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Yuji Naka talks Balan Wonderworld story, characters, costumes, development, franchise interest, and more
Balan Wonderworld was announced for Switch just a couple weeks back, and now we have some new info to share. Director Yuji Naka sat down with IGN Japan to discuss the game, and you can find a summary of details from that interview below, courtesy of Redditor HeadBVSS.
- development started in July 2018
- Naka wants people all over the world to enjoy the story
- Naka used the "Nights" approach, and feels the game has slight ties to Nights as well
- the goal is to express the game's story without using words
- the gameplay is very focused on action
- costumes are assigned unique actions
- you could have multiple strategies for defeating bosses depending on which costume you use
- there are multiple stage gimmicks and puzzles to suit each costume
- there will be hidden costumes as well
- there are more than 80 types of costume designs
- there will be a panda costume
- Balan is a charismatic entertainer
- Balan is sometimes unpredictable, humorous, graceful, and mysterious, and never tires of viewers
- Balan invited the protagonists Leo and Emma to the Wonder World
- the story only changes slightly depending on which main character you choose
- with two controllers, one person can control Leo and the other person can control Emma for local co-op play
- it seems the Switch version will allow you to play with a single Joy-Con in co-op
- as this is a musical action game, the casts dances to the music throughout the stages
- when you clear a boss, all the characters on that stage will celebrate and dance
- the composer, Mr. Yamazaki, was told "I want you to give the soundtrack a sense of mystery"
- this could turn into a franchise depending on how this installment is received