Nickelodeon Dance

 Review

Common Sense Media says

Dance with Dora & Diego for challenging fun and fitness.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

Find out more

Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

Find out more

Parents say

Not yet rated

Kids say

Not yet rated

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that Nickelodeon Dance is a dance game for young children. Its goal is to engage young kids in fitness. The game includes several difficulty levels and can be enjoyed by up to two players at the same time. Several songs are unlocked only after certain achievements are met. At various times during a song, the game will take pictures of the players as they dance. These pictures are replayed as the score is revealed and kids always enjoy seeing themselves on the screen. This review was conducted on the Kinect for Xbox 360 version of the game. Other versions may be slightly different.

  • The game encourages kids to be active and get fit in a fun and age-appropriate way. 
  • The characters show that it's fun to exercise and be healthy. They tell players to keep moving and are positive no matter how the kids are performing.
  • The game includes plenty of on-screen instructions and prompting for navigating the menu system. The actual dances often transition quickly from one move to another and, without any instruction mode to learn the moves, preschoolers will struggle to keep up.
  • Not applicable.

What's it about?

NICKELODEON DANCE lets kids choose a song and then dance to it by following motions shown on the screen. Much of the music is familiar, including theme songs from popular Nick Jr. TV shows. Dora the Explorer, The Backyardigans, The Fresh Beat Band, and Go, Diego, Go!  Parents may recognize kid-friendly versions of "Locomotion," "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," and "Rockin' Robin." There is also a Christmas song, "Santa Claus is Coming Aqui." The songs are grouped into four categories: Starting Steps, Smooth Moves, Fancy Footwork, Workout. The first three categories reflect the  progressive difficulty of the dancing, while the Workout category uses special moves that are fitness related (such as lunges and jumping jacks).

During a song, kids watch lead characters, including Dora and Diego, as well as familiar faces from The Backyardigans and then try to mimic the moves that the characters are doing on screen. As in other dance games, upcoming moves slowly scroll across the screen. As kids perform the moves, they are given one, two, or three stars based on their accuracy. These stars fill up a "star meter" that calculates their score at the end of the game. They can receive one, two, or three golden stars, although they are given positive feedback regardless of their end score. Most kids should be able to get two stars just by continuing to move. The third star is more elusive. 


Is it any good?

 

Nickelodeon Dance will appeal to preschool and early elementary kids who are fans of these Nickelodeon TV characters. They will enjoy dancing along with familiar songs. With a multi-player option, the game creates a social/family fitness activity. For kids who just enjoy the dance and pay little attention to their accuracy or the score, this game will be fun. But for those who are focused on scoring, this game may be frustrating. Even the easiest dances have some moves that will be foreign to most kids, and by the time they realize a change in moves has happened, it's time for the next one to arrive. The more advanced levels have moves that are very difficult for young kids (and some adults) to pick up on their own and the workout mode is fast and furious. Without any kind of tutorial for the dance moves, Nickelodeon Dance is best played by kids and an adult who can lend some extra help. The menus on the Kinect version of the game may also be tricky for younger players. It's easy to select the wrong song, but difficult to back out of it.


What families can talk about


This review was written by Christy Matte

There aren't any reviews yet. Be the first to review this title below.


This review was written by Christy Matte
Platforms:Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360
Available online?Not available online
Genre:Exergaming
Developer:2K Play
Release date:November 8, 2011
Price:$39.99
ESRB rating:E

This review was written by Christy Matte
 

Review It

Share your review with others

Hang on! You need to be a member to post your review.
A safe community is important to us. Please observe our guidelines.

Screenshots


Register now to save reviews and advice articles to your personal lists!


About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

Great alternatives handpicked by our editors

 

vote now

Will you play Nickelodeon Dance?


Already played it? What do you think?

 

Been There? Tell us about it