Feel The Magic

[chuddy_2001uk]

Since their move from the console market into the games only market, Sega have really let their creative ideas and wacky designs come true. To think it all started with a blue, lightning quick hedgehog as well. Well, Sega are not ones for missing out on opportunities and so when the DS was announced they were quick to jump onto the bandwagon and get a game in production. Knowing Sega, it was never going to be a boring, unoriginal game, and Feel The Magic certainly lives up to what we have come to expect from the company.



Graphics

Styled in a very 60s art style, Feel the Magic looks beautiful. Although by no means does it push the 3D capabilities of the DS, it certainly runs very smoothly and maintains a great speed throughout all of the game. Animation is also very smooth flowing and looks very nice on the small DS screens. The game also features cut scenes which, although being still images mainly, pan down the screens like a comic book and really add to the great presentation of the title. It’s a wonder to look at and follows a similar path that cell-shading has taken upon the current consoles – It’s distinctive, bright and makes playing Feel the Magic a joy.


This game could have easily been created upon the N64 or PSone with no graphical difficulties, but due to the small display of the DS and the tall screen to take advantage of, the game works wonderfully and it simply would not have had this same presentation effect had it have been upon a TV set. The only slight worries are that some of the textures are quite obviously low-res and Sega have opted for many simple graphical effects at times when a more complicated transparency would have a nice addition – but it’s a minor niggle overall.


Sound

To tie in with the 60s art style, the games soundtrack is also retro based. It is another very catchy, gets-in-your-head sound track that sounds very Nintendo-ish at heart and no matter who you are you will not fail to smile while listening to the music. The game also features simple voice samples that do sound very Japanese, and these manage to add to the games presentation rather than feeling like a pointless addition, which again is nice. The sound is pretty good overall, and sounds great upon the DS’ stereo speakers. It is clear and high quality, and with a pair of headphones you will be bouncing along to the music all day long.



Gameplay

The game itself is best described as a dating, mini-game ... game. It follows the story of an ordinary boy who happens to bump into a ‘beautiful’ woman while out walking on the street. The boy decides to do anything in his power to get the girl to notice him, and hopefully fall in love with him eventually. As the boy, you have to perform dozens of bizarre tasks and stunts in order to impress the girl and even rescue here from a strange kidnapping plot as well. It certainly is one of Sega’s stranger ideas. The gameplay itself consists of 25 or so mini-games that represent all the weird and wonderful tasks your boy has to perform – these are broken up with the storyboard to keep track of the progress between the boy and the girl. If you have ever played Wario Ware on the GBA then you will know what to expect, although each of the mini-games on Feel the Magic do last longer and are more complex than the simple, quick ones found in Wario’s offerings.


The games include using the stylus to help goldfish out a man’s stomach, helping to undo a woman’s top and spray painting a wall. It’s strange, but very clever as Sega have released the only DS launch title to make use of nearly all of the new features on offer with the console. (Except Wi-Fi) The Stylus is used in most of the mini-games for control, and this feels responsive although sometimes I detected a slight lag between touching the screen and any effect. The Spray painting game uses this feature best, and requires accurate drawing skills. Then there is the DS microphone, and Feel the Magic has several mini-games that require you to either talk or blow into the microphone in order to complete them. One game involves blowing out candles by, yes you’ve guessed it, blowing into the microphone – and it does work, very well. I’m still not sure where Sega get their ideas from but this is a clear example that there is some magic happening at that studio, and it’s very nice to see a launch title making use of the capabilities and new functions on offer. It is also nice for us to be able to use them and gives a good taster for what we can expect to come.



Lifespan

Sadly, Feel the Magic does has some major flaws – one of which is the short life span of the story mode. The mini-games begin to get repetitive the further into the game you play on, and once you get into the style of play, you should have no trouble in completing Feel the Magic within a day. However, completing the story mode unlocks several more extra features including a hard mode should you wish to play through the story mode again. Mini-games can be replayed again at any time once unlocked via story mode, but quite honestly there are only a few that I found were worth playing more than a couple of times. Manic mode allows you to play through the games to unlock points, which subsequently can be used to buy new dresses’ and hairstyles for the woman in the game. Although a nice quirky extra, it adds little to the gameplay or lifespan of the title. A few more hidden extras are also there for the finding should you play through the game thoroughly enough…



Summary

Feel the Magic is incredible unique, and is a great piece of design work from Sega. The storyline is fun to follow and the games are wacky and certainly different from your usual game tasks. The presentation of the title is really beautiful and the graphical style makes you enjoy watching every minute of the still, story line pictures as they flash up on both screens. The gameplay is fun and it is also great to find a launch title that shows us what the DS can be capable of with a bit of imagination. However the game is not going to last you a long time and so be aware of that fact. A multiplayer mode would have aided this game to a much higher score. But in its own right, Feel the Magic is an interesting, and entertaining title and certainly one that is worth getting for your collection – at least until Wario Ware is released!






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Graphics - 910

Lovely presentation and although not pushing the 3D power of the DS, it looks unique and very stylish.


Sound - 8/10

A very catchy soundtrack will keep you humming these all day long. Great voice samples too, and great quality on the stereo speakers.


Gameplay - 7/10

Wacky and original mini-games that make use of all the DS’ new features. But gets repetitive and pretty tedious at times.


Lifespan - 6/10

The story mode will be done and dusted within the day, and the hard mode does little to keep you coming back. Unlockable features are nice but again seem pointless.





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An original and stylish launch title that uses some very clever control methods. Lovely presentation but it noticeably lacks a multiplayer mode. Good fun, but short lived.

[jjgamepro17]

yea thats true i beat the whole thing in a day both normal and hard mode . but its still and ok game but not one of the best on the market

[Mario Famous]

Yeah, I've also beaten the game and the replay value is slim to none. Good 1 timer though.

[mario_master64]

i agree the game is really quite easy, ive even completed hell mode...

[PrawnJuice]

I have the Australian version, Project Rub. I'm currently up to Scene 15.

I thought it was a great game in general. It's truely unique, but reminds me of the Playstation game Point Blank.

I found an easter egg which makes the girl's top disapear in the menu... but isn't that useful since she's a sihloette.

I also have the locations of most of the hidden bunnies too.

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To make the girl's top disapear, change the language to Japanese.

Rabbit locations:
Goldfish: Touch the goldfish in his stomach.
Parachute: Touch the plane on the bottom panel.
Candle: Touch the candle wick on the top panel and the bottom panel.
Cart: Touch the spike in front of the cart on the bottom panel.
Bull: Touch the largest bull and the goldfish on the hero's shirt.
Clean Up: Touch the two swabs and the goldfish on the hero's shirt.
Antlion: Touch the bug on the bottom panel.
Bus Stop: Touch the two separate halfs of the ball and the right half on the bottom screen.
Monocycle: Touch the sun.
Painter: Touch the paint can and the small guy on the bottom panel.
Scorpion: Touch the largest scorpion.
Sign: Touch all the separate sign pieces.
Microphone: Touch the end of the mic.
Hands: Touch her hand both times and the goldfish on the hero's shirt.
Drive: Touch the car's backlights on both panels.
Yacht: Touch the goldfish on the hero's shirt, the yacht, and the girl.
Bonfire: Touch the hero's eyes and the buttons on the girl's shirt.
Dance: Touch the hero and all the notes on the top panel.
Snake: Touch the hero in the snake's mouth.
Seeker: Touch the sun and the hero.
Plants: Touch the hero and the left vine on the top panel.
Chaser: Touch the unicycle.
Steal: Touch all the cats in the beams of light.
Nightmare1,2,3: Touch the hero's groin on the top panel on all three


Spoilers end.

[jjgamepro17]

ive beatin the game. it was kinda easy. i beat normal and hard mode.it is an ok game but still kinda short