For years now people in Japan have been seeing nonstop releases of dating sims for consoles and personal computers. In Japan these games are called Bishoujo Games, which means "Pretty Girl" in Japanese. For the first time Sega is attempting to bring this alien genre to the US in the form of Feel The Magic: XY-XX. This bizarre dating sim is unlike anything seen in the genre. The only game as weird as this one is Wario Ware.

The graphics are unlike anything ever seen in a video game before. The game uses silhouetted celshading and a mixture of 2d and 3d graphics, used in a way that is entirely unique to this genre. The silhouette character is actually made of polygons, which is rather interesting as it sometimes doesnt actually give the impression that it’s made of polygons.

Sound is of excellent quality in this game. An unusual set of tunes and soundbytes go well with the action though there is more than enough room to make the music and voicework more over the top. However, what is existing does the job well enough.

The game has the same wacky feel of Sega’s other eccentric titles while holding a feeling of franticness, similar to that of Wario Ware, with a collection of over 30 challenges to overcome in order to win the girl of your dreams. While most of the challenges use the touchscreen alone, a few include microphone support as well.

Feel The Magic is really taking games above and beyond in innovation. The story surrounds the cliched story of love at first sight, but she doesn’t seem to notice you. So you have to make her notice you with kind deeds that you perform via the various tasks handed to you throughout the game. Based on what was shown, it can already be put up there with other bizarre titles such as Space Channel 5, Samba de Amigo, and even the infamous Rez. Some of these tasks include fighting off bulls as you protect your fallen girl at the running of the bulls, blowing out candles via the microphone, brushing dirt off of her body, picking deadly scorpions off of her, finding posessions she lost, and attempting to win her heart from another guy. The selection seems rather diverse, demanding both speed, precision, and a quick mind.

Overall this is one title to keep a lookout for when the DS launches. Expect a full review on this title when it releases in November alongside the DS.