"Worth a rub"

Can you Feel the Magic? Sega's first take at a mini-game collection on the DS will definitely have you feeling something, alright. As one of the first games out for the DS, FTM gives the perfect glimpse of just what the DS is capable of, and how the DS was going to change the way we interact with our games. Unfortunately, that's ALL we have here: a glimpse. A demonstration, if you will, of what the DS can do, rather than an engrossing full game that will keep you coming back years from now.

The premise is simple. You have an assortment of charming mini-games, most of which involve "rubbing" the screen, while others will have you tapping, yelling, blowing, and just basically going nuts with the DS function. All the mini-games are loosely connected together with a backstory about a loser (you) trying to impress and woo a pretty woman. The story seems superfluous most of the time, especially when you're doing completely unrelated things like saving people from an antlion, or peddling a unicycle across a thin railing high above the ground.

There's a lot to like about Feel the Magic. Most mini-games offer a fair challenge, and decent difficulty. Not only that, but you'll feel like you've earned your victory, after consecutive rounds of physical exertion you won't find in Mario Party. When your arm is tired of rubbing, or you get winded from blowing out candles, you'll know you've worked for your reward.

Although there are just 30 games here, all of which are contained within a story mode that can be completed in less than a couple hours, there are ways in which the game tries to extend its length. Beating the story mode once means you will unlock "hard mode," and that you'll have unlocked every game in the "memories" section of the game. In the original story mode, you normally have three lives to complete five rounds of a game in ascending difficulty. In memories, you have ONE life to complete TEN rounds of ascending difficulty. Trying to finish some of these lengthy games in a single life has led me to more frustration at times than enjoyment. There's nothing quite like finally beating the 9th round of a difficult game, only to lose in the 10th round and have to start all over again from the beginning. Oh, and your reward for beating these harder versions of the game? You can change the outfit of your love interest.

Even with the extra modes, the game feels short. You can get most of the enjoyment to be had with Feel the Magic over a rental period. Dress-up mode and the almighty sound test don't exactly keep me coming back for hours at a time every now and then.

Never let it be said some of these games aren't damn fun and amusing though. It plays squarely off the novelty of the DS functions, and does so very well. Some mini-games are more fun than others. Yelling into the mic ten times didn't really do much for me, and neither did the "Typing a number into a keypad while guys are falling out of a plane to their death" game. On the other hand, taming the bulls and launching humans on the highway was decently fun. Cleaning dirt off the girl's skin is a game that's hard to quality as good or bad. It offered no challenge whatsoever, yet was somewhat enjoyable is a purely creepy, perverted kind of way.

Graphics-wise, the game is simple yet effective. Most of the game is very colorful and vibrant. Even the mish-mash of simple polygons for most characters and the flat 2D of many games doesn't seem out of place. Audio-wise, the music and sound effects are decent to average. They never got on my nerves, but I won't exactly be ordering the soundtrack either. At least, the controls are for the most part precise. I can't make any complaints about the game doing something different than I wanted it to do, with the small exception of some aiming mishaps in the Bus Stop minigame.

As someone who has owned his DS for a good couple years now, the simple novelty of "Wow, I can control things by rubbing the screen!" doesn't seem as earth-shattering by itself anymore. If I were reviewing Feel the Magic at the time it came out, I would probably give it a higher score, for showing what a neat and fun way it could use the DS functions. Now that time has passed and we've moved past the DS launch, I can say there are other games besides Feel the Magic that also manage to show of the great features of the DS, while offering a lot more length to my playing time.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 02/20/07