# Fantasia (video game)

Fantasia is a 1991 platform game developed by Infogrames and published by Sega for the Genesis. It was loosely based on the 1940 animated film Fantasia and inspired by the success of the 1990 video game Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse.

## Gameplay

The player controls Mickey Mouse as the Sorcerer's Apprentice through various side-scrolling levels in an attempt to collect musical notes that went missing while he was asleep. The four levels were based on amalgamations of the segments of Fantasia, with each one themed around the elements: water (The Sorcerer's Apprentice, Dance of the Reed Flutes, and Nutcracker Arabian Dance), earth (The Rite of Spring), air (Trepak, Pastoral Symphony and Dance of the Hours) and fire (Night on Bald Mountain, Toccata and Fugue in D Minor). The player defeats various enemies by jumping on them or by collecting magical bubbles that could be used to shoot at enemies as projectiles. In each level, the player collects a certain number of hidden magical notes for the song to play once again.

## Development

Sega was inspired to create the game, by the success of Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse and by the 50th anniversary of the 1940 film Fantasia. Development began in January 1990. Sega producer Scott Berfield, and Stephan L. Butler, monitored Infogrames's development to ensure a faithful adaptation. The development team consisted of six people who lacked experience in developing console games.
With pressure toward the holiday shopping rush and from the mid-year release of Sonic the Hedgehog, time to develop the game was tight. It was difficult to replicate the animation and music quality of the film to the 16-bit console. By May, Sega presented Fantasia at the Consumer Electronics Show and soon was showcased at the Tec Toy launch.
With no time to tweak the gameplay or polish the graphics, the game was shipped for the holiday season. The release of Fantasia was met with complaints by Roy E. Disney, who had made a promise to his uncle Walt that Fantasia adaptions would not be made. The licensing turned out to have been granted in error. Sales of the game were to stop, each of the approximately 5,000 unsold copies was to be destroyed, and every advertisement about the game was to be removed.

## Reception

Review scores :
| Publication | Score |
| Electronic Gaming Monthly | 5.75/10 |
| MegaTech | 49% |
| Mega | 11% |
| Mega Action | 80% |
| Console XS | 81% |
| Mega Play | 18/40 |
| Mean Machines | 61% |
The game was poorly received, with MegaTech magazine saying the game was "a massive disappointment. Poorly designed, bland and frustrating, with very little appeal". Mean Machines said that although appearing impressive at first with "excellent sprites and gorgeous backdrops, the gameplay is badly flawed and there are several highly annoying features that make the action frustrating". Mega Play's four reviewers gave average to below average review, they unanimously praised the graphics and animations but also criticized the gameplay as choppy, substandard, and awkward. Mega Action gave an overall score of 80% and praised the cartoon-like animation and criticized the games difficulty set far too high. Console XS initially praised the graphics as "astounding" and the animation and scrolling as "superb". They criticized the game saying: "This game is full of poor collision detection, frustrating restart points, and repetitive gameplay. Very, very tough". The four reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly gave average reviews praising the graphics, animation, and game music. They criticized the controls and gameplay as repetitive, clunky, and unpredictable, and said that Fantasia does not measure up to Castle of Illusion.
Mega placed the game at #6 in its list of the 10 Worst Mega Drive Games of All Time.