Gaming

Balan Wonderworld review: A theater for young ages

Facing the reality behind the curtains

Published

April 20, 2021

Gab Orlina

Have you ever had those moments in your younger years that hurt you a ton? Have they also happened as you got older and a bit wiser? Such is life on our own planet Earth: full of ups and downs. With each moment, we learn new things about ourselves and from our own shortcomings to become better people. However, there are times when things get too overwhelming.

We all need an escape, no matter how young or old we might be. For the older ones, it’s having some time alone, watching movies or TV shows. With the younger generation, it’s playing video games or window shopping online. For our good friends Leo or Emma, their daring escape from their problems led them to the mysterious world of Balan Wonderworld.

I decided to give this game a shot, seeing as it’s one of those less-hyped titles from Square Enix. I want to know what it could offer to a semi-casual player like myself when I need stress relief. Also, Square Enix loves to draw you in with some lore in between to keep you hooked from start to end.

So, what exactly is happening here?

Balan Wonderworld starts off with a story that provides little context to the main characters. Essentially, you play as either Leo or Emma, two children experiencing some personal troubles. I decided to play as Leo mostly because his opening cutscene was him dancing on the street, which is quite relatable. Apparently, in Leo’s case, a group of equally skilled dancers took notice, but he just shunned them away for unexplainable reasons.

Eventually, he and Emma find themselves in this mysterious theater guarded by Balan, a magician-like figure. According to the game’s lore, the theater only shows up to those who are experiencing troubles in their lives. I guess you could consider Leo/Emma extremely lucky, but they’re also confused as to why they’re in the theater. A few moments later, they find themselves in a magical world behind the theater — essentially pulling a Narnia on you.

Leo in the Island of Tims

You may be wondering how all of this just happened, and I’m here to tell you that I have no idea. In its early stages, the game doesn’t explain to you a lot of details in hopes of putting the pieces of the story together. As I progressed through the story later on, I’m still trying to understand how these things happened. Not the kind of start I was expecting.

The simplest gameplay mechanic for Square Enix

After the intro cutscene, you find yourself on the Island of Tims, which is pretty empty to start. It’s mostly just grassland with some flowers, lakes, and bridges. Eventually, you will slowly rebuild the Tims Tower, which doesn’t seem that important initially. Part of the rebuild involves the inhabitants of the island: the Tims which aids you for the main completion quest.

Now, this platforming game features twelve Chapters, each with two levels and a boss fight. In all the levels, you only ever need to press one button to get through the entire game: the X button. See, every other button and trigger on your controller allows you to jump and platform around — something the X button does anyway. However, the X button is this game’s primary action button because of another gameplay mechanic.

Collect-a-thon Platformer

In each level, Leo/Emma will collect a set of costumes that grant them special abilities. From jump attacks to increased air time, these costumes allow you to explore the game’s vast stages to look for collectibles for completion. As mentioned earlier, almost all of the abilities are bound to the X button — something you don’t really see with Square Enix’s other prominent titles.

Some of the costumes you will collect throughout the game

Apart from the costumes, you will also collect Drops, Tim Eggs and Balan Statues in each stage. Collecting Drops allows you to grow your Tims to grant you boosts when playing every stage. Meanwhile, collecting a certain number of Balan Statues opens the next set of Chapters and worlds to explore.

As somebody who is fond of stage-by-stage platforming, this was pretty standard stuff even in an open-world setting. Personally, I found myself getting side-tracked with all the collectibles if I wanted to progress further into the game. However, it also makes the game roughly easy to breeze by when you’re not out to complete it. In essence, I felt it doesn’t motivate you enough to complete it 100 percent.

Uncovering your troubles and rising above them

Let’s tackle what I think is the main reason why you found yourself platforming in Balan’s magical world. I mentioned earlier that the character you control is going through some personal issues, and that the magical world showed up for them because of it. With each Chapter, Leo/Emma encounters people who also have undergone some life problems, as well.

One of the main boss fights in the game

Before each boss fight, a cutscene introduces you to the main story of each person you encounter in the Chapter’s stages. Essentially, it highlights the following aspects: how they started, the rise, and the fall (and eventual shift to the dark side). You are basically tasked to free these people from the Negati, a demon-like presence that is the manifestation of their troubles.

The happy ending in one of the early chapters of the game

After beating each boss, another cutscene starts that shows an epilogue of sorts, detailing the events that happened after you free people of the Negati. You see people get back on their feet, or become more open to other people about their interests. Also, each ending cutscene starts off with a performance with the AI versions of the costumes you collect. I found it quite cheesy and a little extra in some instances.

A game that doesn’t explain much when it should

Everything about Balan Wonderworld made me ask myself, “why is this all happening?” To be honest, I felt that nothing about the game was explained properly the moment you start playing. From the simplistic gameplay mechanic to the storylines in each chapter, it all feels like it lacks purpose. Furthermore, even your role in lifting these people up from their troubles isn’t explained properly.

While playing through this game, I got the feeling that this was intended for kids even if some of the issues tackled here applied to adults. In its raw gameplay alone, it’s simple to understand and easy to navigate that even five year olds will get through the mechanics easily. The collect-a-thon element only somewhat adds a level of depth to the overall gameplay.

Gameplay mechanics aside, the entire story behind Balan Wonderworld just happens with little to no context or purpose. You aimlessly go into each Chapter, uncover the story behind each character, beat the demon inside them, and they’re freed of the negativity inside them. If you’re a child playing this game, it’s something that you’ll enjoy. As an adult, however, it doesn’t do much to draw you in for long.

Related Topics:Balan Wonderworld Square Enix

Gaming

Now Playing: Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced

Nostalgia does a lot of heavy lifting.

Published

August 17, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

Like any millennial, I love a good dose of nostalgia. These days, however, nostalgia is no longer a scarce resource. Remakes and reboots abound, the entertainment world heavily seesaws between all the franchises that made our child- and teenagerhood so fun. Today, the ever-spinning roulette lands on Assassin’s Creed Black Flag.

Launched not too long ago, the original Black Flag was a pirate life simulator disguised as an Assassin’s Creed game. It was a refreshing breath of fresh air for the series coming after the controversial ending of Desmond Miles’ arc. Unsurprisingly, the game is still the most universally lauded entry in the entire franchise. So, if you ignore how recently it came out, Black Flag makes sense as the first Assassin’s Creed to ever get a remake.

But do we actually need this much nostalgia?

New clothes for the original

Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced plays like a dream. It’s the original game but with updated graphics and combat.

Now, the original game still plays very smoothly today. I’d even hazard that the original graphics are still serviceable today, albeit tinged with a tiny bit of datedness. Basically, if I boot up my copy of the original, there’s a very good chance that I’d still find it perfectly modern.

That said, Black Flag Resynced has amazing graphics. There’s a clear difference that elevates the original to heights that put it at par with the newer games. Parkour and combat are also smoother. If you’ve played Shadows or Valhalla, Black Flag Resynced is easy to pick up (or pick up again, for most of you).

There are a few additions, including story content for some characters or even entirely new ones introduced. To be honest, I don’t think they add a lot to the experience, but the additions aren’t bad things at least.

The real meat comes from the tinier quality-of-life changes added to the overall game. For example, those pesky trailing missions are now gone. Stealth is better. Finally, that terrible modern-day storyline was completely removed.

It’s fair to say that Black Flag Resynced is a better version of the game than its original. But, again, is that really enough to warrant buying a new and even more expensive version of a game you bought long ago?

The problem with nostalgia

Earlier this year, I played Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties, a remake of the eponymous game from the Yakuza franchise. Though the new version had a substantial expansion bundled inside, it was essentially a trip down memory lane clothed in a “new” skin.

Yes, the nostalgia is largely effective. But after a while, the doubt crept in: It’s just a reskin with some new content. Worse, the reskin is a coat of paint that the series has been using for so many years now.

Black Flag Resynced starts to feel the same. Eventually, the appeal of playing a beloved game runs out, especially since it’s a game that hasn’t been out long enough to develop a more intense form of longing. As such, there’s a bigger burden for it to prove why it should exist.

It’s a hard sell. The original game is just much too recent. In fact, it still holds up well today, despite some inconveniences. The new version is, like Yakuza Kiwami 3, mostly translating the game into a modern system familiar to modern players. But it’s a system that hasn’t really changed much over the years. With another game following the same format, it’s all blending into a homogenous soup.

The Assassin’s Creed franchise needs a reinvention. Though the previous Shadows fulfilled a generational wish to bring the series to feudal Japan, it was just another Assassin’s Creed game but with two protagonists. It’s the same thing with Black Flag Resynced, just another Assassin’s Creed game but with better graphics (and ship combat).

Nostalgia is doing a lot of heavy lifting in Black Flag Resynced. The game isn’t really a reinvention, and if you’ve played the newer titles recently, nostalgia might not be enough.

Is Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced your GameMatch?

If you’ve played the original and just want to experience the same game on a modern system, then Black Flag Resynced is perfect for you. It’s the same enjoyable experience with a bundle of small quality-of-life improvements.

However, it doesn’t reinvent the wheel. If you’re tired of the same old Assassin’s Creed formula, the remake probably won’t do much for you, either.

Gaming

Kingdom Hearts IV is coming in late 2027

The announcement came during D23

Published

August 17, 2026

Rodneil Quiteles

SQUARE ENIX and Disney & Pixar Games have confirmed that Kingdom Hearts IV will release in late 2027.

The announcement came during D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event 2026. A new trailer also debuted during the Disney Entertainment Showcase, revealing a new in-game world inspired by Disney and Pixar’s Coco.

The trailer was later shown in an extended version during a D23 panel celebrating the franchise’s 25th anniversary.

Sora returns to Quadratum

Kingdom Hearts IV continues Sora’s journey through the mysterious city of Quadratum. The city has been overrun by dark creatures known as the Heartless.

Sora will once again travel through worlds inspired by Disney and Pixar. Along the way, he will encounter new characters and gain new powers.

The latest trailer also confirms the return of Donald Duck and Goofy. Players will be able to take control of Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy as they search for Sora.

The new trailer offers a closer look at the next chapter of the long-running action-RPG series.

An anime series is also in development

SQUARE ENIX and Disney also announced a new Kingdom Hearts anime series for Disney Channel and Disney+.

The series is currently in development in collaboration with series creator Tetsuya Nomura and the creative team at SQUARE ENIX. It is currently listed under the working title Kingdom Hearts.

Kingdom Hearts celebrated its 25th anniversary with the D23 panel, which brought together members of the creative team and voice cast. The panel also explored how the franchise has brought together Disney, Pixar, and SQUARE ENIX over the years.

Kingdom Hearts IV will launch on Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC in late 2027. The game is already available to wishlist.

The extended D23 trailer is available on YouTube.

Entertainment

Box office: Brand New Day set to surpass US$ 2 billion, drives Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 resurgence

Sony Pictures’ fourth Tom Holland feature film sets records

Published

August 13, 2026

GadgetMatch

The box office performance of Spider-Man: Brand New Day has been nothing short of spectacular.

Sony Pictures’ fourth feature film featuring Tom Holland as the titular protagonist broke the domestic opening day record.

This feat narrowly beat the previous record set by another Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film in Avengers Endgame.

That strong opening continued in the next few weeks as Brand New Day became became the fastest to reach the US$ 500 million mark, breaching the milestone in just seven days, per LA Times.

The movie is already the highest grossing film of 2026, beating Toy Story 5.

Which such massive success so far, Spider-Man: Brand New Day is on pace to beat Avengers: Infinity War for worldwide total gross.

With over US$ 1.7 billion grossed in just two weeks, the film is projected to surpass any point between the US$ 2.1 billion to US$ 2.3 billion mark.

It will become only the eighth ever film to surpass that mark once it reaches at least US$ 2 billion.

The others are: Avatar (2009), Endgame (2019), Avatar: The Way of Water (2022), Ne Zha (2025), Titanic (1997), Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), and Infinity War (2018).

However, Endgame still holds an advantage, thanks to its international launch in major markets. The epic conclusion to the MCU’s Infinity Saga grossed US$ 2.79 billion during its 2019 run. And you will have to adjust that value slightly due to inflation.

In the Philippines, a strong market, Brand New Day has just eclipsed the PhP 1 billion mark, which is roughly about US$ 17.2 billion.

For comparison, it will definitely surpass Infinity War at some point, while Endgame grossed PhP 1.8 billion total or about US$ 34.56 billion at the time.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 experiences resurgence

Moreover, the film’s success also triggered a transmedia halo effect with Insomniac Games’ Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 also experiencing a resurgence in sales and player engagement.

Per IGN citing Alinea Analytics, since the film’s release, the game sold over 300,000 more copies across PlayStation 5 and Steam within a two-week span.

This is the equivalent to over US$ 11 million in revenue for Sony and Insomniac Games.

Plus, for the first time since the title’s launch in 2023, it experienced more than one million daily active users.

A combination of movie hype plus some timely discounts contributed to the game’s resurgence, also proving that the Spider-Man franchise has always been one of the biggest and most relevant IPs of all time.