Yuji Naka says he sued Square Enix: ‘It’s a disgrace Balan was released in this state'

From VGC: "Yuji Naka has claimed that he was removed as the director of Balan Wonderworld six months before the heavily criticised game’s release, resulting in him suing publisher Square Enix.

In an explosive series of tweets published on Thursday (and translated in full below by VGC contributor Robert Sephazon), the Sonic the Hedgehog creator was heavily critical of Square Enix and co-developer Arzest for releasing the game in what he believed was an unfinished state.

He said he is now able to address his departure from Square Enix and the game’s reception because the trial has concluded."

[H9]

"I believe that if they don’t care about games nor their fans, Square Enix is a bad company"

Oh wow he is going at them

[RpgSama]

I mean, the game was universally panned, I think both the developers and publisher at some point saw the game was going to be very bad and decided to cut their losses at the expense of making this terrible game maybe just bad.

Is that right for the consumer? Not at all and I am not defending neither but let's not pretend that Yuki Naka if allowed to "finish" the game would have made that much of a difference, on a fundamental basic level this game was bad.

[Stanjara]

Lichdom Battlemage is a masterpiece against this.

[TheCaptainKuchiki]

Haven't heard of that game in a while

[KingofBandits]

I think in this case, like most, that the truth is in the gray area here. Naka has an advantage being an individual as a single person fighting a corporation will likely gain him a lot of support from the public. However Naka has a history of being "difficult to work with" and despite my respect for him and his games, the truth is he has not made a really good game in a long time. Rodea sky soldier was a turd as well...so I'm not inclined to believe this was all S-E's fault. In truth I think Naka is throwing this out into the public in order to pressure S-E to settle out of court. Was S-E likely unreasonable about missed deadlines and milestones? Probably. Were they expecting too much of a small team with a tight budget? Again most likely. However was Naka poorly managing his project? Given that he was voted off as lead by two other subordinates, yes. Ultimately I think this is about money, he was probably cut out of bonuses/royalties for missing said deadlines and for the game being received so poorly, and as a result is trying to sue to get those restored while citing "unfair work practices" and using public pressure

[-Hermit-]

He hasn't been the same since he left Sega in 2006. Funnily enough, Sega hasn't been as good since then either. They worked well together, but apart, both Sega and Yuji Naka have suffered in quality.

[GoodGuy09]

Well squares been terrible with many games as of late. Thank you for suing them lol.

[Knushwood Butt]

Did he win?

[gold_drake]

pending. haha.

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

I think it's been going on for a year or two now? I can't even remember when Balan came out (was it last year?).

[RetroCaptainSteve]

Can we sue Square Enix too?

[gold_drake]

i do believe him when he says they dont care about games, however it says alot if you're being voted off from your own team.

[ZeekQuattro]

I feel like a lot of his defenders forget that. He had HR breathing down his neck before his dismissal. He was doing something he had no business doing that's for sure.