Assuming the role of two children guided by a magical being called Balan, the player explores twelve worlds themed after the hearts of troubled individuals.

[3][4] Within each chapter, Leo and Emma must navigate through a sandbox environment, searching areas for collectables and solving puzzles to progress to the end of the level.

Taking on the roles of Leo and Emma respectively, the players can combine costume abilities to simplify puzzles and open potential new pathways through levels.

Leo isolates himself from social contact due to an argument with a friend years before, while Emma suffers from anxiety about what others might be saying behind her back.

Both are drawn into the Balan Theater, and travel through twelve worlds born from the hearts of troubled adults and children alike.

Leo and Emma are opposed by Lance, a counterpart to Balan who commands the Negati, monsters born from the darkness of Wonderworld's visitors.

After completing all twelve worlds and freeing their inhabitants of their burdens, Balan opens a portal for the chosen character to fight Lance.

Naka described Balan Company as a collective of designers and artists focusing on genres outside the norms of Square Enix.

[12] A key staff member at Arzest was Naoto Ohshima, known for his work as a Sega artist who created the designs for Sonic the Hedgehog and Doctor Eggman.

[3] Naka was given the go-ahead for the project by Square Enix due to his experience with platforming and action games but was told it was his "one chance" at the genre with them.

[16][17] Naka said that he was removed as director six months before the game's release after complaining over its state, and that Arzest had submitted it with unaddressed bugs.

The character models of each level's "cast" vanished when approached so players would not mistake them for enemies, while also playing into the themes of each world.

[14] Bug testing caused trouble as it was unclear whether the game code, the engine development kit, or the platform-specific version was the one in need of attention.

[21] Due to the ability to choose the ethnicity of Leo and Emma, which were reflected in all cutscenes, Square Enix partnered with CRI Middleware to provide graphical software.

[14] Once the twelve were decided, Kawasaki elaborated on each scenario, then Ohshima worked to portray them visually through the game's environmental design and cutscenes.

[15] While considering the setting and scenario, Naka decided on a similar design approach to Nights into Dreams, though otherwise Balan Wonderworld was an original work.

[27] Ohshima wanted Endo on board as she would give an additional Japanese aesthetic to the game, as his own art had received feedback for lacking a distinct regional style.

[28] The music was primarily composed by Ryo Yamazaki, whose previous work includes the Front Mission and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles series.

[21] Early demos were heavily influenced by the music of Cirque du Soleil, in addition to musical-inspired soundtracks including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Greatest Showman.

[17] The musical numbers concluding levels were written first, going through the most trial and error due to their context and the need to synchronize the motion capture performances to them.

Yamazaki described Pitt-Pulford as "the perfect match" due to her style and previous experience recording vocals for the anime adaptation of Dr.

[14] The game was accompanied by a novelization by Kawasaki,[10] Balan Wonderworld: Maestro of Mystery, Theater of Wonder, released digitally on 26 March through Square Enix's publishing imprints.

[18] While progress did not carry over into the main game, save data from the demo unlocked a special costume themed after each platform.

[3][8][39] While the game was too close to release for major adjustments, Square Enix created a day-one patch to address camera and character movement problems, and alter the difficulty to make later bosses more challenging.

[18] In July, Naka posted a photo of the Nights development team with Ohshima erased, and aired further grievances about his treatment on Balan Wonderworld.

[52] Eurogamer's Martin Robinson felt it was too faithful to older platformers from the period of Nights into Dreams, carrying over problems unacceptable to modern gamers.

[62] CJ Andriessen of Destructoid said Balan Wonderworld had nostalgic appeal for fans of early experimental 3D platformers, but its gameplay and minigames lowered its quality for a modern audience.

[50] Bradley Ellis of Easy Allies described it as "bizarre and disappointing" despite some heart and the high-profile team members behind the game.

[51] GameSpot's David Wildgoose echoed other reviewers by saying the game seemed out of its time, faulting its archaic design despite providing some platforming challenges.

[53] Tom Marks of IGN cited Balan Wonderworld as an example of an underwhelming spiritual successor, calling it boring rather than actually broken.