Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix

Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix
Developer(s)	Konami
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Release Date(s)
Nintendo GameCube	NA: October 24, 2005 JP: July 14, 2005 EU: October 28, 2005 AU: November 24, 2005
Nintendo GameCube	NA: October 24, 2005 JP: July 14, 2005 EU: October 28, 2005 AU: November 24, 2005
Platform(s)
Genre(s)	Music, exercise
Rating(s)
ESRB	03
PEGI	01
CERO	01
ACB	01

Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix (known as Dance Dance Revolution with Mario in Japan and Dancing Stage: Mario Mix in Europe) is a Nintendo GameCube game based on the popular Dance Dance Revolution video game series, but with a Mario theme. Mario Mix utilizes an included Mario-themed dance mat. To play the game, players must step on the up, down, left, and right arrows when they line up with a bar on the screen. The player can choose to play with either Mario or Luigi in a number of modes and difficulty levels with nearly thirty songs.

Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix is the second dancing game to be released on the Nintendo GameCube. Mario Mix is not as intense as standard versions of Dance Dance Revolution; Super Hard difficulty is equivalent to "standard" difficulty in other Dance Dance Revolution games (though some later songs are considered "heavy" in the standard games, especially Bowser's Castle).

Nintendo lent out their famous characters from the Mushroom Kingdom to BBC Studios in order to make their own Dance Dance Revolution game for the Nintendo GameCube. It features many different Mario themes, but only a few playable characters, which oddly don't feature all of the favorite characters (such as Yoshi, Wario, and Princess Peach). However, it does features Mario and Luigi, as well as Waluigi.

Plot

The game includes a Story Mode, which the player must clear in order to unlock all of the songs in the game. The playable characters are Mario and Luigi. The opening scene starts out with Waluigi breaking into Truffle Towers. This is trouble as the Music Keys are able to grant any wish. However, when Waluigi opens the door to the room of the four Music Keys, they all scatter across the Mushroom Kingdom except for one that Waluigi gets to keep. Meanwhile, Toad, having seen this, rushes to tell Mario or Luigi, depending on which character the player chose.

Toad warns Mario (or Luigi) that someone has stolen the Music Keys and explains the trouble that this causes. Mario decides to go stop Waluigi and Toad decides to come with him to Truffle Towers. On a boat, the two cross a river, and after climbing a vine, reach Truffle Towers. However, once there, the two find the doors to Truffle Tower locked. Waluigi then laughs and tosses a Bob-omb at them, knocking Mario down a nearby Warp Pipe and into a cavern filled with Goombas, though Mario is able to get out by dancing, causing the mushroom he is standing on to grow. After escaping the cavern Mario and Toad enter a shop run by a Lakitu, who has the key to Truffle Towers. He agrees to give it to them only if Mario is able to get rid of the Koopa Troopas playing in his farm. After getting rid of the Koopas, Lakitu gives them the key and they enter Truffle Tower. Inside the tower is Waluigi with one of the Music Keys; he refuses to return it unless he is beaten in a dance off. After beating him Waluigi is gone and the Music Key is recovered. Mario and Toad set off to recover the other keys on a ship, the SS Brass.

On their way to investigating a seaside area, a Tweester suddenly appears and causes the SS Brass to spin out, turning a nearby hotel into a corkskrew. Toadette, the owner of the hotel, comes out and scolds Mario for ruining her hotel. Mario, however, decides to dance to fix the hotel, and after the hotel is fixed they set out to sea, only to get caught in a whirlpool. Mario and Toad escape the whirlpool and sail to a nearby island to rest. Here, they find a shop run by a pirate Lakitu who has a device called the "Boogie Booster", which will allow their ship to travel through the whirlpool. Lakitu refuses to give it to them, though afterward decides that they duel to decide who can have the part. After beating Lakitu, he installs the part onto their ship, allowing them to get through the whirlpool Toad notes that the Music Keys have something to do with the storms, and the SS Brass sails into the whirlpool and down to an underwater temple, where a Music Key is being guarded by a Big Blooper. After defeating it in a dance off, Mario and Toad retrieve the second Music Key.

Mario and Toad head to their next destination, Wario's Carnival. They arrive at the entrance, which is blocked by two Hammer Bros. who will not let Mario and Toad through unless they are able to beat them in a dance-off. After Mario beats them the Hammer Bros. allow them to enter the park. Inside, they see Wario riding a roller coaster carrying a Music Key. Mario and Toad chase after him on the roller coaster and on foot until finally cornering him in front of a ferris wheel, where he states that he plans to use the Music Key to wish for his own game: DDR: Wario Mix. Wario then challenges Mario to a dance off on the ferris wheel, though when he loses he gives Mario the Music Key.

Mario and Toad's next destination is a a snow-covered mountain, where they notice the final Music Key inside a Freezie at the top. After failing to climb up the slippery path, they instead enter a nearby Warp Pipe leading to an underground tunnel which ends up taking them higher up on the mountain. After warming up in a nearby log cabin they reach the top of the mountain and try to claim the Music Key, though the Freezie does not give it up. Toad suggests melting it, and after using Fire Flowers on it the Freezie melts and the two claim the key. The two then sled down the mountain, though an avalanche follows them; after avoiding the avalanche the two set off back to Truffle Towers.

Mario and Toad return the Music Keys to their original place, though soon after Bowser appears and steals the keys again. Mario and Toad sail to Bowser's Castle in the SS Brass, and after dodging oncoming Bullet Bills arrive at the castle. Bowser is about to use the Music Keys when he finds that they are gone, Mario and Toad having stolen them back. Bowser then challenges Mario to a dance off, and after knocking Bowser away with a rocket he is defeated. Afterwards, Bowser admits that he was going to use the keys to fix his tone deafness. Mario then uses the keys to turn the area surrounding Bowser's castle into a green field, and they suddenly feel strange and start to dance.

Characters

• Mario
• Luigi

Non-playable

• Toad
• Waluigi
• Toadette
• Wario
• Bowser
• Lakitu

Song list

Genre	Name	Source	Comment
Nursery	Up, Down, Left, Right ゼン・ゴ・サ・ユウ	Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
Folk	Choir on the Green 緑の上の大合唱	Ah, Lovely Meadow
Game	Hop, Mario! ホップステップマリオ	Super Mario World	Opening theme.
Game	Where's the Exit? 出口はどこだ!?	Super Mario Bros.	Underground theme.
Game	Piroli ピ・ロ・リ	Famicom Disk System	Bios theme.
Game	Here We Go! ヒア・ウィ・ゴー	Super Mario Bros.	Ground theme.
Classical	Underground Mozart 土管の中のモーツァルト	Eine kleine Nachtmusik
Classical	Pipe Pop パペットダンス	Turkish March
Classical	Garden Boogie パラパラカルメン	Carmen
Game	Destruction Dance 月夜にぶちこわせ	Wrecking Crew	Bonus stage theme.
Game	Jump! Jump! Jump! ジャンプ！ジャンプ！ジャンプ！	Super Mario Bros. 3	Athletic theme.
Classical	Fishing Frenzy みんなでパーティタイム	Csikos Post
Game	Pirate Dance 転がるコインのように	Super Mario World	Athletic theme.
Classical	In the Whirlpool 風のかなたに	Pomp and Circumstance
Game	Step by Step ステップ・バイ・ステップ	Super Mario World	Bonus/Switch Palace level theme.
Game	Blooper Bop 泳げ四分音符	Super Mario Bros.	Underwater theme.
Game	Hammer Dance クエ・テ・バヤ・マリオ	Super Mario Bros. 3	Overworld theme.
Game	Rollercoasting スーパーマシーン	Mario Kart: Double Dash!!	Mario/Luigi/Yoshi Circuit theme.
Game	Boo Boogie ほっぴンちょっぴン	Super Mario Bros. 2	Main theme.
Game	Moustache, Barrel, and Gorilla ヒゲとタルとゴリラ	Donkey Kong	Various.
Game	Starring Wario! オレ様がスターだ!	Wario World	Greenhorn Forest.
Folk	Frozen Pipes 気分はハイ・ホー	Old Folks at Home
Game	Cabin Fever マリオのカーニバル	Mario Party 5	Toy Dream theme.
Game	Ms. Mowz's Song チューチューテクノ	Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door	Theme of Ms. Mowz; X-Naut Fortress.
Game	Deep Freeze ハッピーハッピーダンス	Dr. Mario	Fever.
Classical	Rendezvous on Ice 氷の上でランデブー	Les Pâtineurs
Game	Midnight Drive 真夜中のドライブ	Mario Kart 64	Main theme.
Classical	Always Smiling きっと笑顔がイチバンさ	Tritsch-Tratsch-Polka
Game	Bowser's Castle ワガハイはボスである!	Mario Kart: Double Dash!	Bowser's Castle.

References to other games

• Many Mario games - Most songs have been based off music from many different Mario games.
• Mario Party 4/Mario Party 5/Mario Party 6 - This game uses a modified engine based on these three games. Many poses and animations, such as the losing animation, are reused from these games. The song Cabin Fever is an arrangement of Toy Dream theme from Mario Party 5.

References in later games

• Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Bowser's artwork from this game reappears as a sticker.
• Mario Kart Wii - Mario and Luigi's artwork is reused from this game while Baby Mario and Baby Luigi's artwork is based off Mario and Luigi's artwork. Their artwork was also reused in Mario Super Sluggers.
• Fortune Street - Luigi's artwork from this game is reused.
• Mario Sports Superstars - Bowser's artwork has been reused for this game.
• Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - Mario's down smash is now changed to his breakdance kick from this game.

Trivia

• The highest score for a song is 100,000,000, achieved by getting Perfect on all 337 steps on Bowser's Castle on Super Hard difficulty.
• World 1-2 is considered different than the other boards. Its EX song, "Pipe Pop", is the only EX song on the game that is not related to a Nintendo composition whatsoever. World 1-2 is also the only board where both the original starter song and the EX song are remixed from the same artist, who is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.