Tetris set the precedent for every hardware launch that followed its release. Every new console needed a puzzle game to be successful. As time has gone by that holds less and less true, but the tradition continued well through the sixth generation of video games. The PlayStation 2 had almost every genre covered at its launch, including the aforementioned puzzle games. Instead of something traditional Sony attempted to innovate. This is how Fantavision came to be. This puzzler sure is unique, but is it any good? Well, let’s light up the night’s sky and find out for ourselves!
Fantavision is a puzzle game, but there’s nary a falling block to be found here. Instead you’re dealing with fireworks. It’s not that much of a stretch, and actually makes more sense if you ask me. You don’t actually control the fireworks and instead you’re giving the reigns of a floating cursor on-screen. You rotate the analog stick to move a line in 360 degrees around said cursor, and this is what you use to target fireworks in the sky. The control scheme does take a bit of getting used to, but once you come to terms with the fact that you’re rotating your aiming reticule around the cursor it gets easier. Those looking to mash on buttons will have very little success here.
You target fireworks by aiming at them and pressing the X button, and when you link three or more (of the same color) you can press circle to ignite them. It’s actually kind of a neat idea if you ask me. Blowing up the fireworks is the equivalent to eliminating blocks in Tetris. It’s your ultimate goal, and if you miss too many you’ll get a game over and have to start over again. There’s also a pretty intense combo system in place. Each firework gives off a different ignition pattern (just like in real life) and if these touch any unlit munitions of the same color those are also set off.
This adds many layers of strategy to gameplay. You’ll always be able to see what the next set of upcoming fireworks will be, and must choose when to ignite. You can try waiting in an attempt to generate a combo off of the next set, but cut things too close and it’ll be a miss. I must say that watching an entire screen of fireworks ignite at the same time is actually more rewarding than destroying huge sections of the screen in Tetris. I found that after just a few minutes I was able to chain explosions in a way that it at least looked like I knew what I was doing.
While I was able to figure out how to play pretty quickly I doubt I’ll ever master the game. Fantavision is a lot deeper than it looks, and I doubt I’ll ever be able to compete for high scores against fans of the game. The basic gameplay is very fun, and even addicting in beginning stages. Unfortunately it gets frustrating fast. As you progress the difficulty ramps up significantly and with all the chaos on-screen (naturally it comes with the territory) I found myself having difficulty tracking what I was doing. The premise is a pretty cool one, but the gameplay is too messy for my tastes. I can play bullet hell shooters, but for the life of me I couldn’t keep track of the action here.
This brings me to the major issue I had with Fantavision. Puzzle games are what I play when I want to relax. Sure things can get hectic, but it’s always controlled and really draws your focus. That wasn’t the case here. I found things getting too crazy too fast, and staying that way throughout each session. In that sense Fantavision lacks one of the most appealing elements the genre has for me. Also, while Tetris begs to be played ‘just one more time’ I didn’t get that same feeling with Fantavision. It’s not particularly addicting. Tetris always feels different every time I play. Fantavision does not. Once you’ve played through a stage there’s not much reason to return.
Fantavision was an early game for the console, but it failed pretty miserably to show off the capabilities of the hardware. That doesn’t mean the game isn’t pretty. On the contrary, it’s beautiful. The fireworks are colorful and vibrant, and the way they light up the night sky is a sight to behold. They don’t look particularly realistic however, but are good renderings at least. The backgrounds are pretty cool. You get various cityscapes, and even outer space (even though everyone knows fire doesn’t burn in space!) While everything looks fine and dandy the game could almost have been pulled off on the original PlayStation. It’s not very technically impressive.
The music is, well, it’s different. The game uses pop-trance as the main influence. There’s a lot of soft techno, and some of it even has light vocal work. It’s all pretty well done and very inoffensive, but nothing really stands out to be honest. It’s soul-less. You could take this soundtrack and throw it in any other puzzle game and I really wouldn’t know the difference. The sound effects are where the audio really shines. The fireworks explosions are incredibly pleasant on the ear with pleasant pops and whistles. That’s the real highlight of the game, and makes setting off large scale combos all the more awe-inspiring.
To be honest I wasn’t expecting much from Fantavision. This is one of those PlayStation 2 games that you only heard about at launch, and it was forgotten pretty quickly. With that said I had a mildly entertaining time with it. Fantavision suffers from what most of Sony’s first party efforts typically do; it feels like the developers came up with one idea and spent the rest of the cycle throwing ideas at the wall hoping a few would stick. The game is mildly entertaining as a quick diversion, but not something I would invest a lot of time in.
