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Who would have thought that a return to the Sega of old – a company brimming with a creativity bordering on insanity - would come from a launch title, let alone one for a new Nintendo handheld? Times certainly have changed, and Feel the Magic: XY/XX takes a nodding cue from Nintendo's successful Wario Ware series and produces what is essentially the number one reason to own a dual-screened handheld this holiday season. It's common practice for no single platform-defining games to accompany a new hardware's launch; the short time from when developers receive official software development kits and a hardware's launch date leaves companies with little room for innovation. Microsoft's Halo and Nintendo's Super Mario 64 are odd exceptions to this rule. Feel the Magic: XY/XX doesn't deviate from this, really; Sega's right-out-of-the-gate Nintendo DS release forgoes sheer innovation by infecting familiar gameplay with brilliant creativity.
The similarities to the Wario Ware series are undeniable; Sega has similarly drawn upon its vast reservoir of classic releases to influence its mini-games. Ulala and the Space Channel 5 series taps into one game, where the main character wooing his potential mate by going up, up, down, down, shoot, shoot, shoot. Or, in this case, turn, turn, turn and fire, fire, fire. None of the mini-games make use of the d-pad; instead, you're forced to become quickly accustomed to the stylus, touch pad and, occasionally, the microphone. There are few gaming experiences nearly as ridiculous as screaming into a machine to catch the attention of a girl, not to mention being forced to yell "I love you!" at the end of it all. With the exception of the Wi-Fi multiplayer, Sega has taken advantage of every new hardware feature in the Nintendo DS. Don't be fooled by the stylishness of Feel the Magic: XY/XX; it isn't much more than a collection of flashy mini-games. They're damn addictive mini-games, but nothing more. There isn't an epic adventure for you to undertake in-between mini-game sessions ala Super Mario 64 DS; the story segments are quirky throwaways only meant to loosely link the mini-games together, and once the games have been mastered, there it little more to them. There are no high scores, no bonus modes, and only a few games have a random element to them. Games like Feel the Magic: XY/XX won't be played a year from now, but for the moment, it's a fantastic poster child for everything the Nintendo DS hardware is supposed to be about. As early adopters to Nintendo's inventive hardware patiently wait for the next wave of releases, Sega's release is well worth playing in the meantime.
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