This blog entry addresses a certain lack of clear information about how to unlock the ability to use a Mii as a character in “Dance Dance Revolution: Disney Grooves”.  Much Googling gave hints, but no clear answer as to where the ability is unlocked.

So on a lark (and because Erika’s a Disney fan), shortly after we got our Wii (and Wii Fit, which I really haven’t talked much about yet), we went ahead and got “Dance Dance Revolution: Disney Grooves.”

There are three game modes and a couple of other activities.  Since this isn’t a full review of the game, I’ll not bore you with a ton of details.  In the dancing games there are what are called “Hand Markers” that are (for the most part) optional (but they really seem to bury the options menu where you turn these things off).  Not being exceptionally coordinated as it is, Erika and I agreed to turn off “Hand Markers.”

In each mode you get to choose a character to dance as.  You can even choose to dance as a Mii – but this is locked off and requires unlocking.

The “primary” game mode for Disney DDR is “Groove Mode”.  You dance in separate venues, clearing a number of songs.  For doing so, you unlock outfits, songs, and other venues.  After clearing a venue, you also get challenges – two, in fact.  First is just a “song request” (if memory serves) – basically, an additional dance or two you do in order to unlock more music and “gifts”.  Then there’s the “Dance Off” challenge.

Hand Markers are automatically turned on for “Dance Offs”.  So, Erika and I decided to skip them.

It turns out that the ability to use a Mii isn’t unlocked until you complete your first Dance Off (the first venue is a “learning” venue; once you complete that, you unlock the first three or so venues, the very next one being “Fantasy Fun Time”), and it appears as if you must complete the Dance Offs to unlock some venues as well … not sure about this, really; we originally looked at this as a fun way to exercise outside of Wii Fit, so we stuck to the Workout Mode (which has a “Dance Off” mode that does not require Hand Markers, but allows each player to have their own DDR arrows to complete – you can choose separate skill levels and compare scores) for our first few sessions.  Only tonight did we start trying Groove Mode in an attempt to unlock the Miis.

So, to get full use of your Disney DDR and all of its potential options, you have to go through Grove Mode and you have to do all of the challenges at a given venue.