Fantasia
System: Genesis
Release Date: August 1991
Developer: Infogrames
Publisher: Sega
Genre: Action
Michael Hayes and the Freebirds are nowhere to be found, but Mickey Mouse is here in Fantasia! The sorcerer’s apprentice is catching 40 winks in the master’s dungeon, but all is not calm, as the wind blows itself in. The notes on the page float away and it’s up to Mickey to do something. He rises in his dream and follows them as they scatter throughout Fantasia. Can you collect them before the master find out about your failure?
As the sorcerer’s apprentice, Mickey has access to magic spells. These come in small and big varieties. I became quickly hesitant to fire these off, because they are limited by the number of spell points you collect from the occasional flying spell book. The small spell doesn’t kill anything in one go, but the big version can. You want to use the spells to kill enemies that give you trouble, because the name of this game is to rack up a high score.
The higher the score you get, the more notes you collect. Each level requires you to collect a greater number of notes to win. The proper number is spelled out in the manual and I didn’t have trouble getting enough points. There are actual notes hidden in levels which give you a ton of points and a short invincibility period. You can usually cycle the level back and force the notes to respawn. Getting through the levels is quite difficult, because Mickey controls like he is in molasses.
There’s a lot of bad design present, which makes the game a chore to play. Hit detection will hurt you when it should miss. Jumping on enemies sometimes hurts them and sometimes hurts you. Foreground graphics obscure platforms and enemies that you need to jump on. The same platforms and enemies may move erratically leading to many injuries and death. There are no bosses present, you just need to collect enough points by collecting items and killing enemies.
Graphics: 3.5
Sprites, animations, environments, and scrolling are all really interesting to look at.
Sound: 2.5
I appreciate trying to put all these classical tunes on the Genesis, but the sound font is lacking.
Gameplay: 1.0
Mickey controls terribly and the levels are designed poorly with too much foreground stuff blocking your view of the stage.
Difficulty: 2.0
As long as you’re playing for points like you should be, you should be racking up extra lives to keep trying when you inevitably die.
Fun Factor: 1.0
The poor play led to an unenjoyable time.
Overall Rating: 2.0
Fantasia earns a C. This is easily my least favorite of the Mickey Mouse games I’ve played so far. It would have benefited immensely from some extra polish time.