Fantasia: Music Evolved Reviews
Music game master Harmonix teams up with Disney to deliver virtual music conducting experience that fun for the whole family
The Guitar Hero score attack crowd might go away disappointed, but this is a genuinely magical musical experience, and one of the best applications of Kinect. Even when you've burnt through the short single-player campaign, you'll keep coming back to explore the realms and try new remixes, conjuring and conducting your way through bizarre collisions of classical works and Carribean rhythms, or chamber music deconstructions of rock and pop hits. It's a game of exploration, both of the realms and of their music, and brilliant fun for music-loving kids and would-be maestros alike.
Both fun and surprisingly immersive, Fantasia: Music Evolved is a great use of the Kinect that successfully builds on Harmonix's own past templates.
Fantasia: Music Evolved is a pleasant surprise and one that I'll happily rope family and friends into playing. There are a few niggles, but the gameplay is immensely satisfying and the tracking spot on. When you nail a tricky section and see the explosion of colour and sound that follows you can't help but smile. Give it a whirl, as this has enough Disney magic to pull you in, but perhaps not quite enough content to keep you there forever.
…don't call it a Harmonix comeback. They've been here for years…
Overall, Fantasia: Music Evolved was an enjoyable experience. I certainly wouldn't call this the next big rhythm game sensation. It simply lacks a competitive edge that made Dance Central and Rock Band great. But it is fun, and if you belong to a music game centered group of friends or family, it's well worth the price. If the whole purpose of Fantasia: Music Evolved was to make you feel like Mickey Mouse did in the Fantasia motion picture, then it succeeded…. I just don't think Mickey ever thought he would be casting spells to Nicki Minaj.
The magical combination of two creative powerhouses in Disney and Harmonix has produced one of the best Kinect rhythm games to date. Like no other to come before it, Fantasia: Music Evolved combines the required accuracy of the best of the genre with wholly enjoyable remixing tools that allow players to create new compositions on the fly merely with their hands.
Fantasia Music Evolved is a very interesting concept from Harmonix that actually works quite well on the Kinect 2 and you do feel like a magical conductor as you manipulate the music with your gestures. The only let down with the game is that once you have finished it a few times and tried to collect all the achievements and aimed for the high score, the replay value does become a little stagnant.
This title was a much needed breath of fresh air for the music rhythm genre, and a perfect example of how you can use the kinect in a game - and have it be fun. I can honestly say, even with it's faults, and the short playlist, this game is worth the price of entry - provided you still have Kinect.
It's not going to surpass Rock Band as the de facto music party game, neither is it going to save Kinect. But, as a potential swansong to Microsoft's neglected camera, Fantasia: Music Evolved is more than worthy.
A magical journey of remixable songs.
'Fantasia' is a joy to play from start to finish. It has smart, addictive Kinect features, a great (if limited) soundtrack, and uses its source material wisely. It has a few things holding it back, like its weak visuals, frequent load times, and choppy menu navigation. Even taking those into account, this is easily one of the best Kinect-based games to date and is more than worth a long look.
Fantasia: Music Evolved reminds you why you bother keeping the Xbox camera around. If you and your loved ones enjoy music at all, there are a lot of reasons why this game will make you happy. But compared to a dancing star or a rock god, a melody magician doesn't have the same prestige, and the simplified gameplay is evidence of that. Like everything Disney inspires, it's the colorful and playful energy that will keep you coming back. It's just tough to stay excited about waving your arms around for very long.
While there is much room for improvement, Fantasia: Music Evolved is still fun, and despite the issues I had with the game I still consider it one of the better games to play on the Kinect.
Waving your arms in front of your TV like you're conducting some kind of cosmic orchestra is a surprising amount of fun, but the lack of content leaves the experience feeling a bit bare.
Fantasia was a treat to play. I had a lot of fun going back and playing songs i'd loved as a kid like "Bohemian Rhapsody," or mixing up some of today's singles like Lorde's "Royals." Fantasia is a great party game to play with some friends, and really shows that Harmonix can continue to put out quality music experiences for people to enjoy. Not to mention, it's another game that I feel really utilizes the Kinect in a way that actually makes it an enjoyable peripheral to have.
Music Evolved's structure can get in the way of its fun
Some of the best features are frustratingly kept out of the player's hands for hours, by which time many will have lost interest.
Disney Fantasia: Music Evolved is a game of highs and lows. The highs are extreme, and while the lows are less so, they are still indeed lows. You'll see the credits roll in single player mode within a few short hours and while there are still plenty of mixes to unlock once that happens, for a few reasons it's tough to see where the replay value will come from outside of the odd multiplayer battle. It's a very, very cool ride while it lasts, though.
When everything clicks into place (and sometimes it will), Fantasia: Music Evolved is a delightful experience that's part rhythm action, part exploration. It's a game capable of delivering real moments of magic, but is too often marred by inconsistent Kinect controls that can turn those feelings of joy into frustration.