#BALAN WONDERWORLD INHABITANTS SERIES#

Tims congregate around the Tower o' Tims, a fixture in the center of the island. Tims are fuzzy creatures which inhabit the game's hub-world, known as the Isle of Tims. Replaying a chapter's Balan's bouts requires defeating a chapter's boss.Ĭollecting all of a type of statue unlocks a secret cutscene showing said statue dancing. The player's timing determines the statue received, from bronze, silver, and gold. Unlocking new worlds requires a certain number of golden statues be obtained, and unlocking the final boss requires collecting 110 golden statues, on top of defeating every world's boss.Īdditionally, Acts 1 and 2 of each world contain Balan statues which activate 'Balan's Bout', a selection of several quick-time event minigames featuring Balan. Balan StatuesĮach level, or 'Act', has a number of collectible Balan statues, with Act 1, Act 2, and the boss fight of each world containing golden Balan statues, and Act 3 of each chapter/world containing rainbow Balan statues. Getting hit while in Red Stamp mode exits the mode. Defeating certain mid-bosses in Red Stamp mode will cause the chapter's boss to be 'Lanced', increasing its difficulty and unlocking an achievement when defeated. Alternatively, defeating several enemies in a row without taking damage will activate 'Red Stamp' mode, a harder difficulty with more frequent enemies, and harder mid-bosses in levels. Repeatedly struggling with levels will decrease enemy spawns and boss difficulty, alongside increasing costume spawns. DifficultyĪlthough never stated in-game, Balan Wonderworld has an adaptive difficulty system. The changing stand holds a maximum of 18 of each costume. A player's available three costumes can only be changed when collecting new costumes, or entering changing stands. Costumes double as the player's health, with a costume being lost if the player gets hit while wearing it. Additionally, the player can carry three costumes at once, including duplicates of the same costume. Each chapter has an associated set of costumes, however costumes are not locked to the chapter they are found in. Each non-directional input button activates the current costume's ability, leading the game to often be referred to as a 'one button' platformer. The game revolves around a 'costumes' system, wherein the player character obtains various themed costumes, each with a different ability. The Pounding Pig costume performing its ability: a ground pound. Only the first and second acts have to be completed to unlock a chapter's boss fight, with the third act of each world remaining inaccessible until the player has defeated the game's final boss. Each 'Chapter', or world, of the game is split into three acts and a boss fight. Gameplayīalan Wonderworld is a 3D platformer with puzzle and collectible elements. Following the game's release, game director Yuji Naka parted ways with Square Enix and later filed a lawsuit against Square Enix and Arzest. Some did, however, take note of the game's visual style and concept. The game features a total of 80 costumes, although some costumes function similarly to one another.Īs Balan Wonderworld approached launch, it was met with significant negative reception from both critics and consumers. Cutscenes use little to no dialogue, and many input buttons perform the same action, which only changes based on the player's current costume. The game revolves around a stage-play setting inspired by musical theater, which informed its primary costume swapping mechanic. The duo's collaboration played heavily into the game's marketing prior to launch. The game was developed in collaboration between Arzest, a development studio founded by Oshima, and Balan Company, a Naka-helmed Square Enix subsidiary created to develop games in genres outside of Square's usual scope.

#BALAN WONDERWORLD INHABITANTS SERIES#

Balan Wonderworld is a 3D platformer helmed by Sonic the Hedgehog series veterans Yuji Naka and Naoto Oshima.

Balan wonderworld inhabitants