Samba de Amigo

Samba de Amigo is a rhythm game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega. The game was originally released in the arcades and would later appear on the Dreamcast and Wii. Samba de Amigo lets players use controllers shaped like maracas as a method of matching a series of patterns displayed on-screen.

Why It's A Fiesta

 * 1) The soundtrack utilized in the game mostly consists of popular Latin music songs with some choices being non-Latin pop songs like Macarena, Samba de Janeiro, Take on Me, Bamboleo, Hot Hot Hot, Livin' la Vida Loca, etc. You also got Mexican Flyer on the Wii version which is from another game called Space Channel 5.
 * 2) Using maracas in a game may sound silly at first, but this is where Samba de Amigo shines when the concept was done. Since this is motion control, you need to get used to it and you will be fine. As a result, you get some fun gameplay.
 * 3) Amigo appears on the screen which is the character you are controlling. If you do well, more people will be attracted to your performance and the entire game becomes more vivid than before. It's almost mindblowing when you do well.
 * 4) Colorful and vibrant graphics that fit well with the fiesta tone of the game. The Wii version gives the game more enhanced graphics.
 * 5) Most of the time you have six spots being placed with red for high, yellow for middle, and green for low. This is for your maracas. As typical for a rhythm game, you must time the rhythm right to do well and you need to be aware of where the blue dots are coming to. You put both maracas in a location where you shake both, you get bonus points.
 * 6) Sometimes a stick figure named Pose appears on the screen allowing you to strike a pose and you got a second or two to match the figure's pose.
 * 7) In the arcade mode, you get to do two or three stages with each stage having a song to choose from. Do well and you will get a special stage where three of the more challenging songs are available.
 * 8) The Dreamcast version still has the arcade mode in the form of Original mode but instead of being limited to three songs in each stage, you need to choose from any song in the game that has been unlocked. Six songs are available, but you can unlock them by playing the Arcade or Challenge mode.
 * 9) Challenge mode gives you a variety of challenges like Maracas Apprentice and Maracas King. You would need to do certain requirements if you want to win.
 * 10) The home game adds a Party mode with minigames consisting of Monkey Replay, Power Rush, Guacamole, Strike A Pose, and 1-2-Samba.
 * 11) The home version also has features which can be unlocked, such as sound effects and hidden songs. You got content like a sound effect of Chao from Sonic Adventure and Random mode.
 * 12) You can download songs in the original Dreamcast version which consists of songs from Sega titles like Open Your Heart from Sonic Adventure, After Burner from After Burner, Magical Sound Shower from Outrun, You Can Do Anything from Sonic CD, and DREAMS DREAMS from NiGHTS.
 * 13) The Dreamcast version has a setup that is pretty useful. The maracas have a cord that is plugged into a bar that lies in front of the player's feet. The bar is slightly more than two feet in length and has a sensor at each end, and each maraca has an ultrasonic transmitter mounted on its cord; this allows the system to triangulate the position of each maraca. If you don't like noisy maracas, the rattle part can be unscrewed. Then there's the plastic mat that helps players properly position themselves in relation to the sensor bar.
 * 14) A new version for the arcades and the Dreamcast was released called Samba de Amigo: Ver. 2000 which includes 14 new songs and six new downloadable songs for the home version. But wait there's more.
 * 15) *Love Love/Couples mode was originally in the home version yet the arcade version of Ver. 2000 includes it.
 * 16) *A new character named Amiga joins the cast.
 * 17) *A new volleyball game appears.
 * 18) *Survival mode exists. This lets players put into a situation where you got to finish as many songs in a row as they can.
 * 19) *Challenge mode has new goals and five new secret stages that are difficult.
 * 20) *The most significant addition would be Hustle Mode. You must follow the dots and shake the maracas yet it's done less often. Instead, Pose appears frequently, and in addition to making the player do static poses, he will be shaking his maracas in certain patterns that the player must mimic. Every song in this game has both Original and Hustle Mode patterns.
 * 21) The Wii version has things that not even the original or 2000 has. Let's list them out like this.
 * 22) *Has additions from Ver.2000 being placed in the game. This is for that outside of Japan.
 * 23) *Career mode lets players do challenges that involve players to clear songs to earn various unlockables.
 * 24) *Has stages related to Sonic the Hedgehog and Space Channel 5 with Sonic and Ulala making cameos.
 * 25) *Ver.2000. 23 Wii-exclusive songs were added, bringing the total to 44.
 * 26) *Miis appear.
 * 27) *Online leaderboards and friends lists let players post their best scores and compare them. This applies to your player-created Mii and not the guest miis.
 * 28) *DLC is available with the songs "I Want Candy", "Wow, Are You Gonna Be My Girl", and "Mambo Mambo" being the only ones.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) Since this is a rhythm game, sometimes it's frustrating especially when having to do hard mode.
 * 2) The Wii version does have some problems
 * 3) *Nearly, but not every song in the Wii version were included like many of the songs from Ver.2000
 * 4) *The controls can sometimes be awkward especially when playing on hard difficulty.
 * 5) *Since Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection was discontinued, the online content is non-existent now.
 * 6) In the Dreamcast version, the maraca controllers are expensive and the game can't be enjoyed without them.

Arcade
In Japan, Game Machine listed Samba de Amigo as being the most-successful dedicated arcade game of its month and was the highest-grossing arcade game of 2000.

Dreamcast
Met with nearly universal positive reviews which were praised for its unique and addictive gameplay. It won the Best Puzzle game from E3 2000 Game Critics Awards.

Ver. 2000
AllGame gave the game 5 stars and Next Generation gave the game 4 stars.

Wii
It met with a mixed reception but they range from average to positive overall. Reviewers like WorthPlaying said that the controls are 95% of the time on the spot. Nintendo Power gave the game a 9 out of 10. Nintendo Life gave the game a 7 out of 10.

Trivia

 * The maracas can be used to play Namco's Mr. Driller with a single maraca can be used to control the SNK game Cool Cool Toon. The Ver. 2000 part is an exception.
 * The title translates from Spanish as "Dance of Friends"
 * Samba de Amigo has a longer instruction book than both Shenmue and Final Fantasy VIII.
 * Two cheetahs Chumba and Wamba are named after the original band that did Tumthumping: Chumbawamba
 * Samba de Amigo Ver. 2000 was gonna be released in NA under the name of Samba de Amigo Ver. 2001, but it was among the games that were canceled when Sega ended support for the Dreamcast.
 * Samba de Amigo is the first retail Wii title to support the "pay and play" portion of the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, previously used exclusively by WiiWare titles.
 * Sega released a spiritual successor called Shakatoo Tambourine which uses a tambourine and popular J-pop music.
 * A pair of Samba de Amigo levels appeared in Rhythm Thief & the Emperor's Treasure.
 * Vamos a Carnival made an appearance in Phantasy Star Online 2 which appears as the game's lobby music every April as part of a yearly Easter event.

Videos
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