Fantasia
The ROMANOV Archive looks at Fantasia (1991) for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, where Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain returns in a stage inspired by Disney’s legendary film, though the 16-bit arrangement struggles to match either the cinematic source or later game adaptations.
Instead of the orchestral grandeur that terrified audiences in Disney’s 1940 classic, the Genesis version delivers a thin, repetitive loop that fails to capture the witches’ sabbath in full force. The visuals echo the demonic mountain, but the underwhelming soundtrack reduces a moment of high drama to something skeletal. The contrast becomes even sharper when compared to the much stronger rendition of Bald Mountain that appeared later in Earthworm Jim, proving that the Genesis hardware was capable of more.