Konami deserves congratulations for its performance this generation. The Japanese games company has been responsible for a number of games in wildly different genres that have been hailed as full blown phenomena. Hideo Kojimas Metal Gear Solid series has a huge following and has gone from strength to strength on PS2, and the superb Pro Evolution Soccer is considered more of a movement than a videogame by its devotees. No less ardent are the followers of Dance Dance Revolution, also known as Dancing Stage, who, as well as showing their commitment with arcade attendance and deluxe dance mat purchases, have some right to claim they are the fittest players in all of gamerdom. DDR also deserves recognition as being one of the finest spectator videogames, especially when girls in flimsy tops are playing it.
Gamecube owners however have had to make do with Donkey Konga if they want to enjoy rhythm based games, with no DDR titles released on the pilloried purple powerhouse throughout its lifetime. Thats all set to change with the release of Dancing Stage Mario Mix. Gamecube owners are only too used to seeing the moustachioed plumber crop up in all manner of titles, from Nintendos Mario Party, Tennis, Football and Baseball games to the cube version of EAs basketball title. Now Mario and friends are to star in Konamis in another tie-in title for Gamecube.
The game gets the full Nintendo treatment. Like Donkey Konga it comes packaged with its own peripheral, so you wont have to engage in the slightly ludicrous pastime of playing the game on control pad. It includes more than 25 different tunes to get busy to, plus more to unlock as you progress, as well as minigames to discover. As well as featuring characters from Marios adventures, the game also features backdrops from the strange worlds he has visited over the years. Also featured are all the ideas youd expect from any DDR game. You can dance off against a friend, either by turns or head to head if you both have a mat, and what began with Diet Mode is now a Workout feature: simply enter your weight and the machine calculates the calories youre burning. A great package to keep the Gamecube dream alive.