Project Rub

Project Rub for Nintendo DS is Sonic Team's offbeat minigame adventure, published by Sega and released in Europe in 2005 after the game's 2004 debut in North America and Japan. It is the European and Australian name for Feel the Magic: XY/XX, while the Japanese release is Kimi no Tame nara Shineru. Built around the then-new Nintendo DS hardware, Project Rub turns a comic romantic pursuit into a succession of deliberately strange interactive performances.

The story begins when an ordinary young man spots a girl he wants to know. The Rub Rabbits, a rabbit-eared troupe described as a Super Performance Group, recruit him and urge him to win her attention through daring displays. Each episode sets up another improbable challenge, with the hero trying to protect the girl, rescue her, or otherwise make a memorable impression while a rival also competes for her affection. Stylised silhouettes, bold colour and expressive animation give the scenes a distinctive visual identity without relying on conventional character portraits.

Project Rub is organised as a chain of short games rather than a traditional exploration game. The Nintendo DS touchscreen is central: players tap targets, rub the screen, drag objects and trace quick movements with the stylus as the situation changes. Other events use the handheld's microphone, asking the player to blow to provide wind or speak and shout at appropriate moments. These input ideas make the hardware part of the premise, so a task can shift from careful stylus timing to an action driven by breath or voice.

The individual performances vary widely in theme and viewpoint. A player may deal with goldfish, dodge danger, guide a vehicle or take on one of the longer set-piece encounters that punctuate the story. Their rules are simple to learn, but later attempts demand quicker reactions and more precise use of the touchscreen or microphone. Story mode provides the main sequence, while completed challenges can be revisited in Memories, giving players a way to practise games and pursue additional goals outside the campaign.

Replay also feeds into the game's unlockable content. Earning stars in the replay mode can open clothing items for the girl in the Maniac feature, and hidden Rabbits can be found during story scenes. The game includes a sound test after completion, automatic saving, and English and Japanese language options. Compatible Sega Game Boy Advance cartridges in the DS's second slot can also unlock certain bonus hairstyles, an extra that takes advantage of the original DS model's backward-compatible hardware.

As Sega's first Nintendo DS release, Project Rub is closely tied to the system's early identity. Its design demonstrates both screens, stylus control and microphone input through compact, story-linked challenges instead of treating those features as incidental options. Sonic Team followed it with The Rub Rabbits!, released in 2005 in Japan and in Western territories in 2006, but Project Rub remains the opening chapter of the Rub Rabbits series and a particularly unusual example of an early Nintendo DS game.