Originally billed as the grand return to form for Sonic the Hedgehog designer Yuji Naka, Balan Wonderworld launched in 2021 to a very critical audience, with the vast majority of reviewers and early adopters panning the game for its shortcomings and an apparent lack of gameplay depth. Shortly afterward, Naka proclaimed that he had sued the publisher, Square Enix, due to various disagreements about the game's development.