Most levels will need to be replayed later with another selection of costumes to reach previously inaccessible areas. The theory is different costumes are needed to reach different areas of the level. Others have similar abilities, like the multitude that can throw projectiles of some sort. Some of these costumes have very unique abilities, like the one that can skate on ice and won’t slide to your doom off the edge of the platform. The problem is the message disappears too quickly leaving even the quickest of readers hitting the pause button to finish reading it in the game’s menu. You wonder why they bothered with the keys and didn’t just let you pick the costumes up instead as the mechanic is so redundant.Įach of the costumes has its own ability, which is displayed by an in-game message the first time it is picked up. All of these costumes have to be unlocked from a pink crystal, the key to which is often a very short distance away, is hardly hidden, and respawns after a short period of time. If anything, it’s too simplistic because each level is concentrated around the abilities of the game’s 80 costumes instead.

Platforming between these islands is easy enough and usually has room for error, its difficulty seemingly aimed at young children. The worlds break up into small islands until harmony is restored. There’s no time to worry about that, though, as the first world is beckoning.īalan Wonderworld Review – Why So Troubled? The character of your choice lands on the Isle of Tims with a handful of bizarre birds that constantly demand to be fed yellow droplets. Both stumble across the mysterious Balan Theater, where the permanently smiling Balan packs them off to Balan Wonderworld to find their hearts. Meanwhile Leo Craig is happily breakdancing before deciding to shun everybody and walk off in a mood for some inexplicable reason. Emma Cole’s household maids are all whispering about her behind her back. Players take on the role of a troubled child. What does hold the game back is it’s hampered by a fair number of strange design decisions that make it more difficult to play and confusing than it should.

While some might not be entertained by the dated idea of a mascot-driven platformer, the idea in itself isn’t a bad one. With that sort of pedigree, you would think that their old-school collectathon platformer Balan Wonderworld should be good. Balan Company is led by Sonic the Hedgehog and Nights into Dreams creator Yuji Naka.

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