Yuji Naka probably left Square Enix in April [Up: Confirmed]

[Deleted member 51691]

(he isn't wearing Balan's hat anymore)
Andres Lopez on Twitter: "So I found that yuji naka changed his profile pic last week and on his bio he "worked" for square enix and probably got fired from the results of balan wonderworld https://t.co/2NNMVtONSX" / Twitter
Andres Lopez on Twitter: "His last day was April 30th https://t.co/zQqxqjKyKl" / Twitter

 

[Dest]

Well, after Balan I guess that's not a surprise.

 

[RockmanBN]

Balan Wonderbomba

 

[NinjaScooter]

What is going on at Square Enix!?

 

[ILikeFeet]

well he did say his last chance was Balan and we saw how that turned out

 

[Caiusto]

Oh...

 

[Dale Copper]

Where to next, Kickstarter?

 

[Jiggy]

At least he left on a high note

 

[MondoMega]

Balan Wonderwhathappenedhere

 

[Lord Vatek]

Balan Wonderwhoops

 

[Desma]

Maybe he's going on a journey of self discovery after descovering controllers have more than one button

 

[BadWolf]

It would have been shocking if SE wanted to work with him again after Balan.

 

[Welkins]

Balan Blunderland!

 

[Dee Bill]

Sad. He was a legend in the Genesis-Saturn-Dreamcast days ! I feel sorry for him that Balan turned out the way it did.

 

[HaremKing]

If his last working day was April 30, wouldn't it be correct to say he left in May?

 

[Rob2K19]

Bomba Wonderwhy.

 

[IDreamOfHime]

Helping a sad fired Yuki Naka will be Balan DLC.

 

[vixolus]

oof

 

[RockmanBN]

Balan Blunderland!

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Blunderworld*

 

[Jencks]

Legit feel bad for him

 

[Dale Copper]

But I am sure Balan will recover when Platformer junkies start thinking it's some hidden gem in....1000 years.

 

[ILikeFeet]

What is going on at Square Enix!?

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the game's sales speaks for itself

 

[Sandfox]

It makes sense for him to leave. SE isn't going to give him more platforms and that role clearly wasn't a good fit for him.

 

[SilverX]

SE was not the right company for him either way

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Legit feel bad for him

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^^^

 

[flashman92]

Maybe he's going on a journey of self discovery after descovering controllers have more than one button

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No, go the opposite direction. He should make another game that requires no buttons (Let's Tap being the other)

 

[BadWolf]

the game's sales speaks for itself

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And reviews and word of mouth.

 

[Wrexis]

Sad. He was a legend in the Genesis-Saturn-Dreamcast days ! I feel sorry for him that Balan turned out the way it did.

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One of the problems with bringing back one of the legends is that if they've been away for too long it can go badly wrong.

 

[BossAttack]

I mean the name alone should get you fired. Wonderworld? The fuck are you smoking?

 

[Chumunga64]

I mean the name alone should get you fired. Wonderworld? The fuck are you smoking?

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love the fact that even after it was released, people thought it was wonderland since it flows better with the balan part

 

[Dale Copper]

Now if it was Balan Wonderland it would have sold if you ask me.

 

[Ekid]

One bad game is better than no game. Yuji Naka > Hideo Baba

 

[Fisty]

Square, publicly apologize and rehire Yuji Naka or you can kiss your business goodbye

 

[Dee Bill]

One of the problems with bringing back one of the legends is that if they've been away for too long it can go badly wrong.

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Yup, Yu Suzuki with Shenmue...

 

[purseowner]

Really sad. I loved the Balan demo and I'm looking forward to playing the full game.

 

[ReginaldXIV]

It's wild how hard SE marketed Balan. Every SE event or digital event for the last year had a pretty long trailer for the game.

They had to know right?

 

[BZL8]

For all the shellacking, jokes, and memes Balan gets at its expense, this is still sad to see.

 

[MondoMega]

Maybe Square Enix can buy him a ferrari to get him back on-board; and they better not even think about reusing any of Balan's code!

 

[Firenoh]

So does Balan Company still exist or?

Yup, Yu Suzuki with Shenmue...

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Yu Suzuki did everything he intended on Shemune 3 with the budget he had. That was a Shenmue game to the tee.

 

[Dark Ninja]

Left or "Left"

 

[BossAttack]

love the fact that even after it was released, people thought it was wonderland since it flows better with the balan part

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I was one of those people until I finally saw some review say Wonderworld and suddenly thought I was living in a different universe. How can such a name pass through multiple executives and continents and no one realize how Wonderland is the superior title?

 

[BasilZero]

What game did he make? I dont really follow developers.

Edit: Just searched it up - producer for Sonic GBA games and worked as programmer for other sonic games.

Wasted on Balan....

 

[ILikeFeet]

One bad game is better than no game. Yuji Naka > Hideo Baba

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as long as he didn't try to fuck his voice actors, Naka will always be better

 

[IceBear]

Can't wait to see his upcoming Kickstarter collaboration with Yu Suzuki. Imagine 2 legends at work!

 

[Wolf]

I really want to know how Balan went so wrong. I don't understand how anyone can play through that and think it's a game that makes sense as a $60, AAA release in 2020.

 

[Mesharey]

That's unfortunate, it's sad.

I hope the best for him.

 

[Emerald]

What game did he make? I dont really follow developers.

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Balan Wonderworld

 

[AniHawk]

What game did he make? I dont really follow developers.

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before balan wonderworld, most recently he was the producer of streetpass chef and the programmer for the mobile game legend of coin.

 

[Nakenorm]

Sadly the guy seems way past his prime. Hopefully he can turn it around with something that's received positively.

 

[PeakPointMatrix]

What game did he make? I dont really follow developers.

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Famous for being the "creator" of Sonic. Left Sonic Team after the Sonic 06 development fiasco. Started own company called Prope, releasing Ivy the Kiwi, Rodea Sky Solider as some of the more notable titles. And most recently got to develop a platformer under his new Balan Company for Square Enix, the poorly received Balan Wonderworld.