After generating a wave of enthusiasm when it was announced in 2020 – especially because Yûji Naka, the creator of Sonic, was directing – Balan Wonderworld was finally a furnace. If we already knew that the sauce had not taken between Naka-san and Square Enix, we were a thousand miles from thinking that relations were also strained. Indeed, the former emblematic figure of SEGA published a long message on Twitter in which he clearly blames Square Enix. Why hasn't he spoken so far? Quite simply because he filed a lawsuit against the Japanese publisher, which forced him to remain silent. “Now that the procedure is complete, I would like to provide some clarification,” he explains, pointing out that Square Enix showed him the door six months before the release of Balan Wonderworld.
According to him, two reasons are at the origin of his dismissal. The first concerns the use of a cover of one of the game's music created by an influencer as part of a promotional video. “We claimed that the original track should be used instead of an arranged version,” he says. The beginning of the problems, obviously. As for the second reason, it relates to the negative feedback from Yûji Naka on the final build of Balan Wonderworld transmitted by Arzest, the studio in charge of the project. "I wasn't allowed to share any information or like any social media posts, and I don't think Square Enix respects its fans," he said. I've seen so many positive comments and fan art revolving around Balan Wonderworld… I'm sincerely sorry that I couldn't interact with you. »
About half a year before the release of Balan Wonder World, a work order was issued to remove me from being the director of Balan Wonder World, so I filed a lawsuit against Square Enix in court.I would like to talk about the fact that the trial is over and the business order has lost its effect at this point. #BalanWonderworld pic.twitter.com/9KE7hLqfor
— Yuji Naka / Yuji Naka (@nakayuji) 28 avril 2022
He adds: “I believe it is normal to ask for improvements when necessary, and if it is not possible, it should at least be discussed. But even that was not possible. In fact, I don't think they [Square Enix] didn't care about the game.” He recalls that for the very first Sonic, he and his teams made final adjustments two weeks before the game went gold. "The creators are supposed to improve their games until the end, and I think it's a mistake to prevent them from doing so. […] That's why Balan Wonderworld got all the negative reviews you've seen. I am deeply saddened to see that a game I was involved in from the start has taken this direction. Personally, I find it a shame that Balan Wonderworld was released in this state. […] I think Square Enix and Arzest are companies that don't care about games or fans. »
This is called taking out the sulphate. It will be interesting to see if Square Enix will react to Yuji Naka's release, or if they prefer not to add fuel to the fire.
