<s>
Balan	B-Application
Wonderworld	I-Application
is	O
the	O
debut	O
project	O
of	O
Balan	B-Application
Company	I-Application
,	O
a	O
subsidiary	O
brand	O
of	O
Square	O
Enix	O
led	O
by	O
Yuji	O
Naka	O
,	O
the	O
co-creator	O
of	O
Sonic	B-Application
the	I-Application
Hedgehog	I-Application
and	O
Nights	B-Application
into	I-Application
Dreams	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Development	O
began	O
in	O
2018	O
;	O
it	O
was	O
Naka	O
's	O
first	O
collaboration	O
with	O
artist	O
Naoto	O
Ohshima	O
since	O
Sonic	B-Application
Adventure	I-Application
(	O
1998	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Balan	B-Application
Wonderworld	I-Application
was	O
released	O
worldwide	O
for	O
Nintendo	B-Application
Switch	I-Application
,	O
PlayStation	B-Operating_System
4	I-Operating_System
,	O
PlayStation	B-Device
5	I-Device
,	O
Windows	O
,	O
Xbox	B-Device
One	I-Device
,	O
and	O
Xbox	B-Device
Series	I-Device
X/S	I-Device
on	O
26	O
March	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Balan	B-Application
Wonderworld	I-Application
is	O
a	O
platform	O
game	O
where	O
players	O
take	O
on	O
the	O
role	O
of	O
either	O
Leo	O
Craig	O
or	O
Emma	O
Cole	O
,	O
two	O
children	O
drawn	O
into	O
the	O
magical	O
realm	O
of	O
Wonderworld	O
by	O
a	O
being	O
called	O
Balan	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Balan	B-Application
Wonderworld	I-Application
mostly	O
takes	O
place	O
in	O
the	O
Balan	O
Theater	O
,	O
a	O
magical	O
realm	O
overseen	O
by	O
a	O
mysterious	O
being	O
called	O
Balan	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Balan	B-Application
Wonderworld	I-Application
is	O
the	O
debut	O
project	O
from	O
Balan	B-Application
Company	I-Application
,	O
a	O
Square	O
Enix	O
subsidiary	O
brand	O
founded	O
in	O
2018	O
by	O
Sonic	B-Application
the	I-Application
Hedgehog	I-Application
and	O
Nights	B-Application
into	I-Application
Dreams	I-Application
creator	O
Yuji	O
Naka	O
to	O
bring	O
together	O
internal	O
and	O
external	O
production	O
staff	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Naka	O
described	O
Balan	B-Application
Company	I-Application
as	O
a	O
collective	O
of	O
designers	O
and	O
artists	O
focusing	O
on	O
genres	O
outside	O
the	O
norms	O
of	O
Square	O
Enix	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
key	O
staff	O
member	O
at	O
Arzest	O
was	O
Naoto	O
Ohshima	O
,	O
known	O
for	O
his	O
work	O
as	O
a	O
Sega	O
artist	O
who	O
created	O
the	O
designs	O
for	O
Sonic	B-Application
the	I-Application
Hedgehog	I-Application
and	O
Doctor	O
Eggman	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
the	O
first	O
collaboration	O
between	O
Naka	O
and	O
Ohshima	O
since	O
Sonic	B-Application
Adventure	I-Application
in	O
1998	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Naka	O
felt	O
Balan	B-Application
Wonderworld	I-Application
was	O
released	O
in	O
an	O
unfinished	O
state	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Balan	B-Application
Wonderworld	I-Application
was	O
produced	O
for	O
Nintendo	B-Application
Switch	I-Application
,	O
PlayStation	B-Operating_System
4	I-Operating_System
,	O
PlayStation	B-Device
5	I-Device
,	O
Windows	O
,	O
Xbox	B-Device
One	I-Device
and	O
Xbox	B-Device
Series	I-Device
X/S	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Fujimoto	O
said	O
the	O
team	O
was	O
"	O
carried	O
away	O
"	O
by	O
the	O
power	O
of	O
next-generation	B-Device
consoles	I-Device
,	O
wanting	O
to	O
add	O
more	O
features	O
as	O
production	O
advanced	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Later	O
in	O
development	O
,	O
the	O
team	O
incorporated	O
the	O
DualSense	O
controller	O
's	O
haptic	B-Device
feedback	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
difficulty	O
scaling	O
,	O
which	O
adjusted	O
both	O
combat	O
difficulty	O
and	O
item	O
placement	O
based	O
on	O
player	O
actions	O
,	O
was	O
handled	O
by	O
a	O
meta	B-General_Concept
AI	I-General_Concept
designed	O
by	O
Yoichiro	O
Miyake	O
,	O
a	O
Square	O
Enix	O
employee	O
specialising	O
in	O
game	O
AI	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
's	O
technical	O
director	O
Koichi	O
Watanabe	O
made	O
adjustments	O
to	O
the	O
engine	O
,	O
replacing	O
most	O
of	O
its	O
original	O
Blueprint	O
Visual	O
Scripting	O
with	O
C++	B-Language
to	O
speed	O
up	O
processing	O
,	O
though	O
this	O
caused	O
problems	O
getting	O
the	O
reworked	O
engine	O
working	O
across	O
its	O
platforms	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Steam	B-Application
version	O
caused	O
its	O
own	O
issues	O
due	O
to	O
needing	O
a	O
keyboard	O
option	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
wider	O
variety	O
of	O
graphical	O
options	O
compared	O
to	O
home	O
consoles	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
creating	O
the	O
cinematics	O
,	O
they	O
combined	O
the	O
"	O
cool	O
"	O
style	O
of	O
Final	B-Application
Fantasy	I-Application
with	O
more	O
cartoonish	O
Dragon	B-Application
Quest	I-Application
aesthetics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
considering	O
the	O
setting	O
and	O
scenario	O
,	O
Naka	O
decided	O
on	O
a	O
similar	O
design	O
approach	O
to	O
Nights	B-Application
into	I-Application
Dreams	I-Application
,	O
though	O
otherwise	O
Balan	B-Application
Wonderworld	I-Application
was	O
an	O
original	O
work	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
world	O
of	O
Balan	B-Application
Wonderworld	I-Application
used	O
a	O
constructed	O
language	O
based	O
on	O
English	O
;	O
dialogue	O
and	O
song	O
lyrics	O
were	O
first	O
written	O
in	O
English	O
,	O
then	O
the	O
sounds	O
and	O
syllables	O
were	O
changed	O
and	O
pronunciation	O
adjusted	O
to	O
make	O
it	O
sound	O
odd	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
music	O
was	O
primarily	O
composed	O
by	O
Ryo	O
Yamazaki	O
,	O
whose	O
previous	O
work	O
includes	O
the	O
Front	B-Application
Mission	I-Application
and	O
Final	B-Application
Fantasy	I-Application
Crystal	I-Application
Chronicles	I-Application
series	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Balan	B-Application
Wonderworld	I-Application
was	O
revealed	O
in	O
July	O
2020	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PlayStation	O
,	O
Xbox	B-Protocol
,	O
and	O
Switch	O
versions	O
saw	O
physical	O
and	O
digital	O
releases	O
,	O
while	O
the	O
PC	O
version	O
was	O
a	O
digital	O
exclusive	O
through	O
Steam	B-Application
;	O
the	O
Xbox	B-Protocol
version	O
was	O
only	O
available	O
digitally	O
in	O
Japan	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
accompanied	O
by	O
a	O
novelization	O
by	O
Kawasaki	O
,	O
Balan	B-Application
Wonderworld	I-Application
:	O
Maestro	O
of	O
Mystery	O
,	O
Theater	O
of	O
Wonder	O
,	O
released	O
digitally	O
on	O
26	O
March	O
through	O
Square	O
Enix	O
's	O
publishing	O
imprints	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
demo	O
was	O
taken	O
down	O
on	O
14	O
April	O
for	O
consoles	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
following	O
day	O
on	O
Steam	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
late	O
April	O
2022	O
,	O
he	O
said	O
that	O
the	O
Balan	B-Application
Wonderworld	I-Application
producer	O
had	O
removed	O
him	O
from	O
the	O
project	O
six	O
months	O
before	O
its	O
release	O
,	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
state	O
of	O
development	O
and	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
a	O
fan	O
cover	O
of	O
Balan	O
music	O
without	O
due	O
credit	O
to	O
the	O
composer	O
during	O
marketing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
July	O
,	O
Naka	O
posted	O
a	O
photo	O
of	O
the	O
Nights	O
development	O
team	O
with	O
Ohshima	O
erased	O
,	O
and	O
aired	O
further	O
grievances	O
about	O
his	O
treatment	O
on	O
Balan	B-Application
Wonderworld	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Balan	B-Application
Wonderworld	I-Application
received	O
"	O
generally	O
unfavorable	O
"	O
reviews	O
for	O
most	O
platforms	O
,	O
according	O
to	O
review	O
aggregator	O
Metacritic	O
;	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
5	I-Device
version	O
received	O
"	O
mixed	O
or	O
average	O
"	O
reviews	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Eurogamers	O
Martin	O
Robinson	O
felt	O
it	O
was	O
too	O
faithful	O
to	O
older	O
platformers	O
from	O
the	O
period	O
of	O
Nights	B-Application
into	I-Application
Dreams	I-Application
,	O
carrying	O
over	O
problems	O
unacceptable	O
to	O
modern	O
gamers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
CJ	O
Andriessen	O
of	O
Destructoid	O
said	O
Balan	B-Application
Wonderworld	I-Application
had	O
nostalgic	O
appeal	O
for	O
fans	O
of	O
early	O
experimental	O
3D	O
platformers	O
,	O
but	O
its	O
gameplay	O
and	O
minigames	O
lowered	O
its	O
quality	O
for	O
a	O
modern	O
audience	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Tom	O
Marks	O
of	O
IGN	O
cited	O
Balan	B-Application
Wonderworld	I-Application
as	O
an	O
example	O
of	O
an	O
underwhelming	O
spiritual	O
successor	O
,	O
calling	O
it	O
boring	O
rather	O
than	O
actually	O
broken	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Chris	O
Scullion	O
of	O
Video	O
Games	O
Chronicle	O
were	O
also	O
mixed	O
on	O
the	O
usefulness	O
of	O
the	O
costumes	O
,	O
likening	O
it	O
to	O
a	O
PlayStation	B-Device
2	I-Device
platformer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Balan	B-Application
Wonderworld	I-Application
sold	O
poorly	O
in	O
Japan	O
;	O
it	O
sold	O
fewer	O
than	O
2,100	O
physical	O
copies	O
in	O
its	O
opening	O
week	O
,	O
and	O
failed	O
to	O
make	O
multiple	O
sales	O
charts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
failed	O
to	O
appear	O
among	O
the	O
top-selling	O
games	O
in	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
in	O
March	O
,	O
though	O
another	O
Square	O
Enix-published	O
game	O
,	O
Outriders	B-Device
,	O
had	O
strong	O
sales	O
.	O
</s>
