Review: ‘Disney Fantasia: Music Evolved’ Makes Magic with Kinect
Pity poor Kinect. Once the harbinger of our Minority Report future, Microsoft’s motion-sensing camera has fallen on hard times. It’s been stripped from the Xbox One, a move that bolstered sales of the console but has companies developing Kinect games seeing red.
One such company is Harmonix. The creator of terrific music games like Dance Central and Rock Band found out about The Great Kinect Uncoupling about six months before releasing the Kinect-focused Disney Fantasia: Music Evolved for the Xbox One and Xbox 360. “Bummer” would be an understatement.
But the good news is that the colorful Fantasia is another motion-controlled victory for the company, and while it may be too late to save Kinect, it’s not too late to save face.
It’s also not too late to save the world from “The Noise,” a troublesome, dissonant sound tearing apart a mythical Disney universe. As the new apprentice to sorcerer Yen Sid — the same white-bearded wizard from the 1940 film on which the game is loosely based — it’s your task to undo The Noise by waving your arms to an eclectic soundtrack spanning rock, pop, and classical genres.
OK, so the story’s a bit abstract, but so was the movie’s (when it even had one). And if you look past the thin premise you’ll find a surprisingly fun musical motion game.
Mirroring the iconic image of Mickey Mouse commanding the heavens, Fantasia: Music Evolved sticks your silhouette at the bottom of a star-filled screen. Motion cues rhythmically zoom across the night sky, prompting you to sweep, wave, punch, and swing your arms about like a crazed bandleader. Though it’s not as gratifying as nailing a Guitar Hero solo or keeping the beat in Rock Band, it’s a convincing effect. The more you grow familiar with Fantasia’s visual vocabulary, the more you’ll feel connected to the music you’re wildly gesticulating along to.
You’ll also play the role of producer, as every one of the game’s 30+ songs comes with two specially crafted remixes. You’ll manually switch between these curious tracks over the course of a performance, leading to a riotous mash-up of styles. Dvorak’s majestic New World Symphony is transformed by an 8-bit chiptunes backbeat, a metal mix underscores the majesty of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” and Bruno Mars’ “Locked Out of Heaven” makes perfect sense as an upbeat ska number. The remixes turn songs you might not otherwise like into bizarre aural journeys, and the game’s better for it.
One nit to pick: Only three pieces from the 1940 film are present, and Paul Dukas’ “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,” the tune that plays over the famous broom scene from the film, isn’t one of them. Whatever peculiar licensing issues may have prevented the use of a 120-year-old composition, it’s a drag for fans.
Where the remixes hint at creative freedom, intermittent musical mini-games actually let you contribute your own audio loops. You’ll mold and stretch sound waves like a potter handling clay, and your quirky eight-bar jam will then periodically pop up during the rest of the song. It’s a smart way to inject some personal flavor into the performances.
Above all, Fantasia: Music Evolved manages to pull off a trick so many Kinect games flub: The thing works. Harmonix has a knack for getting Kinect to do what it’s supposed to do, and Fantasia’s another technical win. Though navigating menus can occasionally be finicky, the camera accurately tracks your arms and hands during play, largely avoiding the laggy pitfalls that plague so many other Kinect games.
Unfortunately, the cluttered presentation occasionally gets in the way of the gameplay. Between the starfield, the barrage of rhythmic cues, and an evolving background based on the level you’re exploring, there’s a lot going on. It’s easy to get lost in the visual chaos and miss cues, a potential problem for younger gamers drawn in by the game’s welcoming vibe.
Fantasia’s whimsical realms, however, are packed with a heaping helping of Disney magic. The design channels the film’s weird, druggy aesthetic, taking players on a tour under the sea, through the wilderness, and into the cosmos. Each of the 10 realms is bursting with charm and dotted with interactive musical toys. A bed of clams becomes a set of jazz drums; a suit of armor is a medieval wind chime. Bringing dying lands back to life — and discovering secrets hidden on each level — is empowering.
If only it didn’t take quite so long. Unlocking new songs and remixes requires extensively exploring each level and plowing through each track several times. Significant load times turn this into more of a chore than it should be. Locking songs behind gates in a game like Fantasia just doesn’t feel in tune with its friendly demeanor.
But it’s easy to fall in love with what it sets out to do. Fantasia: Music Evolved is a game about experimentation and experience. It distills the weird, esoteric essence of the original film into an improbably fun rhythm game — and, like its namesake, is equally entertaining for kids and adults. If Kinect is indeed on its way out, this is one sweet swan song.
What’s Hot: Innovative gameplay; bursting with creativity; Kinect works(!); impressive, eclectic soundtrack …
What’s Not: … that could use more actual music from Fantasia; cues get lost in cluttered visuals; unlocking songs is a pain.
Follow Ben right here on Twitter.
