Samba De Amigo: Party Central

Genre: Music-Rhythm / Exercise

Players: 1-2 Team Competitive (Local) / 2-8 Competitive (Online)

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Review:

While the original Samba De Amigo technically released in arcades in 1999, I expect most people were introduced to the game a year later in 2000 when it released on the Sega Dreamcast. It was kinda’ hard to miss – this was a half a decade before Guitar Hero popularized the idea of videogame controllers shaped like musical instruments, and unlike that game’s mainstream appeal with its guitar, or even Donkey Konga’s accessible bongo controller, Samba De Amigo was not afraid to do something adventurous – you controlled this Music-Rhythm game with a pair of maraca controllers.

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Dance Like Nobody is Watching

Both critically acclaimed and somewhat niche, I can’t help but feel that Samba De Amigo is a game that may have been doomed by its release date – in the US, this game was released on Dreamcast on October 17, 2000… about a week before the release of the Sony’s mega-successful PlayStation 2. Even a major game might struggle to sell well in those conditions, but an oddball game with maraca controllers?

The game got a second chance at life in 2008 when Gearbox Software (the folks who brought us the Borderlands series) ported the game to the Nintendo Wii, a platform that was wildly successful. However, while the motion controls of the Wii seemed ideal for a game all about shaking maracas, some players complained about imprecise motion-detection.

In the years that followed, Samba De Amigo’s world and characters have made cameos in various Sega games, and a PlayStation 2 EyeToy game called Sega SuperStars even featured a section that approximated Samba De Amigo’s gameplay using the EyeToy camera’s motion-sensing capabilities, but for the most part this is a series that has remained dormant for 15 years, until in 2023 Sega finally announced a new sequel in the series.

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Shaking Off the Cobwebs

In actuality, Sega would release three Samba De Amigo games in 2023. Nintendo Switch owners would get Samba De Amigo: Party Central, PC owners with a Meta Quest VR headset would get a version of the game titled Samba De Amigo: Virtual Party, and smartphones got a version played using the touchscreen called Samba De Amigo: Party-To-Go. All three games are family-friendly Music-Rhythm games featuring licensed music and the franchise’s usual bombastic style.

As one would expect from this franchise, Samba De Amigo: Party Central makes use of the Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons’ motion-sensing capabilities to detect the angle of your maracas in much the same way the Wii version of the game did, rather than the height of the maracas, as the original game did. While perhaps not ideal for series purists, the way the Joy-Cons’ motion-sensing capabilities work unfortunately necessitates this.

If you’re looking for an alternative, you can also play the game using face buttons or analog sticks, but this simply doesn’t seem right for a Samba De Amigo game, and I couldn’t help but feel that trying to play the game this way sucks the joy out of the experience. I also checked to see if this game incorporated touchscreen controls, which seemed like a no-brainer since these were being created for the Party-To-Go version. Unfortunately, this is not an option on Nintendo Switch.

Thankfully, using the Joy-Cons for the game’s standard motion controls worked mostly fine as far as I was concerned. These controls absolutely were not completely accurate, and there were definitely times that I missed a note when I definitely shook the controller in the correct position, but overall I felt that this game’s controls were generally pretty forgiving. Again, more skilled diehard fans of the original will likely be disappointed in the lack of precision in the controls, but I expect the overwhelming majority of players will be delighted.

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This Party is Shakin’!

Samba De Amigo: Party Central comes with a tracklist of about 40 licensed songs, most of them original versions, with a few covers thrown in. These songs are mostly pop themes, though there are a few Spanish-language songs thrown in as well. In addition, players can opt to spend a bit extra to download multiple DLC packs costing $5 each with three songs apiece, including songs that were in the original game, as well as select songs from Sega and Atlus games. I won’t post the full list here, but you can see a breakdown of what’s included on the Videogame Soundtracks Wiki page for the game.

Personally, I felt this was a pretty good selection of songs, and although I would have liked to see even more songs to choose from, it’s hard for me to complain too much when the game only costs $40.

The visuals here are vivid and expressive, with tons of color and lots of 3D characters and even scenery jumping around in time with the beat. This game is so colorful and has so much happening on-screen that it’s a wonder that this never distracts from the gameplay cues you need to follow, but the large clear symbols stick out well enough that this is never an issue.

As for the gameplay… quite simply, this game is an absolute blast. I love the over-the-top joyous atmosphere that permeates through the whole game, and I’m delighted at how the game doesn’t take itself too seriously, occasionally interrupting the standard Music-Rhythm gameplay to have players strike a specific pose, or bring up a random roulette of special effects that can completely alter the gameplay. Purists can opt to turn these effects off if they like too.

What’s more… wow, what a workout. Sure, you can play this game sitting down and just wiggle your wrists, but again I feel like this is a game where half the point is moving your arms like the characters onscreen to imitate their motions – not only did I feel like this was a lot of fun, but it is by far the style of gameplay that felt the most natural to me. And standing up to perform the full motions… I can’t remember getting so out of breath so quickly. Yeah, yeah, I’m out of shape, but I do play occasional Exercise games to review them, and the last time I felt I got a workout this good and I had a ton of fun doing it was Ring Fit Adventure.

I should also mention that this game has a single-player campaign mode called StreamiGo!, but take my advice and skip it – it’s just the same Music-Rhythm gameplay as the standard Rhythm Game mode, but you can’t choose your songs, can’t turn off the sillier gameplay elements, and have to meet specific goals for each song. I suppose players who get their kicks out of completing such goals can enjoy this, at least.

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¡Ariba!

Samba De Amigo: Party Central is probably not the sort of Music-Rhythm game you’d want if you’re the sort of player who thrills at getting a perfect score, hitting each and every note on the mark. The lacking precision in this game’s controls means that aiming for this goal will likely just frustrate you when the imperfect motion controls miss a note.

Having said that, if you can live with a little sloppiness in the controls, it’s hard not to be thrilled at everything else this game gets so right. The presentation here is so vivid and full of joy, the gameplay is a pure delight to play, the song list has some excellent tunes to dance to, and those seeking a fun game to work out to will find that this game deserves a spot right next to Ring Fit Adventure and Dance Dance Revolution as a great family-friendly Exercise Game that’s still truly fun to play. Whether you’re here for the dancing, the music, or the overall party, Samba De Amigo: Party Central is an excellent choice.

tl;dr – Samba De Amigo: Party Central is a Music-Rhythm game with Exercise Game elements has players shaking the Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons like maracas. The controls are a bit sloppy and lacking in precision, but they work well enough, and otherwise this is a truly joyous game with great music, great style, and fun gameplay that will have you sweating it out as you dance. Music-Rhythm fans with a Nintendo Switch will definitely want to grab this one.

Grade: B+

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This game has been nominated for one or more of eShopperReviews 2023 Game Awards:

Runner-Up: Best Music-Rhythm Game, Best Game for Kids and Casual Players, Most Underrated (71)

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