Yuji Naka says Square Enix doesn’t ‘value games’ after Balan Wonderworld mess

Square Enix

Yuji Naka, a celebrated video game developer, revealed details about a lawsuit he filed against Square Enix and his struggle to make a better game in a candid thread.

Naka wrote in the thread that he was removed as the producer of Balan Wonderworld six months before its release and that he sued Square Enix after that.

It's strange to make it impossible to improve a game until the very end, and I asked my lawyer to try to negotiate.

He said that he was removed for two reasons. He made comments about a decision to release a YouTuber's arrangement of a piece of Wonderworld's music instead of the original song.

It was wrong for a piano arrangement of the game music by a YouTuber to be used in a promotion for an original game.

Naka stated that he was released because he took issue with the quality of work from Arzest, the game studio behind the development of Balan Wonderworld.

The relationship with Arzest fell apart when I made comments about wanting to improve the game, or about Arzest submitting the game without fixing bugs.

Yuji Naka, known for his work on the original Sonic The Hedgehog games, would be the director of the new franchise that was created by SQUARE EASE. The game faded after launch, revealing shallow and potentially harmful bugs.

Changes to the game can lead to costly delays, as most of the pieces are in place before the release date. Naka expressed frustration at being taken off the project as it was contrary to his philosophy of making improvements to the game up until the last minute, something that has served him well in the past. The convention of Sonic not dying as long as he had a single ring only two weeks before the game was to be sent for final approval was invented by Naka.

Naka blamed his inability to continue working on the game for its poor performance.

The reception and reviews of the Wonderworld have a lot to do with this situation. I'm really disappointed that a product I worked on from the beginning has turned out this way.

He criticized his former employer and Wonderworld's developer.

They are companies that don't value games.

Naka recently released a solo-developed mobile game. He apologized to his fans and did not reveal the details of his suit, but he will be more responsive on social media in the future.

He apologized to the customers who bought what he considered an unfinished Wonderworld.