Feel the Magic: XY/XX

Feel the Magic XY/XX
Developer(s) Sonic Team
Publisher(s)

Sega

Director(s) Takumi Yoshinaga
Producer(s) Yojiro Ogawa[1]
Designer(s) Emiko Sunaga
Takako Nagase
Artist(s) Nanako Yarimizu
Writer(s) Chizuru Asyura
Composer(s) Naofumi Hataya
Tomoko Sasaki
Mariko Nanba
Platform(s) Nintendo DS
Release date(s)
  • NA: November 16, 2004
  • JP: December 2, 2004
  • AUS: February 24, 2005
  • EU: March 11, 2005
Genre(s) Mini-game compilation
Mode(s) Single-player

Feel the Magic: XY/XX, known in Japan as Kimi no Tame nara Shineru (きみのためなら死ねる, lit. "I Would Die for You") and in Europe and Australia as Project Rub, is a minigame video game compilation developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega for the Nintendo DS handheld game console. It was first released in North America, and was later released in Japan and PAL regions.

It follows the attempts of a young male protagonist to impress a young woman, aided by a group of people known as the "Rub Rabbits" into completing a series of minigames related to the plot. These minigames are all controlled by the touch screen and microphone, and often involve tapping, scribbling, and blowing into the microphone.[2]

Plot

Feel the Magic: XY/XX follows the events of a man who meets a girl and instantly falls in love; however, she is not nearly as receptive, and the protagonist attempts to win her over, ranging from romantic gestures to protecting her from a stampede of bulls. As he attempts this, he is assisted and cheered on by a group of men with rabbit ears; however, he is also pursued by a romantic rival vying for the girl's affection, using his incredible intelligence and technology to steal her from him.

Gameplay

One of the minigames from Feel the Magic: XY/XX called "Goldfish"

Feel the Magic: XY/XX is played solely with the stylus and microphone, and features a voice recognition system through both speaking and breathing. It is composed of several minigames that are loosely linked, as the player tries to impress the girl.

There are three main modes of play. Story mode is the main mode which contains the minigames in each chapter with three levels of difficulty, 'Normal', 'Hard', and 'Hell'. Memories is a gameplay mode where one can play any of the previous minigames previously beaten. Stars can be collected in Memories, that can unlock certain pieces of clothing. The third mode, Maniac, is where one is able to take all the articles of clothing earned during the game to dress up the girl.

There are other features in the game. It can be played in English or Japanese, allowing it to be import friendly. 'Hidden Rabbits' can be collected in the cutscenes through Story mode, and after collecting enough, clothing can be unlocked. There are 60 Hidden Rabbits. After completing the game, the Sound Test is unlocked, where the sound effects and music can be listened to. Feel the Magic: XY/XX has automatic saves.

Development

In 2003, Sega dissolved United Game Artists (UGA), one of its internal game development studios. The head of the studio, Tetsuya Mizuguchi, left Sega that year to form Q Entertainment. Former members of UGA, such as Space Channel 5 veterans Takumi Yoshinaga and Takashi Yuda, were merged into Sonic Team.[3][4][5][6][7] At Sonic Team, Yuda produced Sonic Riders, while Yoshinaga created Feel The Magic and The Rub Rabbits!.[6][7][8] Development on the latter began after Nintendo unveiled the Nintendo DS hardware, which features a touch screen that can be rubbed with a stylus. After observing that the word "rub" sounds similar to the word "love", Yoshinaga decided to create a game built around both concepts. A "love comedy story" was the basis for the title's plot, while Yoshinaga chose to represent its characters with silhouettes to allow greater room for player interpretation. Although this subject matter was suggestive, Yoshinaga had no desire to include overtly sexual content, and considered the input of the predominantly female development team to avoid incorporating offensive material.[1][6]

Feel the Magic: XY/XX was originally announced at E3 2004 under its code name, Project Rub. Then-executive managing director Yuji Naka said the title would place "an emphasis on controls using a Touch Screen, which will allow us to achieve the concept of 'rubbing,' a unique and fun gameplay mechanic made possible by the DS. We will investigate a wide-range of gaming elements unique to DS, so look forward to future Sega titles."[9] Game details and previews came much later, in October.[10]

Reception and legacy

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic75/100[11]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Edge6/10[12]
EGM8/10[13]
Eurogamer7/10[14]
Famitsu33/40[15]
Game Informer8.5/10[16]
GamePro[17]
Game RevolutionC−[18]
GameSpot7.7/10[19]
GameSpy[20]
IGN7.8/10[21]
Nintendo Power4.6/5[22]
The Sydney Morning Herald[23]
The Times[24]

The game received "generally favorable reviews" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[11] In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of one eight, one nine, one seven, and one nine for a total of 33 out of 40.[15]

Author Torill Elvira Mortensen used Feel the Magic as a good example of a game that makes use of its respective console's technology. Torill noted that after its release, it was considered the best game for the Nintendo DS in terms of its utilization of the DS' touch screen and microphone. Torill also noted that its humour and its gameplay were appealing to reviewers.[25]

The Times gave it all five stars and said that the game "makes no use of the DS’s wireless communication feature, so there is no multiplayer event. Still, this off-beat gem is a must-have game for any fledgeling DS collection."[24] The New York Times gave it a favorable review and said that it "often lets you bypass annoying games in favor of entertaining ones, so the ratio of fun to aggravation is pretty good."[26] However, The Sydney Morning Herald gave it three stars out of five, saying, "Completed mini-games can be played individually with increasing difficulty, but there is little long-term appeal once the delightfully barmy story has finished."[23]

On February 2, 2006, the game won the "Best Concept" award at the 2006 Imagina Games Awards.[27] Game Informer named the game one of the top ten weirdest of all time.[28]

A prequel titled The Rub Rabbits! was released in Japan in 2005 and in North America and Europe in 2006. Music from the game appeared in a Samba de Amigo styled minigame in the 2012 game Rhythm Thief & the Emperor's Treasure, and in a Valentine's event in the 2012 game Phantasy Star Online 2.

References

  1. 1 2 Kikizo staff (April 17, 2005). "Sonic Team: Kikizo Interview Spring 2005". Kikizo. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
  2. ↑ Behrens, Matt (March 27, 2007). "DS: Innovation Retrospective". N-Sider. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
  3. ↑ Fahs, Travis (September 9, 2010). "IGN Presents the History of the Dreamcast (Page 2)". IGN. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
  4. ↑ Doree, Adam (April 13, 2004). "Video Interview: Tetsuya Mizuguchi". Kikizo. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
  5. ↑ Kikizo staff (October 13, 2005). "Tetsuya Mizuguchi Interview 2005". Kikizo. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 Thomason, Steve (March 2006). "Love Story". Nintendo Power. 201: 38–39.
  7. 1 2 Hoffman, Chris (March 2006). "Lord of the Board". Nintendo Power. 201: 65.
  8. ↑ Theobald, Phil (January 27, 2006). "Sega Talks Sonic Riders Part Two". GameSpy. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Sega Confirms Content for Nintendo DS". Sega. May 10, 2004. Archived from the original on October 29, 2007. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
  10. ↑ Harris, Craig (October 5, 2004). "Feel the Magic: XY/XX (Preview)". IGN. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
  11. 1 2 "Feel the Magic: XY/XX for DS Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
  12. ↑ Edge staff (January 2005). "Feel the Magic XY/XX". Edge (145). Archived from the original on March 8, 2005. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
  13. ↑ EGM staff (January 2005). "Feel the Magic: XY/XX". Electronic Gaming Monthly (187).
  14. ↑ Bramwell, Tom (December 13, 2004). "Feel the Magic: XY-XX". Eurogamer. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
  15. 1 2 "きみのためなら死ねる". Famitsu. 834. November 26, 2004.
  16. ↑ Miller, Matt (January 2005). "Feel The Magic XY/XX". Game Informer (141): 145. Archived from the original on February 16, 2008. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
  17. ↑ Child of Chaka (November 25, 2004). "Feel the Magic: XY/XX Review for DS on GamePro.com". GamePro. Archived from the original on February 9, 2005. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
  18. ↑ Silverman, Ben (November 24, 2004). "Feel the Magic: XY/XX Review". Game Revolution. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
  19. ↑ Torres, Ricardo (November 19, 2004). "Feel the Magic: XY/XX Review". GameSpot. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
  20. ↑ Theobald, Phil (November 20, 2004). "GameSpy: Feel the Magic: XY/XX". GameSpy. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
  21. ↑ Nix, Marc (November 18, 2004). "Feel the Magic XY/XX". IGN. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
  22. ↑ "Feel the Magic: XY/XX". Nintendo Power. 188: 112. February 2005.
  23. 1 2 Hill, Jason (March 31, 2005). "Charming romp". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
  24. 1 2 "Project Rub". The Times. March 5, 2005. Retrieved July 4, 2016.(subscription required)
  25. ↑ Torill Elvira Mortensen. Perceiving play: the art and study of computer games. pp. 28–34.
  26. ↑ Herold, Charles (December 9, 2004). "New Breed of Games Is Not All Thumbs". The New York Times. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
  27. ↑ Jenkins, David (February 2, 2006). "Imagina 06 Award Winners Announced". Gamasutra.
  28. ↑ "The Top 10 Weirdest Games of All Time". Game Informer (180): 28. April 2008.
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