“I was fired as director of Balan Wonderworld about six months before it came out, so I filed a lawsuit against Square Enix. Now that the procedure is complete and I am no longer bound by company rules, I would like to speak“, begins Yûji Naka, who was in charge of directing Balan Wonderworld alongside Naoto Oshima, to the delight of Square Enix which could then focus on this platform game “designed by the creators of Sonic“. For the 56-year-old veteran, it was also the first contract with a major publisher since leaving Sega in 2006.
But today, Yûji Naka hardly feels any deference towards his former employer, whom he openly criticizes for not caring about the quality of his games and therefore consumers. Yûji Naka explains that he was fired from his position as director for two reasons, at the instigation of several people, including the game’s producer Noriyoshi Fujimoto.
The first reason revolves around the use of a cover of music from the game by a Youtuber instead of the original track by the composer. Yūji Naka says he insisted that the original track be used, which apparently caused problems. But the root of the problem lies rather in the second reason: Square Enix accuses Yûji Naka of having deteriorated relations with Arzest, the studio in charge of development, because of his alarming comments on the state of the game.
“I think it’s a mistake on Square Enix’s part not to value games and game fans. I think every effort should be made to ensure that the games are the best possible until the end, so that game lovers enjoy what they buy. It is not fair to eject a director who says so and completely dissociate him from the project, without discussion“, adds Yûji Naka who apparently had no right to refer to the game during the procedure, not even a simple interaction on social networks. “There were a lot of comments and wonderful illustrations about Balan Wonderworld, and I’m really sorry that I couldn’t react to them“, he adds.
In his story, Yûji Naka therefore poses as a victim of circumstances and, something not so common in the Japanese video game world, openly accuses Square Enix and Arzest of a lack of professionalism and consideration for the public.
“I myself feel very sorry for customers who purchased Balan Wonderworld in an unfinished state. From now on, I will finally be able to respond to you if you mention me on social networks. I think when making games, asking for corrections to make things right should be a no-brainer, and if that’s not possible, talk about it. But apparently that wasn’t an option for Square Enix so I don’t think they care about games“, he adds.
“For Sonic the Hedgehog, just two weeks before finalization, the mechanics have been changed so that the player does not die if they have even one ring. This now well-known rule is the result of improving the game to the very end. Improving a game to the end is what being a game designer is all about, and if you can’t, something is wrong. I asked my lawyer to negotiate that I could comment after the production was finished, but their refusal led me to file a complaint.“
“Personally, I think it’s a real shame that Balan Wonderworld came out the way it was. I wanted to show the world an action game in its true light. Therefore, I think Square Enix and Arzest are companies that don’t care about games or their fans. I think the outcome of Balan Wonderworld and the critical reception it received had a lot to do with what happened. I’m really disappointed that a product I worked on from the start turned out this way.”concludes Naka.
- Also Read | The Balan Wonderworld review by Motormike