# Balan Wonderworld
**Balan Wonderworld** is a 3D platform game with a stage musical style, published by [Square Enix](https://www.edgepedia.org/square-enix) and released on March 26, 2021 for [PlayStation 5](https://www.edgepedia.org/playstation-5), [PlayStation 4](https://www.edgepedia.org/playstation-4), Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Steam[1](https://www.cri-mw.co.jp/newsrelease/2021/210128NR_e.pdf) • [2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdf85ydqfBM). It was created by Yuji Naka and Naoto Ohshima, the co-creators of Sonic the Hedgehog, working together for the first time since *Sonic Adventure* more than two decades earlier[3](https://www.mclibre.org/descargar/docs/revistas/wireframe/wireframe-51-en-202106.pdf). The game is built around collecting costumes that each grant a single ability, and it received broadly negative reviews criticizing its controls, level design, and costume mechanics[4](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/balan-wonderworld-review-costume-drama/1900-6417660/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Genre and style | 3D action game with a stage musical style[1](https://www.cri-mw.co.jp/newsrelease/2021/210128NR_e.pdf) |
| Release | March 26, 2021, on PS5, PS4, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Steam[2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdf85ydqfBM) |
| Creators | Yuji Naka and Naoto Ohshima, reunited for the first time since *Sonic Adventure*[3](https://www.mclibre.org/descargar/docs/revistas/wireframe/wireframe-51-en-202106.pdf) |
| Content | 12 different tales, over 80 costumes, 2-player co-op mode[2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdf85ydqfBM) |
| Core control | Effectively one action button; L1 and R1 switch costumes[5](https://as.com/meristation/2021/04/08/analisis/1617889421_063525.html) |
| Length | Around 13 hours[6](https://www.psu.com/reviews/balan-wonderworld-review-ps5/) |
## Gameplay and the costume system
The main gimmick is transformation: the player finds keys in each stage and uses them to open crystals containing costumes, each of which grants one ability[7](https://www.videogameschronicle.com/review/balan-wonderworld/). Costumes let the player jump higher, fly for a time, clear obstacles, reach items, fight enemies, or open minigames such as soccer or baseball[5](https://as.com/meristation/2021/04/08/analisis/1617889421_063525.html). The game contains over 80 costumes across its 12 tales[2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdf85ydqfBM).
The control scheme uses effectively a single action button, which triggers the equipped costume's ability, whether jumping, stretching, or attacking; L1 and R1 switch costumes[5](https://as.com/meristation/2021/04/08/analisis/1617889421_063525.html). A consequence reviewers singled out is that if a costume's single action is not a jump, the player cannot jump while wearing it[8](https://eshopperreviews.com/2023/08/17/balan-wonderworld-for-nintendo-switch-review/).
**Costume loss.** Getting hit while wearing a costume deletes it from the player's stock[9](https://nintendowire.com/reviews/balan-wonderworld/). Only costumes kept through the end of a stage are stored, up to a maximum of three, so a player who loses a needed outfit may have to replay the stage where it came from to recover it[5](https://as.com/meristation/2021/04/08/analisis/1617889421_063525.html). Some outfits are available only in specific worlds, which makes this loss mechanic consequential for collecting[10](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/balan-wonderworld-shows-some-glimpses-of-promise-and-some-for-concern/1100-6486778/).
## Structure and collectibles
The game consists of 12 tales, each entered through red curtain doors leading from Balan's theater[2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdf85ydqfBM) • [4](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/balan-wonderworld-review-costume-drama/1900-6417660/). Each main level contains eight Balan statues, which players often need to revisit with later costumes to retrieve[11](https://www.thesixthaxis.com/2021/03/31/balan-wonderworld-review/). Each stage also ends with a song and dance number and includes a QTE minigame in which the player controls Balan himself[4](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/balan-wonderworld-review-costume-drama/1900-6417660/) • [5](https://as.com/meristation/2021/04/08/analisis/1617889421_063525.html).
## Reception
Reviews were consistently negative. GameSpot concluded that the rough edges, inconsistent mechanics, and formulaic design left a 3D platformer that could not compete with polished modern contemporaries from Nintendo and Sony[4](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/balan-wonderworld-review-costume-drama/1900-6417660/).
**Commercial performance.** The game reportedly failed to crack the top 30, or even top 40, sales charts in Japan, North America, or the UK at launch[12](https://www.gamesradar.com/games/platformer/the-most-mid-square-enix-game-in-existence-balan-wonderworld-shocks-the-nation-and-sells-a-single-copy-in-the-us-this-september-somebody-made-the-conscious-decision-to-pick-up-that-game/). Circana analyst Mat Piscatella reported that it sold a single new copy in the United States in one September[12](https://www.gamesradar.com/games/platformer/the-most-mid-square-enix-game-in-existence-balan-wonderworld-shocks-the-nation-and-sells-a-single-copy-in-the-us-this-september-somebody-made-the-conscious-decision-to-pick-up-that-game/).
## Aftermath
In 2022, around the time he was suing Square Enix for trying to have him removed as the game's director, [Yuji Naka](https://www.edgepedia.org/yuji-naka) said that co-developer Arzest and publisher Square Enix "do not care about games and game fans," according to a machine translation reported by GamesRadar[12](https://www.gamesradar.com/games/platformer/the-most-mid-square-enix-game-in-existence-balan-wonderworld-shocks-the-nation-and-sells-a-single-copy-in-the-us-this-september-somebody-made-the-conscious-decision-to-pick-up-that-game/). Naka was later arrested for insider trading[12](https://www.gamesradar.com/games/platformer/the-most-mid-square-enix-game-in-existence-balan-wonderworld-shocks-the-nation-and-sells-a-single-copy-in-the-us-this-september-somebody-made-the-conscious-decision-to-pick-up-that-game/). Nintendo's 2024 *Princess Peach: Showtime!* functions similarly to Balan Wonderworld's premise of two magic siblings absorbing power from theater costumes[12](https://www.gamesradar.com/games/platformer/the-most-mid-square-enix-game-in-existence-balan-wonderworld-shocks-the-nation-and-sells-a-single-copy-in-the-us-this-september-somebody-made-the-conscious-decision-to-pick-up-that-game/).
## References
1. [CRI Middleware press release: CRI provides their latest technology to Square Enix for Balan Wonderworld](https://www.cri-mw.co.jp/newsrelease/2021/210128NR_e.pdf)
2. [BALAN WONDERWORLD | True Happiness is an Adventure | Gameplay Trailer, Square Enix](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdf85ydqfBM)
3. [Wireframe issue 51 review of Balan Wonderworld](https://www.mclibre.org/descargar/docs/revistas/wireframe/wireframe-51-en-202106.pdf)
4. [Balan Wonderworld Review - Costume Drama, GameSpot](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/balan-wonderworld-review-costume-drama/1900-6417660/)
5. [Balan Wonderworld, análisis, MeriStation (AS)](https://as.com/meristation/2021/04/08/analisis/1617889421_063525.html)
6. [Balan Wonderworld Review (PS5), PlayStation Universe](https://www.psu.com/reviews/balan-wonderworld-review-ps5/)
7. [Balan Wonderworld review, Video Games Chronicle](https://www.videogameschronicle.com/review/balan-wonderworld/)
8. [Balan Wonderworld for Nintendo Switch - Review, eShopperReviews](https://eshopperreviews.com/2023/08/17/balan-wonderworld-for-nintendo-switch-review/)
9. [Review - Balan Wonderworld, Nintendo Wire](https://nintendowire.com/reviews/balan-wonderworld/)
10. [Balan Wonderworld Shows Some Glimpses Of Promise, GameSpot](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/balan-wonderworld-shows-some-glimpses-of-promise-and-some-for-concern/1100-6486778/)
11. [Balan Wonderworld Review, TheSixthAxis](https://www.thesixthaxis.com/2021/03/31/balan-wonderworld-review/)
12. [Balan Wonderworld sells a single copy in the US this September, GamesRadar+](https://www.gamesradar.com/games/platformer/the-most-mid-square-enix-game-in-existence-balan-wonderworld-shocks-the-nation-and-sells-a-single-copy-in-the-us-this-september-somebody-made-the-conscious-decision-to-pick-up-that-game/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Video games and digital play › Games and gameplay › Individual game titles*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license