Dance Dance Revolution Mario Mix: Shake Your Booty

10 years ago, the Dance Dance Revolution games took Japan by storm. Because of this, these games made their way to the U.S. Most were available in arcades...where they quickly gained in popularity. Then, gaming consoles created their own versions of Dance Dance Revolution so that people may play at home. Unfortunately, these games, while fun, did not have much depth to them or a story to follow. Then came Dance Dance Revolution Mario Mix.

Dance Dance Revolution Mario Mix is made by Nintendo. As you may have guessed, it has a Mario theme! The story goes... someone has stolen the Music Keys from the Truffle Towers. The unstable music held within these keys must be found before it destroys the Mushroom Kingdom. Many favorites from the Mario series returns including: Mario, Luigi, Toad, Bowser, and Waluigi.

Now how the heck do you play this game? Well it is a rather simple concept. You place your feet on the action pad. One action pad is provided with the game. The action pad has arrows: up, down, left, and right. You tap your feet on these arrows according to the onscreen cues and "beat" of the music. You then progress through the game.

Dance Dance Revolution Mario Mix has 25 songs to dance to. This includes various Nintendo themed classic. There are 5 difficulty levels so that anyone of any dancing ability can play. You can compete against friends or play alone. It makes for a great dance party! It also makes for a great workout. In fact, start out on easy mode so you don't pass out! A Workout Mode is available within the game to count how many calories you burn as you play. This also makes the game great for exercise!

Dance Dance Revolution Mario Mix also features several mini games for a change of pace. They involve tapping feet on the action pad of course, but it is still fun. One mini game involves stomping on Goombas, another involves having Mario jump on a flagpole. Sound familiar?

The game is quite colorful to look at, as you would expect. It has a cartoony look to it. As you progress, various cut scenes are revealed so that you get somewhere with the story. While the cut scenes offer a change in the regular get up (and a chance for you to catch your breath), they feature only text dialogue, which is a bit annoying. Anyways, despite this, the game is very cool and the beats are excellent. In fact, the beats will be stuck in your head for days after you play the game.

Dance Dance Revolution Mario Mix is available on Gamecube. It has an ESRB rating of E for everyone. This means that the game is suitable for adults and children of all ages. Extra action pads are available for purchase for those of you who want a bit of competition against friends!