Samba de Amigo (Review)

Samba de Amigo (Nintendo Wii)

Rated “E” For “Everyone”

Time to shake it up with Sega’s musical monkey, Samba. Samba de Amigo is a Maracas based music game from Sega that originated on the Dreamcast. Now it is brought back to life years later to make some noise in the current-gen era.

=====Music=====

Unlike most music games that are current, Samba de Amigo brings a Latin flavor for their music list. Many of the tracks you play in this game will not be found in almost any other rhythm game out there. From Ricky Martin to a few Latin classics to even a few remixed versions of popular songs, Samba has a large list of songs to keep you shaking your Maracas. While most are from the original version, they’ll still feel new due to the many years of absence. And with downloadable bundle packs to purchase online, there will be a nice length of play time to keep Samba’s lifespan long and fun.

=====Gameplay=====

If you never played the Dreamcast version of Samba, that’s okay. The controls will be new for everyone. The main portion is to shake your control as the rhythm balls fly towards 1 of the 6 circles. The closer you get them to the middle of the circle, the higher the points you receive.

So how does it work? You have 6 circles around you, how do you make your controls know which one to shake at? Very simple. Keep the Wiimote and Nunchuk (or second Wiimote) pointed forward and shake left/right for the middle, point the controls up and shake left/right for the top circles, and point the controls down and shake to make the bottom circles register. It sounds simple and it really feels simple, especially in the easier difficulties. As the challenge rises, that’s when you might falter as you try to remind yourself which way to hold the controls and then shake. That might drive most players to stick with lower difficulty to keep it fun and not frustrating.

=====Story=====

Umm…there is no story. Let’s talk about the game modes instead.

There is the standard gamplay, career mode (for the bulk of unlockables), and mini-games. All the old mini-games are here along with a few new ones such as Pinata, Volleyball, and Love Love. Most mini-games focus on certain ways to play the actual game while others are just for the fun of it. Love Love is the only one that rates you on how well you work well with another player as the others have you competing against one another.

=====Changes=====

New songs, that’s always a plus. New mini-games, that’s more fun. New gameplay controls, those could be better. New downloadable content, a first for the game. New characters…new characters?

Of course, Miis are integrated into the game. You’ll see members of your Mii pile dancing and shaking in the background of levels. Not only will you see them, but other Sega faces make appearances. One of them is a famous News Reporter from space and the other is the blue blur of Sega, Sonic. Sonic is the latest amigo of Amigo. Cheers for Sega fan service.

=====Final Words=====

There are plenty of music games out in the market. While more of them have been leaning towards the realistic gameplay, Samba de Amigo isn’t that much different. They were one of the first to apply instrument specific peripherals. But Samba shines with the music it has. It’s vastly different from almost every music game out there and that says a lot. What may get to players is the controls. If you don’t get used to it, you’ll just be shaking your controls like a crazy person. If you get used to the controls, you’ll be shaking your controls like a rhythm crazed monkey. It’s the easiest instrument out there to play at least.

Rated 3 out of 5

IGN Review