Japan has always been the place where Nintendo’s wildest ideas come to life. In 2007, one developer took it to the next level by creating a device that transformed your entire DS into a desktop mouse. The “Slide Controller” was an official product, albeit a quite wacky one, that came exclusively with “Slide Adventure: MagKid.” This device plugs into the DS’s bottom GBA slot and features a bright red LED sensor.
Just stick it in, slap a teeny magnet called the “Mag Kid” onto the touchscreen, and plop your DS down anywhere it can sit flat. Then just slide the handheld around like you’re dragging a cursor along with you. The sensor tracks the movement spot on, and the magnet character will follow along in real time. Enemies scatter, items pop into place, and the whole world your kid’s character is exploring just feels so alive and interactive.
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One stage will include you seeking for robot pieces and assembling them by sliding into glowing pickups. Boss battles? Quick dodges and plenty of action as you smash your enemies into walls and dangers. When the DS offers a rumbly kick on collisions, it adds to the mayhem, such as when you clip a wall too hard, causing your grip to jerk. Collect a part exactly so, and you’ll get a nice little buzz indicating that you’ve got it. That sensor, however, is quite temperamental; some surfaces allow it to slide as smoothly as silk, while others simply throw it off. You may have a lot of fun experimenting with different positions on your desk to determine what works best.
But that’s not all; MagKid includes three major modes to play with. You’ve got your typical robot assembly, in which you’re chasing uncommon pieces through confined spaces. Then there’s a trail-building task in which you tie together defeated foes to earn a high score. On top of that, there are a number of mini-games that can be unlocked by scanning special cards, adding a variety of new powers and twists to the gameplay.
The story is told through a succession of adorable cutscenes, and it revolves around a youngster and his magnetic buddy who are up against a slew of home hazards. The text is all in Japanese, but the movement speaks for itself; you can see this youngster sliding into a swarm of bugs or dodging a big spider boss that cracks when you get it just right.
Agenda, a studio known for developing some strange DS games, created this. They used off-the-shelf optical technology and scaled it down to fit in a GBA-sized brick. Nintendo must have liked it because they granted it official peripheral status, albeit only in Japan. It was available for a while, initially priced around 5,800 yen, but it was never distributed elsewhere.
Today, if you can still find a whole set, it will cost you hundreds of dollars on auction sites. If you can find a loose controller, that’s a different story, but even without it, the game is still enjoyable to play, with the touchscreen used to drag the magnetic character around. Just one thing to remember: if you have a DS Lite or an original model, you’re all set. However, the newer DSi models won’t work because they don’t have the proper slot for the controller to plug into.
