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The original Zumba Fitness for Wii was a runaway success, selling over three million copies. While I enjoyed the game, it wasn't without its flaws. It seemed a game more suited for seasoned Zumba enthusiasts who could just jump right into playing. But for newbies, the dance moves were just too fast and the tutorials were weak. In addition, the way the game was organized was very confusing.
What a difference a year makes. I'm happy to say that the developers of this title must have been reading our reviews, because they fixed all of this and more. As a result, Zumba Fitness 2 is a game I wholeheartedly recommend.
When starting up the game, you see a catchy opening video of Zumba celebrities Beto Perez (the inventor of Zumba), Tanya Beardsley, and Gina Grant dancing. It's their animated figures who will be your Zumba instructors throughout the game. It definitely puts you in the mood.
The menu options are delightfully simple. They are:
Single Song
Full Class
Learn the Steps
Progress Tracker
Options
With Single Song, you can jump right into a song. You first create a profile by entering a seven-character nickname and input your height, weight, and birthdate. You can then select from a list of 32 songs, listed alphabetically, with their intensity level and in-game "location" listed. They are:
Activao (Cumbia) Low Intensity NY Nightclub
Aires Habaneros (Tango / Salsa) High Intensity VIP Pool Party
Bubuzela Masala (Samba / Hindu) High Intensity NY Nightclub
Caipirinha (Batucada) High Intensity NY Nightclub
Chilin Bombom Guajira Medium Intensity Zumba Dance Studio
Como Es Que Se Llama (Cumbia) High Intensity Miami Yacht Party
Dance Dance Dance (Hip-Hop) High Intensity LA Rooftop
Don't Let Me Down (Swing) High Intensity Zumba Dance Studio
El Merengazo (Merengue) High Intensity Miami Yacht Party
Hundu-Cumen (Hindu / Cha Cha Cha) Medium Intensity VIP Pool Party
I Know You Like It (Hip-Hop) Medium Intensity Zumba Dance Studio
I Wanna Move (Hip-Hop) Medium Intensity Zumba Dance Studio
I'm Going On (R&B Ballad) Low Intensity Zumba Dance Studio
La Matanga (Cumbia / Warm-Up) Low Intensity VIP Pool Party
La Rumba De La Papaya (Flamenco) High Intensity LA Rooftop
Mi Vecina (Bachata / Cumbia) Medium Intensity LA Rooftop
New Day (Slow Swing) Low Intensity VIP Pool Party
Pause (Urban Latino Dance) Medium Intensity NY Nightclub
Poison (Electronic / Dance) High Intensity LA Rooftop
Que Onda (Axe) High Intensity Miami Yacht Party
Que Te Pasa (Cumbia / Reggaeton) Medium Intensity LA Rooftop
Quebra As Cadeira (Axe) Medium Intensity Miami Yacht Party
Quiebralo Bob (Quebradita / Ragga) High Intensity VIP Pool Party
Sukumbiarabe (Indian / Cumbia) Medium Intensity LA Rooftop
Ta Picao (Calypso) High Intensity Zumba Dance Studio
Tigre (Merengue / Warm Up) Medium Intensity Miami Yacht Party
Tu Remedio (Cha Cha Cha) Low Intensity VIP Pool Party
Un Corazon (Pop Ballad) Low Intensity VIP Pool Party
Un Solo Pueblo (Salsa) Medium Intensity LA Rooftop
We Speak No Americano (Swing House / Electro-Swing) High Intensity NY Nightclub
Zoka Zumba (Calypso) High Intensity VIP Pool Party
Zu Bailaito (Quebradita) High Intensity LA Rooftop
There aren't that many familiar songs, but there are more licensed songs than the last version (the hip among us might recognize "Poison" by Nicole Scherzinger of the Pussycat Dolls or "Pause" by rapper Pitbull). But all are definitely catchy and very appropriate to Zumba dance. I would have liked to see the option for using your own music or downloadable content, but I didn't see either.
As with the original Zumba Fitness, you put on your Zumba belt (included with the package) so that the slot for the Wii remote is at your hip. After making all your menu selections, you'll be placing the Wii remote in the belt with the buttons facing outward, and the power button of the Wii remote on TOP (the first few times I played I put the remote in top-first, and got rewarded with a bunch of scores of zero).
In the style that games like Just Dance and Dance Central have made popular, you'll see an animated figure of a Zumba dancer demonstrating the moves to you and your job is to mimic the moves as if viewing a mirror. There's the added bonus of a small animated figure in a rectangle that'll highlight upcoming moves.
I don't know if my Zumba-ing has gotten better or the choreography has gotten simpler, or the presentation has gotten better (probably a combination of all three), but the dance moves were surprisingly easy to follow. There was a healthy amount of repetition and the arms and legs of the dancer are very clearly displayed at all times. It only took me 3-4 repetitions to get to a fairly good approximation of the dances, even at high intensity level. In the background are animations of dozens of others doing the same moves, which really helps make you feel like you're in a real Zumba session, and also helps reinforce the moves you have to make.
The motion detection is surprisingly accurate as well. As an experiment, I tried dancing to the "real" moves first, and then I tried just shaking my remote. When dancing the "real" moves I got a 91%, and when shaking the remote, I got 12%. In other words, they put a lot of effort into getting the accuracy right.
Granted, the scoring might be a little TOO generous, given that it's not really detecting your arm movements or the precise position of your foot and torso movements. But if your goal is to get a workout first and worry about the score later, you won't mind so much. Each song lasts for about 5-6 minutes, and each one is a pretty good workout in itself.
With "Full Class", you have the option of choosing one of 10 Short Classes, 10 Mid-Length Classes, 10 Full-Length Classes, or 8 Custom Playsets which you can design yourself. Each class takes place in one of five virtual locations: an LA Pool Party, a Miami Yacht Party, a NY Nightclub, a VIP Pool Party, and the Zumba Dance Studio.
I tried a short class, and it consisted of 5 songs, clocking in at a total of 25 minutes! I was completely wiped out. Needless to say, I haven't tried a mid-length or full-length class yet!
"Learn the Steps" is the tutorial portion of the game. It is much, much improved over the first version of the game, which had a tendency to sweep you through the lessons without teaching you much of anything. Here, you'll go through a tutorial of basic dance moves. The dance moves aren't comprehensive, but at the very least you can master the basics that are used in many Zumba dances. They are:
Salsa: Sidestep, Forward and Back, Travel, Backstep
Merengue: March, Two Step, Six Count, Zumba Shuffle
Cumbia: Two Step, Forward and Back, Sleepy Leg, Sugar Cane
Reggaeton: Stomp, Knee Lift, Destroza, Bounce
You can practice the steps at slow speed and then speed it up to normal speed once you get the moves right.
The "Progress Tracker" will tell you how many days you've played the game, how many minutes you've played this month, your average score for the week. Then, it'll allow you to view graphs of your weight (no Balance Board support, so you need to manually enter it each time), time played, technique, and calories burned. It'll also show you how many of the 26 medals you've earned, and allow you to collect "extras" by earning stars on each song (the first extra you unlock is a cool "behind the scenes" video of concept art for the Miami scene). Long story short, there are definitely a lot of incentives to keep you dancing.
All in all, I'm very impressed by Zumba Fitness 2. Majesco could have easily phoned in the sequel and still sold a lot of copies, but it looks like they put real time and effort into making this a genuine improvement. If you're a Zumba fan, this is a must-have. If you've always been curious about Zumba, unlike the last version I can wholeheartedly recommend this one.
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Kudos to Majesco and the creators of Zumba Fitness 2. For once it seems that developers actually listened to the consumer and created a product around what we felt should be. This game is a huge step up from the first Zumba Fitness. I would go as far as to say if you do not already own either game that you purchase this one instead of the first. You will definitely not be disappointed.One of the main complaints that I, as well as, many other players had concerning the first game was the learn the steps area. On the first Zumba Fitness this part moved so fast you could barely grasp what was happening. Short of already being familiar with the moves or going through the tutorial over and over you were simply at a loss. However, in this version the problem has been completely fixed. Now not only are the steps broken down piece by piece you are in control of when to advance from part to part. You also start out in slow mode with the steps and when you feel ready can practice the move in normal speed. Love, love, love this feature. It made learning the steps so much easier. Graphics on the screen clearly show you how to navigate through the steps and from slow to fast mode. This is another improvement as many people last time complained about not knowing how to navigate through the actual menus, etc. In this version all of the menus are very straight forward and complete with a purple arrow so large you can not possibly miss it lol. Another gripe many had of the last game was the way the people were presented. It was often times hard to follow the instructor because of the way they were made. This version showcases characters that look more like your normal game characters (think Mortal Kombat type). You feel more like you're following an actual instructor and can see all the moves clearly. The addition of a movement cue in the right corner of the screen also helps greatly in this arena. You do have the option to turn this feature off but I feel it is a real help in letting you know what move is coming next. You also now have the option to build your own routine which is a nice plus. The addition of little awards and such also seem a nice touch. For me personally they kind of push me to amp up my level of exercise to achieve them. There are so many more improvements that I could highlight but these just really stood out to me in showing that someone actually listened for once to the people who buy their products.
If you liked Zumba Fitness you will love Zumba Fitness 2. Run out and get it or order it. I can only imagine how great it will be on the Kinect if it is this wonderful on Wii. Good job Majesco and Zumba.
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First and foremost, much improvement as far as graphics go. You can actually see the moves that the dancer on the screen is performing, instead of the thermal imaging that was part of the first installment. The setup was very easy. In creating a profile, you choose a name, gender, weight, birthdate.At first, I was not too thrilled with the new song choices. I immediately missed my old favorites from the Zumba DVD's and the first game and the songs I've had in Zumba classes. But once I got into a couple of the routines, I found myself paying more attention to the moves and less focus on the songs. I suppose they'll grow on me. I went into Single Song Routine and scrolled through each one and listened to them and created a favorites playlist of the ones I like so far.
On the main menu you get to choose from Single Song, Full Class, Learn the Steps, Progress Tracker and Options. Single song is a routine to the song of your choice. You get to choose from 32 song choices, change your venue, etc. Full Class choices are Short Class, Mid-Length Class, Full-Length Class and Custom Playlist, where you pick your own songs and do a routine for the length of those songs. Once you've chosen your Class Duration, you have choices of Intensity: Low, Medium, High and Change Venue.
At any time once you're into a routine, you can hit the + button to pause the game. This brings up a Menu choice of Resume, Restart, Options and Quit to choose from. The Options menu gives you a choice to change the Game Settings (Visual Cues and Brightness) or Audio Settings (Effects Volume and Music Volume).
Once you've completed a routine, your performance stats come up, Calories Burned, Technique, Score. You can also view cumulative totals of these in the Progress Tracker options from the Main Menu. Progress Tracker lists Weight, Time played, Technique (%) and Total Calories burned. You can choose that in a graph of Days, Weeks, Months. In the Progress Tracker there are also Awards that you get for completing certain goals during play. The only one I've unlocked so far was Bronze Class (Finish a Short Class). I guess the only goal with these is to collect them all.
Also within the Progress Tracker Menu is an Extras option. For so many stars that you accumulate during gameplay there are levels reached, it looks like 11 total. You can unlock "exciting new videos featuring exclusive behind the scenes footage and interviews". (Their description, not mine).
Overall the menu is user friendly, the song choices are completely different than the first installment, the characters on the screen are very easy to see and follow and the pace is on fire, as usual. That's all I can think of for now, but I will add to this review if I notice anything I missed or mis-spoke about. The one thing that is very minor, but very odd, is the cursor to select menu choices. It's a big fat purple arrow that you can't miss, and seems to be bigger than some of the buttons you are clicking. Like I said, not a big deal at all, just an odd design choice in its size.
The one thing I am confused about. In prior descriptions of the game before it came out, it said one of the dance styles you could choose from is Belly Dance. I took that as you could choose whole routines based on belly dancing, but that doesn't appear to be the case so far. Who knows, maybe once I get into the game a little more that might be an option but I saw it nowhere in my navigations tonight.
I can't wait to do a full routine and see how many calories it says I burned, and if it's comparable to my Fitbit and or Polar HRM.
Honest reviews on Zumba Fitness 2 - Nintendo Wii
Like many others, I was looking forward to this title. I have the original and have become familiar with most of the routines, so was looking for something new. This game does offer many new routines and the graphics are much improved. It is easier to follow and the cues are a great addition. I also appreciate the second (for Zumba 1 owners) belt holder so my wife and I can exercise together.But overall I am underwhelmed. Maybe I just need to get used to the new indicator, but I prefer the old green body indicator that shows activity. The new four segment indicator is harder to read and follow. The first routine I did ended with Beto leading. While there's a definite upside, I also think making people work a little before meeting the creator, like in Zumba 1, has merit. Some of the dances are reminiscent of ExerBeat. I'll give it a little more time but my initial impression is 7/10=3.5 stars.
Added 19.NOV.11:
Pilot error! I was putting the Wiimote into the belt with the buttons out but had the wrist strap coming out the top. Turns out it has to be at the bottom with the power button end facing the ceiling. Couldn't understand why I wasn't getting any technique points or stars. It seems like the programmers could easily add some code to figure out how to read the accelerometer upside down, but oh well...
Now that that is working, I find the fireworks/flashes/camera changes distracting and annoying. For new users, I would recommend Zumba 2 because it has better tutorials. For those who have taken live Zumba classes, I still think Zumba Fitness is a little better. For me, Zumba 2 is more like a prequel than a sequel.
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Compared to the other dancing games for the wii system, this one is a keeper. Not only does it provide fun, but also a great workout. I haven't played Zumba Fitness 1 to compare it to, but from what I know this one has better graphics, that is if you prefer to follow people replicas rather than faceless color figures. As a dancer, I feel that this game has almost all the factors of an ideal dancing game.THE GOOD:
1) The Zumba Belt ExperienceIncluded in this game comes, a Zumba dance belt. Compared to the most Wii dancing games, this game doesn't base your movement on only your arms. "Michael Jackson The Experience" gave me a not so fun arm workout and I was only allowed the option use my right hand which was really annoying. In this game, you fasten the belt to your right hip through velcro, slide the wii remote on a pocket on your right hip, and just move. No holding the Wii remote, which makes it more fun and innovative.
*Make sure you put the belt with the buttons facing up and the power symbol up/ Wii Remote in the upright position.
2) Dance-able Music Beats This game provides three different dancing intensities: Low, Medium, and High. The low intensity, for me, is when i get tired or a good warm-up. The low intensity still is dance-able. This game doesn't have those songs that make you wonder "Why is this song on a dance game, I can't dance to this" like Just Dance's "Girlfriend-Avril Lavine" or "Crazy Little Thing Called LoveQueen" and MJ The Experiences "Heal The World" and "Earth Song". All of these beats have a variation of the right beats to get you moving.
3)High Energy Workout This game will have you sweating by the second song, if not the first. It incorporates an large array of body movements, concentrating mostly on the stomach and midsection and more legs than arms.
4) Progress Tracker and Calorie CounterThis game allows each character to have individual user profiles and counts the calories based on your weight and height, something not provided by MJ The Experience. You can look back and see what you did yesterday or last week, such as time spent and calories burned, something similar to Wii Fit Plus.
5) Unlockables For many Wii Users, unlockables are a must. This game has plenty of them. Videos and ecetera.
6) Different StylesThis game encompasses so many dancing styles (listed above in the Amazon information box), which makes you feel like you are not doing the same thing over and over again. They hit it on the nail with Bollywood Dancing and the other included styles. There are also 32 songs to choose from. With such a wide variety, there will be some you don't like, but it's nice to have the option to hate a few and love the rest.
7) Learn the Steps and other ModesFor those of you who are unfamilar with Zumba and dancing, Learn the Steps mode can help you with movements before you jump into a dance. This feature is not really offered on most Wii Dancing Games. This also includes the class modes with three lengths, structured on depending how long you want to dance. However, you won't know how long these classes are till you jump into one.
8)Good ValueSince this game includes the belt, it is a great value. This game often ranges from 30-35 bucks on Amazon, though I got mine cheaper elsewhere. I would say it is worth more than the other Wii dance games, since it has the belt and 32 songs with several different modes and unlockables.
THE BAD:
1) Unrecognizable Music As I was first when I was scanning through the tracks, I often wondered what are these songs. There is a track by Pitbull I've never heard of and another one from Nicole Shrezinger, which I also never heard of. The artists of all the tracks aren't even listed. I don't even know who the advertised Yoolanda and Dcup are. In the end, songs provided are do have flavor and are good, but we all want to dance to music we know, dont we?
2) Zumba Belt ProblemsI dont know about anyone else, but I often found myself readjusting the zumba belt during and in between songs. Sometimes after I adjusted it, the belt slid up and down. It's also hard to pause and resume a song between the net of the zumba belt. Between songs you have to take out the remote to aim it at the television and choose a song and then you have to quickly stuff it back in before the song begins.
3) Blur Mode and Zoom in and Out When dance really well, the screen blurs in what I think is called Euphoria in this game. Its just unnecessary and stops me for a second to try to follow the dancer who is wedged between this infinite blur. Also in the middle of a dance it will zoom out or zoom in on you suddenly and throw you off again.
4) Showing MovementThis is where it lacks compared to Just Dance, MJ The Experience, and Gold Gym's Cardio, because it doesn't really show you the moves on the side. It only hints at you when they are switching it up and only shows you the first dance moves of the sequence, instead of having all the movements listed on the side of the screen. The dances, since repeated, are easy to catch on to, so I would say this is only a mild problem.
5) Useless Instruction BookletThis instruction booklet didn't really aid me in figuring out anything.
6) Okay Visuals I was expecting several nice locations, but this game only has 5 basic ones. Sometimes, I would prefer the color shadows from Zumba Fitness 1, over these instructors.
7) Not for beginnersEven though it has the Learn the Steps Mode, I would say if you don't have some experience in dancing these steps would take a while to catch on to.
This game is comparable Gold Gym's Cardio Workout, which is currently ten dollars cheaper. However, compared to the other games this does take Wii Games to another level. If you have played other Wii dance games, I would say go out and get this. It provides a fantastic workout and an entirely different experience from the other dancing games we have seen.
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