Developed
by: Konami
System:
PlayStation
In the late 90s,
a new gaming phenomenon swept
arcades all over the world. Once
you entered arcades you would
see it. A huge, arcade machine
in which people were the stars.
That's right, I am talking
about...
DANCE DANCE REVOLUTION!
The series was created by
Japanese game development house
Konami, known for popular gaming
franchises such as
Castlevania and
Metal Gear Solid. The
idea behind the series is that
it was a music and rhythm title
with gameplay that is easy to
learn, but very hard to master. The
game takes place on a stage with
four button pads on the floor:
up, right, left, down. When you
get on the machine you then must
select a song.

When it starts,
a series of arrows scroll up.
The objective of the game is to
hit the arrows by stepping on
the arrows with your feet. The
tricky thing here is that the
arrows are in sync to the rhythm
of the song. So if the song is
fast, the arrows move much
quicker. In the harder
difficulty settings you will be
hitting a lot of fast paced
arrows, creating a fantastic
challenge that will make you
sweat and lose weight (and I am
not even kidding, I have friends
who have lost weight because of
it). At the end of the game you
will be rated according to your
performance.
So, it wouldn't
take long for Disney to take
notice of this new franchise.
Disney isn't afraid of spreading
its magic across many platforms
and media, especially when it
comes to their music. With a
catalogue of hundreds of the
best songs ever written, all
they needed to do was remix the
songs and presto! You have
Dance Dance Revolution: Disney
Mix for the PlayStation
One console.
The classic DDR
gameplay remained intact, though
the difficulty was toned down a
bit for a more family friendly
session. DDR: Disney Mix
features 20 songs, both Disney
and non-Disney. Some of the
Disney classics remixed for a
new generation include “Chim-Chim
Cher-eeâ€, “Supercalifragilisticexpialidociousâ€,
“The
Mickey Mouse March†and “It's
a Small Worldâ€. Some of
the non-Disney songs include
“B4Uâ€, “Night
of Fire†and “Let's Twist
Againâ€.
The Disney
remixes have a distinct Euro
Club sound to them that is
unique, but may not be
everyone's cup of tea.
Music appreciation is
highly subjective, and some fans
may think these songs are too
loud and not fully
representative of the Disney
magic.
Another problem
is that the arcade version had
more Disney songs, songs that
weren’t available in the home
console version. These include “Winnie-the-Poohâ€,
“You’ll be in my Heart†and “Part
of your World.†It is
disappointing that the PSone
version omitted many of them.
In
terms of visual presentation,
with such a strong emphasis on
stepping on the beat the DDR
series has sported minimalistic
visuals, Disney Mix included.
The game, however, has a lot of
character thanks to the
Mickey Mouse crew playing
the role of DJs.

There were a
couple of other Disney DDR games
released. One of them was a
Japan exclusive game for the
Nintendo 64, Disney Dancing
Museum, and Disney Grooves for
the Wii. Those, however, I am
saving for another time.
So if you love
to dance and love Disney music
Disney Mix is the right game for
you. Some of the music might not
be of your taste; it is
interesting to hear how other
companies interpret Disney’s
musical legacy.