Dance Dance Revolution: Disney Grooves Review

I think it's safe to say that it's a pretty well known stereotype that gamers just aren't a physical sort of people. We sit around with controllers in our hands, headsets over our ears, and play for hours on end despite the health risks of sitting for too long. We aren't stupid, we know it's bad for our health, but we just lose track of the time leveling up, going on campaigns and trying to find a blasted save point. Konami, the developer and publisher of such well known titles such as Silent Hill, Suikoden and Metal Gear, made a game designed to get a gamer up and moving, the now ever popular arcade favorite, Dance Dance Revolution, or DDR.

Before such systems as the Wii, gamers didn't have a lot of options for playing DDR outside of the arcade. The premise of the game, for those that don't know, is to follow a pattern of arrows using one's feet on a giant game pad instead of a hand held controller. Admittedly, playing looks more like flailing about rather than dancing, but it was much needed exercise kids weren't getting a lot of. Bringing DDR games to personal consoles detracted from the purpose of getting up and moving; the Playstation offered home versions of arcade favorites, including a number of Disney titles, but using the hand held controller tested hand-eye coordination, not physical limits. That's when the dance pad was introduced; a mat that could be plugged into the controller port and used the same way the game pads were back in the arcades.

Wii compatible dance pad. Floppier than its arcade counterpart.

Not the first of the Disney titles released as part of the DDR line, Dance Dance Revolution: Disney Grooves was a game I picked up on a whim. I like Disney, I like DDR, and I really like being able to play at home where I won't look like a complete dork jumping around in an arcade full of kids. This particular game is only available on the Wii so I made sure to purchase the Wii compatible dance pad with it. Now let me tell you something about the dance pad before I get into the real review of the game: if anyone wants to pick one of these up, I am going to strongly suggest picking up a large, flat piece of plywood just a little bigger around for you to glue this sucker to. Plugging this in and trying to play with it as is was a trial of my patience and good humor. This thing slides on hardwood, carpet, tile, anything you could possibly have installed in your home as flooring. It also crumples really easily, which got old fast when I kept missing steps because the arrow I was supposed to step on was folded up under my foot. Plywood gives the dance pad much needed support and traction. You're welcome.

Upon starting up the game, the player is asked to pick an avatar to represent them. There are premade defaults to choose from and there is also the option to use a Mii. After making that selection, there are a few options on the start up menu to click on. Groove Mode is the main focus of the actual game; you play certain set songs on the game's chosen difficulty levels to progress and unlock new songs and costumes for your avatar. Freeplay allows the player to pick through a list of songs and choose their own difficulty, from beginner to expert, just like playing DDR at the arcade. Workout Mode gives the player the chance to pick songs to get the blood pumping and burn calories, though when I played with this I felt it was just like Freeplay without the chance of pausing between songs. My Studio is where the player can have fun taking pictures of their avatar; children might get a kick out of this feature but I really didn't see a point to it.

It took one playthrough of the song Streets of Gold for me to realize that it was from Oliver and Company. I had no idea by title alone that it was originally from a Disney film.

As expected, songs in the beginning of Groove Mode are easy with slow tempos and few arrows on screen to follow. Progressing through actual gameplay unlocks songs that are meant to be played to continue, but they also get added to the list of songs playable in Freeplay. Groove Mode gets harder as the game goes on and I'm still stuck trying to pass one particular stage; I can't recall the name of the song off the top of my head but I will always remember it as the Duck Rap. It's fast, it's difficult and I have resigned myself to never passing it.

Freeplay is my favorite way to play this game because I can choose any song I want on any difficulty setting. Expert can be fun once in a while but I rarely go above the Basic level when I'm just goofing around. Most of the songs available are remixes or covers of Disney favorites, though there are some of the original tracks as well, which while appreciated was also a bit jarring after hearing faster paced variations. Going from a pop version of It's A Small World to the traditionally slower Thomas O'Malley Cat threw off my groove. Younger children, I'm thinking ages eight to early teen, will love the wide array of music as well as the avatar customization. The costumes are cute, ranging from Disney princess gowns to full body suits that make the avatar look like characters such as Donald Duck, Simba and even Baby Minnie Mouse.

Rating: 

Demographic: 8+ years, boys and girls.
System(s): Wii
Players: 1 - 4, as long as there are enough dance pads.

Disney Princess: Enchanted Journey Review

Let's get this gaming blog started right with a review. Granted, possibly not the most eye catching of titles to start us off with, but stick with me, you might be surprised.

Because Disney seems to like hard gender lines, we've got games tailored for boys and games tailored for girls. Children of the female persuasion get the Disney Princess line, video games with boxes virtually slathered with images of the most popular of Disney's princesses and a hearty helping of pink.

Now bring me that pink horizon.

Disney Princess: Enchanted Journey seems to be a toned down, "girly" answer to Kingdom Hearts, having come out in 2007 after Kingdom Hearts I, II and Chain of Memories were already on the shelves. The main character is entirely customizable, from hair to skin tone to clothing style and color. The player picks the little girl's name, as well, giving young children the chance to put themselves into the game as far as customization will allow. After your pixie guide gives you a quick tutorial, you're gifted with a special wand that you get to use to bop enemies on the head. The wand, similarly to Sora's Keyblade in Kingdom Hearts with the addition of keychains, can change appearance depending on the world you're playing in. There's no killing in this game, only changing the enchanted Bogs back into the butterflies and creatures they were before an evil princess came to the four (five with Belle's special unlockable stage) different worlds to foul things up.

These are Bogs; Genie themed for Agrabah.

I found the premise of the story interesting, if not cliche, but this game wasn't really made for my demographic. The villain of this tale is a princess that doesn't want to be "princess-like"; she's not into being kind or courteous. The player gets to visit Ariel, Cinderella, Jasmine and Snow White in their respective worlds to fix issues that the Bogs and their mischief are causing. Ariel and her mer-friends have lost their ability to make music, time has decided to go a little wibbly wobbly in Cinderella's town, Jasmine's dealing with confusing mirages and Snow White's world is being drained of color. Once all four worlds are completely saved, each world has three short chapters to get through, the player unlocks the fifth world where we meet Belle in the Beast's ballroom. There really isn't a problem there, you just get to play Keep Away with a few Bogs.

Sort gems with the dwarfs to foil those rainbow muddying Bogs.

From a technical standpoint, the graphics are pretty good and the voice acting's not half bad. Given that more than a few of the characters are voiced by their original actors (Jodi Benson is Ariel, Paige O'Hara is Belle, Linda Larkin is Jasmine and we even get Tim Curry playing a sailor in the Little Mermaid stage), it's worth it to sit through the dialogue. There's virtually no challenge to this game, even though there is a difficulty range given to each chapter and world. Pixie states that Ariel's world is the easiest while Snow White's is the hardest, but I doubt anyone will notice any change in level. All you need to do is change the Bogs back into their natural forms, play a few mini puzzles and collect gemstones, which aren't really worth anything. There's no currency in the game, no leveling up, and once the gem counter reaches it's limit, nothing happens.

I had the opportunity to play this on both the Playstation 2 and the Wii, haven't had the chance to play it on the PC, but I would suggest going the PS2 route if possible. The Wii-mote isn't nearly as responsive as it should be, though twirling it around like a wand was a little fun. There is a two player option available, with the second player being just as customizable as the first. Replayability is incredibly low but one run through isn't painful. Enchanted Journey is also an incredibly short game; you might waste two hours, max. Give it to a kid the game was made for, though, and they could be busy for a while.

Rating:
Demographic: 4 - 8 year old girls.
System(s): Playstation 2, Wii and PC.
Players: 1 - 2