DDR Freak - Dance Dance Revolution Mario Mix for Gamecube (US) Review

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By: Milton Le (05/20/05)
Starting out as only a rumor, Nintendo was proud to show off their newest interactive music game, Dance Dance Revolution with Mario (also refered to as Dance Dance Revolution Mario Mix) for the Gamecube console. The object of the game is like the other DDR games, except this one has more of a story. "Someone has stolen the Music Keys and released the music they held." Nintendo's press release states, "Without the Music Keys, the unstable power of the music is wreaking havoc on the land. Mario must recover them before the chaos destroys the entire Mushroom Kingdom! The path to the keys is simple: Left, Right, Up, Down, Right, Down..."
The game will feature more than 25 songs, including songs from other Mario games and other "familiar favorites." With the difficulty level being lower, compared to the other DDR games, this game is more geared towards beginner players. The game's excitement and fun doesn't deteriorate from the easier difficulty scale.
Konami has added a new "mode" called "Mush Mode," where certain things would happen during the course of that song. There aren't any of the modifiers previously seen in DDR Extreme (speed mods, hidden, etc.). For example, the song Deep Freeze has the following Mush Mode:

The Freezy can get pretty high on the screen to the point where it feels as if you're playing with Super Sudden.
    In the E3 build, there was storyline mode along with Minigame mode (where you only play the minigames. In the full version, players will be able to unlock songs, minigames, and difficulty levels by passing songs and collecting Music Keys.

First Impressions
    Although veteran/advanced players will find DDR w/ Mario extremely easy, they will be able to appreciate the presentation of the game. The Mush Modes, which has never been seen in a DDR game, adds a layer of difficulty that almost all players can enjoy. This game can be compared to DDR Disney Mix, in that it contains characters and music not traditionally found in any DDR mix. As players play the game, they will see their character driving around in their Mario Kart vehicle, dancing with other Mario world characters, etc.; which is a nice change from seeing the traditional DDR videos of colors, shapes, etc.
    The music of the game is excellent and many will enjoy the Mario remixes (Cabin Fever, Boo Boogie, and Destruction Dance to name a few) and other recognizable songs (Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, Pomp and Circumstance, etc.) and many who played DDR w/ Mario at E3 enjoyed it. The songs that are included in this game range from games as old as Wrecking Crew to current hits like Mario Kart: Double Dash. The background has your character interacting with the environment and dancing around and using moves that you would only find them doing in Mario Party (when they win a minigame).
As with other DDR video games, DDR with Mario is simple to learn and play, but get harder as you start unlocking songs. The E3 demo had only 18 songs (the hardest song which is easily comparable to a 6-7 footer in the other DDR games), but Nintendo's press release states that the game will include "...over 25 songs."
    The minigames are fun and a change of pace from just stepping on arrows to music. The minigames can all be played with a dancepad and will have you stepping on arrows to hit/run in that direction.

When the Goomba appears, step on the arrow of the pipe that the Goomba is.
Overall, Nintendo and Konami definitely has a hit by taking one of the world's beloved franchises, and combining it with a style of gameplay that gamers around the world have been playing and enjoying for years. By expanding the music included in the Dance Dance Revolution genre, more and more players will start to play Dance Dance Revolution. The players that don't enjoy the trance/house/etc. music of the other DDR series or the players that want to enjoy the remixes of classic Nintendo games, will embrace DDR w/ Mario as it has the music that players around the world have been hearing while they are playing Nintendo's hits.

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