"Sega once again copies Nintendo, with suprising results"

Ever since the release of the Nintendo Famicom (called the "NES" in the States) and the Sega SC-3000 (also called the "Master System" in the rest of the world) were released in the mid-1980's to the Japanese, Sega and Nintendo were rivals, each one trying to match the other with games and hardware. Each one always tried to turn their rival's weaknesses into their own strength. For instance, the SNES was built for graphics and sound, verses the Genesis's speed and controls. Mario was a platformer with some minor exploration required, whereas Sonic (at least at first) was all about going fast through a level.

After the fall of the Sega that superceded Nintendo with the most ammount of control of the gaming industry and then handed it to Sony on a platter in 2001, Sega became a shell of what it was, divided amongst dozens of sub-companies and sold off. Yet still the rivalry lives on in Sonic Team, which continues to make games in exisiting series, such as the Sonic franchise, and making games that share simmilarities to Nintendo's own series, such as Sonic Battle and Feel the Magic.

The reason I have presented this mismash of gaming history is because to really appreciate Feel the Magic: XX/XY, you have to be aware that Sega has a tendency to imitate Nintendo's series, and on rare instances manages to surpass the Big N.

What did Sega do better than Nintendo? For one, Feel the Magic is basically a "hip" take of Wario Ware (given that the GBA sequel and DS versions were not out at the time, we'll use the old GBA Wario Ware for each reference of the series for this review). Artwork is best described as...well, my knowlege in art is not that good. My best guess is that the late 70s or early 80s, but that's a guess. Whatever the origins, Feel the Magic's artwork is beautiful, and at no time does the game ever jump, glitch, or goof up.

This is a fortunate thing, as half of the charm of Feel the Magic is the "story," which is told through stills, and the graphics, simple though they might be at times, are able to convey emotions on a scale that only few other games have been able to. Or as much as possible given the "story."

You might have noticed that I used quotation marks around references to FtM's "story." There's a reason: like Wario Ware, FtM has a very general and generic plot, while simple enough to push the game and yet complex enough to make you wish to keep going.

Basically, you see a girl. You want girl. You join a group that had raided the Playboy mansion and stolen their rabbit ears, call themselves the "Rub Rabbits," and commit other acts to prove their insanity. You join group to prove that women love insane men. Your first insane task? Rubbing a man's stomach to make him regurgitate a fish that he accidentally swallowed.

Ok, you are not really rubbing his stomach in-game, but when you think about it, how would you REALLY try to get a guy to spit-up a fish he swallowed? Note that the main character is a guy. Now picture what it would look like.

Either you were disgusted or cried tears of laughter from the above image I had you make. And therein lies some of the charm of Feel the Magic. Whether it means to or not, when you play these games, you have to stop and think of just what these would REALLY look like. Again, good choice in art style...

Now that I have either driven you insane with my description of the back-drop and hilarious/horrifying image, let me tell you EXACTLY why I compare this to Wario Ware: the games. Like Wario Ware, you are faced with a barrage of mini-games that reflect the events in the story. Using the first mini-game again as a reference (the fish-regurgetating one), you start by holding the stylus in your hand - doesn't matter which one, this is Lefty friendly as well as Right.

Now, you see a fish in the main's stomach. Never mind WHY you would try to make a man spit up a fish once it has entered the acid-filled orgain, just rub your stylus in an upward motion to push the fish up his throat, where it flies out. A wave of little rabbits rise up both screen, and you suddenly have MORE fish to save. You do this again. Then the moron swallows MORE fish, and you do it again. Two more waves after a nice break image, and you are done.

You then see the guy and the girl from the menus next to a "Love Meter." See, if you completed the required rounds, you earn the "love" of the girl, and go to the next part of the story, and the next blitz of games.

Eventually, after going through various games, someone screams out. Trhough the suddenly-appearing dust clouds, we see dark shapes running your way: bulls. A LOT of bulls. Some BIG ones too. And a lot of Rub Rabbits skiing on the road AMIDST THE BULLS.

Did I mention these guys were both insane and suicidal? And you're one of their group?

At any rate, never mind why those idiots are among the bull (pun intentional), tap the bulls to remove...mind control devices? Never mind that mystery now, as bulls that need to be tapped five times appear, and you dispatch of them.

Suddenly, a BIG, BIG bull shows up. We're talking the mother of all bulls. You must tap this thing 100 times before it tramples you to death.

No sweat, right?

Beat him, and watch as your rival shows up. Yep, you have a rival who wants your babe. And he's sporting a purple mohawk (compared to your blue church cut), along with a dog collar with spikes.

Now I don't want to say more, as you might be mad if I spoiled things (sarcasm), but suffice it to say that insane and great minigames await you, with more complicated boss fights thrown in.

As you might have noticed, the controls for the game are centered around tapping the screen, rubbing the screen, and dragging things along the screen. On occasion you will have to blow on the microphone, and on even more occasions you will have to yell into it. The controls are FAR more reflex-required than Wario Ware, and the challenges are FAR, FAR more advanced and skill-intensive than Wario Ware at times (the Plant Boss, for one example). However, by the time you reach the higher levels, your skills will have improved ten fold.

Of course, if they haven't, you can always go back to the main menu and replay the games you have beaten in Memory mode, and earn points for each wave you best.

These points, as well as any Rabbit symbols you find when you tap various areas of the story cut scenes, are used to unlock various outfits for the menu girl. With the right ammount of points (or a couple of Sonic Team's GBA carts in your DS), you can dress up the menu girl in anything from a bikini, to a school girl, to nude. Yep, there is a "nude" option, but don't get exited, pervs: the nude outfit is basically the entire blank outfit.

What, you thought Sega would release an X-rated game on a Nintendo System?

Though the game is playable by anyone, there is a reason for the Teen rating, and though some may think it minor, I know a score of parents that would die if they saw their child doing this:

See, you can interact with the menu girl. Tap her leg, and she'll react to it. Tap her head, she'll react to it. Tap her breasts...

See, this girl acts like a childish, shy, naive teen; the dream of hentai all over the world. Now, there really isn't anything you can do about this, but it is worth noting.

If you can drag your thoughts back to the game itself, the game shares another trait with Wario Ware, and for both, it is the downside. See, once you play everything, beat everything, and do evertying, it's over. The game is ONLY one-player, the few difficulty modes are over far too quickly, and the unlockables are easily achieved or already won by the time you beat Hell Mode, the hardest mode in the game.

Still, this game is worth renting, or buying used, or just waiting for the price to drop in a year. Just play this title, as, while short, is a fun diversion, and a nice spin on the Wario Ware formula.

*Final Score: 7 of 10
*Best Feature: Variety of games
*Worst Feature: Nothing to do when done.
*If You Liked: Wario Ware Touched, Wario Ware (GBA), Wario Ware (GC), Wario Ware Twisted (not out in the states now, but soon...)
*Guilty Pleasure: No, not the game where you unbutton the girl's shirt; screaming into your DS to shout at the girl just to see the reaction and faces of your coworkers. Just don't expect anyone to think you are sane afterwards.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 05/07/05, Updated 11/20/07

Game Release: Feel the Magic: XY/XX (US, 11/16/04)