Software:Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix

Short description: 2005 video game

Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix
North American cover art
Developer(s)	Konami Hudson Soft Nintendo SPD
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Director(s)	Yukihiro Yamazaki
Producer(s)	Hitoshi Yamagami Hirotaka Ishikawa
Composer(s)	U1-Asami
Series	Mario Dance Dance Revolution
Platform(s)	GameCube
Release	JP: July 14, 2005 NA: October 24, 2005 EU: October 28, 2005 AU: November 24, 2005
Genre(s)	Music, exergaming
Mode(s)	Single-player

Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix, known in Europe as Dancing Stage Mario Mix, is a 2005 music video game developed by Konami and Hudson Soft and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. It is the first Dance Dance Revolution game to be released on a Nintendo video game console outside Japan.

Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix predominantly features characters, music, and locations from the Mario franchise. The game was bundled with the dance pad controller.

Gameplay

Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix runs on a modified version of the Mario Party 6 engine, and follows the gameplay formula established in all prior Dance Dance Revolution games. The game features several gameplay modes: Story Mode takes the player through a linear progression of tracks, framed as a story of Mario and Luigi traveling the Mushroom Kingdom to retrieve the missing Music Keys. Once a track has been cleared in Story Mode, it becomes available for play in Free Mode, which allows up to two players to dance simultaneously. The player can purchase items at Lakitu's shop during Story Mode that can be used to assist them if they are struggling. Some stages feature "Mush Mode" rules, which replace the traditional arrows with Mario enemies that feature unique mechanics. Special minigames will also appear during Story Mode, providing alternate gameplay styles such as jumping up on a flagpole or hitting Goombas that emerge from pipes with a hammer. Like the tracks, these mini-games will be unlocked for free play in Mini-Game Mode once they have been cleared in Story Mode. Once the player completes Story Mode for the first time, they will unlock Story Mode EX, which features a slightly altered selection of songs. Additional difficulty levels can also be unlocked.

Plot

The game opens with Waluigi stealing the four Music Keys, which can grant wishes, from Truffle Towers. However, when he tries to open the door to the room containing the Music Keys, three of them scatter across the Mushroom Kingdom, leaving him with only one key. From a distance, Toad watches these events unfold and rushes to tell Mario or Luigi, depending on which character the player chose, who then rushes off to retrieve the missing Music Keys.

The keys are recovered by completing tasks for other characters who have found the scattered keys and then defeating them in a dance challenge. These characters are, in order, Waluigi, Toadette, Pirate Lakitu, Big Blooper, Hammer Bros., Wario and Freezie. After recovering each key, Toad and the player's character sail the SS Brass, an instrument-themed airship, and head to the next area until all of the Music Keys are recovered.

After collecting the four Music Keys, Toad and the player's character then return the Music Keys to Truffle Towers. Soon after, Bowser steals the keys, but is followed by Toad and the player's chosen character. They infiltrate Bowser's Castle to recapture the Music Keys while being attacked by Bill Blasters and their Bullet Bills, and are promptly challenged by Bowser. After defeating him in a dance-off, Bowser tells Toad and the player's character that he planned to use the Music Keys to fix his tone deafness. This prompts the player's character to use the Music Keys to turn the area around Bowser's Castle into a green field and induces a feeling to dance in everyone, with Toad realizing that this was how the Music Keys were supposed to be used as the game's ending sequence plays.

Music

Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix features 29 music tracks, including remixes of both tracks from previous Mario titles and public domain classical music. Only one track is initially available, while the remainder are unlocked by clearing them in Story Mode and Story Mode EX, or by purchasing them from Lakitu's shop. The following table lists the tracks in the order they appear in Free Play.

Music tracks in Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix

Title (English)	Stage	Game	Original song	Original composer	Japanese title
Here We Go!	1-1	Super Mario Bros.	Ground Theme	Koji Kondo	ヒア・ウィ・ゴー (Hia Wi Gō)
Underground Mozart	1-2	Mario Bros.	Eine Kleine Nachtmusik	Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart	土管の中のモーツァルト (Dokan no Naka no Mōtsaruto)
Pipe Pop	1-2EX		Turkish March	Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart	パペットダンス (Papetto Dansu)
Garden Boogie	1-3		Carmen	Georges Bizet	パラパラカルメン (Parapara Karumen)
Destruction Dance	1-4	Wrecking Crew	Bonus Stage	Hirokazu Tanaka	月夜にぶちこわせ (Tsukiyo ni Buchikowase)
Jump! Jump! Jump!	2-1	Super Mario Bros. 3	Athletic Theme	Koji Kondo	ジャンプ！ジャンプ！ジャンプ！ (Janpu! Janpu! Janpu!)
Fishing Frenzy	2-2	Yoshi's Cookie	Csikos Post	Hermann Necke	みんなでパーティタイム (Minna de Pāti Taimu)
Pirate Dance	2-2EX	Super Mario World	Athletic Theme	Koji Kondo	転がるコインのように (Korogaru Koin no Yō ni)
In the Whirlpool	2-3		Pomp and Circumstance	Edward Elgar	風のかなたに (Kaze no Kanata ni)
Step by Step	2-3EX	Super Mario World	Bonus/Switch Palace Level Theme	Koji Kondo	ステップ・バイ・ステップ (Suteppu Bai Suteppu)
Blooper Bop	2-4	Super Mario Bros.	Underwater	Koji Kondo	泳げ四分音符 (Oyoge Shibun Onpu)
Hammer Dance	3-1	Super Mario Bros. 3	Overworld Theme	Koji Kondo	クエ・テ・バヤ・マリオ (Kue Te Baya Mario)
Rollercoasting	3-2	Mario Kart	Mario/Luigi/Yoshi Circuit Theme	Shinobu Tanaka	スーパーマシーン (Sūpā Mashīn)
Boo Boogie	3-3	Super Mario Bros. 2	Main Theme	Koji Kondo	ほっぴンちょっぴン (Hoppin Choppin)
Moustache, Barrel, and Gorilla	3-3EX	Donkey Kong	Various	Yukio Kaneoka	ヒゲとタルとゴリラ (Hige to Taru to Gorira)
Starring Wario!	3-4	Wario World	Greenhorn Forest	Minako Hamano	オレ様がスターだ! (Ore-sama ga Sutā da!)
Frozen Pipes	4-1		Old Folks at Home	Stephen Collins Foster	気分はハイ・ホー (Kibun wa Hai Hō)
Cabin Fever	4-2	Mario Party 5	Toy Dream Theme	Aya Tanaka	マリオのカーニバル (Mario no Kānibaru)
Ms. Mowz's Song	4-2EX	Paper Mario	Theme of Ms. Mowz; X-Naut Fortress	Yuka Tsujiyoko	チューチューテクノ (Chū Chū Tekuno)
Deep Freeze	4-3	Dr. Mario	Fever	Hirokazu Tanaka	ハッピーハッピーダンス (Happī Happī Dansu)
Rendezvous on Ice	4-4	Antarctic Adventure	Les Pâtineurs	Emile Waldteufel	氷の上でランデブー (Kōri no Ue de Randebū)
Midnight Drive	4-4EX	Mario Kart 64	Mario Kart 64 Theme	Kenta Nagata	真夜中のドライブ (Mayonaka no Doraibu)
Always Smiling	5-1		Tritsch-Tratsch-Polka	Johann Strauss II	きっと笑顔がイチバンさ (Kitto Egao ga Ichiban sa)
Bowser's Castle	5-2	Mario Kart	Bowser's Castle	Shinobu Tanaka/Kenta Nagata	ワガハイはボスである! (Wagahai wa Bosu de Aru!)
Up, Down, Left, Right		Mario Paint	Twinkle Twinkle Little Star	Anonymous	ゼン・ゴ・サ・ユウ (Zen Go Sa Yū)
Choir on the Green			Ah, Lovely Meadow	Anonymous	緑の上の大合唱 (Midori no Ue no Daigasshō)
Hop, Mario!		Super Mario World	Opening	Koji Kondo	ホップステップマリオ (Hoppu Suteppu Mario)
Where's the Exit?		Super Mario Bros.	Underground	Koji Kondo	出口はどこだ!? (Deguchi wa Doko da!?)
Piroli		Famicom Disk System	BIOS	Hirokazu Tanaka	ピ・ロ・リ (Pi Ro Ri)

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores Aggregator Score GameRankings 71.70% Metacritic 69/100 Review scores Publication Score Game Informer 5.25/10 GameSpot 7/10 GameSpy IGN 8/10 NGC Magazine 77% Nintendo World Report 8/10

Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix received "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic. It gained a aggregate critical score of 71.70% on GameRankings.

GameSpot gave the game a 7 out of 10 and wrote "With a short story mode that serves as a fun, linear introduction to sequential stomping, Mario Mix is suitable for a child, or for an uncoordinated friend." IGN gave the game an 8 out of 10, saying, "Mario and friends bust some moves in Konami's updated take on an old dance formula." Phil Theobald of Game Spy, gave the game three out of five stars, saying "Mario and Luigi get out on the dance floor to save the Mushroom Kingdom. Come on, it's time to go do the Mario!"

During the 9th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, DDR: Mario Mix received a nomination for "Family Game of the Year", which was ultimately awarded to Guitar Hero.

References

• "KONAMI and Nintendo Co. jointly develop Dance Dance Revolution with MARIO" (in ja). Konami. January 7, 2005. http://www.konami.co.jp/ja/news/topics/050107mario/. 
• Freund, Josh (January 18, 2005). "DDR with Mario - more screens & first song details". Games Are Fun. http://www.gamesarefun.com/news.php?newsid=4186. 
• Niizumi, Hirohiko (January 7, 2005). "Mario shimmies onto Dance Dance Revolution". GameSpot. https://www.gamespot.com/articles/mario-shimmies-onto-dance-dance-revolution/1100-6116002/. 

External links

• Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix at Nintendo.com (archives of the original at the Internet Archive). Accessed on 2005-05-20.
• Dance Dance Revolution Mario Mix on Mobygames