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Samba De Amigo

By Eric Frederiksen

First came Parappa the Rapper and it’s sequel Um Jammer Lammy.  Next were the Bust-a-Groove games.  Most recently, Space Channel 5, as well as a whole slew of others that all of America missed out on- these are the few we have been allowed to see.  Now, the craziest of them all has arrived: Samba De Amigo. 

Previously, these dance games were played with only the standard controller.  Well, the ones we were allowed to see, anyway.  See, the others required you to make a complete fool of yourself, preferably in public places filled with hundreds of onlookers.  Samba De Amigo breaks this trend with the Mighty Maracas.  That’s right, now you too can look like an idiot in your very own home.  And by god, it’s fun.

In a complete departure from usual review format, I’m going to talk about the negatives first: The Maracas controllers.  They cost $80.00 US to the common-folk.  This may seem a bit much, but once you try the Maracas, you can’t go back.  Playing Samba De Amigo without the maracas is like fishing without a fishing pole.  Which, coincidentally, you can also do on Dreamcast.  Either way, it isn’t nearly as fun.  Also, the accuracy can be off at times.  It should be known at this point that Samba De Amigo originated as a Japanese arcade game- with heavier, slightly more accurate controllers.  While this lack of accuracy can detract from the game at some points, it is rare enough that it doesn’t lessen the experience to any sort of extreme. 

While the Maracas are some of the largest negatives of the game, they are still one of the largest plusses.  The fun they provide far overwhelms the negatives. 

These Maracas are shaken (not stirred) to some extra-funky beats- ranging from game-specific music to the Latin beats of the Bon-Bon Shaker himself, Ricky Martin.  The selection and variety of music is excellent, and the beat to which the Maracas are shaken is very well timed.  This timing is consistently well done through all three levels of difficulty, so that anyone will be able to find their niche.

Even with the overwhelming presence of Ricky Martin, Samba De Amigo seems to be a mainly male game.  Every guy that sees it will try it once.  It’s a different story for girls, though.  Girlfriends don’t seem to enjoy shaking their moneymakers in front of their boys, for some unknown reason.  As I said before, this is an extremely fun game to play.  Unlike others, though, it is also fun to watch.  Samba De Amigo can gather a crowd like few games can.  There’s nothing like acting like a dork to bring your friends together.  In addition to being a stellar party game, Samba De Amigo is also great for a workout.  My arms are still sore from playing the game all week, but I can’t wait to go back for more.

The graphics also need to be mentioned.  The graphics are clean, and the characters are great.  The hyperactive monkey has yet to be rivaled in terms of pure humor, and the backgrounds change appropriately with how well you are playing.

Overall, Samba De Amigo is a stellar game.  It’s creative and fresh.  It has exquisite control.  The graphics are beautiful.  The music is perfect, and catchy.  Yes, the large price tag of $120 is a bit much, but if you can drop the cash, you won’t ever regret it.