Dancing Stage MegaMiX is the fifth home release in the "Dancing Stage" series, a European version of the "Dance Dance Revolution" series of music video games. "MegaMix" was the first "Dancing Stage" game released on the Sony PlayStation 2 game console - and as with "Dancing Stage EuroMix 2", "MegaMix" introduced many new features to Europe, such as Freeze Arrows, the Options menu, and a cleaner interface. Based largely on "Dancing Stage EuroMix 2", "MegaMiX" was separated from the arcade game by a completely different track list of songs. The game was marketed by Konami as a family game and an exercise tool in efforts to make the niche series more mainstream.
Gameplay.
The gameplay of "Dancing Stage MegaMiX" is exactly like "Dancing Stage EuroMIX 2", which had been released the previous year. Players who had not played EuroMIX 2 would be introduced to Konami's "Freeze Arrow" in this game, where players have to step on the correct arrow and hold their foot down until the game signaled to release it. This added more dynamics to the overall gameplay of MegaMiX and introduced situations where the player is forced to hold one foot down and hit a series of arrows solely with the other foot, maintaining balance at the same time. For beginner players MegaMiX was the first console title to feature the Beginner difficulty level, containing the absolute easiest steps possible for a song, never featuring anything beyond the most simple of step patterns, and utilizing an on-screen guide to assist
"Dancing Stage MegaMiX" uses the exact two-tiered scoring system that EuroMIX 2 does, but the judgment is less forgiving than EuroMIX 2, however there is a slightly larger window for perfects making it easier to pass a song overall.
As with EuroMIX 2, "Dancing Stage MegaMiX" was based on the Japanese release "DDRMAX2: Dance Dance Revolution 7thMIX", but with modifications such as difficulty selection being done before the song instead of being offered before the song wheel (but being changeable with codes). "Challenge Mode" was replaced with Nonstop Mode, again to mimic EuroMIX 2. In total, the gameplay modes include the traditional game and nonstop modes, "Workout Mode", "Lesson Mode" (containing tutorials), "Training Mode" (allowing the player to practice specific portions of songs), and "Endless Mode", most of these modes and one additional song are unlocked through regular play.
Modifiers.
Unlike EuroMIX 2, "Dancing Stage MegaMiX" implements the new Options Menu which debuted on "DDRMAX: Dance Dance Revolution 6thMIX", allowing easier access to modifiers which required special codes entered on the difficulty selection screen on previous versions.
Interface &amp; graphics.
The visual interface was completely overhauled for the console "Dancing Stage" series. For the first time the game played at 60fps and doubled the old video resolution from 320x240 to 640x480. Full motion background videos completely replaced the aging background animation engine, and Konami's signature dancing characters were omitted from the game for the first time on a European home version. Graphical karaoke style lyrics are displayed during some songs when there are spoken words. Occasionally videos are specifically made for a certain song, and in "Dancing Stage MegaMiX"'s case, some licensed tracks contain their original music video in the background.
Music.
Courses.
Note: The colors indicate the preset difficulty of the songs in the courses; STANDARD is yellow, DIFFICULT is red, and EXPERT is green.
Other versions.
On September 26, 2003, Konami released a localized version of "Dancing Stage MegaMiX" to the Australian audience. The game was simply re-rated and there were no changes made that sets it apart from the European release.
Reception.
Konami launched "Dancing Stage MegaMiX" with promotional ads in game magazines and videos. Konami attempted to reach the "underground" dancing crowd with the slogan "Take the Stage" and a television spot that displayed hip, young teens breakdancing on the dance mats to the songs in the game.
The general public took the new game with mixed emotions. While many praised the introduction of the "Dancing Stage" series on the "PlayStation 2" and how it brought with it better graphics and smoother gameplay, others were chastising the meager song selection it brought to the table. Released against the home version of "DDRMAX2 Dance Dance Revolution 7thMIX" in Japan and the North American "DDRMAX2 Dance Dance Revolution", it was considered the weakest of the three and hardcore European fans recommended importing one of the other two or picking up an older release instead. In the end, however, most people were happy with the game overall and gave it points for being one of the best Dancing Stage games at the time.
References.
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