than Wonderworld

[@jasongretencord3326]

You are assuming that this game will be remembered years from now.

[@CheeseBlaster]

"Its difficult for the player to remember all the buttons" w h a t

[@Fabriciod_Crv]

yeah, if the players are 2 year old babies, who can't even hold a controller properly

[@toddminnix8821]

@@Fabriciod_Crv we have the wii

[@angrymokyuu1951]

Sonic on the Genesis had one action for all the buttons. The guy's had a problem since forever.

[@Fabriciod_Crv]

@@angrymokyuu1951 but even in that game there was more shit you could do, and the levels had more going on

[@CheeseBlaster]

Ok so having only one action button isn't particularly something wrong. Just the mindset of seeing the player as an imbecile and insulting their intelligence is such a scummy thing

[@penelope7354]

It's honestly hilarious that everything going on wasn't due to mismanagement or over-bearing stress or anything, almost every bad choice made was completely deliberate. Wonderous.

[@cattysplat]

Truly a disasterpiece.

[@Brindlebrother]

more like Wonderbland

[@penelope7354]

@@cattysplat Stealing that phrase rn

[@hypnospaceoutlaw3376]

@@AltimaNEO The reason he's no longer with Sega has nothing to do with him "Losing His Touch". It has to do with the fact of where the company was taking the Sonic Franchise.

[@shadowmetroid18]

This comment made me realize why I'm so fascinated with this shitty game. It's The Room of video games.

[@CrimsonMoonM]

I feel slightly less dumb now that I know that a surprisingly large amount of people also thought the game was called "Balan Wonderland" for the longest time.

[@TheMemessiah]

I thought I was going crazy when I saw it was actually "Wonderworld" dude.

[@flair541]

It just flows better in English. Not sure how the Japanese take it.

[@GaaraUzumakiGaara]

Its because wonderland fits better with "balan"... They fucked up even the games title

[@lucinae8510]

The gameplay and story were so bad, that they distracted me from the most inconsistent part of the game: *THE TITLE HURTS IN TWO WAYS!*

[@mrroboshadow]

well thats because "Wonderland" is a word you've been hearing since early childhood or at least most kids do cause its in one of the first stories they hear "Alice in Wonderland" so when we hear a title thats "Wonder something" we naturally assume its "Wonderland" cause we know it, its familiar and as people have said flows better

[@CodytheVictorian]

Balan, Shenmue 3, and Mighty Number 9 are the unholy trinities of "Legendary game designers who have been out of work for a while, not realizing how things have changed or have completely forgotten what makes a good game and churned out a disaster."

[@sethwick8348]

I disagree with Shenmue 3 being on there. Mighty Number 9 and Balan are both greatly inferior to those developers previous work. Shenmue 3 is, IMO, as good or better than 1 and 2. It's just that people either A. did not accurately remember what those games were like or B. expected the developer to speed things up and dumb things down for the modern audience. It's the opposite of Balan, it didn't consider player convenience or accessibility at all. Which is awesome for fans of old school games with time to spare.

[@Pooky1991]

Nah Shenmue 3 absolutely deserves to be on there, especially with the kickstarter controversies, how split fans are of the quality of the game (I've seen quite a few flame wars regarding some elements-coughYakuzasexistencecough), and how Yu thinks 11 games are going to come out of the franchise at this point (at least with kickstarter. it will be a miracle if a 4th comes out with other companies funding the game).

[@sethwick8348]

@@Pooky1991 oh not finishing the series with this one was pure stupid hubris, I agree. But the gameplay of Shenmue 3, the grinding and the slowly searching through drawers and the very deliberate pace of plot development were all just as they were in 1 and 2. Everyone says Yakuza is like modern Shenmue but I think they're as different as Gran Turismo and F-zero.

[@illuminatingdarkness3689]

@@sethwick8348 Given the tedious response and the sales of Shenmue 3, i honestly don't know why you think that the grinding pace, slow searching, and very deliberate pace of plot development was a good idea. Dev trying to appeal old school gamers is a nice sentiment, but realistically, since when that actually translate into actual sales number? Very rarely.

[@gwell66v2AnimeReviews]

@adam_odell 'official' I think Shenmue 3 gets on there bc the solutions to the problems that ail it should have been painfully obvious to anyone who was working on it and the financial/critical/fan reception was woeful compared to what it should have been as a result. "Out of touch" or "stubborn" seems to be accurate ways to describe what hampers that game and it's a shame

[@Zencast5]

Their hearts were in the right place. But I don't know where their heads were.

[@plushytv5295]

This is too accurate.

[@stonexl]

Not in contact with their brains, evidently.

[@AlexMagna117]

They were shoved up their asses if I had to guess.

[@ethanstatler1827]

I couldn't of said this better myself.

[@zeromus6460]

Their heads were up their enemy's ass

[@sheiks65]

Nowadays, when you hear a developer say, "We made it for kids", what they mean is, "We didn't feel like trying, give us money".

[@Shuyin781]

with mario being the only exception

[@elsquibbs]

It worked for the Pixar-like garbage movies that come out one after the other so I can see other companies trying the same crap. It's a conscious choice and it's still inexcusable, really.

[@papasscooperiaworker3649]

@@elsquibbs wdym pixar like movies???

[@orangeScentedBleach]

@@elsquibbs it worked for *illumination* ftfy

[@hypnospaceoutlaw3376]

@@orangeScentedBleach [Insert Biggering Here]

[@mariokarter13]

"A delayed game is eventually good, a rushed game is forever bad." A game with no coherent direction can't be fixed with delays.

[@boltstrike2787]

The only thing that can fix that is a Metroid Prime 4-esque restart.

[@SteeZy644]

“A delayed game is eventually bad (2077), a rushed game is forever bad (Sonic06). All games are bad.” - Shigemushigemu Miraimatsu Furaimatsu Paipopaipo

[@mariokarter13]

@@iregretsomeofmypreviouscom3284 Cringe, perhaps, but every time a game gets delayed you'll find at least one person using that quote unironically. As if Infinite Time + Infinite Money = Greatest Video Game of All Time. There are many reasons why a game can get botched, but most of them boil down to the game director having no idea what he's even making and the rest of the team struggling to keep up. Star Citizen is the most expensive game of all time and it's been in development for a decade. More time doesn't fix a lack of direction.

[@Apotheosister]

Development really is like cooking, it gotta be just right before it's under/over cooked.

[@NetJetMichael-A.H.1449]

Fallout New Vegas laugh at "A rushed game is forever bad" statement! (-:

[@Mgauge]

It will forever baffle me that a man who built his career on platformers somehow doesn’t think keeping the ability to jump was important enough to assign to a button, yet a having a power that randomly turns you into an immobile cube was.

[@vaguerant]

In the Mega Drive/Genesis Sonic era, Naka's involvement was primarily as a programmer rather than a designer. Hirokazu Yasuhara was in charge of design for the classic Sonic trilogy (which, without trying to start a Sonic fight, are the games that the largest number of people agree were solid). The two classic era games which were more divisive, Sonic CD and Knuckles Chaotix, did not receive any input from Yasuhara. Naka took over as designer on Sonic games with the transition to the Dreamcast, which also is when the mainline games became a lot more divisive. I'm absolutely not saying Naka is bad at designing games, but I just don't think he's the kind of designer who makes platformers which have the broad appeal that people expect from him based on his association with Sonic.

[@krimsonkatt]

@@vaguerant All sonic games were good until Shadow, and then 06 happened right after and ruined the reputation of the series forever. Since then we've only gotten a handful of good sonic games, being Unleashed, Black Knight, Colors, and Generations. (two of those had terrible stories though) I don't even think the Rush games were that good, and the first two Riders games were okay and Secret Rings is a guilty pleasure of mine, but the rest just suck. Oh, and mania is good too, but that's more of a fan game than anything else.

[@krimsonkatt]

Oh, and Lost World was okay. Certainly not good though.

[@boltstrike2787]

@@vaguerant I had a feeling Naka wasn't the reason the classic games were good. When you look at his track record... there isn't a lot to be proud of. The fans love SA1 and SA2, but those games tend to be propped up by nostalgia and suffer from some of the same problems Balan did, too many characters and the gameplay is a directionless mess. So I do think Naka got more credit than he deserved, and I think I disagree that he's not bad at designing games. He just doesn't seem to want or be capable of focusing around a fun concept, it seems more like he just wants to throw shit at the wall and hope for all of it to stick when inevitably not all of it does.

[@I_was_a_Bullfrog]

@@krimsonkatt so 06 and Boom suck, the rest range from good to meh?

[@kylepangilinan9075]

After watching the Sonic X-treme Wha Happun? and hearing Naka pretty much killed any hopes for the game by refusing to allow the team to use the engine NIGHTS ran on, having his own game just flop so dramatically feels cathartic in a twisted sort of way.

[@schemar17]

That's what he gets

[@Soulweaver0]

Well you don't have worried about Naka making another videogame since he went to jail for insider trading.

[@FutaYuuta]

That baka Miyamoto been real quiet since Balan dropped...

[@mateuszolejniczak645]

Hes still struggling with crash bandicoot difficult controls.

[@flow185]

@@psychie8625 the deads dont speak

[@manuelalbertoromero9528]

Oh, I think he was busy with the theme park

[@revotrip2069]

Miyamoto was absolutely shocked by the glowing reviews of Balan Shitterland. His career is over.

[@Wahid_on_youtobe]

Dio

[@t3hGawd]

At least this game will forever live on in the ad insert tucked inside Nier Replicant's case.

[@AyELTee88]

LMAOOOOOOOOOOO

[@blackbirdrds]

Funny thing is that it's says you get the free demo but they took it down

[@manuelalbertoromero9528]

@@blackbirdrds They promoted an E rated game in an ad inside an M rated game. I have seen all there is to this world.

[@hibachimk240]

I don't even have that, my case had an insert for FFXIV instead.

[@Ricken9000]

@@hibachimk240 oh uh well I guess it won’t live on then

[@JoroJojoro]

"Children are our target audience" is not an excuse for shitty media.

[@bucketfullabiscuits7865]

Illumination Studios has entered the chat

[@justanothermollusk5829]

_Teen Titans GO! and Thundercats Roar have entered the chat._

[@brendan3119]

If anything, it's a reason the media should be *less* shitty. Idk about you guys but the media I liked as a kid I absorbed a million times. I internalized that crap. Do we want our children being educated by bad, subpar media? Because some kid will like this and play it a thousand times, and that kid could be worse off for it.

[@kriscynical]

Pixar is an excellent example of producing _chef's kiss_ quality media that both kids and adults can enjoy at the same time. If we ignore the Cars sequels.

[@kriscynical]

@@brendan3119 Society has been getting worse and worse when it comes to underestimating kids. Their intelligence, their ability to learn and adapt, their ability to understand complex concepts (complex for a child at least), etc, and their media has suffered because of it. One of the best examples I can immediately think of is the serialized 22 minute cartoon series like Gargoyles vs. the ba-bleep-and-it's-over shit that's being put out now because nobody thinks a kid can pay attention to ANYTHING longer than 30 seconds. Personally I think it's a consequence of all the helicopter _WON'T SOMEBODY THINK OF MY CHILDREN??!?_ parents who want everything dumbed down to the lowest common denominator so they don't have to do their jobs as parents to explain things to their kids and help them learn if they need it. Of course that isn't universal, but as a mid-30-something with friends who have kids and ARE and are NOT raising them that way, I've definitely noticed a trend in the wrong direction. The underestimated kids always end up worse for it.

[@robot596]

*sees cutscenes* “Whoa this looks amaz-“ *sees gameplay* “What the fu-“

[@Mima_the_vengeful_spirit]

*Realize the cutscene weren't made to be there to begin with* "You gotta be kiddin' right?"

[@CsubAzUrmedve]

I really don't understand why devs think "target children" means "make it braindead". "Make it simpler for children" was the design philosophy, while they completely forgot that kids back in the day played games that were next to impossible to beat due to their difficulty or had so many cryptic bullshit that you needed a magazine or something by your side. And they loved it.

[@jranimations5955]

I half agree with intensely difficult games back then. I liked how us kids would literally brainstorm and plan a solution to a game’s boss. As much as I would say I was salty losing to the bosses as a kid, it was cool coming back years later to kick their ass. F*ck NES Ninja Turtles though. That game is too f*cling hard, you would need a f*cling game genie to beat it.

[@crossbones116]

Bad sign when a game has to get a Wha Happun in less than a month.

[@tawdryhepburn4686]

I hadn’t heard of this game and I was shocked when I mentioned it dropped on the PS5. I thought this was a late-stage PS2, maybe PS3 game.

[@Aliens1337]

The first time I looked at this game I thought it was made by some indie studios with like 10 people working on it. Everything looks cheap, boring and feels like a low-budget ripoff of Mario Odyssey, minus the charm. Then I found out it was a AAA game made produced by Square Enix, lead by a famous director.

[@tawdryhepburn4686]

@@Aliens1337 I had the exact same reaction.

[@KazuhaEien]

Yeah. When I first found this game on Steam and saw the mixed reviews, I expected it to be a "you love it or you hate it" game, and I only saw what the cutscenes and character designs looked. But I never expected it to be a terrible Mario Odyssey ripoff by Square and Sonic's character designer. I never expected it to be controversial when it came out.

[@Sangled]

wake up honey, the balan wonderworld wha happen came out

[@MattMcMuscles]

Haha, hope you enjoy it! As depressing as the episode is...

[@SethVoid]

@@MattMcMuscles the people who disliked this video, are the people who gave a 10/10 review for this game.

[@jonokguy]

Babe, what's wrong? You barely touched your Wha Happun?- Balan Wonderworld.

[@Sangled]

@@MattMcMuscles your series is always enjoyable, even if they’re essentially video game obituaries lmao. good stuff, as always! (and it should’ve been baLAN wonderLAND, like the verbal rhythm is right there)

[@joshhallam4555]

@@MattMcMuscles that game never stood a chance because it was released the same day as monsters hunter rise and what you know Monster hunter rise sold 5 million in it first week on one console.

[@LightningZerker]

Back here because Yuji Naka got arrested!

[@ImalsoaMercenary0105]

FOR WHAT!?!?!?!?!

[@JoJo.22323]

@@ImalsoaMercenary0105 Balan Wonderworld

[@ImalsoaMercenary0105]

@@JoJo.22323but arrested is caused actual crimes Not crimes in the game industry I mean what DID HE ACTUALLY DO!?!?!

[@joeyfarris2543]

@@ImalsoaMercenary0105 They say insider trading

[@andret3739]

Balan himself is a really good character design, the game is named after him and it is his face on the box art. That design is what makes you buy the game but instead of playing as him you play as generic kid with no personality. That right there is a big problem.

[@k4miko921]

i would have ended up buying this cause i really did love the design of him, and as much as i shouldnt, i still trust SE to a degree, then i saw gameplay.... yeah, instantly just bought little nightmares 2 instead lol

[@N3rv3d4m4g3]

Like Nights but if you just stayed as the crappy kids the whole time

[@pissfrog]

In NiGHTS you spend maybe 1% of the game playing as the generic child. Not saying that game shipped gangbusters but nobody hated it despite it being a slightly bland game from Sega during the Saturn days.

[@Reddotzebra]

Balan has this NiGHTS:esque "So uncanny valley it's adorably cool" quality to him. Too bad he's just an overhyped background character.

[@f145hr3831jr]

At this point this is borderline false advertising. And even then, many story-driven games could make bland and flat main characters actually work (Legend of Zelda and Half-Life come to mind). I even discovered an indie game where all characters were made kind of one-dimensional on purpose (related to the story, they all lost most of their memories except those related to their professions) and yet the story remains interesting to follow. It looks like Balan Wonderworld wasn't meant for a generic kid as the main focus.

[@SylentVoidkeeper]

So it basically sounds like they didn't have anyone on the staff to say "no" to anything and it just grew wildly out of control.

[@snintendog]

a little weird that he forgot to add that balan only had one year to be made from concept showing to release.

[@dinglberry3320]

@@snintendog Source for this. I never heard that this game had one only one year of development before, but given the rushed quality of the game that won't surprise me.

[@Mgauge]

Yup. This desperately needed some editors to tell them they were going wrong in the early stages. Instead, Square let them have the freedom to do whatever they wanted until it was too late. It’s like making a car by adding more and more spoilers, lights, and rims while ignoring that the engine was falling out and the fuel tank was on fire.

[@YorkJonhson]

The every button doing the same thing aspect is such a bizarre design choice that it only makes sense with the idea that it was originally conceived as a mobile game. It's hard for me to imagine the team moving forward with that idea from the ground up unless they were forced to recycle it from something else.

[@icantthinkofaname1009]

A lot of Square Enix's misfires (well, Square Enix JAPAN's misfires) seem to come from trusting directors TOO much based on prior work and not really checking in on them. Balan Wonderworld? The guys made Sonic Adventure, he knows what he's doing FF Versus-13 and Kingdom Hearts 3? Yeah Nomura's got it under control he's done this before. Final Fantasy 14's original build? These guys made Final Fantasy 11, we'll let them just do their thing. Granted sometimes this method works and allows you to discover a Yoko Taro or Yoshi-P, and I genuinely do like that the director of somewhat more niche stuff like SaGa and The Last Remnant is getting a Crack at their crown jewel with FF16 after having worked there for so long. But there has to be a happy medium between suffocating your devs and just letting them do whatever the hell.

[@colibri224]

I can't believe the beautiful cutscenes weren't even suppose to be in the game ! It's one of the rare redeeming quality !!!

[@KazuhaEien]

In my opinion, Balan should have been a movie with the story of the novel rather than a video game. Or a fully-CGI anime show that could have been one of the few to actually work, if Visual Works were the team to do the CG

[@UsoTeaMor]

It’s the only redeeming quality

[@Apotheosister]

@@UsoTeaMor I'd say the music is pretty nice.

[@UsoTeaMor]

@@Apotheosister too bad the composer plagiarized several tracks And it doesn’t matter if the music is good. It could be taken from this game and used for any other game It’s a game, not a music album. If the game sucks, doesn’t matter if the music is good because the game still sucks and you won’t play it just to hear the music.

[@Bessux]

@@UsoTeaMor He didn't say that. At no point did he say any of the things you're implying. He just mentioned another redeeming quality. That's it. Who the fuck are you arguing with?

[@TacoEX1]

I think that the game is, in a way, insulting to children’s intelligences by implying that they can only understand one-button-centered platformer games when most kids nowadays are playing Crash Bandicoot or Splatoon.

[@_V.Va_]

And Fortnite, there's tons of buttons you need to press in that game. I don't play it but I have before and it's not quite baby town.

[@Chaos_867]

@@_V.Va_ hell im a total noob at fortnite and kids younger than me know how to play it Does not say much since im still young but cmon

[@TheK0ntr0ller]

Or hell even something that Balan is clearly based on, like Mario Odyssey! Possessing the enemies in that game is really easy to understand and remember, each only being able to do one ability and sometimes jump. Kids can learn semi-complex platformer mechanics pretty easily, which I agree that the developers did not believe.

[@KnakuanaRka]

@@TheK0ntr0ller And speaking of Odyssey, one thing that really differentiates the captures from costumes is that captures are strictly dependent on the enemies available in the area. This allows Odyssey’s devs to control what captures are available at any time; this way, you can’t bring unintended captures into an area where their abilities are useless or break a puzzle, and you can design specific captures and areas for each other without worrying if they would break other parts. This gave the devs a ton of room to make interesting designs without having to put constraints on everything to stop them from behaving in unintended ways. In contrast, Balan’s random-@$$ costume inventory lets you bring basically any costume anywhere, which totally makes hash of any attempt to design areas for specific captures or vice versa. This results in the level designs being all samey as described in the video.

[@AuraHero]

@@Chaos_867 Fortnite requires quite a bit of coordination between building and shooting. When I played it, I managed to get pretty good at the former, but I always struggled with the latter. It's hard to shoot someone if they keep putting up brick walls.

[@calisipher8855]

Making controls simple for kids to get a handle on is one thing, but kids aren't stupid. They can understand things like a dedicated jump button

[@jarmakey1]

That, and the fact that kids are surprisingly resilient when it comes to video games. I remember re-playing the same levels over and over again in a game that was too difficult for my age, because just knowing that I was playing a video game entertained me. It'll give them a good memory too, I loved going back to all the games I couldn't beat and finally seeing the ending.

[@Dillweed9001]

Banjo Kazooie was one of the first platform games many young millennials played, and it had like 12 different moves, many of which required holding the Z button to crouch while pressing another button to trigger

[@ihavenonameideas3698]

This game just makes me appreciate more the Kirby games, even being easy they still have every single power to be different, a lot of little details that make you enjoy a lot the adventure as well as having such a good presentation in general, or, you know, BECAUSE THEY ACTUALLY HAVE A DIFFERENT BUTTON FOR ATTACKING AND JUMPING, this game is just a Kirby in 3D made wrong

[@Frowdo]

My 4 year old played Immortals: Fenix Rising because she liked riding the horses then taught herself how to summon them, hop off, and eventually even fighting mobs. She calls the cyclops a gorilla...its cute. Long story short, young children are at an age where they can learn incredibly quickly.

[@janecklyn]

Which is ironic because kids seem to learn different controls faster than some adults

[@aster0781]

It would seem that no one can say “wonderworld”, our brains are hard coded to say “wonderland”

[@danielhuras617]

Maybe if Alice in Wonderland was originally titled Alice in Wonderworld, we wouldn't be having these problems.

[@tntalchemist]

I am fully convinced this is not just a Mandela Effect that is affecting the whole world. I am convinced we all shifted from a world where it was Wonderland to one where it is Wonderworld

[@suddenllybah]

Eh, you'alls got weird verbal ticks

[@MrSerpico145]

@@suddenllybah easily suggestible people.

[@GlitchyPixExtra]

Its likely because Balan Wonderland flows better due to the similar ending syllables (it's incredibly close to rhyming is my point). I say we just keep calling it Balan Wonderland and pretend that's its actual name and not Wonderworld

[@idaparakila]

As a tester, a lot of issues that we find related to accessibility, photosensitivity and motion sickness ends up getting waived by our clients. They only get patched when the public finds the issues inhibiting gameplay...

[@edgyslayer]

That's mess up... And stupid

[@555Soupy555]

I scream at games who violently think they are above putting in accessiblility, like those people don't exist/deserve to play

[@karak962]

@@555Soupy555 yes, accessibility is so important! I'm working on a game right now and I have some neurological issues so it's nice to be able to add things to take accessibility into account. I want games to be accessible to all who enjoy them, and designing features to aid people is actually very fun!!

[@danielhill2531]

@@555Soupy555 what games are doing that now? Besides maybe cyberpunk.

[@shrek187]

Makes sense, day one patches are there just so they can release the game out in a hurry and not resolved until the issue itself reaches mainstream attention. Another example would be the recent Sonic Colors re release with all those bugs.

[@wiimin95]

Gotta give this a rewatch now that we just learned Naka was removed as director so early before release, and filed a lawsuit against Square

[@theawesomeike6085]

I see I'm not the only one lol

[@mzxa9988]

Before release not before development. So he basically still accountable for most bad decisions for the game

[@ivanlagrana878]

And now he is in Jail

[@2ndbleak]

@@ivanlagrana878 WHAT

[@DoodleThis]

@MegaShima XLR Jesus…. How the mighty have fallen

[@denimchicken104]

This is why we don’t get more demos, unfortunately. Publishers don’t want to risk bad word of mouth and turning players off before a launch. They want to disappoint you AFTER they got your $60+.

[@denimchicken104]

@@mb2001 definitely

[@markellhawthorne2921]

@@mb2001 I was gonna buy it before I played the demo. Dodged a huge bullet there.

[@kamurotetsu4860]

Sonic's basic skills in his 2D games have more complexity than one costume in this game. Let that sink in.

[@RoninCatholic]

Even in his first game, before the Spin Dash was added.

[@souptaels]

Exactly. They do know fighting games exist, right? They use almost all of the controller buttons, even combinations of controller buttons. Most even include a moveset of actions characters can do. Kids still play those, especially Smash. That's such a non-issue.

[@someoneelse9680]

Let it sink in ....

[@RoninCatholic]

@@doclouis4236 And if we _really_ needed all moves to be triggered by the same button we also could've...had every costume able to jump and their special powers triggering if you hit the jump button in the air, like Knuckles' glide, Tails' flying, Pac-Man's Butt Bounce, Sonic's Instashield, and so forth.

[@nightday2030]

@@RoninCatholic this game kinda reminds me of Kirby Superstar, a platformer with multiple power-ups.

[@Toxic_G1]

The irony of me getting a Balan Wonderworld ad on this video is enough for me to start spontaneously breakdancing

[@KazuhaEien]

I got one too. Oh boy.

[@grantnesselroad7569]

Same.

[@PaperFlare]

With all the news about Yuji Naka and his actions and behavior over the decades, I can only think of one idiom: "If you run into an asshole in the morning, you ran into an asshole. If you run into assholes all day, you're the asshole."

[@Liltwilightprincess2]

I honestly think something that could have helped the game is that instead of having 80 costumes you could just play as Balan...you know...the main character whose name is in the title!?!?

[@AgentPaperx2]

His costume is broken most of all lol

[@powergannon]

Especially since Balan himself is the best character design in the game

[@NoahNCopeland]

we will see about it

[@snintendog]

so you mean just like rodeas wii prototype, Balans first draft would be better....I think Naka First drafts tend to be his best work before his publishers screw him over with back of the box "Ideas"

[@amysel]

You actually can play as him, you need to collect a bunch of rainbow drops for that weird statue and feed every colors to 2 tims and then make them breed and you have an small RNG chance of getting a king tim and you need to throw it at the statue and it turns into a flying tim that can fly you to a floating island where you can get the Balan costume This is some "Unlock Luigi" type shit, but its there

[@psychoballoons4704]

I always thought it was just myself who called it "Balan Wonderland". It's nice knowing I wasn't the only one with this issue.

[@giorgioguolo7196]

It rolls off the tongue better

[@liuwang9899]

Dude, I thought wonderland was the real title, wtf

[@LunaMinuna]

Wonderland sounds so much better Edit:Wonderland I’m dyslexic

[@DIYisntDead]

Same

[@EksdeeDB]

When i saw the last trailer i foolishly thought to myself, "when did they change the title to wonderworld?"

[@relix7373]

I really don't get why people have so much sympathy for Yuji Naka. He's dragged down a lot of people with him in his continued disasters and hasn't really done anything remarkable in over a decade. But more than that, he always comes off as so vindictive and acerbic in all his business dealings, especially back in the 90's with Sonic Team. I just don't know how you can root for a guy who intentionally sabotages his own coworkers on a regular basis. I feel for all the other people who worked on this train wreck, but man I just don't care if Naka fails.

[@SirGurbinsteinRex]

This comment is golden, considering that Yuji Naka got arrested for insider trading this november.

[@MarioSonicBee]

He made a blue rat, that’s all you need

[@tedjomuljono3052]

@@SirGurbinsteinRex he got arrested, again

[@Whateverfloatsurboat2]

Don't forget how he fucked over the entire development of sonic x-treme :(

[@Cr102y]

@@MarioSonicBee More like programmed,Sonic’s true creator is Naoto Oshima.

[@josiebianchi3481]

Apparently this game's entire development cycle can be summed up by the fact that there's a powerup that turns you into a completely immobile and inanimate box "when it feels like it." I guess Yuji Naka took a hard hit to the head while he was out of work and forgot what a video game was.

[@KnakuanaRka]

First Mighty No 9, then Shenmue 3, and now this? What’s up with all the classic game creators trying to come back and either not remembering how to do a damn thing right, or trying to do things the old way in a changing market?

[@emrahalien2972]

@@KnakuanaRka cant teach a dog new tricks..

[@armintargaryen9216]

Not completely immobile: the box keeps momentum so you may fall down when you transform lol

[@ethanalspencer7294]

It's always awkward when you're faced with one of these, where it's not really a time constraint thing or a 'big business overshadowing the devs' thing, but like a... 'These people are just not very bright or good at their job' kind of... thing...

[@demiliomason1565]

That's not the case. It's moreso just a lot of misguided work and effort being randomly misplaced. Practically just shooting themselves in the foot by focusing on arbitrary metrics instead of focused design.

[@GamerSlyRatchet1]

I feel so bad for whoever runs the game’s Twitter account. Holy shit.

[@manuelalbertoromero9528]

At this point, they are being targeted at gun point to promote it.

[@Brindlebrother]

moar like Wonderblunder

[@Norrabal_anims]

@@Brindlebrother Blunderworld

[@emperorfaiz]

I hope they get paid well for doing such a saddening job.

[@Buitronthecrazy]

Uh...so it looks like Yuji Naka is not longer working at SE as his twitter updated some minutes ago to say "worked at SE".

[@OmegaKyo_x2]

Dat sucks but it was said that this was his only chance. I guess he left rather than get demoted within SE

[@CantusTropus]

Wouldn't it be ironic if, in years to come, physical copies of Balan Wonderworld became rare commodities like physical copies of Atari's ET?

[@rotciv557]

@@stevethepocket yeah, a rare game that would be a more proper comparison would be Xenoblade Chronicles for the Wii or Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance.

[@ghhn4505]

@@rotciv557 All equally as shit as Balan and E.T.

[@torainsmash7351]

@@rotciv557 Those are amazing games though

[@marcoalves9029]

it very definitely will be a rare and expensive game someday lol it's just way too much of a meme not to like, look at the CD-i Zelda games for instance

[@meaninglez100]

Not sure why companies think children can't handle more than empty areas and extremely basic controls. Many of the players during the first 3D platformer boom era where children. It's a shame, because the designs are great

[@manuelalbertoromero9528]

Honestly, that's a very dumb way of looking at things when you consider how popular games like Fortnite are with kids. Like, do they seriously think kids don't know how to play games with complex control layouts?

[@jaimeantonioolaguezchirino5805]

Companies don't think that, is a fallacy created by bad developers and incompetent PR employees to justify their mistakes, this the only instance i have seen where that was the acrual intent of the authors.

[@Pooky1991]

Shit as a kid I was even playing shit like the Original GTA. There companies are just insulting kids at this point with shit like this

[@Kralledd]

To be honest, even some of the tablet learning games for toddlers would be more complex than this game... Balan wonderworld is even insulting to TODDLERS... let that faucet bearing furniture in

[@terrykwonggame]

@@ahok1937 yeah the red stone mechanic

[@JJGamezMC]

The switch port of this game is so embarrassing that they tried to hide it by not showing any gameplay on the eshop and only showing pictures of the prerendered cutscenes.

[@JJGamezMC]

@@giloguy101 ah yes the console that can run xenoblade chronicles, monster hunter rise, botw, mario odyssey, and tons of other gorgeous games can’t run a simple 3d platformer...

[@JJGamezMC]

@@DinoDave150 if you play it and don’t get a headache, you’re lucky that’s how bad it is

[@desolator4662]

@@JJGamezMC Man the freakin Doom can run on switch! Both 2016 and Eternal even

[@BarnyWaterg8]

@@giloguy101 or the witcher 3

[@leeeroyjenkins555]

Is so embarrasing that Crash 4 came the same month on the Switch.

[@bluecoin3771]

Would it have killed them to make a dedicated jump button? They honestly thought one more action would be too much to stomach?

[@huyphan7825]

I like to think this was all comeuppance for Yuji Naka proactively ruining the careers and health of all developers involved in Sonic X-treme

[@orlandofurioso7329]

Ngl, if i were in that clusterfuck of project i would curse Naka for years

[@DiamondDust132]

God damn. Say it louder for everyone in the back. I don't remotely believe in karma, but in this one instance, I wouldn't mind it being true.

[@iwakeupandboomimarat]

karma waited 20 years

[@juliagiles1547]

man straight up got Madame Zeroni’d after that dick move, holy shit

[@SAPProd]

This has to be the quickest “release date to Wha Happun” turnaround yet! EDIT: @ducetvang pointed out that Cooking Mama is the shortest at 20/22 days.

[@giorgioguolo7196]

It was made by people who worked on Sonic, of course it was fast

[@CreditR01]

My thoughts exactly. "Oh boy. That was fast."

[@vcom741]

Pretty sure Warcraft 3 was quicker

[@SAPProd]

@@vcom741 I never considered that one, as I remember being surprised at the turnaround of Fallout 76 and expected Cyberpunk 2077 to be faster until he said he was gonna wait for all the dust to settle more for that. It is super close, but Balan beats it by a very small margin. Matt released the Warcraft video on Patreon 30 days after release date, and published publicly the next day. He released the Balan video on Patreon 27 days after release and publicly three days later. Thanks for letting me know the previous holder, as I had completely forgotten about Warcraft.

[@Fabriciod_Crv]

@@vcom741 nah, that one was about a one month flat, this one came out 2 days before the game completed a month

[@user-zs5ub1ic1v]

Wow, hearing Yuji Naka basically say "Please like this game or I'm doomed" is something else. Like, now he's gonna be forced into either making RPGs or leaving the company and hoping someone else will let him develop a platformer.

[@manuelalbertoromero9528]

Or anything for that matter. Though, I'm not sure how him working on a RPG counts as a negative honestly.

[@wilmagregg3131]

if this and sky soilder is all he can create maybe he should retire from the game industry

[@chestbumphero]

My hot take then would be, “if this is the last chance, then why make the game all style with absolutely no substance.” All of the information that has been released about this game just feels dreadful and is saying, at least to me, Naka-san is almost as out of touch with modern gaming as Yu Suzuki (creator of Shenmue 3).

[@manuelalbertoromero9528]

@@MakoShiruba I know. But, he's technically not new to RPGs.

[@user-zs5ub1ic1v]

@@valletas I'm definitely not saying to give him a pass on a bad game. It really sucks as platformers seem to be Yuji's passion and hearing him say this was his one chance does make me feel bad that the game just couldn't succeed.

[@sunspotsolarflare5914]

don’t understand how a power-up can make you feel so powerless

[@KnakuanaRka]

@@megabuster3940 I think TVTropes calls it a powerup letdown.

[@KnakuanaRka]

Yeah, I feel like the costumes are trying to ape Mario Odyssey’s captures, but there’s plenty of differences. A, Mario and his captures are generally complex enough to be interesting on their own; there are exceptions with limited use like the Chain Chomp and Bullet Bill, but you aren’t expected to use them enough to get bored. This is in great contrast to Balan’s forms, which all only have movement and one action. B, more importantly, since Mario’s captures are based on enemies in the area, the game designers can carefully control what captures you can get in an area; this prevents you from bringing an inappropriate capture into an area, using one with limited capabilities (like the Bullet Bill) or interactions with specific objects (like the Pokio sticking into walls) outside of the area where it’s useful, or being unable to access one you need. In contrast, Balan’s randomized costume drops and storing them for use later basically make hash of any attempts to design puzzles or areas around specific costumes, turning it into a gigantic crapshoot.

[@GoldKnightProduction]

Balan looks salvageable. -Condense the list of costumes and powers. -Rework the ability swapping for more involved gameplay. -Actually design levels instead of leaving it to an AI. I feel like all the assets could just be used more effectively.

[@ianlindstrom2019]

They could easily win a lot of points with costume condensing alone. Every costume gets to jump (some with a better jump), every costume has an attack (some replace it with a better one), then the other two face buttons do other special moves on some costumes. Replace one-note gimmick costumes with a key item that lets you handle the gimmick with a basic "interact" button when nearby (e.g. the gear costume, the bulldozer costume). Said key item could even have you temporarily appear as the original costume while doing the thing for all it matters. Also, they shouldn't be so concerned with people "breaking" the game with using costumes out of context. Just let it happen. It makes the game easier for kids/casual players while also making it more interesting for hardcore players who like to just see what they can get away with (esp. speedrunners). Just based on what I've seen in various videos I feel like they could condense it down to like 5 costumes.

[@Thisisthegreatestatofalltime]

The game’s a failure, the only way the game could be fixed is with resources Square is not going to spend on this awful game.

[@JPH1138]

Balan looks salvageable - Do everything completely differently

[@Thisisthegreatestatofalltime]

@@JPH1138 I means it’s “so” easy just throw the game in the trash and start from scratch with game designers that aren’t morons, it’s simple.

[@cameronstanek7124]

That’s not salvaging, that is making a new game entirely

[@Blue_Lunacy]

Is it just me or did "made for kids" in this case = "We are planning to sell the toys of the costumes"?

[@ataberkdedemen9802]

Selling toys is probably the reason they pushed for 80 costumes

[@Kralledd]

@@XanthinZarda to be completely fair, box fox would the only one i actually would consider buying, imagine it like the old transformers toys where you can just rebuild it as a Box, i'd buy that for the meme... And a dollar

[@blackheartzerotheundergrou3225]

... Well, they did release a novel alongside the game. And the kicker is that it goes more into story detail than the game ever did. For example, did you know the girl who supposedly lost her cat in a car accident? That accident was the very same accident that killed hood girl's parents? Or that cat girl grew up to be the princess actor that the clown boy was trying to propose to? And on that note, did you know that Balan's theatre can _time travel?_

[@blackheartzerotheundergrou3225]

@@XanthinZarda I dunno, Box Fox looks pretty cute when he isn't killing all your momentum by turning you into a cube against your will.

[@TaoScribble]

I need the novel in my life; it's genuinely interesting. ...I'd also buy figurines of the costumes.

[@someguythatwasmorbed8251]

"It's like Hideo Kojima but with a Hat God."

[@nullpoint3346]

Hat Kid vs Hat God. Finally, another somewhat original Final Fantasy final boss fight.

[@shadestrider1033]

At least Hideo Kojima was never out of touch with his critics. He knew Death Stranding would be divisive when it was released. Yuji Naka and Keiji Inafune were so out of touch with the market that the products they made ended up being just awful. On a side note, Kojima and Naka were smart enough to get official backing from a studio. Keiji Inafune ruined his reputation with that Kickstarter, because his investors were betrayed, not just his consumers.

[@jonnysac77]

Really sucks that we likely won't ever get to see Balan again because his debut game that he's barely in happened to blow

[@ilikethecokev2]

Well, he WAS added to Sonic Smackdown, and while that's a fan game, at least he's still being used in SOME fashion.

[@DuranMK2]

People in charge: We want to market to children, make it babby's first videogame. People who actually know what they're doing: Um, are you sure? Challenging games are actually pretty well-liked even by young-- People in charge: MAKE IT PISS-EASY WITH OVERLY-SIMPLIFIED DESIGN OR YOU'RE FIRED [Game is released] Children: [Too busy being sweaty demigods in PvP shooters to care]

[@silverstartv1237]

Square Enix:This costume gimmick is ok but you know that Ballan Guy, how does he play? Yuji Naka:Huh,what did you say?

[@rotciv557]

Naka: "Oh yes, Balan. We gave him only the FINEST of Quick Time Events!" SQ: "Oh God"

[@OmarAlikaj]

Not to mention the boneheaded way of getting his costume from what I'd seen.

[@GenerationWest]

The fact that this is one of the quickest What Happened is... a spectacular feat for Balan Wonderland- I mean, Balan WonderWorld, why isn't it Wonderland, such a better title. It's not a complete broken mess, it's just purposely deigned to be awful and weird... Some of it by A.I., which means the machine uprising was started by a disgruntled game designer, yup, that makes sense.

[@PossumLint_1927]

I just now realized it wasn't Wonderland from reading this comment

[@JT-nz1dg]

I knew I wasn't the only one who thought Wonderland sounded better

[@dancingvalkyrie]

This is by the creator of Sonic. It's no surprise the game sucked.

[@gregorymirabella1423]

@@PossumLint_1927 really? did you watch the video?

[@SkullArrol]

@@chai_wolf wonderland isnt really a copyrighted term and Alice in Wonderland is public domain.

[@TyphoonArtifice]

Aint it crazy how Yuji Naka got arrested not once, but TWO times

[@aidlord23]

I want that one Balan reviewer to create a KZbin channel where he reviews every game in existence. It'd actually be a thing of beauty.

[@KazuhaEien]

His username is actually "NotYujiNaka", so he/she's probably actually trolling.

[@alyssasenpai7254]

Imagine if there's an alternate universe somewhere out there where this game was actually called Balan Wonderland and was actually a good game

[@marlonmontelhiggins8570]

Ah, shit. Now, I wanna visit it.

[@KazuhaEien]

My I buy a ticket to visit?

[@manospondylus4896]

Ultimate proof that we live in the bad timeline

[@CinnabarCereal]

Can i go to that timeline

[@gamingraptorpro1800]

I also belive that that universe has a Bethesda that doesn't treat their fans like crap

[@oparmy5691]

God this is depressing, balan is such a fun looking character he deserved so much better

[@ADreamingTraveler]

Yeah I wanted to love this game so much because it looked awesome. It's such a shame :

[@sapphony6464]

I’m partially tempted to make a story overhaul of Balan Wonderworld, considering that I simply adored the character design and I feel like a LOT of the backlash would’ve been avoided if it was aired as an animated series instead with a more in-depth storyline. ):

[@tammid8423]

@@sapphony6464 As far as I know, there's some sort of novelization that explains the game better. You should givr it a try.

[@TheKyubiisaan]

Maybe if he gets into smash balan can be in a good game for once

[@Ekraelum]

Balan is basically the spiritual successor to NiGHTS, at least in terms of design, with the whole theatrical mannerisms and aesthetic. It deserved so much better. It's also sad that you can't even play as him lol

[@evelynsteger436]

I really don’t get the “it’s made for children” excuse. You have titles like Legend of Zelda, Sonic the Hedgehog, Kingdom Hearts, and of course Mario that all have complex controls and stories, yet are easy for kids and adults alike to enjoy them. Ffs there are even kids younger than 12 playing first-person shooters and are able to handle the controls. It sucks because this game could’ve been a way to revive the NIGHTS series, like have NIGHTS and Balan meet or something. Oh well, just add it onto the pile of wasted potential

[@MissBeeBonnet]

Coming back to this one after the insider trading arrest news is… interesting 😬

[@ScootsLounge]

Surprised how you didn't mention how Balan has a while novel dedicated to his story and the game's plot. And not a single sentence from that novel is uttered in the game. God, Naka. Just having a dedicated jump button would've saves him from a lot of shit, I'm absolutely positive.

[@simcity4111]

O livro estava no jogo, mas todos os botões viravam a página, então tiveram que tirar...

[@boltstrike2787]

Eh, that would've elevated this game from like, a 3 to a 5. The lack of a jump button was big, but it was FAR from the only issue with Balan. The whole game's design was just terrible.

[@quinton1630]

As a kid who enjoyed Gotcha Force which had jump, dash, and two action buttons, with like 80 unique robots, this game (Balan Wonderwhatever) could have been done. It was just poorly planned and poorly executed.

[@hypnospaceoutlaw3376]

It could've been worse. We could've had a game without those beautiful cutscenes that weren't even gonna be in the game in the first place.

[@simcity4111]

@@hypnospaceoutlaw3376 verdade, era apenas o livro no começo, quando foi retirado colocaram as cenas

[@Schmoseph]

This game really feels like Yuji Naka poured his blood, sweat, and tears into it and got burned out and quit 30% into development.

[@snintendog]

I heard that the first draft never had the costumes so given how SE pushed HARD on the 80 Costumes and how naka admitted he could barely think of 40 SE is the major problem that and the 1 year dev time.

[@snintendog]

@Caio Coelho Found the irate Gamer that doesn't play games or just does a google search.

[@SteveCrafts2k]

"It's for kids" is no excuse for mediocrity.

[@JSGirl09able]

That's why we have Disney, Pixar, Nintendo, the works. Because they're all ages friendly. Heck, I'm getting close to the big three-o in terms of age and yet I still love such franchises like Pokemon, Mario, Animal Crossing, Disney movies...because they're four-quadrant properties.

[@PokeBallZ7519]

I won't take anyone's trash opinions on grownups mad about a kids game because this is a bad game for kids

[@FedoraKirb]

@@JSGirl09able I like how you used the term “all ages friendly,” because that’s the term we should be using for Nintendo/Disney kind of stuff. Here’s a great comparison: Sesame Street is for kids. The Muppets is for all ages. “Family-friendly” and “appropriate for kids” do NOT mean “made exclusively for kids.”

[@courier6960]

19:15 despite square Enix’s less than stellar reputation, I completely understand why they would do this. From what has been shown this lead developer has a far less than stellar track record with bad games and failed series, it makes sense they would only give him one shot because they know if he fails this time, he isn’t suddenly going to get better and turn his track record around.

[@OhSayWhatIsTruth]

I wouldn't define a developer solely by his/her mistakes.

[@courier6960]

@@OhSayWhatIsTruth No, you absolutely would. If I had a history of making like 7 bad games in a row mismanaging that world brand so bad that it becomes infamous, leaving to make an independent studio, making a game so bad that the studio went bankrupt, and then was asking you to bankroll my next few projects, you wouldn’t exactly be handing out cash so freely. You are supposed to make decisions based on their pros and cons, their positive features and negative features, their successes and mistakes. This guy had a lot more mistakes than successes, if I was square Enix and this project turned out to be a flop, I wouldn’t exactly give him another shot, again this isn’t some rookie on his first major project where failure can be due to numerous factors, clearly this guy isn’t good at what he does for some reason, and he won’t just suddenly be better. All square Enix did was make that truth abundantly clear to him both personally and contractually. This wasn’t them being mean, this was them being sensible. Clearly they knew best, as this game turned out terrible (because of course it does, this isn’t exactly anything new).

[@redblueandgray]

One thing to note about the “one button control” thing. This also applies to menus...meaning there’s no back button

[@missingno.8809]

As a ux designer reading this, I felt like stabbing my eyes

[@MixMasterLar]

What

[@juanivangonzalez5842]

legit question how do you exit the menus then?

[@damir_van_kalaz]

@@juanivangonzalez5842 Pray for divine intervention to save you from this dark hell some are bold enough to call a videogame

[@MixMasterLar]

@@juanivangonzalez5842 i'd imagine the switch in your surge protector

[@lPsychoMax]

The weird thing about the costumes is, why didn't they have 4-6 unique skills and just have all the other costumes as alternative designs? Since some even do the same skills as others, it's just a model swap and nothing more! Plus having only 4-6 skills means you don't have to swap as often and the other costumes are purely cosmetic. Which gives encouragement to find them all!

[@theawesomeike6085]

The sad part is that there are like 4-6 abilities that repeat, the only difference is some costumes do a better job than others, there are tons of gliding costumes, costumes that shoot proyectiles, there's a jelyfish costume that let you swim in certain water streams, and then there's a dolphin costume that let's you swim but faster, and you can jump out of the water whenever you want, but the game is still advertised as having 80 costumes with unique functions

[@leahnzastrzelecki5217]

You said exactly what I wanted to say but better. People love cosmetics, it'd also be a more modern, but less tedious alternative to collecting statues that roadblock progress, or it could be used as a tool to develop level progression (ignoring the dumb AI level design, seriously, I can understand a procedural rouge-like with some platforming elements, like Dead Cells, but a game that is primarily a platformer is a horrible fit for this)--pull a Samus at the start, restrict some abilities until you reach the checkpoint and unlock the level-themed skin for that ability.

[@BRAINFOXINFINITE]

A lot of the quirks in it give me "game dev course final project" vibes. Like they probably got dumped into using Unreal 4 and only had about 2 years to make a whole game from scratch while figuring out how to do so. Wouldn't be surprised if they planned on making 8 - 10 fleshed out costumes, hit a roadblock in getting everything to work right, and then decided to say "fuck it" and went the quantity route with the 1 button input for everything. Even the menus have that awkward "I finally figured out how to make a functional one from a few tutorials" feel, but with the aesthetic of an old Dreamcast or early Gamecube game.

[@rotciv557]

Or even better, getting new costumes that share similar abilities to those you already got before serve as permanent upgrades to said group of costumes, i.e if you get a costume that lets you jump high and later on a costume that lets you jump high AND flutter, both costumes get the latter effect and you can freely change between whichever of the two costumes you prefer whenever you need to do jump puzzles. God knows many people would keep on the sheep costume as a "floats softly down" costume permanently if they could, that was one of the best designed ones in the game.

[@pokehybridtrainer]

Less costumes and more skills should have been it. The suits feel weaker than the ones from Nemo the Dream Master on NES.

[@RonnieBarzel]

This just reaffirms how lucky we are with how wonderfully the out-of-nowhere “A Hat in Time” turned out.

[@ShadowThe771]

Just watching this video after hearing the arrest of Yuji Naka.

[@mauriciomagalhaes181]

What a crazy turn .

[@josephgarfield3363]

I'm genuinely amazed a Square Enix executive looked at this and was like "yeah that's worth $60"

[@damir_van_kalaz]

To be fair, this is Square Enix. Let's not forget a few other not-so-great games they approved to be sold for $60, like FF XIII, the multiple unasked for sequels to FF XIII, the pile of poor development decisions that was FF XV, the hilarious abomination of an MMO that was FF XIV 1.0, and the complete letdown that was Mankind Divided. That's, of course, also without even mentioning the ports of their games on PC, like the catastrophes that are the ports of both of the NieR games, or the Chrono Trigger port that took forever for them to fix, which is a port of the mobile version, which was a port of the DS version, which was a port of the SNES version. Square Enix isn't exactly known for assuring the quality of their products.

[@freedomseekr]

@@damir_van_kalaz FF XIII would be another "Wha happun?" all on its own. From what I've picked up, not only was it way out of scope due to the switch to the White Engine and the whole weirdness with the FF XIII Cinematic Universe aka the Fabula Nova Crystallis (not a smart idea to try and make a minimum of three full-sized RPGs at the same time, with further titles (FF XIII Haeresis was a name that was floated around) to be added later), but production was fractured and some plot weirdness was due to the teams not communicating with each other which then had to be "fixed in post" as they say - one noteworthy result being the short-lived revival of one Cid Raines because the boss team and the CG movie team didn't talk to each other. And there was also the baffling decision to have SE Japan handle the English localization (as opposed to FF XII which was handled fully by native English speakers) leading to some... odd results. The less said about the other stuff that came out of that sordid phase for FF (including XV), the better. Balan, I feel, comes from the same Square Enix that tends to overstretch itself. Going by what Matt said, Naka KNEW he couldn't deliver but Hashimoto and others basically pressured him into it and then he made a game no-one at Square Enix knew how to handle and it turned into... this. Same thing with Left Alive and also to some degree The Quiet Man, where they tried to tap into stuff that isn't exactly their forte and got worse results for it (and in the case of Left Alive it meant the likely death of Front Mission as a whole). Much like with FF XIII, I think there is some potential to Balan Wonderworld, but it fell flat because the production team was too hands-off.

[@sweep8311]

Cuz they knew no one was gonna buy it

[@GameShark9000]

This game's fall was just depressing to watch. Guess I better have a dance party with Matt McMuscles on his stage to cure my depression.

[@Mgauge]

It’s like watching a plane explode on the runway before take-off. It never had a chance before becoming a disaster.

[@GameShark9000]

@@Mgauge Anything that is not designed to explode exploding anyways registers as a disaster.

[@YorkJonhson]

Yeah, I can at least laugh a bit if the failure is the result of obvious corporate greed and shady business tactics blowing up in some big-name publisher's face. But this one just makes me sad, and the fact that it's going to limit what kind of games Square Enix wants to take a chance on in the future ultimately hurts the industry as whole.

[@Sheriff_Bruce_Lee]

@@YorkJonhson Agree. So much of what went wrong was simply a matter of the designers making misguided decisions that never got corrected. So many honestly good intentions here.

[@ungurdagda813]

Wow, if only there was another series of child-friendly games featuring a cutesy protagonist that can take on a wide variety of costumes that grant them abilities that are extremely simple to learn through easy-to-remember inputs (all of which can be taught to the player at any time by simply PULLING UP THE PAUSE SCREEN). Perhaps even one that allows these costumes to affect the levels the player is currently progressing through to give fun challenges that unlock unique rewards. All the while retaining a level of pick-up-and-playability that is immensely enjoyable by both children and adults. Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to go and play one of the over 20 Kirby games released over the past 25+ years.

[@jacobs.9661]

OMG that's the EXACT thought I had while watching this! And with Forgotten Land out now it's even MORE applicable.

[@silverflight01]

Poyo!

[@Trentypooh]

Nobody saves the world!!

[@KnakuanaRka]

I think an even closer comparison is Super Mario Odyssey; the costumes seem to be totally aping Odyssey’s capture mechanics, and still manage to screw it up for a number of reasons. First, their move sets are more complex and interesting. Mario of course has a LOT of different moves and actions, and most of the captures generally have at least both an action and a jump, and unique ways of interacting with other objects and enemies, and those that are more limited (like Chain Chomps) generally don’t overstay their welcome. Second, and more importantly, Odyssey’s captures are dependent on the enemies present; that means designers can control what captures are available for various areas, and design specific captures for specific levels, which hugely increases the possible design space. Thus, they can create interesting puzzles and sequences that let you use captures’ abilities to the fullest, they don’t need to worry about players bringing captures into unintended areas and bypassing puzzles/getting stuck with a useless ability/etc (like flying over platforming sections not made for it, not having flying when you need it, not being able to attack a boss, etc), they don’t have to worry about specific abilities obsoleting others, they can make captures with highly unorthodox abilities or missing usual abilities (like bullet bills that can only steer their flight, or zippers and chain chomps that are limited in movement) without them needing to be compatible with other sections of the game, and they can make captures that interact with highly specific objects or obstacles (like fireballs that swim in lava) without them feeling useless everywhere else. Basically, the ability to control what captures the player has available at any time almost completely bypasses all the issues mentioned at 10:30. In contrast, the way Balan’s inventory lets you bring any capture anywhere basically makes hash of any attempt to design specific costumes and areas for each other, resulting in all those problems; this means that any costume that interacts with specific in-game items or obstacles feels useless most of the time since they often aren’t around those specific items, most costumes feel limited due to not being able to both jump and attack when the game expects you to do both a lot, they can’t use unorthodox designs like the Chain Chomp, limiting the possibilities for abilities, and level designs have to be somewhat generic to accommodate for the fact that they can’t be sure what you have with you.

[@NerfPlayeR135]

You wanna know what’s even funnier? *Kirby Air Ride* uses one button.

[@commanderknee3821]

Remember, since Yuji Naka clearly forgot, Sonic 1 was also made for kids (technically) and it contains labirynth zone. Do I even need to say anything about it?

[@TheRTDZ]

So Yuji Naka was too busy hanging with the art team to notice the actual dev team is crap, and the actual dev team is too crap to tell Yuji Naka that his 80 costumes idea is dumb. It was a team effort! They both failed together!

[@dragonhunt2892]

@@ace94d Sadly, that won't be the case. The game bombed so hard it destroyed him into resigning from Square Enix and might be quitting the gaming scene.

[@KnakuanaRka]

Nobody seemed to be doing the work they were actually good at! >_

[@joesomenumbers]

Between this and Shenmue 3, the phrase "veteran game designer returns after x years" should strike fear into hearts everywhere

[@ChimeraMK]

Wasn't Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night made by one of Castlevania's veteran game designer? Then again, he's the only guy I know with success while everyone else is...

[@jack-exzolt9858]

@@ChimeraMK Well unlike everyone else, Igarashi bit the bullet and actually listened to the major complaints of the initial trailers of the game was. And instead of brushing them off or calling the would-be fans entitled little shits, he makes a chad move of polishing the game to a glimmering sheen and actually surprised everyone.

[@ShadwSonic]

They got Yooka-Laylee... at least right enough that _some_ of us absolutely adored it... and then bettered themselves with Impossible Lair. So that's an exception to this seeming rule! Though I think, in this case, it's one of those exceptions that _proves_ the rule...

[@damir_van_kalaz]

@@ShadwSonic Yooka-Laylee was still an incredibly flawed game that could have been so much better than it was. It may not have been a total failure, but it certainly wasn't "great" either. You can love it for what it is, but at the end of the day, you still have to look past its issues to do that.

[@boltstrike2787]

@@Xfushion2 So then why doesn't Naka go be a musician instead of making mediocre to terrible games?

[@Spewa-em8cm]

Come on now, little kids are playing games like Fortnite and Minecraft, you're telling me he thought having a dedicated jump button would be "too complicated" for children to understand?

[@DrawsWithCubes]

“People are only smart enough to remember one button for actions because we have over 80 different actions” “Castlevania Aria of Sorrow breathing heavily”

[@ttgb2990]

That “baka Miyamoto” part convinces me that this is either a troll or an angry dev/fan who resents Mario’s success

[@Stormwave6]

Shadow the hedgehog was one of Yuji Nakas last sonic games. It's a definite troll that knows his stuff

[@codywest3879]

The way it reads, the person writing had to have been channeling "half life; full-life consequences". I was disappointed John Freeman didn't make a cameo during the dramatic reading.

[@Alias_Anybody]

@@Stormwave6 A bit insane to give the creator of StH any money for anything at any point in the future.

[@hypnospaceoutlaw3376]

@@matguimond92 ok lol

[@ReitheOffbeatOtaku]

@@Alias_Anybody It's funny you say that, because the current head of Sonic Team, Takashi Iizuka, was the director, writer, and lead game/level designer on Shadow The Hedgehog, and got his current job only 4 years after that game. (To be fair to Iizuka, he had similar roles on SA1, 2, and Heroes beforehand, so it's not like either of those jobs came out of nowhere, it's just funny to think about.)

[@FuegodeInfierno]

Im sick of devs using the "it's for children" excuse whenever their gameplay mechanics suck, kids these days play fortnite, PUBG, even CoD..games with complex mechanics and they do just fine.

[@jojohernandez8892]

my 5 year old nephew knows how to play CoD MW better than me... im 26

[@UnibrowZombie]

Arguably, it’s adults who want games to be simplified because they don’t have time to master complex mechanics anymore.

[@greenchilistudioz4537]

Since my brother only plays Roblox cause it is "Kids game" cause other games with text is to hard, my brother hardly knows how to read

[@JSGirl09able]

I'm 29 going on 30 and yet I still love Nintendo games.

[@demon2441]

When you've seen someone crap out a few towers in less than 10 seconds, you know they can handle more than a simple control scheme.

[@_Noctifer]

16:58 Nah man this reading alone is FUCKING LEGENDARY

[@drwilyecoyote5357]

rewatching this now that naka got arrested for insider trading.

[@YMSHighlights]

It's a shame. I really liked Balan's character design.

[@cerberusmutt4252]

Would have been a fantastic Nights successor

[@rotciv557]

I really hope Naka and Square put Balan to use somewhere that he can shine

[@Nerdgirl9853]

@@cerberusmutt4252 Same character designer iirc. Naoto Ohshima.

[@Armored-Cat]

Adam is here, review is abundant in fun

[@manuelalbertoromero9528]

@@rotciv557 Don't expect that.

[@ChibiM11]

Yuji Naka makes the same error again and again: rather than making 1 or 2 different gameplay styles and focusing on making it an solid experience, Naka and Co. decide to make 6-90 different ones which means the game suffers and each gameplay style suffers long with it.

[@ChibiM11]

@@orangeslash1667 Yuji Naka has a hard time evolving

[@ChibiM11]

@@orangeslash1667 um OK? Freedom planet IS a great game. Dunno why you added that to the conversation..

[@ChibiM11]

@@orangeslash1667 Freedom Planet is the brain child of a completely different group of talent. Yes, it's inspired by the OG Genesis era Sonic games (basically 4.5 games: 1,2,3&k,chaotix) but anyone can be inspired by anything; a genius could be inspired by a complete failure, it doesn't mean the complete failure should be glorified. Separate Yuji Naka and the Freedom Planet devs

[@thaddeuswilliammcchucklebe47]

@@orangeslash1667 not layoff. Lots are jumping to the new Sonic Pillar/Studio at Sega of America.

[@thaddeuswilliammcchucklebe47]

@@orangeslash1667 that is a good sign. Don't know about you, but Sega of Japan has proven that they aren't able to handle Sonic. The 2 games that are regarded as some of the best in the series (Sonic 2 and 3&K) were made at Sega of America.

[@benji777tm]

“We wanted to do a lot, but didn’t do a lot to accommodate for all of those desires because we didn’t, for reasons.” -Fujimoto

[@secretlyaslug2325]

Just hearing that you lose some actions because of the costume you're wearing is so bad. Mapping 4 buttons to one action is awful. Just give every costume a jump, attack, and ability button and be done with it.

[@karak962]

"But with a HAT GOD" I love the plot of doctor sleep!

[@PigBoy99]

“Well it’s for kids!” Mario Odyssey, Hat in Time, LITERALLY TONS OF PLATFORMERS YOU MADE. And as for stories, Infinity Train, Bluey, TONS OF OTHER SHOWS THAT TACKLE HEAVY TOPICS. (I know this is a game, I listed the shows cause of how they tackle heavy topics in their stories)

[@wilmagregg3131]

yep now days its like all entertainment companies think if your kid you must be a two year old because thats the quality of nearly everything now days that says its "made for kids"

[@KoreanSpy1997]

*Laughs* *in* *It* *Takes* *two*

[@SprazzyGazoozle]

Heck, the hallmark of a good kids' game is adults being able to enjoy them. Props to mentioning A Hat in Time!

[@JSGirl09able]

DISNEY, NINTENDO, POKEMON...Jeez, they're four-freakin-quadrant! Why? All ages.

[@michelecastellotti9172]

"A children story that can only been enjoyed by children is not a good children story"... welp i guess we can update this old lewis quote to:"a children product only enjoyable by children is not a good children product"

[@lalaine6894]

0:29: "this is gonna be a rough one, folks" aren't they always? EDIT: wow okay he wasn't kidding. it started out ominous and then JUST GOT WORSE

[@lasz1979]

Well, it adds an extra layer of roughness when it's a brand new game, really.

[@billbillson6779]

They're all rough but this one...it wasn't because of crunch (that we know of) or publisher meddling.....the devs just failed to realize they were making a bad game. They thought quantity > quality and oversimplification = better, when combined created a game that is just a misery to play. That such game veterans messed up so bad completely on their own is truly tragic.

[@krabparrot5724]

Well sometimes it is more of a success story like with Demon's Souls, or not exactly related with to game itself like with Trails SC localization.

[@Matanumi]

Yeah.... its bad. Doesn't help that monster hunter came out on the same day

[@lalaine6894]

@@krabparrot5724 true!! there are happy endings to some of the things covered here and I'm glad to see that-I just meant that things are usually rough in the developmental stages for all of them, if that makes sense

[@joaobaptista4595]

well, the one positive thing i guess we can all say about Balan is that it was the best thing to happen to Cyberpunk 2077

[@Dreaming_Stray]

It kinda baffles me that the cutscenes are so beautiful and weren’t originally wanted for the game and it became one of the only redeeming features of this game. I kinda wonder if some Balan Wonderworld Super Fan out there would remake the game and just shove it in the original game’s face “This is what you SHOULD have been” Edit: Not intended to sound like me jumping on the hate train, it just honestly kinda baffles me that they put in a lot of effort art wise and for some reason; they could have made this like Nights Journey of Dreams or Klonoa where they’re primarily story driven and being made for kids. I honestly think this game deserves better and while I know the novel exists and I plan to buy it, I think that if this game was just structured better it could have been one of the hottest new platformers.

[@Dreaming_Stray]

@@mb2001 Yup. I’m like a quarter of the way through it, I honestly think that they should have included it into the game, to add to a story driven point I made in my comment above; but honestly the book so far is pretty good. It’s digital only which is the mildly unfortunate part

[@ifvet]

I mean, although I can’t code or anything, as a fan of the book, I wouldn’t mind just rewriting the story and adapting it to a graphic novel Because oh boy is the game a hot mess

[@auraofazure]

Square Enix: focus on promoting Balan to children Also SE: include a Balan ad flier in copies of Nier Replicant (rated *M*)

[@manuelalbertoromero9528]

What a bizarre way of doing so.

[@PixelaGames2000]

Yeah when I read this I was like wtf

[@zombehnashun]

Isn't that the game with the futa character? Wow, Square, how child friendly.

[@MysteryMii]

Also also SE: Promote the demo on the same flyer despite removing it from download.

[@thegodforger923]

@@zombehnashun Yeah, Kainè also cusses like a sailor. It's great.

[@1stCallipostle]

with how animated our skelly boy has gotten does Matt count as a Vtuber now I'm scared of the implications

[@madengineerkyouma]

Only if he starts streaming live with that avatar

[@zack8596]

Ara Ara

[@MajoraWaffle]

matt debut soon let's fucking goooo

[@nolilado5452]

So we are also getting weekly Karaoke sessions too then?

[@JunohProductions]

Now? He already was one.

[@Thisisthegreatestatofalltime]

Something tells me Yuji Naka doesn’t think much of the intelligence of children.

[@axisofrevolution99]

Yuji Naka has been arrested for insider trading.

[@wingmandecrayt8932]

I think it's like Shenmue. These developers come after 20 years back to do some big triple a game again, but are too out of the loop and couldn't keep up with the times. Suda 51 did it right, after 10 years of non development he made a little game with tsA to come back into the loop.

[@nybxcrotona]

@@KingOfElectricNinjas I dunno...It seemed both too ambitious (releasing on all platforms) and not enough (gamplay, stages, sound, etc) at the same time. The most positive thing I can say is that the mascot looks interesting, and definitely gives Nights vibes.

[@chestbumphero]

@@nybxcrotona so kind of like what happened to Mighty Number 9

[@Mgauge]

The thing here is that it seems like he forgot what he already knew and just started going off in random directions without stopping for a moment to think about whether the ideas made sense.

[@YorkJonhson]

@@KingOfElectricNinjas I feel like that's why Hat in Time worked so well. It captures a lot of the visual charm and design of classic 3D platformers, but it doesn't wallow in their shortcomings for the sake of nostalgia, and instead made sure to emphasize that the core mechanics made it fun to simply move around and explore.

[@theawesomeike6085]

It's so sad that a lot of cool designs will forever be lost in this Bland Wonderland

[@LinnyUwU]

Balan*

[@fiddleronthenet3360]

world* (for some reason)

[@wadespencer3623]

If it makes you feel better, it turns out that Balan actually has a super disappointing design.

[@salinawad1034]

@@wadespencer3623 the designs are fun

[@janmarcoperezbatres2203]

@@wadespencer3623 I liked his design. He looks nice. Of course the hat also looks cool and he isnt supposed to take it off most of the time.

[@thetopcats.9154]

Looking back on this, that mentality of "we can't put in a ton of moves and powers in our fancy 3D game without making it braindead stupid" makes absolutely zero sense. Like, you guys know Mario Odyssey existed already at this point, right? Hell, games like Brave Fencer Musashi pulled off the whole "collect a gorillion special powers" shtick as far back as the early Playstation days.

[@Shad809]

"It's for kids!" I've seen kids in the single digit ages play FPS games competently. If a game is shit, it's shit. Where did this whole excuse come from anyway, is it really such a sin to think that something made by a studio of adults over the course of several months to years should have its quality compared to another thing made in the same circumstances for children?

[@moonraven6145]

If anyone wanted to know what the censored moment was, it was a glitch with the final boss that had the entire screen flash and flicker whenever you hit it.

[@KreuzDrache]

yeah, watching the final fight on youtube is pretty rough on the eyes.

[@mindwarp42]

You would think that after the infamous Porygon episode of the Pokemon anime that no one in any Japanese entertainment field would use certain types of strobe effects. (shakes head)

[@registereduser]

“When we last left Yuji Naka...” Oof. Yeah, I better buckle in.

[@darienb1127]

Wait, you never even mentioned the novel that was released alongside this game! y'know, the 280 page novel where basically all of the plot, character backstory and motivations are? yeah, I don't get it either.

[@AmandaDavis6130]

…I can’t even tell if this is a joke, that is how batshit this whole thing is.

[@darienb1127]

@@AmandaDavis6130 oh, it's real alright. Austin Eruption talked about it in his video.

[@DonVigaDeFierro]

For real, what was the reasoning for removing the whole plot and selling it apart?

[@KnakuanaRka]

@@AmandaDavis6130 Austin Eruption did a huge video about the game and book; check it out for yourself.

[@ForrestFox626]

And they didn't even bother letting people who bought the game to get free access to the book, you had to fork over another $10.

[@darthvaderbutwayshittier7054]

At least Mighty No 9 is not alone in the absolute bottom of the garbage pin anymore.

[@hypnospaceoutlaw3376]

What about E.T. Atari? What about Plumbers Don't Wear Ties? What about Desert Funkin' Bus?

[@docblack59]

It’s particularly frustrating that such good character designs went to waste. I mean c’mon just look at Balan.

[@mylesfrost335]

I know If i didnt read the reviews that charcter design may have made me just buy the game there and then thinking it would be a mario odyssey

[@Shuyin781]

i agree that Balam design was cool. He's a "jokerified Cappy" fused with Night.