ABBA: You Can Dance
European box art
Developer(s)Ubisoft Paris
Ubisoft Bucharest
Publisher(s)Ubisoft
SeriesJust Dance
Platform(s)Wii
Release
  • NA: November 15, 2011
  • AU: November 24, 2011
  • EU: November 25, 2011
Genre(s)Music, rhythm

ABBA: You Can Dance is a dance rhythm game for the Wii, developed by Ubisoft Paris and Ubisoft Bucharest and published by the French gaming company Ubisoft. It was released on November 15, 2011, in North America,[1] November 24, 2011 in Australia and November 25, 2011, in Europe. The game is a spin-off of the Just Dance series, and features 26 songs by the Swedish pop group ABBA and includes a "Karaoke Mode" which allows 2 players to sing via USB microphones.

The development team was reportedly excited to work on an ABBA game, putting in effort to ensure that they accurately represented ABBA by examining a variety of ABBA content. For original content, they also tried to be original while also in keeping with ABBA. The game received mixed reception, holding a 66 out of 100 on Metacritic.

Gameplay

The game is based on Ubisoft's concept franchise, Just Dance and uses very similar style of play to the Wii version of Michael Jackson: The Experience. It includes one main game mode, where players have to follow the moves of a member of the Swedish pop group ABBA or non-ABBA character. It also includes a "Mini Musical Mode" which is a story mode that has six songs in the same story. The game also includes a "Karaoke Mode" which allows 2 players to sing along to the lyrics via USB microphones.

Track listing

The game features 26 songs, all by the Swedish pop group ABBA.

Song Year
"Angeleyes"1979
"As Good as New"1979
"Bang-A-Boomerang"[lower-alpha 1]1975
"Dancing Queen"[lower-alpha 2][lower-alpha 3][lower-alpha 4]1976
"Does Your Mother Know"[lower-alpha 1]1979
"Fernando"[lower-alpha 3]1976
"Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)"[lower-alpha 3][lower-alpha 5][lower-alpha 6]1979
"Head over Heels"1982
"Hole in Your Soul"[lower-alpha 1]1977
"Honey, Honey"[lower-alpha 3][lower-alpha 1]1974
"I'm a Marionette"1977
"I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do"[lower-alpha 1]1975
"If It Wasn't for the Nights"1979
"Knowing Me, Knowing You"[lower-alpha 3]1977
"Lay All Your Love on Me"[lower-alpha 3]1981
"Mamma Mia"[lower-alpha 3]1975
"Money, Money, Money"[lower-alpha 3]1976
"People Need Love"[lower-alpha 1]1972
"SOS"[lower-alpha 3]1975
"Summer Night City"1978
"Super Trouper"[lower-alpha 3]1980
"Take a Chance on Me"[lower-alpha 3]1978
"Voulez-Vous"[lower-alpha 3]1979
"Waterloo"[lower-alpha 3] [lower-alpha 7]1974
"When I Kissed the Teacher"1976
"The Winner Takes It All"[lower-alpha 3]1980
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Also on Mini Musical Mode.
  2. ↑ Has two choreographies.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Also on Just Dance Now/Unlimited.
  4. ↑ Also on Just Dance 2018 via Just Dance Unlimited.
  5. ↑ Also on Just Dance 2014.
  6. ↑ Also on Just Dance Wii U.
  7. ↑ Also available on Just Dance+[2]

Development

ABBA: You Can Dance was developed by Ubisoft Paris and Ubisoft Bucharest, studios of Ubisoft that worked on the Just Dance series. The decision to make a dancing game based on ABBA was, according to the development team, due to ABBA and Just Dance being about "uniting people through their varied styles of music." They stated that they were excited to work on an ABBA game when given the opportunity. The team chose the band's most popular songs, such as "Mamma Mia", "Dancing Queen", and "Take a Chance on Me", but also wanted to reflect the variety of moods and aesthetics ABBA songs represent. To design the dance scenes, they hired professional choreographers, who worked with their level designers. Certain songs, such as ballads and slower songs, were harder to choreograph for. They came up with "unexpected yet strong and playful dance styles." The team reviewed various footage of ABBA performances, including music videos, anecdotes, backstage photos, live footage, and TV shows. The backgrounds were also designed with the intend to convey certain elements from ABBA's work. Some costumes were taken from ABBA music videos, while others were original, meant to get as close to the spirit while still being original.[3]

Reception

When discussing the forthcoming release of ABBA: You Can Dance, GamesRadar+ writer Andrew Hayward felt that the song selection was slim, though being relatively cheaper than typical Wii games helped.[4] Metacritic lists the game with an aggregate score of 66 out of 100.[5] The Guardian writer Sarah Ditum found the idea of ABBA being used as the basis for a video game to be a good one, appreciating that the choreography was appropriate for the music. However, she felt that the game was somewhat limited and that it stops being engaging relatively quickly, though she appreciated that it was cheap.[6] Cubed3 writer Adam Riley was more positive about the game, feeling it would be enjoyed by fans of dancing games and ABBA alike.[7] Wired writer Dak felt that this would be a game that would get family members "dancing to the classic tunes of ABBA."[8] PC Mag writer Jeffrey L. Wilson included it in his list of the top 10 Wii games of 2011, exclaiming his enjoyment for the modes of play in the game.[9] The combined sales of ABBA: You Can Dance and seven other Ubisoft dance games from November 20–26, 2011 totaled more than one million copies sold.[10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Katz, Leslie (September 30, 2011). "Take a chance on ABBA dance video game". CNET.
  2. ↑ "Waterloo by ABBA - Just Dance | Season 2 Showdown". YouTube.
  3. ↑ "ABBA You Can Dance Development Team Interview". Female.com.au. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  4. ↑ Hayward, Andrew (November 1, 2011). "The games of November 2011". GamesRadar+. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  5. ↑ "ABBA: You Can Dance". Metacritic. Retrieved 2022-05-08.
  6. ↑ Ditum, Sarah (December 14, 2011). "Abba: You Can Dance – review". The Guardian. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  7. ↑ Riley, Adam (December 22, 2011). "ABBA: You Can Dance (Wii) Review". Cubed 3. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  8. ↑ Dak (May 10, 2012). "Mother's Day for the Techie". Wired. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  9. ↑ Wilson, Jeffrey L. (December 2, 2011). "The Top 10 Best Nintendo Wii Games For 2011". PC Mag. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  10. ↑ Reilly, Jim (December 2, 2011). "Just Dance 3 Sales Explode Over Black Friday". Game Informer. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
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