Dance Dance Revolution with Mario in Stock and Shipping within 24 hours on GameCube

News from <a href="http://www.yesasia.com/?/news.php?artc=3655&&lsaid=219793" target="_blank" >Lik Sang</a>

For a fairly plump plumber, this guy sure can boogie down. Yes, Dance Dance Revolution with Mario has arrived, and pre-orders are being shipped as we speak. The beats begin right away when Toad takes a trip to Mario's place, and just as they are about to set off, oh no, the bridge is gone! So into the row boat they hop, and while poor Toad rows, Mario dances his way across the river. Soon the Cheep Cheep fish join in, jumping over the boat in time to the classic Mario theme, and as nostalgia swells up, it becomes clear this is a real party for Nintendo gamers.

It's the first time the incredibly popular Dance Dance Revolution franchise makes its appearance on GameCube, and what makes this Ninty edition unique is the inclusion of a storyline, where someone has stolen the Music Keys and released the music they held. Without these keys, the unstable power of sound is wreaking havoc on the land. Mario himself must recover them before the chaos destroys the entire Mushroom Universe! The path to the keys is simple: Left, Right, Up, Down, Right, Down... Choose from famous Nintendo icons like Mario, Luigi, Toad, Waluigi, Wario and Bowser and clear levels by performing the correct steps. Once all the levels in a particular world are behind you, a Music Key awaits as your glorious reward. You guessed it: the path to victory is collecting all of the keys in the game.

The colorful graphics are bursting with unmistakable Mushroom Kingdom charisma, and with no noticeable loading (just a million "warning" screens, haha), Dance Dance Revolution with Mario certainly has that polished Nintendo Disney-like quality. As you clear songs, you will unlock more tunes, minigames and much harder difficulty levels with trick steps and all. Split-screen mode allows the dance frenzy to be enjoyed by two players, where while depending on skill, the invitation to sabotage your opponent will certainly prove irresistible.

Please check out the Nintendo dance with the official E3 trailer from this year, offered in either Windows Media Player or Quicktime form:

Go ahead and shake it to more than 25 dance-flavored songs, from classic Nintendo themes to familiar favorites. Take a look at the partial song list here:

• Starring Wario! - Wario World
• Blooper Bop - Super Mario Brothers
• Boo Boogie - Super Mario 2
• Cabin Fever - Mario Party 5
• Up, Down, Left, Right - Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
• Destruction Dance - Wrecking Crew
• Always Smiling - Tritsch-Tratsch Polka
• Fishing Frenzy - Csikos Posl
• Frozen Pipes - Old Folks at Home
• Garden Boogie - Carmen
• Hammer Dance - Super Mario 3
• Here We Go! - Super Mario Brothers
• In the Whirlpool - Pomp and Circumstance
• Jump! Jump! Jump! - Super Mario 3
• Rendezvous on Ice - Les Patineurs
• Roller coasting - Mario Kart; Double Dash
• Deep Freeze - Dr. Mario
• Underground Mozart - Eine Kleine Nachtmusik

With five difficulty levels, dancers of all abilities will be able to get into the groove. Players can also have fun getting in shape with the special 'Workout' feature, which tracks the calories burned while playing. Mario might even be in danger of losing his spaghetti-fed trademark appearance ;) For main modes of play, there are Free Mode and Mush mode. Free Mode lets you dance to whatever song you want without performance pressure. Stomp arrows in Mush Mode, while at the same time avoiding (or sometimes aiming at) classic Mario obstacles like Goombas, Koopas or hammers. These appear on the step charts in place of some of the arrows, which provides gamers with a challenging side experience. Lastly every few songs in Storyline mode unlocks a new mini-game, and with at least 9 of them locked away, these provide even more variety in between tunes. Not that running as fast as possible to jump up the flag pole, or playing Whack-A-Mega Mole will give you a chance to catch your breath ;)

With the US and PAL releases still many months off, new orders for Dance Dance Revolution with Mario with the Dance Mat are being accepted now, and are shipping within 24 hours. Preorders are already all on their way. The game has been tested compatible with the Freeloader (including game saves) on both US and PAL systems.