Feel the Magic: XY/XX: - Is it Love at First Touch?

When the DS was first unveiled at E3 2004 there was seemingly no software shown that took proper advantage of it's unique features. I mean sure, there were numerous games that used the touch screen in entertaining ways, but these all looked like mini-games. The full blown games based around the touch screen weren't very impressive, and for the most part, made abismal use of this feature that was supposedly going to lead Nintendo to the top. Thankfully, Sega's own Sonic Team announced shortly after that they not only had a game driven to take advantage of what the DS has to offer, but that it would make the handheld's launch. This game was originally known as Project Rub, but featured a name change in releasing to Japan and the USA (the name still sits as Project Rub in Europe). Is Feel the Magic: XY/XX a good showcase of what the Nintendo DS has to offer, while still remaining a fun game? Read on to find out.

Firstly you should know that Feel the Magic basically feels like Sonic Team's attempt to copy the Wario Ware formula. There are some key differences here though. Unlike Wario Ware, the mini-games are much more complex, requiring more than just the press of a button, and each of them take much longer to complete. Furthermore, they usually do not require you to react as quickly as the mechanics of Wario Ware, but the game can require just as much precision with some of the later mini-games. Admittedly, Wario Ware Touched is a fun game, but when all is said and done, I think I prefer the bizarre antics of Feel the Magic.

Gameplay
In Feel the Magic, you assume the role of a nameless fellow who just happens fall for a case of love at first site. The only problem is in that she doesn't even notice him, so right away it's one sided and seemingly hopeless. In a bizarre twist of fate, a group known as the Rub Rabbits enter to try and help your average joe get the girl. How exactly do they plan to do this exactly? Dun dun dun, rub it! Well, mini-games rather, but you'll be doing lots of touch screen tasks throughout the game. Will it be a perfect case of boy gets girl? That's completely up to how well you, the player perform as you drag live goldfish from a choking victim's gut, blow out candles with the microphone, fight off chasing bulls, type in numbers on screen to set off parachutes and more. Sound crazy? It's even more bizarre in motion.

Set apart from the frantic melding of mini-games in Wario Ware, Feel the Magic presents you with stylized stills that offer progression in the story. This works well in moving the story along, and also adds well to the rather off beat presentation. Sonic Team delivers a nice mix between sincerity, and sexual tension between the two characters in the story. I'm very surprised at just how well the touch screen antics work at drawing you in during a few of the mini-games. The micro game involving holding hands while slapping bees away brought a smile to my face, whereas the scene in which you must clean off the girl brought me to full out laughter, especially when listening to her moans. The best thing about Feel the Magic is that you really don't know what's going to happen next, or in what way you'll be using the touch screen next.

This title's biggest problem is the fact that it's over way too quick. Just a matter of hours, and you should have completed the basic difficulty level. Upon finishing the game, more difficulty levels will open up, but if there was a mini-game that you particularly favored you can play through it again through the memories mode. This one's a great game to show to friends, especially those who don't often play video games. It's really easy to just pick up and play, due to the fact that the touch screen dictates pretty much the entire rythm of controls, but you will also need to make use of the handy dandy microphone in select instances. Feel the Magic really is the first game that gave me hope for touch screen based gaming.

Another slight problem concerns the difficulty of a few of these mini-games. Now I'm all for moments which will force you to replay various sections of the game, however one of these is downright frustrating at times. The aforementioned event involves unicycles, and requires some pretty tough precision with the stylus. Dependant on how you perform in each level you are awarded points accordlingly to how well you perform. If you lose a mini-game you will actually lose some of these points, but they can be regained by completing the events again. This was slightly annoying, especially with how many points I lost unicycling. This is forgiveable in the grand scheme, but could lead to intense frustration with some gamers.

Feel the Magic has a very surprising number of unlockables. First off, by locating special hidden rabbits in the game's story scenes, by beating the game in various difficulty modes, and by gaining special stars in memories mode, you can unlock different hair, and clothing styles to dress her up in maniac mode. This mode basically allows you to check her out, and if should you feel so inclined, touch her using the touch screen. It's admittedly very odd, but it's oddly addicting to try to find new styles for her. Maniac mode also gives warrant to play through the game more times in order to find the various pieces of clothing and hair styles. It's pretty difficult to find some of the styles, but it is oddly addicting.

Graphics, Sound, Controls, and Replay Value
The visual style is the first thing that jumps out at you because it is so different. The first thing you'll notice is that the characters have no facial or body features. The bodies are just painted in black. What's interesting is that both hair and clothing are brightly colored, making an interesting contrast to the featureless skin. The game animates quite nicely, with a cool mix of 3-D and 2-D elements. The style is indeed unique, and it certainly works well for such an early DS game.

I find the audio to be a bit annoying at times. To be fair, it's as quirky and offbeat as the gameplay and graphics, but it just did nothing for me in the end. At first the ever constant Rub it tune brought a constant smile to my face, but if I even bother with the audio anymore I wear headphones. Sound effects are rather decent, though presented in a rather repetitious manner. Probably the highlight here is in 'Yay' the girl shouts at the completion of certain micro games.

Controls are almost exclusively designated to the touch screen on the DS unit. The game responds very well to touch, and there are no problems involving detection. Some of the games require a real precision to complete, and sometimes it's best to set the DS unit down for best concentration. The microphone is also very recepting, and appears to be quite forgiving for those who don't feel like all out blustering on it. The games give you a good enough idea of how to finish the micro games, and so there are no real improvements that could be made there. Honestly, I think I might prefer a tiny bit more use of the DS' main buttons, maybe in coordination with the touch screen mechanics.

Feel the Magic is the perfect game to come back to every once in a while, especially since you can choose which mini-games to replay via memories mode. This is also a good title to show off to others. The collectable clothing parts for the girl are another reason to come back. Though I'm a bit embarrassed to admit it, unlocking these is surprisingly addictive. Adding only further to the replayability are the additional difficulty modes. Feel the Magic may be over in a few hours, but it is plenty replayable and a perfect showcase of exactly what is being offered with the DS.

Final Recommendation
Does the boy get the girl in the end? You'll have to find out for yourself, and it's an investment well worth it. Though I wouldn't recommend picking up a DS especially for this game, if you already own the unit than this would make a nice addition to anyone's collection.

Overall Rating: 7.9