1987 · Human Entertainment · Fitness · Rhythm

Dance Aerobics

Nintendo exclusive

Dance Aerobics is a chance to get fit by following the movements of an aerobics instructor.

Released: 26 February 1987
Platforms: NES
Genres: Fitness Rhythm Sports
Developers: Human Entertainment
Publishers: Nintendo
Perspective: Side view
Themes: Action
Languages: English, Japanese

About

Dance Aerobics, released in Japan as Aerobics Studio (エアロビスタジオ, Earobi Sutajio), is a music video game developed by Human Entertainment for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was released in Japan by Bandai in February 1987 and North America by Nintendo in March 1989. It is the third game in Bandai's Family Trainer series, which was designed for use with the NES' 3x4 dance mat, the Power Pad, making it similar to the rhythm game genre, a genre that would later explode into the mainstream gaming market at the tail end of the 1990s.

Keywords

exercise
fitness
high score
licensed game
motion control
peripherals
cheat code
power pad

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Dance Aerobics features three distinct modes. In Normal Mode, the player begins with four different aerobics classes to choose from and by playing through the classes may unlock an additional 4. The player must follow the motions of the instructor by stepping on the appropriate buttons on the Power Pad as music plays. The player may also use their hands and in some more advanced levels and in different modes use of the hands is required.

In Normal Mode, the score begins at 100 and decreases by 10 with each mistake, only going up for routines completed correctly. If the counter reaches zero then the player has failed the song. The games begin simply but as the player passes levels, new harder songs are unlocked and the difficulty increases.