Ever since I first saw this trailer for Slide Adventure: Mag Kid, I was extremely interested in it. I really love new controller methods and so it was no surprise that I was so excited about this game. After awhile, with no news of a US release, I all but forgot about it. Then a week or two ago, I found a website mentioning it, which I showed to a friend of mine who then showed me that it was only $19.90 on play-asia (not anymore though, unfortunately). I immediately ordered the game and waited rather impatiently for its arrival.

After getting it sent to my parents (Play-Asia wouldn’t send it to my PO box) and then having them send it to me (another debacle, as my post office never informed me that I had a package), I finally got the game more than two weeks after I purchased it. I ripped open the box and stuffed the cart and “stand” into my DS.

I feel like I should talk a little about the stand here. First off, don’t worry DS Phat owners, the stand works on both the regular and Lite systems. The stand is actually called a slide controller and is used for all the movement in the game. It uses the same technology as an optical mouse to detect movement. Since it uses that technology, the same restrictions apply: you have to play on a fairly flat surface and the surface can’t be reflective. I tested it on my non-reflective pants, and it worked fine. The slide controller also has a rumble pack built in! I haven’t been able to confirm if it works on all rumble pack games though.

As far as keeping it in at all times, as long as you aren’t trying to stick your DS in your pocket, the stand really doesn’t get much in the way. I played Contra 4 for a few minutes to test it out and it’s obvious that it is there and you probably look like an idiot with it sticking on the back of your DS, but it didn’t hinder my gaming at all. In fact, for FPSes and other games that use the touch screen, it helps a lot because you can just set it on the table and you won’t get hand cramps. And just to put the icing on the cake, the DS looks pretty cool just sitting there on the stand.

Alright, back to the actual game. I haven’t played all the way through it yet, but I feel that I have a pretty good idea of what the game is like. You play as a magnet and the main gameplay element is to get dazed enemies magnetized to you. This gives you the enemies abilities and the more of the same enemy you have attached, the stronger your power will be. The abilities so far are pretty neat and they have all had a use. The levels in the game are very simple. So far, it has all taken place in a single home which is split up into simple, arena-type areas. The missions in the game take place in multiple arenas. Most of the missions that I have had are to find a certain combination of enemies following me. There have been a few boss fights, one of which was incredibly easy and the other was actually pretty hard.

The presentation isn’t the best, but it is definitely good enough. The graphics are simple and nice and have a very “children’s book look” to them which I like. The little scenes are kind of dumb though. They have people talking behind a curtain so you can only see their sillouettes which just looks kind of low budget and it’s basically impossible to understand what they are saying. The objectives in the game, however, are shown with little pictures and descriptions, but you can always tell what to do from the picture. The music is also not outstanding, but good enough for the game.

Now onto what you all have been waiting for: the controls. You move your character around by moving the slide controller, B is cancel (for menus), L is strafe, and R or A use the powers that you get from enemies. Not only are the controls extremely intuitive, but they are just plain fun. The strafe feature made me think how awesome this would be for a top down shooter or something. There’s really not a lot more to say about the controls, they work exactly the way they are supposed to and I never ran into any problems because of them.

Even though it’s pretty simple, I am really enjoying the game so far. The controls are excellent, the presentation is good, and the gameplay is fun and I can only see it getting better. I don’t know how long it is though and I don’t think the slide controller will be used for any more games, which is a pity because it is really a cool concept. Also unfortunate is that it has risen back to regular import price ($35-50) which is considerably more than $20. $50 bucks is a little high, but if you like unique controls and new experiences, I would definitely recommend it if you can get it for $35 or lower.

[Edit] - 4cr writer June found out that Mag Kid was on sale again for $19.90 at Play-Asia!

And in case you wanted a little more about Mag Kid, my friend (and the only other American who bought Mag Kid), Gotcha Force, wrote a little bit on it:

As an American who loves Japanese stuff but doesn’t speak a lick of the language, this game was actually pretty easy to pick up and understand. As rbelmont expressed, everything else is pretty self explanatory. Most of the missions are scavenger hunts, and traveling to the different locations (floor, coffee table, desk, etc…) which could have been spiced up a bit I’ll admit. I was pleasantly surprised by how smooth and intuitive the controls were. There are very specific, very subtle physics choices made that enhance the experience. For instance, if you jerk the DS quickly in any direction, you will become separated from your “chain”, or you can use this technique to attack your enemies. There are some very fun mini-games to unlock too. Similar to the mini games in Mario 64 DS in the sense that it seems to show of some clever ideas using the peripheral, which I see a lot of potential for.

When you consider the possibility of using the touch screen in collaboration with it, which is something I wish they had implemented into Mag Kid, this thing could open up the DS to a whole new dimension of games. Just fooling around with it and using my imagination, I found that the mouse/touch/button combo would be perfect for complex first person shooters. Using the mouse to look around (giving you sort of a “movable window” into the game), the D-pad to move, and the touch screen to tap where you want to shoot. The more I ponder the possibilities, the more I hope that future games start to implement the “mouse” peripheral. Imagine playing an RTS where instead of dragging your stylus to the corner of the screen to move your “window”, you simply move the whole DS. This thing has amazing potential.

We haven’t been able to play the multiplayer mode, due to the fact that rbelmont and I don’t live anywhere near each other. And that no one I know is willing to buy the game and play with me (I hate my friends, bunch of jerks). Also, I tried using the peripheral instead if a rumble pack to play Starfox Command, And was disappointed that the DS didn’t recognize it. At all. I mean, the thing didn’t even turn on. So, that is a little disappointing, but in no way takes away from the fact that the game is pure awesome.

Gameplay Video
Official Website