News Articles
Thursday1st Jun 2023
News Sonic Co-Creator Yuji Naka Could Face Over Two Years In Prison
Veteran developer admitted to insider trading
Former Sega and Square Enix developer Yuji Naka could face a prison term of two years and six months in relation to the insider trading trial held in Tokyo, Japan, as reported by denfaminicogamer (thanks, Time Extension). In addition, Naka may be fined 2.5 million JPY along with a surcharge
Thursday2nd Mar 2023
News Yuji Naka Appears To Admit Guilt Over Insider Trading Case
Trial now in session at Tokyo District Court
Yuki Naka, the former head of Sonic Team, is now standing trial at the Tokyo District Court over charges of insider trading after an investigation at Square Enix. The creator had allegedly invested in development companies based on information gained prior to it being made publically available, thus...
Wednesday28th Dec 2022
News Yuji Naka Has Now Been Formally Indicted Over Insider Trading Offenses
Developer was previously arrested twice
Update [Wed 28th Dec, 2022 12:15 GMT]: Following on from the arrests of Sonic co-creator Yuji Naka and former Square Enix employee Taisuke Sazaki, the two have now been formally indicted over alleged insider trading offenses. As reported by NHK (thanks, VGC), the two were charged for conducting insider...
Friday13th May 2022
News Square Enix Declines To Comment On Yuji Naka's Balan Wonderworld Lawsuit
Update: Square Enix's response
Update #2 [Fri 13th May, 2022 11:45 BST] As part of Square Enix's earnings briefings today, the company has confirmed it had a lawsuit case with Yuji Naka, but has declined to comment further. The only response the prominent Japanese developer gave was to say that Balan Wonderworld "is a game that we recommend with...
Tuesday21st Dec 2021
News Balan Wonderworld Is Officially The Worst Switch Game Of 2021, According To Metacritic
The GTA Trilogy for Switch also made the top 10
We're at the tail-end of 2021, and that means awards are being handed out for the best (and worst) video games of the year. We've seen plenty of winners, but what about the games that didn't go down so well this year? If you're wondering what exactly were the worst games of the year, Metacritic has...
Saturday18th Sep 2021
News Sonic And Balan Wonderworld Creator Yuji Naka Is Now Making Smartphone Games
Retirement can wait
One of the most underwhelming releases in 2021 has been Balan Wonderworld - by Sonic the Hedgehog creator, Yuji Naka. This title reportedly had the potential to trigger epileptic seizures, was accused of featuring a
Saturday5th Jun 2021
News Yuji Naka Parted Ways With Square Enix Following Balan Wonderworld's Release
Update: Is now considering retirement
Update: Following the widespread response to the news he left Square Enix, Yuki Naka posted a tweet with a short update, below. We've also included a translation shared by Gematsu, which broadly aligns with machine translations of the text. I resigned from Square Enix at the end of April,” Naka said in a...
Wednesday14th Apr 2021
News The Balan Wonderworld Demo Is Being Taken Down Today
Gone for good
The demo for Balan Wonderworld will be removed from the Switch eShop and digital stores across all consoles today, it's been confirmed. The news comes from the official Balan Wonderworld Twitter account, which notes that the demo will be discontinued at 23:59 JST on 14th April; the Steam version will also be taken down a couple of...
Tuesday6th Apr 2021
News Global Sales Data Suggests Balan Wonderworld Has Massively Flopped
The platformer fails to chart worldwide
When Balan Wonderworld was first revealed last July, we – and plenty of the Nintendo Life community, judging by these comments – were pretty intrigued to see how it would fair. The premise of a fresh 3D platformer from Yuji Naka and Naoto Ohshima, creators of Sonic the Hedgehog, was something we couldn't
Sunday4th Apr 2021
Random Balan Wonderworld Accused Of Including "Knock-Off" Ghostbusters Song
There's something strange going on...
It's been a bumpy launch for Balan Wonderworld - a boss section in the game was identified as being able to potentially trigger epileptic seizures and there's a suspicious amount of positive user reviews on Metacritic, raising plenty of eyebrows. If
Tuesday30th Mar 2021
News Balan Wonderworld Is Getting A Suspicious Amount Of 10/10 Metacritic User Reviews
Apparently, it's the best platformer ever. Who knew?
Balan Wonderworld has had some shockingly awful press around its release, including warnings of scenes that are unsafe for epileptic players, and a bunch of reviews that rarely poke their heads up above the 6/10 mark. Needless to say, it's not looking good for Square Enix's latest, made with
Friday26th Mar 2021
News Balan Wonderworld's Final Boss Fight Could Potentially Trigger Epileptic Seizures
"My husband complained of feeling dizzy before he threw up"
Cyberpunk 2077 made the news for many reasons when it launched late last year, but a more pressing concern related to the game's "braindance" sequence causing seizures. After some debate, it was quickly patched, and Microsoft confirmed it would improve
Thursday25th Mar 2021
Nintendo Download 25th March (Europe)
Balan Wonderworld! Monster Hunter! Kaze and the Wild Masks!
The latest Nintendo Download update for Europe has arrived, and it's bringing new games galore to the eShop in your region. As always, be sure to drop a vote in our poll and comment down below with your potential picks for the week. Enjoy! Switch Retail eShop - New Releases: 3D Arcade...
Nintendo Download 25th March (North America)
Monster Hunter! Balan Wonderworld! Narita Boy!
The latest Nintendo Download update for North America has arrived, and it's bringing new games galore to the eShop in your region. As always, be sure to drop a vote in our poll and comment down below with your potential picks for the week. Enjoy! Switch eShop - Highlights: Monster Hunter Rise (Capcom,...
Friday19th Mar 2021
Video Square Enix Shows Off Balan Wonderworld's Local Co-Op Mode
Face your fears, together
We had high hopes for Yuji Naka's upcoming game Balan Wonderworld, but admittedly weren't too impressed by the demo. Still, the show must go on, and with this in mind, Square Enix has now debuted its new trailer titled, "A Hero or Two". This particular video focuses on the local co-op mode and "stars of the show" Leo and...
Monday15th Mar 2021
News Balan Wonderworld Is Getting A Day-One Patch To Address Demo Feedback
"There’s been a wide range of opinions..."
Back in January, Switch owners were able to download a demo for Balan Wonderworld, Square Enix's upcoming 3D platformer directed by Sonic lead, Yuji Naka. Unfortunately, despite the hype surrounding the game up until that point, the demo didn't exactly impress. All's not lost, though, as the game's...
Thursday11th Mar 2021
News 'Square Enix Presents' Promises News On New Life Is Strange, Tomb Raider, And Balan Wonderworld
Switch news? Well, we can hope
Well, well, well. It seems like Nintendo's Directs are truly trendsetting - and although Ninty certainly isn't the first to invent "company makes video of upcoming releases", it really seems like they made it popular, because now Square Enix is getting in on it, too. Square Enix Presents is a 40-minute...
Thursday28th Jan 2021
Video We're Not All That Impressed With Balan Wonderworld's Free Demo
2002 called
Balan Wonderworld's free demo has landed on the Switch eShop, and after a bit of hesitant excitement for the game, we were keen to get our hands on this freebie to see what Yuji Naka's been cooking up. Unfortunately we don't come bearing a glowing recommendation from what this demo has to offer. After spending quite a bit of time with...
News Balan Wonderworld's Free Demo Goes Live Today
Have you tried it out yet?
Update #2: Here's a reminder that the demo goes live today, along with a lovely new trailer to promote it. Update #1 [Tue 19th Jan, 2021 14:00 GMT]: The Balan Wonderworld demo has now also been confirmed for the west. It'll be releasing on all platforms, including the Nintendo Switch, on 28th January - the same date as...
Tuesday29th Sep 2020
News Sonic Co-Creator Says Balan Wonderworld Is His "One Chance" To Make A New 3D Platformer
"I don’t think I’d be good at making RPGs"
Former Sonic Team boss Yuji Naka – who is perhaps most famous for co-creating Sonic the Hedgehog alongside Hirokazu Yasuhara and Naoto Ohshima – has stated that his latest venture, Balan Wonderworld, could be his one and only chance at making a successful 3D platformer at Square Enix, his current...
Friday18th Sep 2020
News Sonic Creators Bring Their New Game Balan Wonderworld To The Nintendo Switch Next March
Dive into a fantastic dreamlike land
One of the highlights of Nintendo's latest Partner Showcase was the announcement trailer for Square Enix's upcoming 3D action platformer, Balan Wonderworld. It confirms this new IP will be coming to the Switch on 26th March next year. If you missed the initial announcement back in July, it's a game from Yuji...
Thursday23rd Jul 2020
News Balan Wonderworld, A 3D Platformer From The Creators Of Sonic The Hedgehog, Is Coming To Switch
Lined up for "Spring 2021"
A new game from Yuji Naka and Naoto Ohshima, perhaps best known as the creators of one Sonic the Hedgehog, has been announced as part of the Xbox Games Showcase. Square Enix is bringing Balan Wonderworld to Switch and other consoles in next spring. Described as a 3D action platforming game for 1-2
