Man, Nintendo really loved making rhythm games during the GameCube era, huh? At a time when the music game world was becoming pretty massive with "Dance Dance Revolution" and, eventually, "Guitar Hero," it seems Nintendo wanted to dip their foot in the world of rhythm games with "Donkey Konga," a bongo-centered game inspired by the "Taiko no Tatsujin" series that was surprisingly very fun. And after those games, it seemed the publisher wanted to try its hand at a "Dance Dance Revolution" game, so they did...only this time, they made it a "Mario" game! And what's more, they actually made it good!
"Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix" is exactly what it sounds like: a "Dance Dance Revolution" game starring Mario! The tracklist almost entirely consists of Mario songs from a variety of games, ranging from the classic "Super Mario Bros." titles to even the spinoff games like "Wrecking Crew," "Yoshi's Cookie" and "Wario World" (with even a few surprising classical pieces thrown in). It's as bizarre as it sounds, but it's still plenty of fun. The classic "Dance Dance Revolution" gameplay is on full display here, the selection of tracks is very nice, and it's also got some neat new additions to the "Dance Dance Revolution" formula (particularly the Mush Mode feature). I also think the visual quality of the game is great, the story mode can be very hilarious, and it's a perfectly accessible game that's great for fans of the "Mario" series, as well as gamers new to the "Dance Dance Revolution" franchise.
There are a few flaws with the game, though: for starters, I wish the story was a little bit longer. I know it's something where you have to play the game multiple times to get all the songs and all the difficulty options (which is a bit of a pain), but the main story is very short and that's a bit underwhelming. Also, I wish the game had a bit more challenge to it. Even on the highest difficulty settings, it's fairly easy, and I know they probably made it that way to appeal to the younger audience that Mario games typically pull in, but it's still a bit disappointing.
Overall, "Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix" is a surprisingly great, well-crafted mixing of two worlds that seems like it shouldn't work, but it does. Even though it might not seem like an essential "Mario" experience, this game is definitely worth playing if you're a fan of either the "Mario" or "Dance Dance Revolution" franchises. It might not be easy to find today, but if you can get it, give it a whirl!
Final rating: 8 out of 10 "Great"