Image: Square Enix
Update: We now have a more accurate translation of Yuji Naka’s tweets, courtesy of Twitter user Cheesemeister.
The tone of the message is almost the same as that of machine translation, but it is much clearer here that Yuji Naka believes that the poor reception of Balan Wonderworld is a result of what is happening behind the scenes.
We’ve embedded the beginning of the translated thread and also included the full translation of Naka’s tweets below.
“I was removed as director of Balan Wonderworld about half a year before my release, so I filed a lawsuit against Square Enix. Now that the proceedings are over and I am no longer bound by the company’s rules, I would like to speak. ” #BalanWonderworld Cheesemeister @ (@ Cheesemeister3k) April 28, 2022
I was removed as director of Balan Wonderworld about half a year before my release, so I filed a lawsuit against Square Enix. Once the proceedings are over and I am no longer bound by the company’s rules, I would like to speak.
I think it’s wrong for Square Enix not to appreciate games and game fans. According to court documents, I was fired as director of Balan Wonderworld for 2 reasons. This was done by the producer, the marketing manager, the sound manager, the managing director and HR.
First, when an arranged piano performance of the game’s YouTuber music was released in promotion instead of the game’s original song, turning the composer into a ghost writer, I insisted that the original song be released, and that created problems.
Second, according to court documents, [Naoto] Oshima told the producer [Noriyoshi] Fujimoto that the relationship with Arzest was broken due to comments I made in my desire to improve the game in the face of Arzest, who sent the game without correcting mistakes.
He also wrote in an email from Ohshima to Fujimoto: “I just told the staff about the delay in the demonstration. When I told them, “It was a prod. Fujimoto’s decision. Let’s do everything possible for him “, the employees applauded and applauded. This was unexpected and I was touched …
The staff has recently left, but their spirits are recovering. Thank you very much. All of us staff will work hard. So the schedule didn’t depend on me, it depended on the producer, but even though the schedule was tight, it was the producer’s job. Something was out of the question.
We played an original game, but playing only a tidy song was definitely wrong. I believe that the music of the game, which everyone can hum, is the original songs.
I believe that every effort should be made to make the games the best they can be, so that fans of the game can enjoy what they are buying. It was not right, without discussion, to remove and completely separate from the project a director who says so.
Retweeting, liking, etc. in SNS and the like were banned, so I don’t think Square Enix appreciates fans of the game. There were a lot of comments and great illustrations about Balan Wonderworld and I’m really sorry I couldn’t react to them.
I personally really feel sorry for the customers who bought Balan Wonderworld unfinished. From now on, I will be able to respond to posts that mark me or are aimed only at me in SNS and the like.
I believe that when games are made, the request for corrections in order to do something good must be a given, and if that is not possible, it must be talked about, but it seems that they cannot. I don’t think they appreciate games.
For Sonic the Hedgehog, 2 weeks before the finalization, the specification was changed, so if you have even 1 ring, you will not die. This already well-known rule was the result of improving the game to the end, and as a result, people around the world enjoyed it.
Improving the game to the very end is what it’s like to be a game creator, and if that’s not possible, something is wrong. I asked my lawyer to negotiate only for the opportunity to comment until the end of the production, but their refusal led me to file a lawsuit.
I think that the Balan Wonderworld he received and the critical reception he received have a lot to do with what happened. I’m really disappointed that the product I worked on from the beginning turned out that way.
Thank you Cheesemeister for this translation.
Yuji Naka compares his dismissal to the time he worked on Sonic the Hedgehog, where he worked until the last minute to apply important mechanics to the series. He seems to believe that if he had been allowed to stay on board, he could have paid the same care and attention to Balan Wonderworld.
Last summer, Naka announced that he had left Square Enix at the end of April 2021 and planned to retire, although the famous game developer still entered the mobile game market. His departure from Square Enix is probably different from his removal as director of Balan Wonderworld.
Original article: Balan Wonderworld was quite a disappointment for many. Fans of Yuji Naka (the director of the platforming flop) and his work on various titles of Sonic, Nights into Dreams and Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg took a look at the platforming released by Square Enix when it was announced and were fascinated by the music and visuals. . It was reminiscent of Dreamcast-era platforming, and we longed for it.
Unfortunately, things didn’t go according to plan and Balan Wonderworld was called the worst Switch game of 2021, but there seems to be a lot more going on behind the scenes. Today, on Twitter, Yuji Naka revealed that he was actually removed as director of the game six months before its launch. Many still attribute a lot of Balan Wonderworld to Naka, so that’s pretty shocking, but the original Sonic the Hedgehog programmer didn’t just leave it at that.
Naka has filed a lawsuit against Square Enix, which has already ended, but in a Twitter thread he reflects how dissatisfied he was with many of the decisions made by both Square Enix and co-developer Arzest. Naka knew the game was unfinished and needed more work, and he wanted to help with that, but removing him from Square Enix meant he couldn’t.
At the moment, we only have machine translation via Nibel and DeepL for what Yuji Naka has to say, but even so, it is clear that his thoughts are sarcastic:
Even if read by machine translation, this is a very scathing topic that ends with the following
“I think Square Enix and Arzest are companies that aren’t interested in games and game fans.”
Until a better translation comes out, here is a DeepL translation of the topic: pic.twitter.com/mlRet1gHwC
– Nibell (@Nibellion) April 28, 2022
Naka deeply apologizes to the fans who covered the game throughout its theme, with a special focus on Square Enix:
I don’t think Square Enix takes good care of its fans of the game, as retweets, likes, etc. were also banned on social networking sites. There were many comments and very nice illustrations of Balan Wonderworld and I am very sorry that I could not do anything about it.
It seems that Yuji Naka wanted to give the fans what they want, and since he was fired as director, he can’t do anything about it. His concluding remarks perfectly summarize this feeling:
It is a real shame for me that you have released your unfinished work “Balan Wonderworld”. I wanted to release it as an action game in an appropriate form, given different things. I think Square Enix and Arzest are companies that are not interested in games and game fans.
Square Enix or Arzest did not respond to these allegations at the time of writing, but given Balan Wonderworld’s poor reception – including our own 3 out of 10 reviews – it’s easy to understand Naka’s frustration. It seems that now may be a good time to re-read our own retrospective defense in this context:
If we find out more about the situation, we will let you know.
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