Sega’s Disney licensed games for the Genesis were fantastic. They were so good in fact that I almost wish they would return to publishing licensed games again. There were a few less than stellar titles (the Little Mermaid comes to mind) but otherwise they were right up there with Capcom. But out of all of their Disney games there is one that everyone would rather forget. Fantasia is not only the worst Disney game, it is also one of the worst games of all time. Rarely have I ever come across a game as dreadful as this.
Whenever I think of Fantasia, I continually ask why? Why was the game released in this near unplayable state? As a film Fantasia was both visually and aurally fantastic and is still impressive today. That this game is the official licensed adaptation is an absolute disgrace. And the fact that it comes a year after Castle of Illusion makes it even worse.
I’ll say this, Fantasia makes a good first impression, at least visually. The game looks spectacular overall. The sprites are large, well animated, and full of detail. Fantasia has a vivid color palette uncharacteristic of the system and it works. The game’s environments are the true star however. The backgrounds are dripping with detail and become increasingly more impressive as you progress. There are foreground objects that, while occasionally annoying, still add to the atmosphere. It is not quite to the level of Castle or World of Illusion but comes close.
The illusion is shattered once you start to move. The controls, despite their simplicity, are sluggish. Mickey is slow in all of his movements which is frustrating immediately. He is slow to turn and plants himself before each jump. The jumping in particular is what ruins the game. If the game were designed around it maybe it would be fine. But Fantasia asks for a level of precision the controls cannot deliver. Mickey has two forms of attack. He can butt bounce enemies but even this simple attack has its issues. You have to hold down while doing so but the game’s hit detection is truly terrible. Unfortunately you’ll need to rely on this as magic is limited. You can cast little or big spells, with each using one or three hats respectively. The enemies are so resilient and magic so scarce that avoiding combat is better.
The goal of each level is to collect a set number of musical notes before reaching the end. Each level has multiple subsections where most musical notes are found. These are accessed by touching Tinkerbell. Musical notes are hidden everywhere. Some are in plain sight but others might require certain criteria to appear. That could be as simple as walking into a certain spot or killing an enemy. My main gripe is the game doesn’t tell you many are needed in each stage or how many you’ve collected until the end. The manual has a breakdown for each difficulty but this information would be better served in game. This is especially crucial since you are sent back to the beginning of the current level if you don’t have the correct number of notes. I don’t blame anyone for turning off the game at that point.
Collecting musical notes is a simple task made all the more difficult by the bad controls and atrocious level design. Fantasia has all the trademarks of a game developed in Europe from that period. Moving platforms are way too fast. There is no clear delineation between the background and platforms you can step on. I frequently found myself taking damage because I tried to jump on what should clearly be a ledge. Both collision and hit detection are a mess. The game continually asks you to leap on enemies to reach higher ground, especially in stage three. But a simple action like this is a laborious task in this game. About the only good thing I can say about Fantasia is that it is mercifully short. There are only four levels but most will tap out midway through the first. That is really damning.
It is downright insulting that Fantasia’s music and overall sound production are as poor as they are. The entire movie was a celebration of classical music, all of which has been butchered here. You might recognize a few pieces from the film but outside of a few notes the translation to the Genesis’ FM synth is awful. Fantasia represents the absolute worst of the Genesis’ sound hardware when in the wrong hands.
In Closing
Fantasia is a truly awful game and one that has been rightfully ignored by time. Apparently the game was rushed out the door and it shows. Fantasia would have needed months of work to actually be decent, if not a total redesign. Play World of Illusion and forget this one exists.
