BALAN WONDERWORLD

Is Yuji Naka’s return missing a trick?

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One thing you can count on from any Yuji Naka game is a sprinkling of magic. Since he left Sega 15 years ago, the career of Sonic’s creator has been mixed, but as producer at indie studio Prope he’s overseen a range of smaller games, each shot through with summery charm and vibrant colour. Five years ago he seemed to have run aground with the inexplicably awful Rodea: The Sky Soldier on Wii U – yet that was a bastardised version of a Wii game that turned out to be much better. We hoped, then, that his reunion with Nights Into Dreams director Naoto Ohshima might be a return to Sonic Team form. Alas, our optimism seems to have been misplaced.

Which isn’t to say that the old Naka magic is entirely absent. It’s there in Balan himself, a mischievous but seemingly benevolent prankster who looks for all the world like a secret unlockable character from Nights. It’s there in the bright, energetic cutscenes, too. We’re quickly introduced to protagonists Emma Cole and Leo Craig (you must choose one at the outset, though both come with a range of preset customisation options) before being whisked away to a fantastical world among the clouds. There’s a sense of cheerful ceremony to it all, heightened by the way the first level assembles itself in front of you before letting you stroll inside.