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Developer: Konami
Publisher: Konami
Genre: Music
Region: NTSC
Format:
Release Date: 24 Oct 05
User Rating
10 (1 vote) -
- Konami's massively hip dancer comes out for the Cube, as Mario does the boogie to classic Nintendo tunes. A solid choice for music-hungry fans.
Overview
If you told me ten years ago that a dancing game would be among one of the best selling games for the consoles and arcades, I would have literally fell on the floor laughing because I just never saw this craze coming. But then came Dance Dance Revolution, which single-handedly created the dancing genre, and the rest, as they say, is history. With the DDR series absolutely thriving on the PS2, and even the Xbox got their own DDR flavor in Ultramix, it's high time that something special comes for the GameCube. And cue one famous Italian plumber getting his groove on, in Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix.
Gameplay
Well first and foremost, let's just discuss the idea behind Dance Dance Revolution. You see back quite a few years ago, there was an arcade game under the name DDR which basically was a rhythm based music game where you jumped on a direction pad that looked like the one on a controller. This idea just caught on like a wild fire, and now you're seeing homes be filled with DDR style pads and games. This game however brings Mario into the act, and replaces the typical pop music with classic Nintendo tunes. For those brave enough to jump on a DDR pad, you will find that this game is no different from what we all have become accustomed to, and doesn't make any attempt to mess with the formula.
The game does have a story mode to go through that is where you would also expect the meat of the game to be. The game actually does try and throw in some back story with five music keys being stolen and that is why you are going to be dancing your way through five worlds. Now this idea in my opinion was actually very justified and the idea was definitely a very good one. I have wanted to see the DDR series go with a storyline for quite sometime now, and to see that Mario Mix had one was a good thing. However when I realized that the story mode lasts only an hour or so, I realized this was much better on paper than it turned out in this game.
What is interesting about Mario Mix is that although the game has several modes in which you will need to complete to unlock everything, they are quite easy to complete. I am sure any veteran DDR fan, or anyone who doesn't have two left feet will be able to quickly and easily complete this game on all levels. Even I who am just the world's worst DDR player didn't find the game to be a huge challenge.
In the end Mario Mix is a good solid DDR title, but at the same token it really doesn't bring anything to the table that necessarily upgrades the series. The game is good, no doubt about it, but the story mode would have been better had it been twice as long. With that being said, this is the perfect way for the younger crowd to get involved in the series and have a great time.
Graphics
Visually DDR: Mario Mix is pleasing to the eye and uses the typical Nintendo-style colors and feel and brings it to the DDR universe. I mean if you could just picture what Mario would look like dancing; this is exactly how the game is portrayed. The developers did a fantastic job of just bringing everything they needed from the Nintendo Universe and making the music environments very bright and vibrant. Sure they could have mixed things up a bit more, but the overall presentation quality is still very good.
Fun Factor
Although some may not be too excited to hop on a pad and starting to dance, most will find DDR: Mario Mix to be an extremely enjoyable game, and one that I believe will really impress many this holiday season. This is one of those great party games that are just a lot of fun to just dance your troubles away and have a good time. While the game may not be overly deep, which does hurt the game in the long run, I have to say that the game nevertheless is just very light hearted and enjoyable.
Overall
Although DDR: Mario Mix may not be the definitive DDR game, I do think that it does a very good job of combining both the DDR universe with the Mario universe into one very comprehensive game. The mat that you get when you buy the game is also very impressive. So in the end, you just get a good solid game that may not have revolutionized the way we play DDR, but it sure did keep the fun alive in a whole new style.
- Gameplay
7.0 - Graphics
8.0 - Fun Factor
8.0 - Overall
8.0
