"A strange, compelling look at Dating Sims, and a solid launch title for the DS."

A few games come by every once in a while that are so odd, so insanely different, that you feel obligated to bake in the weirdness that is this videogame. Warioware gave me that joyous feeling, as did Under the Skin. But with the purchase of a DS this week, Feel the Magic: XY/XX has captured the glory of creating a feeling that no game has dared to create.

Story 8/10

Now, Feel the Magic could get away just with it's mini-games, but Sega went the distance to add in a story, and a different story, to help set the mood. The bonus is that the story is as awe-inspiring as the game. As a young man, you try to capture the heart of a woman by impressing her with stunts and activities with a group known as the Rub Rabbits. These activities range from helping your crew open a parachute during a freefall, to knocking over attendees at a bus stop (bowling ball style), to even escaping from 100 rouge bulls. Yes, the story sets the mood perfectly for its quirky gameplay through quick "cut scenes" before a game.

Gameplay 10/10

The meat of any game, Feel the Magic offers many mini-games utilizing the DS touch screen. Fully utilizing it as well. The game handles surprisingly easy without buttons, and many games rely solely on your skills; precision, patience, and how well you can scream and blow. That's right. Apart from using your stylus or thumb, the game has you complete other tasks by either screaming into the included MIC to get your love interest's attention, or even blowing on the touch screen to blow out a candle on screen. It's these original ideas that truly make this game shine and grants it as an unforgivable experience.

Now even with the praise, the gameplay still has some flaws. No matter how much you attempt certain tasks, this game's difficulty depends on your reflexes. Without great reflexes or quick problem-solving skills, this game can get annoying fast...or until you learn the pattern. But luckily the hard games are so spaced out, it doesn't become a serious problem to kill your game experience.

Sound 10/10

Wow. The sound completely fits this game to a "T". The random sound effects, upbeat electronic music, and general placement is perfect. The right effects and music play when it needs to, and each song seems to go perfectly with its game counterpart. Not much to complain about here.

Control 9/10

The only reason I didn't give the control a perfect score was due to the fact that some people may have to adjust to using the touch pad for all of the actions. I had no problem, but the stylus didn't feel right at the start while playing a game, but maybe that's just me.

Graphics 7.5/10

Now the disapointing part. I understand that Sega was trying to give a different feel to this game by making the characters semi-cel shaded and leaving them without a face. But the DS can use so much more power, I expected that Sega would use the power to the fullest, only so the game would have a mass appeal throughout the US. Even giving the cutscenes a little bit of animation would have been nice, but you settle for what you get. Hopefully people will look past this flaw and try the game for what it fully is.

Overall 9/10

Feel the Magic:XY/XX is quite possibly the greatest game on the Nintendo DS launch line, but unfortunately will lack the sales it needs to make a franchise in the US. If only people would see games for what they offer, other than graphics and extreme violence (though those games kick some serious ass). If you have $29.99 to spend on a game, and are willing to try something different for a change, trust me on this one. You won't be disappointed.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/28/04