As stated in the previous blog, Disney Sports Soccer was fantastic in concept and execution. It was an exercise in sublime design that should be dissected and emulated by working pros as well as those that want to work in the industry someday. Konami was able to create an approach to the IP that was fresh while maintaining respect for the iconic characters and their history. The reason for this was because they worked closely with Disney Interactive, in particular the Disney legends while approaching the games. Let's start with the first thing gamers noticed, the art and graphics. There were good character models, perhaps not as great as could have been rendered on the systems more powerful than the Gamecube, but better than other Disney showings on the GC. These models were given bright colors and costumes that reflected their personality, while not dating them to a particular era or fashion sense. This sense of timeless design helped break the mold of trying to fit them into a contemporary setting.
These characters featured actual Disney voice actors to lend an air of authenticity and better yet, sincerity to the title. It was the use of shared assets and input from the visionaries at Disney that allowed for the games to give off a sense of something more than another licensed title. Disney Interactive and the late Roy Disney Jr. in particular got special mention by Konami for their contributions to the series. I would like to think that the elements that worked best in the games were the result of their insight. Only developers that happened to also be true fans of the animated universe would have been able to identify and revive classic rivalries, like those of Mortimer and Mickey Mouse whose grudge went all the way back to 1936, while creating a modern sports title that the gamers demanded.
It was the spirit of the classic Disney characters which Konami was able to capture and evoke through the series that was their biggest success. They did this not solely by bringing back classic characters and putting them in soccer uniforms but instead placing them in fully realized worlds that complimented the Disney aesthetic. Lets begin with the levels themselves. The majority of the DSN titles featured stadiums that were fantastic creations, completely beyond the scope of any real world stadium while preserving familiar elements.
There were tiers filled with thousands of little characters, banners and flags waving in the stands, air horns going off in the distance, markers and a layout that all reflected cues from gigantic modern stadiums but then complimented with enormous ornamental displays and architecture. A giant pair of fans supported high above the terraces in Great Sun Stadium and the Japanese Edo-inspired castle rafters in Lotus Field were perfect examples of this. In the distance fantastic architecture, some from the realm of science fiction with glass towers and monorails populating the scenery or classic motifs like castles and European villages provided atmosphere to the stadiums. These levels helped remind players of the consistent universe that the DSN opening animation was promoting.
These worlds were then populated with animal characters created in the familiar Disney style. Those in the stands as well as those on the field perfectly complimented the star players of the teams, which happened to be some of the oldest and most recognizable characters in Disney history. The players in Disney Sports Soccer reads like a who's who of animated icons. Mickey, Mortimer and Minnie Mouse, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, the Big Bad Wolf and Pete were the playable characters. Even the referee José Carioca, the Brazilian parrot from the 1942 film Saludos Amigos held significance in the universe. All of these stars were teamed up with original characters, named after legendary animators like Ward Kimball and Ollie Johnston, that maintained a friendly aesthetic. For example Goofy was teamed up with dalmatians and Daisy was partnered with red roosters.
These anthropomorphic characters didn't have recognizable voices but relied on universal gestures and mannerisms to get their personality across. Professional voice actors filled in the blanks help keep a sense of individuality to the teammates. As games progressed the player could see clear differences between the level and quality of their teammates, allowing them to schedule a lineup and substitutions accordingly. The characters themselves were fun designs, bright and vibrant colors on soft proportions that held one foot in western cartoons and one in eastern animé. For the first time the teammates in a licensed character game were not generic personalities but were actually memorable animal archetypes, rabbits, roosters, dogs, foxes, wolves and hogs which balanced the Disney legends they were supporting.
The supporting cast showed up in subsequent team-based games to help create a sense of continuity with the universe. Additionally the team names, colors and logos were carried across the series as well. The choice of bold primary colors for team uniforms helped make the players contrast each other nicely on the field. The colors also served to reflect the personality of each character as well. Mickey Mouse would always be assigned a cool blue, Minnie a soft pink and Pete would carry a blazing orange.
These color choices would be reflected in some clever and memorable logo designs. Each icon helped reflect the core personality of the star player on the team while being a fun design in and of itself. The comedic Goofy was the star of the SpaceNuts, the brutish Pete was the star of the SteamRollers and the arrogant Mortimer was the star of the Imperials. I enjoyed some of the team logos so much that I recreated the art in illustrator. Here are the Wolfgangs and Seaducks logos for your enjoyment.
The character models, color choices, team names, voices and in some cases the stadiums themselves would be assets shared among the other Disney Sports titles. The Seaducks home stadium in the American Football game was a hardwood field built on the deck of the massive S.S. Cantakerous, a cruise ship in sailing out of Duck's Harbor. A variation of this ship would return as the makeshift skatepark in Oceanside Port and the location for a motocross track as well. Unfortunately none of the other sport titles managed to recreate the success of Disney Sports Soccer. The American Football game was not a great offender but seemed only average by comparison especially when compared to the other casual football games on the market.
DSN American Football was a commercial disappointment. As arguably the most famous sport in the USA it made sense that this was the second title in the series that Konami released. It was supposed to be on par with the soccer title and something to draw in Americans that were riding the fence to the whole Disney Sports series. On the surface the game had all the same things that made the soccer title work. All of the teams were returning, with a couple of new additions. Max Goof, the son of Goofy, had his own team (the Lords) as did the alligators (the Headhunters), featured in the Dance of the Hours from Fantasia. The revised character models now had helmets, padding and gear appropriate for the sport. Each team had it's own new and awe-inspiring stadium, a full four more levels that the flagship soccer title. These levels presented the world surrounding the soccer stadiums with more clarity and detiail. Possibly because this game had a slightly longer development cycle than the soccer title.
There was even a new referee with a huge following in the USA, the always impartial Scrooge McDuck. He would watch over the coin toss with great interest. Despite the addition of two more teams what this game lacked was the control and overall level of polish that DSN Soccer had.
The graphics were great but suffered from collision detection problems. The models were well made but the animation used with them made them appear slow and cumbersome. The control was sluggish and plays felt difficult to execute. The difficulty and learning curve were very high. While team management was possible, including stat building and trading, the teammates themselves lacked the cohesive feel and individuality from the soccer experience. There was a divide between the flagship title that Konami produced and every other title with the DSN logo. The Disney Sports game announcement in the Spring of 2002 and the four titles released that same year, with the exception of Disney Sports Soccer, all failed to make any significant impact among gamers. Looking back at that series it can be understood where Konami made their mistakes and also what influence they had on the industry as a whole.
While Konami had assembled a talented pool for the projects, along with the support of Disney Interactive and the Disney voice actors, there was no way for the studio to have released four sport titles within one year without suffering on quality. There were signs of potential trouble with the games as preview versions for journalists and early builds for trade shows like the E3 were sorely lacking. Most late builds of a videogame for the media have a few changes to be made before being published for the market. These things are usually minor fixes with the graphics and control. What the media and public saw with the Disney games a few months before their release were far more than minor bugs. For example, with the American Football game the teammate models were incomplete. The star players like Mickey and Goofy had finished models but teammates were floating pads and helmets. They were playing on the soccer pitch levels rather than in their own stadiums. Whether this was because Konami was pending approval from Disney for their team designs or they were falling behind on the development cycle was unknown. It was a bit alarming to see a game in this state the same year it was supposed to come out.
When the game was released it featured complete models and showed a lot of polish compared to the preview build as well a slight graphical overhaul. The stadiums were new and familiar but not copies of the ones featured in the soccer game. Disney and Konami really outdid themselves with regards to level design as the sport complexes featured in the series were among the most fantastic and imaginative of any ever committed to a sports game.
They were the types of stadiums that held up to the Disney standard, ones in which characters would have been proud to play in. The logos and teams were also carried over, reinforcing the themes and universe that Konami was hoping to establish. The uniforms were accurate for the sport and the features of the arcade experience namely the magic shoes also returned to give characters advantages over opponents. Despite all this the title was lacking the depth, features and control that made DSN Soccer a hit.
Considered a failure, Disney Sports American Football was not the poorest rated of the series. The two games that preceded it, Disney Sports Skateboarding and Disney Sports Basketball were among the lowest rated games ever released by Disney and Konami. The reception to the two games was harsh and not without exception. The failure of the Disney Sports Network was reflected in those games. The next blog will look at how Konami failed the public with poor basketball and skateboarding titles.
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