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The story of Balan Wonderworld has been like a mountain slope, except that it began at the peak. It became one of the most anticipated game releases for 2021 when it was announced. Mostly, we can thank the game's developer, Yuji Naka, who has achieved cult status for his platformer classics. He's the great mind behind some of the greatest Sonic games, after all. Not only that, but he also worked on the cult classics Nights Into Dreams and Phantasy Star. Its greatest strength is that it's exactly what his fans would love to play. But that's also its biggest weakness, as it's so rigid in structure, sticking to the classic formula too much.
BALAN WONDERWORLD RELEASE DATE: MARCH 26, 2021
Balan Wonderworld came out on a variety of platforms last Friday, March 26, 2021. It's out on the Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation, and Xbox consoles. The game sells for $60.
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To give more context to the game's story and to flesh out the characters, a novel came out with Balan Wonderworld. Titled Balan Wonderworld: Maestro of Mystery, Theatre of Wonders, it delves deeper into the stories of the game's primary antagonist, Lance, and the game's titular Balan. It's sold for $9.99.
BALAN WONDERWORLD REVIEWS
Game reviewers have been critical of the game ever since the studio released the game's demo last January. Many reviewers, such as Video Games Chronicle, likened the game to PlayStation 2-era titles. Meanwhile, reviewing the game's Switch version, Nintendo Life gave the game a 3/10, calling the game a “relic of another age.” Indeed, Balan Wonderworld would have been a fantastic game, had it been released on the PlayStation 2. Likewise, people who enjoyed platformers from then will have a lot of fun with this game. However, Balan Wonderworld doesn't innovate enough to warrant its place in today's gaming environment. It's definitely not a bad game, and it's still a great family-friendly game for kids. But a myriad of issues prevents it from becoming Yuji Naka's next masterpiece.
Interestingly, it may really be true that Yuji Naka fans will truly love this game. Metacritic scores are very divided as of this writing. User ratings are very high, while critics' scores are low. Yuji Naka's fans, retro 3D platformer enthusiasts, and lots of kids truly found a great game in Balan Wonderworld. It might even be a great game for you, so give it a try, maybe?
