Sony has revealed that they have brought back Fantavision for the PlayStation VR 2. This is not a port of the original, but instead an entirely new game, called Fantavision 202X.
The original Fantavision wasn’t really intended to be a retail game release at all. It was originally just a game demo for the PlayStation 2, intended to demonstrate the console’s ability to render particle effects. When the demo generated some buzz, Sony set their original first party studio, Japan Studio, to turn it into a full game.
Fantavision is not a complex game, but it can be confusing if you don’t know what you’re doing. The entire game is set in front of a fireworks display, and you detonate the fireworks yourself!
You have an onscreen cursor that you can move across the screen using the left analog stick. When you see flares fly up the screen, you can target and ‘capture’ them using the X button. If you can target three to four flares of the same type and explode them by using the circle button, you activate the flares into fireworks and they burst on the screen.
You can time those explosions in such a way that the flares touch sparks from detonated flares, so that they explode, without having to be captured.
While Fantavision didn’t go on to become a giant franchise in the PlayStation library, the same way Crash Bandicoot or God of War did, it’s a cult favorite among PlayStation fans. The game received a remake for Japanese mobile phones, and was rereleased for the PlayStation 4, under PlayStation 2 emulation.
Fantavision 202X is the first real sequel the series has had since its introduction 23 years ago. Interestingly, the game is being developed and published by Cosmo Machia Inc. Cosmo is not a first party studio, and is best known for making the Castle of Shikigami games.
In either case, Fantavision 202X’s first screenshots look promising, and Cosmo has come up with new features for the game using PSVR 2. This time, you will be able to look around the VR screen, and subsequently shift the direction you are aiming. This time you aim at the flares with motion controls and pull the trigger to capture them, and use the circle button again to make them explode.
The fireworks also provide haptic feedback, and added with the stunning visuals, you get a really fun toy for your new VR headset. But with the bright colored explosions, this game isn’t one for people with special sensitivity to flashing lights or contrasting visual patterns.
If you are interested and can look at flashing lights, you can watch the game’s trailer below. Fantavision 202x will be releasing on PlayStation VR 2 on February 2, 2023.
Source: PlayStation Blog via Gematsu
