"Sega's gem to launch DS owners."

There are really only two effective words for describing Feel the Magic: XY/XX, also known as I Would Die For You; quirky and zany. A love story strung through a series of minigames, Feel the Magic is easily considered as Sega's successful experiment with the Nintendo DS hardware.

The starting cutscene will represent the art style for the rest of the game – silhouette characters in otherwise realistic backgrounds. Our hero, a shy and ordinary guy, falls in love at first sight. Unfortunately, the feeling isn't mutual, so he joins the Rub Rabbits, a group of performers wearing rabbit ears, to impress and attract his dream love. However, he isn't the only one competing for her love, and his rival will take a more drastic measure along the line of kidnapping her. Sure, it's not the best way for him to get her attention, but it certainly doesn't leave room for misinterpretation, now does it?

From the starting mini-game to the final boss battle (Yes, there are boss battles), you'll be using the touch screen almost solely, the top screen being used only for cutscenes and to display extra information. In the arduous Chaser, you'll use the stylus to guide your character's monocycle along a one-lane road with dozens of curves, broken sections, and patrolling sharks that jump out of the waters when least expected. In the addicting Parachute, you'll be processing numbers from top-screen and hitting them out on a calculator to make the chutes open and allow the Rub Rabbits to float. In the dizzying Candles, blowing on the touch screen will result in extinguishing life-sized candles. In Seeker, you'll rub away sand to find the item that your lady friend is looking for. In Microphone, talking into a microphone will result in the heroine walking towards you, interested in what you have to say.

Of course, this isn't to say that the mini-games don't have flaws. On the contrary – there is questionable collision detection, and some things that shouldn't happen DO, such as in Bus Stop, where even though your ball makes it by a car by bare inches, it still hits the car. Some mini-games seem to be made so that they're insane for right-handed people, but easier for left-handed people, and some mini-games act as if you need to be ambidextrous to conquer them. Twitchy hands also make a few select mini-games impossible to play. Also, there are only a small number of songs that actually play during the mini-games, and the sound effects are few.

But they're also addictive, and set in flat but colorful and detailed environments, sometimes with voice acting, you really can't complain about anything but the difficulty level. This game is difficult, there's no questioning that. Some of the mini-games, such as Chaser or Monocycle, are hard enough in Normal Mode – once you get to Hell Mode, you're guaranteed to cry like a baby. What makes it worth it is the quest for true love, illustrated by the smooth songs, most notably “Rub It.”

Feel the Magic doesn't stop there with difficulty. After completing a mini-game, it goes into Memories. In Memories, you do ALL the levels from both Normal Mode AND Hard/Hell Mode with only ONE life. For each level that you successfully complete, you get a Star, of which there are 182 total.

Although Feel the Magic is in no ways a dating sim, you do have the option to dress up the heroine. Throughout the game's cutscenes, if you tap the touch screen in just the right place, a rabbit will pop up. By getting one of these rabbits, you get a new item of clothing, shoes, or head stature to change your girl with. Not only that, but if you have certain Sega GBA games, you can insert them into the GBA cartridge slot to get some more items.

Without a doubt, Feel the Magic: XY/XX is quirky and exceptional. Although a few flaws mar it from being exceptional in the field of quality, it's still worth picking up and giving it a try. And let's not forget the 70's style classic “Rub It” song!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/28/04