You know, after seeing the trailer for Balan Wonderworld, I was so hyped! I loved his design-in fact, I totally fell in love with Balan! He just has this magnificent bastard look to him that I just love! He has that perfect blend of chaotic energy, yet benevolent intent. So much so I'm working on doing fanart for him and I haven't played the game, because I just love this design so much! Naoto Ohshima, Yuji Naka-whoever or however it was Balan came to be, ya'll knocked him out of the park!
Then you see the Gameplay and...
Sob.
I don't WANT to be overly critical for this game. I really don't, but it seems that the gameplay itself was the last thing worked on. Or, worse; it was the first thing and they never built off of it. I understand that the core of the gameplay is to have 80 different costumes and abilities and to make the game simple and accessible to everybody, but this is beyond simple. This is almost as simple as an Atari game and it doesn't have to be.
I'm not asking for a game that's got me grinding my teeth and is painfully hard-nobody wants Super Meat Boy from Balan, but it's so sad to see all this flash, to see this enchanting story with charming characters, but for it to not be fun to play.
But, you know, I still hope that Balan doesn't go into a vault and collects dust. I mean, Sonic the Hedgehog had a rough first game, but look how much people still love him! Megaman 2 had to be made during the developer's lunch breaks because it was that much of a passion project. And I heard that Balan has a novel out(or in the works? Not totally sure), so I hope that can help make up for the sales of the game. Maybe Balan can exist in another medium. Or maybe even get a second game with a refined, tightened gameplay model.
I even like his "true form", but I won't lie, I prefer Balan's top-hat-eyes looking self. :P
Hey, you're the one who kept reading, not my fault if you read a spoiler!
Anyway, I just wanna gush about the Costumes now. They're simple, and I think some are a little repetitive, but I just LOVE them all! I love their designs and event think the abilities they give are kinda fun. But it sucks you're not just playing as Balan himself. Could you imagine if the game was about collecting the Costumes-maybe re-branded as your fellow show performers-and borrowing their powers to get through the game (essentially being the secret to Balan's own magical abilities, maybe with a moral of needing to be taught that even if he's the star, the show can't go on without his other actors). Imagine if you got, like, 5 Costumes and you had to build your moveset with them, having 5 powers at the same time and needing a special zone, like a Changing Wall or something, in order to swap around your powers with the other 75 Costumes.
Hell, why 5? You probably would only need 1 Costume to get through the whole game.
Now, I don't know Jac about game design, so excuse me for talking out of my ass, but these Costumes really could've just been used to be Platforming Mascots of their own games. Just give their game a dedicated Jump Button (J-Button) to go with the Action Button (A-Button) and you could have a pretty decent platformer-preferably a 2D one, but that's my own preference.
Like, let's take Pounding Pig, for instance, for our hypothetical Platformer. He could have a decent running speed, maybe a bit on the slow-and-heavy side. You'd press the J-Button to jump, and then press it again to jump again while doing a little flutter kick. Or, press the A-Button to preform the signature Ground Pounding.
Or, how about Telepotter? He'd be a bit quicker, a decent single jump, and you'd use the A-Button to teleport, with perhaps a aiming reticle so you can aim for where you go.
Why stop there? Aero Acrobat! A jump, with maybe a glide that activates while in the air. Hold the A-Button to aim your reticle and when you release, you start homing onto enemies with those signature kicks! Maybe just pressing the button can have you kick enemies, with a 3-button combo.
Pumpkin Puncher! Pumpkin Puncher's really cool! A-Button to punch, but holding it will let you charge up a stronger rocket punch like how he does in the actual game.
X-Ray Monkey would be all about finding secrets and alternate exits to levels with his X-Ray vision! Maybe he's less combat-oriented and more about puzzle solving, with lots of movement options! Climb walls, swing on ropes, swing on bars, hang from your tail, but don't get caught!
...Okay, so I went a little crazy. And a lot of what I talked about is done in the game itself. It's just...holy heck, I love Balan and the Costumes and just wish there was more done with them! Hey, Arzest, just take all my notes and outsource other teams if you've got better things to do than give each and everyone one of these guys their own game!
