Review
Among the fads in gaming, music games took off with the release of PaRappa the Rapper; music games generally have you keeping up with the beat through a series of button presses. It was only a matter of time before game developers created music games for children. Because the PlayStation caters to both hardcore gamers and families, the console seemed perfect for Walt Disney's The Jungle Book: Rhythm n' Groove -- a musical dancing game aimed at kids.
If you have ever experienced PaRappa the Rapper or Samba de Amigo, you'll find the basic concept of the game quite familiar; you must follow an on-screen pattern and keep up with the beat. Here, you'll press buttons in corresponding directions when the arrow reaches a circle at the bottom of the screen; the arrow points to the required direction. Arrows fall from the screen in a Tetris-like manner -- a simple and boring task...when using a PlayStation controller.
Walt Disney's The Jungle Book: Rhythm n' Groove comes with a large plastic gaming mat that improves the gameplay significantly; it resembles the mat found in Twister. It features large arrows that represent those found on the screen. Additionally, the mat is large enough for two players -- no need to buy a second one!
While the thought of jumping around on a mat may seem like a dumb idea, it is actually quite fun. Having played the game using a regular controller and the included mat, the latter item saves the game. Because of its design, the four directional steps will become instinctive after a few rounds.
Because of the nature of the game, songs are a requirement. Two of the most popular songs from the film, Bare Necessities and I Wanna Be Like You, are included and real toe-tappers! There are new songs as well ranging from decent to weak; while We are the Vultures is quite good, the song Bagheera sings at the beginning of the game with Mowgli isn't too great. It would have been nice to see all the songs used, especially classics such as Colonel Hathi's March and Trust in Me.
The Jungle Book: Rhythm n' Groove also features more options than most musical dancing games. Based on the original Jungle Book, the basic storyline is close to the real thing. After tackling the single-player game, a Versus mode is available; here, you'll pick whatever character you want and out-dance a human or computer-controlled opponent. There's even an option of picking songs of your choice and playing through the scenario. If that isn't enough, an intense bonus game is available to challenge seasoned veterans.
The Story mode features gorgeous cut-scene animations that, alone, are almost worth the price of admission. While these sequences are amazingly produced, the in-game visuals are weak in comparison because of the PlayStation's graphical limits; the characters are quite blocky. Had the game been released on a more powerful console, the actual visuals would have been virtually identical to the cut-scenes.
Another interesting feature in The Jungle Book: Rhythm n' Groove is the inclusion of power-ups -- something most games in the genre lack. Power-ups are useful for defeating bosses; you can use walls of fire to temporarily stop the opposition and burn up any falling arrows.
Additionally, there are multiple skill levels that will progressively challenge you. After playing the game a few times, however, it becomes somewhat tiresome. Although the Versus mode adds to the replay value, the game will wind up on the shelf rather quickly. There are some extra features that help somewhat, but seem to fill up left over disc space. The Lou Vega music video is actually well done and his remake of I Wanna Be Like You is good.
All in all, Walt Disney's The Jungle Book: Rhythm n' Groove is fun for both kids and adults. With the easiest difficulty setting, you can go through the game in a relatively short time and enjoy all it has to offer. On the other hand, the harder levels will have you doing some serious cardiovascular exercises -- you may want to keep a bottle of water nearby! While this dancing game is fun, it has limited interest and will become a dust collector after a few weeks.
At least you'll get a much-needed exercise!
Graphics 
While the cut-scenes are spectacular and rival some studio animations, the in-game graphics suffer from the PlayStation's graphical capabilities. The characters and backgrounds look rather blocky; Ubi Soft did incorporate all the main characters and a few of the minor ones, however.
Sound 
The sound effects and musical score hold faithful to the movie. Hearing some of the older songs instead of newer ones would have been nice as well. The voice acting is also on-par with the originals.
Enjoyment 
The gameplay is easy to get into and a lot of fun -- the idea of dancing to the beat is novel and will hold your interest for a little while. Because two players can dance at once, you'll encounter some spirited games. While initially fun, it wears thin after a week or so; aside from power-ups and the included mat, it adds nothing new to the genre.
Replay Value
Although there are lots of options, the game doesn't have enough depth to hold gamers' interests for a long period of time. With only nine songs and a handful of characters, it quickly grows stale. While the Story mode is fun and there's a Versus mode, after you've heard the songs and seen the scenarios a few times, there isn't much reason to see or hear them again.
Documentation
The instruction manual is very colorful and features pictures of all your favorite Jungle Book characters. It also does a good job of describing the gameplay.
