2020 was a year many of us want to forget. With the arrival of 2021, there is no better way to start a new year headfirst than with the arrival of Balan Wonderworld, an exciting, brand new IP from Square Enix. Balan Wonderworld is an all-action, all-adventure 3D platformer where you explore 12 amazing worlds, discover over 80 different costumes, each with their own set of skills, and play by the side of that special person in your life with this 2-player co-op can.
But Balan Wonderworld has another completely unique ingredient that makes it so special – it goes against all of the real-world worries and fears we all have. From fear and loneliness to weakness or just feeling different, Balan Wonderworld Incorporate these emotions into its gameplay and it is up to you to enter the mysterious Balan Theater and help its residents balance their emotions.
To celebrate the release of the Balan Wonderworld Demo today on the Xbox StoreWe met Noriyoshi Fujimoto of Square Enix, the producer of this game, for questions and answers about what makes the game so special.
Hi, I’m Noriyoshi Fujimoto from Square Enix and I’m the producer for this game. Thank you for playing the demo of Balan Wonderworld. This demo is only part of the game, but in it you can experience one of the main features of the game – switching between different costumes as you explore stages where all kinds of mechanics are waiting for you. Balan Wonderworld
Rob Lightbody: Where did the idea of using “balancing emotions” come from as one of the game’s unique selling points?
Noriyoshi Fujimoto: Since the beginning of the work on the game concept, “balance” has been an important keyword in the development of Balan Wonderworld.
This idea led to the concepts of incorporating changes in the balance between positivity and negativity into the game world. Creation of mechanics in the phases based on equilibrium; and to have a corresponding and opposite action for every action from a costume. The names of two characters in the game, Balan and Lance, also come from the word balance.
When it comes to the idea of balancing emotions, we all face little worries and problems in our daily lives. Everyone can feel negative at times. As we worked on the development of Balan Wonderworld, we hoped that playing and sharing the negative concerns of the performers in each chapter, and then sharing how those issues were resolved and turned into something positive, would help the players to become themselves feel positive about yourself.
Rob Lightbody: How did you decide which emotions should be combined with which characters? Do you have a favorite
Noriyoshi Fujimoto: We have included a variety of topics that different people from around the world can identify with and be close to.
My personal favorite is Chapter 10 with the story of “The Artist with a Painter’s Pad”. It’s a story about an artist who, as she gained fame, draws less and less of what she really wants to draw and more of what the people around her would like. Then she gradually begins to think about why she is drawing and whether she is drawing the art that she really wants to draw. This is a familiar story to Creators who have this concern, and so I have been reflecting on this situation again. At the same time, I felt that it gave me a solution and a way to feel positive.
If that upset you, then Download the Balan Wonderworld Demo now in the Xbox Store. If you play the demo now, you’ll get full game on Xbox One and Xbox Series X | It’s also the “X Launcher” bonus costume if you have game data from the demo. We hope you enjoy playing the demo until the game is fully released on March 26th for Xbox One and Xbox Series X | S!
BALAN WONDERWORLD demo
SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD.
This game supports Smart Delivery and can be played on both Xbox One and Xbox Series X | S to be played. ■ Welcome to a wondrous all-action show unlike any other! BALAN WONDERWORLD is a wonderful action platform game based on the Balan Theater. Under the direction of the enigmatic maestro Balan, the stars of the show Emma and Leo will use special skills from a variety of characterful costumes to experience adventures in the bizarre and imaginary land of the wonder world. Here memories and views from the real world mix with the things that people care about. Twelve different stories await our stars in the wonder world, each with its own quirks. You will explore every nook and cranny of these labyrinthine stages filled with a variety of tricks and traps to get each story to the point. ■ The wonder world exists in the hearts and imaginations of people. The setting for this story is the fantastic, bizarre land of the wonder world. A place where people’s happy and positive memories mix with their troubled worries and negativity. Leo and Emma are led into the wonder world by the mysterious clown Balan and set out to find out what is important to them. Before you can return to the real world, you must first restore the lost equilibrium in your heart … ■ Over 80 different costumes open up everything you could want! The stars of the show can harness the powers of the residents of Wonderworld by wearing their colorful costumes, with over 80 different ones to try on! Knock down your enemies, get airborne, freeze time or manipulate all kinds of items … the possibilities are endless when you pick up a new costume. ■ Two legendary creators reunite! Come one, come everyone and enjoy the height of Square Enix storytelling in a world of wonder created by the legendary Naka Yuji. For the first time in 20 years, Naka Yuji and Oshima Naoto have joined forces to form the BALAN COMPANY team. founded to bring together experts in action game development, video and music production from inside and outside the company.