RUB IT!
Nintendo has promised lots of innovative new games on the their new DS system. Ironically, the only company to deliver on this statement 100% is Sega. Sonic Team’s Feel the Magic: XY/XX is easily the most oddball title available for the system’s launch, and probably for a good deal of time post-launch. How’s this for a premise? You play a young man who happens upon a very pretty girl. It would be far too easy to just say hi and ask her out, so instead our hero decides to impress the girl by wowing her with his assorted skills. In short, Feel the Magic is a game about mini-games.
Lover-boy joins the super performance group known as the "Rub Rabbits". The group helps him by informing him of various tasks he can do to impress his muse. Most "scenes" early on in the game are comprised of three different mini-games. Completing different games will yield varying amounts of love points. Filling up the love meter to 100 points through any combination of mini-games will advance the game to the next scene. It’s nice to be able to pick your game. This simple feature can remove lots and lots of frustration.
At least, it can remove the frustrations from the early parts of the game. Later on the choices fade away as the games become more integral to the overall story. Yes, that’s right, Feel the Magic has a story. In fact, the story is actually one of the more endearing features of this zany game. As with the rest of the game, it’s presented in a pseudo-cel-shaded style using silhouette characters. Only their clothes and hair are colored, and with flat colors at that. There are a handful of video sequences, but for the most part the story is presented through a comic style. Each scene features short bits that show up panel-by-panel and explain the situation at hand. There are tons of them, and most are pretty funny.
Feel the Magic makes use of almost every single feature the DS has built into it. The only exclusion is a multiplayer mode. Every game uses the touch screen for control. The D-Pad and buttons are not used at all. There are all sorts of mini-games. A few examples include spray-painting graffiti, driving a car, and digging for treasures in the sand. There are even a few games that make use of the microphone. You will draw glances when you have to yell into the microphone to get your one and only love to notice you over the din of a marching band.
Fun is the simplest word to describe Feel the Magic. You will not find a more zany, unique, and varied game available. The story, graphical style, and games blend together to create a truly one of a kind experience. If you’re looking for a game that will use the most of your brand new DS’s features, Feel the Magic is an obvious choice. This game proves that with this new system come all sorts of new possibilities.