Fantasy

Overview

Fantasy is an action-adventure game developed and released by SNK for arcades in Japan on October 1981, with a North American release by Rock-Ola on February 1982.

In Fantasy, players control the hero of Fantasy Island (known in Japanese promotion material as "Tom") as he pursues his true love Cheri, who is constantly kidnapped by pirates, giant birds, jungle natives, and those in helicopters.

It is notable for its use of multiple gameplay styles throughout each of the eight stages, including top-down action sections, auto-scrolling dodging sequences, and a platforming section. It is also notable for its single-joystick controls, for its heavy use of voice acting (using crude sound hardware previously used in Vanguard), and for being one of the earliest games to support continues (known as "Extend Play").

While it received no home conversions at the time, it was later included in the SNK 40th Anniversary Collection, 37 years after its initial release. This version was originally included in the Switch version's free DLC pack before being included from the start in other console versions.

Gameplay

The game only uses a joystick to control, which is primarily used for dodging obstacles. In stages 2 and 6, players can swing the hero's sword as he moves left or right. In stage 4, players move left and right and can climb treetops by moving up and down.

Stages

While the game has an ending sequence (one of the earliest games to do so), it loops back to the beginning afterwards with increased difficulty and no continues (regardless of the operator settings).

1. Side-View: After Cheri is kidnapped by pirates, the hero must fly over the kidnappers' pirate ship on their hot-air balloon and land on the ship's deck while avoiding cannon fire.
2. Top-Down: The hero must navigate the ship's deck on-foot, defeat the pirate crew, and reach Cheri. Along with swordplay, he can defeat the pirates by letting them in the way of enemy cannon fire.
3. Auto-Scrolling: After Cheri is grabbed by a giant bird, the hero must chase them using his balloon while avoiding birds and coconut-throwing "Kong" gorillas.
4. Platforming: The hero must climb the treetops to reach Cheri in the bird's roost while avoiding foxes and a baboon that drops coconuts.
5. Auto-Scrolling: After Cheri is kidnapped by tribal natives, the hero must chase them on-foot through the jungle while avoiding tigers and natives.
6. Top-Down: The hero must slay the natives in their village and reach Cheri.
7. Auto-Scrolling: After Cheri is taken by kidnappers in a helicopter, the hero must chase after them in his balloon while avoiding other helicopters.
8. Side-View: The hero must fly around the London Bridge in his balloon while luring hostile choppers into enemy cannon fire.