Rub it, you poor bastard, rub it.

I’ve never owned Feel the Magic, so my two or so opportunities to play it have been limited. The first time I didn’t even have a DS yet, and was playing on a friend’s. He introduced it to me as kind of a dating sim (I don’t think he has a clue what a dating sim is o.O), and assured me that it was indeed, a worthy game. However, FTM rubbed me the wrong way. I got as far as the Parachute stage, and I said, “WTF does punching in numbers on a pad have to do with parachuting!?” I was terrible at it, I couldn’t even do that stage, so I gave up.

I came back to it after I acquired a DS, and after countless hours in Mario 64 minigames, my touchscreen skills had improved. Borrowing a copy, I started to get a feel for the game’s charm. I actually got to sit down with the opening sequences intact, and see that the game never meant to make sense. What does punching in numbers have to do with parachuting? I dunno. What does incredibly twisted ‘performance art’ have to do with wooing a hot silhouette? I dunno. Furthermore, I don’t need to know. So, this time, I managed to bungle my way through the entire game, and then I gave it back, edified. That was six or so months ago.

Another friend admitted that, while the game was indeed good, he couldn’t get past the Steal level (the one with the flashlights and cats). As he was talking though, a wave of good feeling washed over me. Suddenly, I had to play it again. I couldn’t even really remember much about the game, except that on several occasions I thought I was going to break my DS. So I borrowed it two days ago, and have played it since. This time, I made it though Normal, then (with an FAQ’s aid) found all the rabbits, then made it through Hard, and I’m working on Hell.

Hell YES.

So, the plot. A minigame-type game dosen’t need a whole lot of plot. It can be silly (like Incredible Crisis), or really trite (like Wario Ware), and FTM covers those two. At the same time, it’s heartfelt, romantic, dramatic, and really honest when it’s being silly. That seems to be a first. It really puts the player in the hero’s goldfish shirt, depsite the player not having direct control of the hero most of the time.

In fact, if someone made that goldfish shirt, I would buy one, and wear it until it wore out. Then buy another.

Towards the end, the primary plot of “I just met this girl and I must have her” really blossoms. The bad guy, the big punk dude, manages to steal her away, which is an interesting plot device to employ. On one hand, it has a “Popeye and Brutus” motif to it. Big guy steals hero’s girl, hero kicks big guy’s ass. On the other, it has a more epic “Final Fantasy” feel to it. Not only is this your girl, but she’s also important because she’s sparking semi-repressed childhood memories that suddenly haunt you in the game.

This sets you up for one of the best freaking endings ever. And one of the reasons I keep playing now. I’m more into it than I’ve ever been, despite how much I’ve played it and should be bored of it by now. I’ll try not to go into spoiler territory, but when the hero takes off his helmet, that moment is priceless.

The mechanics of the game were actually, I believe, a little ahead of their time when it was released as a launch title. Not only had noone really played touchscreen games before, but this one requires timing and accuracy. LOTS of it. The first time I made it though, the Bull level took me several tries. I was awkward with a stylus, and too slow knocking out the bulls. And the damn skiers. I cursed them to no end. I was way too twitchy. I was also hopeless in Monocycle. I have really shaky hands, especially while under stress, and I can’t even draw a semi-straight line to save my life. If most DS players were like me, they bungled their way through and probably never touched the game again. Of course, I doubt most DS players are like me, but at the time, touchscreen gaming was new. And as most new things are, a little awkward.

Going back to it recently, I flew through Normal, and had a moderately bumpy ride through Hard. Monocycle didn’t even faze me on Hard, and everything I remembered as being so very hard was much easier. I now consider the DS a teacher, a mentor and trainer in hand skills. It’s clear that I didn’t spend all that time in Kirby and Meteos for nothing.

So, with word of a sequel coming, I’m ready. If you haven’t felt the magic lately, or you never got through the whole game, or you never played it, go to it. It is, how you say, awesome.