My Favorite Video-Game Music, Part IV

If you thought I was finished talking about music and video-games, fear not dear readers! I am resurrecting my series on video-game music. When I last checked my dashboard, the number of views on my page had plummeted faster than a president’s approval rating. It is disconcerting that not many have read my last two posts about technology in music and orchestration. I realize that I’m culpable (at least, partially) because I included too much musical jargon. So I hope that all of you thoroughly enjoy this  new post. For you see, I’m going to talk about Disney’s Fantasia (1991) for the Sega Genesis.

For those of you scratching your heads in absolute consternation, you read the statement above correctly. Fantasia is based, albeit somewhat loosely, on the 1940 animated masterpiece of the same name. In this platformer  you play as Mickey Mouse– excuse me– Yensid’s sorcerer apprentice, as you literally jump and spellcast your way from castle to castle (Castles which bear a striking resemblace to Cinderella’s Castle at the Magic Kingdom.). To set you minds at ease, Fantasia is NOT a Mario clone… not by a longshot. While players spend the majority of their time jumping on enemies (i.e. brooms, dancing animals, flowers, etc.) timing is crucial.

The levels in Fantasia do a great job of following scenes from the movie. Perhaps the best part of the game, though, is the music itself. Like the film, it uses classical music as a backdrop: from J.S. Bach’s Organ Tocatta in D Minor, to Paul Dukas’ The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, to Beethoven’s Sixth Symphonty, and even Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring (Yes, The Rite of Spring). Although the overall sound may seem dated by today’s standards, I love this game because it makes classical music cool. Although I didn’t know the music that well at the time I played Fantasia (I was only a kid at the time),  I believe the game is partly responsible for for my love of classical music, if not music in general. Thank you, Sega, for making such a great game.

~ by compositionalendeavor on August 14, 2010.