A demo has been released for the Xbox One Kinect for the Disney’s Fantasia. Harmonix is sticking to their music based games and created more of a rhythm game than a wannabe dancer or musician title. After completing the demo I realized that I actually just had a little fun with a Kinect game and that was weird.
The Demo started out with a few setup screens which is to be expected. Then you get a small intro and a walkthrough. Do not be scared off by the walkthrough which throws a bunch of stuff at you. When the Story in the demo starts they back off the difficulty a bit to give you more time to adjust. Of course Yen Sid is there and tells you that you will bring joy to the world with magic and music. He chose you because you are special just like everyone else who is playing this game.
Between the narrator and Yen Sid talking you up, this should work well even for kids (and some adults) who get frustrated easily. The moves are not overly complicated and they are not looking for super precision placement and movements that the Kinect cannot keep up with even when you do it correctly. The movement are simple hold your arms out and sometimes swipe, or punch and sometimes swipe. That sounds really boring but is the motions are in sync with the music and come at a fast enough pace that boredom is never a concern. I found that once I found the flow of the music it became much easier.
Yen sends you on your first mission to the Shoal, which is underwater. Then the background fades away and you “wave your arms like you just don’t care” for a bit by doing a set of one of the techniques you learned earlier. The background comes back and you are then wisked back to Yen Sids tower. What was with the water background place, maybe it will be important in the full game. Anyway, then you are whisked to another land where you will do a different motion that you learned earlier. The third place you go does start to combine things a little, and your also introduced to score modifiers.
It was a relief that the music is not just songs from Disney movies and television. The songs included in the demo that I played included Gorillaz- Feel Good Inc, Lordes – Royals, and something by one of those famous dead guys who died a long time ago that everyone is always going on about. Bach or Bethoven ..or …..Chopin maybe. I don’t know they are all dead so it doesn’t matter. You know he did that song, Da Da..da da da dadada SING IT WITH ME!!!
Truth be told, I had a lot of fun with this demo. My wife even kicked me to the side so she could be “never be royal” for a minute. When the song was over she immediately asked me when I was getting it. So I will be getting it for her, but I am betting money that I put more hours into than she does. Is it for you, well download the demo and find out.