Review: Samba De Amigo
As I write this my hands are curled in to claws and I am typing more with my knuckles than my fingers. Why? Because I was standing in front of my TV for the better part of the evening and morning shaking my Wii remotes like a crazy man. This will probably sound insane to anyone who has never played Samba De Amigo, but for anyone who has it will make perfect sense.
Samba De Amigo started its life in 2000 as a popular Dreamcast game. Its infectious Latin rhythms and quirky concept attracted a loyal group of followers. Helping its popularity was a trippy art style and the use of a special set of maraca controllers. Players would take the roll of Amigo, a kooky maraca playing monkey, and the game itself was rhythm based. There are three positions: up, middle and down and the player would follow the on screen instruction as to position and shake the maracas in time with the colored dots much like Guitar Hero or Rock Band. It was a hell of a lot of fun and my friends and I spent many hours dancing around my living room like a bunch of fools.
Fast forward to 2008 and Sega announces the rebirth of Samba De Amigo to a new generation via Nintendo's Wii. Given the motion action of the game, the two seemed a perfect fit and I am happy to say that they are. Some people may complain about the missing maraca controllers, but the Wii remote works just as well and it really doesn't take away from the fun in any way. This new Samba De Amigo is really a love letter to its cult of fans and includes nearly all the tracks from the original game plus tons of new ones bringing the final count to 44 songs shipped on the disc. Additional songs can also be downloaded in packs of three from the Nintendo store. The first three songs are "I Want Candy", "Are You Gonna Be My Girl?", and "Mambo Mambo" and are available now for 500 Wii points. Many of the songs (including those last three) are the original tracks and I was thrilled to find one by the queen of Cuchi Cuchi herself, Charo.
While the Wii remotes might not be maracas, they still do a serviceable job of controlling the game. They can be used in two configurations, Two Wii remotes or Wii remote an nunchuck. Both work fine although I found I did better with the remote/nunchuck combo. The only issue is that they can be a bit finicky and unforgiving, especially during the "Pose" portion. A graphic pops up showing you a pose to hit with your controllers. It worked fine most of the time but I had a hard time getting it to register on a few poses particularly when both controllers were supposed to be together on one side or the other. This comes even more into play as you go up in difficulty and sometimes it was difficult to get them to register very quick successive notes and position changes. Perhaps when the Wii Motion Plus is released it will help to resolve some of these issues.
The graphics have all been revamped and are just as colorful and outrageous as ever. At one point I just sat watching the screen as my two friends played and I felt like I had been thrust into a psychedelic acid trip. It was just as fun to watch as it was to play which is always a nice thing when you have a large group of people.At the beginning of the game you can choose a Mii to use and their little heads are displayed by your score, giving appropriate facial expressions depending on how well you are doing. Your Mii's also become part of the action as background dancers in the scene.
There are new game modes to explore as well in the single player and multi-player modes including a "Career" mode and the Hustle mode. There are also a small collection of mini-games that are interesting to play in a group but ultimately aren't any where near as fun as the main game. Also included are some special Sega themed levels featuring cameos by Sega poster boy, Sonic and that vivacious vixen Ulala from Space Channel 5.
Overall, Samba De Amigo is a lovely revamp of an old classic, one that has been too long in returning to the masses. It's sure to liven up any party and will be enjoyed by gamers and non gamers alike. Players of the original may find the controls a little less responsive but it's certainly not a deal breaker. Samba De Amigo is available now for your Nintendo Wii. Shake it, don't break it!
8 out of 10
Fruit Brute
Posted to Hot Stuff, Reviews, Video Games on 24 September 2008
· Comments (5)
Other stuff like this: maraca, monkey, rhythm game, samba de amigo, sega, sombrero, wii
I loved the Dreamcast version so you know I'll be getting this also.
Sounds like my next purchase, but how much are the additional packs? The sentence kinda just ended without a price point.
I think the additional pack costs 500 wii points
NOOOOo noo no no no NO
don't spend your money on this! the controls are awful when you get to a the advanced levels.
people who actually GET to that point in the game will be able to tell you that.
this game is good for people who have no intention to play it on their own or improve their skills. this game has been more or less reduced to a "casual" game because of the faulty controls.
Don't count on wiimotion plus to be compatable with this game down the line because i don't think reprogramming a game to use a new interface can be made into downloadable content or otherwise Lucasarts wouldn't have been so irate about not knowing about wiimotion plus ahead of time.
the DLC seems overpriced too in my opinion.
this game is entertaining for first timers who will play the game while visiting your house once in a while but don't think you can dedicate time to this and master it like you could with the dreamcast version it's not going to happen.
also the game is 39.99
instead of doing that how about this instead. http://tinyurl.com/4xhyjw
cause that one works. (notice at the time of this post the item was at $15.50
it is a nice, refreshing blast from the past...but the controls are wayyyy too wonky, especially for the more advanced stages. i find its nearly impossible to get the controller to register up then immediately down. and poses are generally hit or miss.