If you know your Sega history, then you most likely know — and love — the maraca-shaking monkey Amigo. Samba de Amigo was a cult hit on the Dreamcast back in 1999, and this little monkey rattled his way into many a heart over the years.
Laced with catchy Latin American music, pop songs, and a pair of maraca-shaped controllers, Samba de Amigo became a cult hit for its arcade-style gameplay and fun aesthetic. Incredibly, while it feels like Amigo has become a staple in Sega's history — appearing in titles such as Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing (and its Transformed sequel) — the sombrero-donning monkey's debut game has never received a direct sequel, with Ver. 2000 launching in arcades and in Japan, and Samba de Amigo on Wii being an enhanced port.
But don't worry, 2023 is the year of the retro return, and Samba de Amigo: Party Central sees Amigo take to the global stage. Sonic Team is bringing the beloved party music title back, and to tell us a little bit about the series' history is director and producer at Sonic Team, Shun Nakamura.
Nakamura-san made his debut as a director on the original Samba de Amigo and has plenty of interesting tidbits to share about just how the series has changed from 1999 to today, along with some Smash Bros. desires and how TikTok has influenced this brand-new game...
Nintendo Life: Samba de Amigo is synonymous with the Dreamcast for many Sega fans. How did you come up with an idea for the game and the character of Samba?
Shun Nakamura, Sonic Team producer and director: Samba de Amigo was first created as an arcade game. At the time, it was all about cool music games, but for me, I was more into creating a game where we can forget ourselves and enjoy being fun-loving – a game where we can enjoy the sounds of karaoke or live music, rather than just playing music. That is why I started Samba de Amigo. Japanese people like to use maracas to liven up the atmosphere when they sing karaoke, and this experience led to the introduction of the maraca controllers. At the time, the Sonic team had no experience with arcade games, but we started this as an experimental project, and each time we presented the game, it was well received, which eventually led us to the Dreamcast version.
We decided on the character Amigo because we thought his cheerful image would match the brightness of the monkey character. The final touches were done by the character designer of the Sonic series.
Did you ever consider using other instruments in Samba de Amigo?
Actually, when Nintendo first showed us the Switch hardware, we thought about bringing back Samba, but we decided to change it up a bit and make something new, so we were working on another music game before the system’s launch. But for various reasons, that project didn't work out. In that previous game, the concept was to control a large number of musical instruments, but the design, unfortunately, went in so many different directions, so it didn't end up working out.
when Nintendo first showed us the Switch hardware, we thought about bringing back Samba, but we decided to change it up a bit and make something new
With this experience in mind, we decided to proceed with a Samba project instead, where we did not think about other instruments as we wanted to express something silly and enjoyable when using a single instrument. [Samba de Amigo: Party Central] also has a feature called 'happenings', which allows the player to enjoy various rhythm games in addition to the normal performance. I think this feature solves the problem of getting bored with playing the same instrument.
Amigo has made numerous cameo!!s and appearances in other Sonic Team games such as the Sega All-Star Racing series. What’s your dream cameo for the character?
Amigo sometimes appears in other games as a separate character, but never in connection with the storyline or anything like that, so I hope that in the future they will be able to be put in a key role. However, in order to do so, I think Amigo will have to become more famous, so I will try my best to make that happen.
Also, I enjoy Smash Bros., so I would like for Amigo to participate in that game as well. I think it would be interesting for Amigo to have these music-based attacks because no other character has that. Of course, I am joking!
Why do you think Samba de Amigo has a cult following among Dreamcast fans?
Personally, I don’t know the real reason. However, I believe that those who like Samba de Amigo are those who enjoy having some light-hearted fun. This remains the most important part of this project, and it’s also the part that we have expanded upon. I think we were able to offer something that makes people feel that even just dancing with maracas is fun, but it also goes beyond that.
I think Amigo will have to become more famous, so I will try my best to make that happen.
In this game, we have this difficulty mode called CRAZY, which is somewhat different from the “difficulty of the game” you would normally see. With CRAZY, we wanted to find ways to get the player to really move their body to the rhythm. By the way, I haven't told anyone this, but I named it after the CRAZY TAXI's groove and CRAZY-ness. I hope that fans will support the new Samba in a cult-like way.
The newest entry in the franchise – Samba de Amigo: Party Central – is being billed as a follow-up to the original Dreamcast game. Why is now the time to revisit the series?
In recent years, I think there have been a lot of new remakes of past titles in the game industry. This Samba de Amigo was created with that trend in mind, with the idea that it would be more interesting if it were adapted to today’s market. The Joy-Con and VR controllers were a big part of this title, and while the Dreamcast version was fun with the separate maraca controllers, they were very expensive and could not be used by many people. This time, the hardware comes with the motion controllers, so I think many people will be able to enjoy the game with a low threshold.
In terms of content, we have maintained the base gameplay, while also making important changes that are in tune with the current era and that will make the game even more entertaining. It is not a simple music game, but rather an experience that allows everyone to enjoy the "silly fun" that only Samba can offer.
What influenced the decision to pivot to popular music for Party Central?
Originally, many fans expressed the desire to enjoy other genres of music in Samba de Amigo, even during past productions. Certainly, musical taste varies from person to person, so while putting together a collection of music from the same genre can give it a sense of unity, it also means you may not be able to pull in those who have other tastes. That’s why we made it a priority to broaden the number of genres featured in the game so that even more people can enjoy it.
we made it a priority to broaden the number of genres featured in the game so that even more people can enjoy it.
We moved even more in that direction by challenging ourselves to create more types of music with the DLC. We even included gospel music in the game’s original tracks, so we believe that players will enjoy all the new aspects of the song list. Of course, we always make sure to ask ourselves, "Can this song be enjoyed as a Samba song?”. We believe every song in the game has that fun groove that is unique to this series, so please do not worry.
At the same time, the “world setting” is also built around the fact that Amigo has stepped out of the environment of past games and become a beloved performer around the world. Although you may not normally pay attention to this kind of thing when playing a music game, we have prepared a variety of exciting situations, and we hope that you will be able to witness Amigo's global debut.
Can you talk about any challenges you faced while developing the game for Switch?
As you can imagine, the most difficult part was adapting the Joy-Con controllers. In Party Central, there are these 'rhythm balls' that fly towards rings that are shown on both the upper, middle, and lower sides of the screen. The player’s goal is to shake the controllers in the direction of the target just as each rhythm ball passes through the target. That’s why we needed to make sure the Joy-Con’s responsiveness was in sync with the player, which ultimately proved challenging. We made a lot of adjustments to the Joy-Con settings right up until the very end. We also tested this with a lot of different people and received their feedback throughout the process.
How do you think new audiences will react to Samba de Amigo’s return?
When thinking about the right approach to the "silly fun" concept, I looked at TikTok as a place that contains similar elements. TikTok has a lot of videos that have creators who perform with different kinds of music, and those watching them will laugh and just have a great time. This is actually close to what we were originally aiming for with the first Samba. Here, we focused on creating a game that would be enjoyable for younger people by mixing the new Samba with certain aspects of TikTok.
we focused on creating a game that would be enjoyable for younger people by mixing the new Samba with certain aspects of TikTok.
One example is the 'happening' element I talked about earlier. Usually, in music games, you play what you are supposed to play in a certain way – basically, things are very straightforward. But in this game, we decided to incorporate a roulette element as we wanted to emphasize the spontaneous moments and the joy that comes from it rather than following the normal rules. I hope that Samba, which was once considered a cult classic, will become a major music game in the modern era.
I also want to note, that for those who want to enjoy Party Central as a traditional music game, whether for casual play or when competing for a high score, you can always turn the 'happening' settings off in the options.
Party Central will be getting a few Sonic the Hedgehog songs. Are there any other Sega franchises that you want to include music from in the future?
Many of Sega's songs are loved by its fans, and we have a tremendous number of tracks we would like to use. This time, we have prepared music from Ryu Ga Gotoku (Yakuza / Like a Dragon series), Space Channel 5: Part 2, and Rhythm Thief & the Emperor's Treasure, and we would like to expand this even further. Please look forward to the songs we have already prepared, and if you send us your requests via Twitter and elsewhere, we may be able to increase the chances of even more music...
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.
Thank you to the team at Sega and to Namakura-san for taking the time to answer our questions. Samba de Amigo: Party Central is out on Nintendo Switch on 31st August. A free demo is available to download now from the Switch eShop.
Will you be joining Amigo's return later this month? Shake it down in the comments.
Comments 43
Day-1 here!
Love this game!
Samba de Amigo and TikTok?
Pass… 😂
With Carly Rae Jepsen, Rina Sawayama and Miley Cyrus on the soundtrack this game feels tailored made for me specifically despite never having played a game in the series before. I'm ridiculously excited for this, I hope it turns out great.
@EaglyPurahfan @Mauzuri @scrubicius What's wrong with having some inspiration/influence from TikTok?
I wished someone asked about this game’s weird similarity to Maimai. In the hexagonal beats and sliding down the directions. It seems like more than a coincidence that SEGA’a Maimai DX blew up in Japanese arcades and then they reboot Samba de Amigo shortly after.
Anyways, I’ll still probably buy the game at launch and I’ll definitely try out the Apple Arcade version that has a different soundtrack, but my time with the demo was pretty meh. This game has a similar problem with Taiko no Tatsujin’s Switch ports where the motion controls are not precise and fun enough. They also seemed to have realized how loose the motion controls feel and make everything easier as a result. It might end up feeling better on the Quest though and hopefully the difficulty goes as tough as something like Beastsaber can. But I do like how goofy and varied those mini games are.
By "Tiktok influence", I think what he really means is "Gen Z influence/themes" in order to sell the game to a modern audience. Don't get scared guys, I tried the demo, and I'm pretty sold. Good exercise and four unique difficulty modifiers which change all the movements. It'll be a crazy good deal when on sale!
@Mauzuri
My man!
👊
Smash IS lacking a representative for rhythm/ music games. No, DK doesn't count.
@SlasherZ "TikTok bad" "Fortnite bad", etc. thing that is popular with kids = bad and cringe
The "TikTok influence" as described is extremely tangential (younger audiences like to make silly dance videos with popular music on there, this game lets you have a silly dance to some popular songs), but just for mentioning the app, grown adults will cry about it and declare they "aren't interested anymore".
@Furealz exactly this.
@EaglyPurahfan Lots of people say the same for twitter
I was interested in this game until they started talking about TikTok. Hard pass.
@Samalik Twitter and TikTok have probably done more damage to society in recent years than anything else.
@EaglyPurahfan @Mauzuri I'm sorry, but I fail to see what that has to do with this game.
@Mauzuri Yeah it's funny how these big social media platforms have resulted in people becoming a lot more anti-social.
Um, ok, ignoring the TikTok part, which people are overreacting about, this game looks incredible, and while I've never played a Samba de Amigo game before, I am definitely interested, especially towards the VR version.
Again though, stop overreacting about the TikTok influence. Not saying that I like the app or anything, but you guys are acting like this game is ruined or something just because of a single line from the series creator.
These games are great. Every year it feels like the old farts get even older and even fartier on here.
Can somebody show me the full song list?
Because I already spotted the song that I instantly hate since I knew this is by SEGA.
They are still too edgy by putting their rated 18+ franchise into kids games even as the songs. 😒
I knew their same behavior as well from their Rhythm Arcade MaiMai and I will not touch those rated 18+ franchise songs and everytime I play MaiMai Arcade, I have to skip quickly their rated 18+ franchise songs.
@Kyloctopus
Correction, MaiMai have eight buttons to tap and slide on the screen.
I play this Arcade game at TimeZone Pakuwon Trade Centre Surabaya.
Everyone’s talking about the TikTok comment and ignoring his statement that Rhythm Thief will get represented in the game. I feel like the latter is the more important takeaway here.
I found the 40 songs list from Wikipedia.
"Azukita" Steve Aoki and Play-N-Skillz featuring Daddy Yankee and Elvis Crespo
"Bang Bang" Jessie J, Ariana Grande, and Nicki Minaj
"Bom Bom" Sam and the Womp
"Break Free" Ariana Grande featuring Zedd
"Celebrate" Pitbull
"Centerfold" The J. Geils Band
"Chosen Mask" Sega
"The Cup of Life (La Copa de la Vida)" Ricky Martin
"Escape from the City" Sonic Adventure 2[a]
"Fist Bump" Sonic Forces[b]
"Fugue" Cover
"Get Busy" Soolja
"Good Feeling" Flo Rida
"Good Time" Owl City and Carly Rae Jepsen
"I Love It" Icona Pop featuring Charli XCX
"I Really Like You" Carly Rae Jepsen
"I Will Survive (Eric Kupper Mix Extended)" Eric Kupper (originally Gloria Gaynor)
"I Won't Let You Down" OK Go
"Just Dance" Lady Gaga featuring Colby O'Donis
"Karma Chameleon" Culture Club
"La Bamba" Cover
"Let You Go" Diplo and TSHA featuring Kareem Lomax
"Let's Find It and Shake It" Sega
"Macarena" Cover
"Make Way" Aloe Blacc
"Move Your Feet" Junior Senior
"Moves like Jagger" Maroon 5 featuring Christina Aguilera
"Pa'lla" Max Pizzolante
"Panama" Matteo
"Payback" Cheat Codes featuring Icona Pop
"Plastic Hearts" Miley Cyrus
"Pompeii" Bastille
"Runaway (U & I)" Galantis
"Scent of Your Sweet Love" Sega
"Sucker" Jonas Brothers
"Tik Tok"[c] Kesha
"Wedding March" Sega
"XS" Rina Sawayama
"You & Me" Marshmello
"You Give Love a Bad Name" Bon Jovi
It still quite bad song list as there are some licensed songs I do not like.
What the hell with Pitbull and Nicki Minaj songs?
Their songs are horrible.
@Furealz I really enjoyed the demo! I bought the original for Dreamcast when GameStop was clearing out a bunch of stuff at the system’s end of life, but never had the maracas. Really enjoyed playing the demo with the joycons, and absolutely looking forward to having this soon!
The song list is... pretty short, but the worst part is there are very few worthwhile songs. I don't even know anyone from the list, except for Bon Jovi and Owl City.
You'd think the rhythm game should have a good soundtrack
@Princess_Lilly
40 songs are very short.
If you check from Wikipedia, there are some DLC songs as optional.
I will not pick the SEGA song pack as it contain 1 song from their rated 18+ franchise.
The other DLC songs are fine for me.
But the Day One update songs, it's very horrible.
The Pitbull songs. 😖
@Princess_Lilly owl city is my childhood
Removed - trolling/baiting
@Mabelissimo
It called Chibi Boxer.
I have bunch of cute Chibi Boxer creations on my Deviantart account.
Goddamn, I can't unsee the Crash Bandicoot Font Typeface they went for in this game. XD
Anyway, I agree that 40 songs is a little lacking, but I suppose it is because of the budget price release?
But even so... all the Taiko Drum games tend to double on the amount of content, and the Final Fantasy Final Bar Line has 385 songs for it's base edition alone.
I'm more surprised the dev team didn't pull some more tunes and songs from the vast range of popular SEGA franchises. SEGA normally excel in the soundtrack department so it's weird to not see this celebrated in this game.
Never played a single game before, but! I don’t think it will be an issue personally (as much as I hate Tik tock) as it doesn’t seem to be an issue so far, and we don’t know how or in which areas they took influence, hopefully they take the 4% of good tick tock has.
@JayJ actually social media in general has caused people become more anti-social and disconnected to reality.
@SlasherZ bad influence I guess 😂
Great interview, looking forward to playing this when my physical copy arrives, even more so now that I know it will include music from Rhythm Thief (couldn't agree more @NerdyBoutKirby)!
@scrubicius @Mauzuri @JayJ I think you all haven't read the article and/or are so biased against TikTok that you disregarded why it's mentioned (@EaglyPurahfan and @Snatcher luckily have slightly more nuanced comments, but this still applies to you two to an extent), it's all in the answer to the "How do you think new audiences will react to Samba de Amigo’s return?" question...
@JohnnyMind Orrr someone does not understand sarcasm welcome to the internet… but that said it is okay to think that way about something that is… you know TikTok.
😂
@scrubicius My mistake for including you if your comment was sarcasm, although a laughing emoji is definitely not enough to tell, especially when others in this comment section legitimately think that way...
That said, you're free to think that way about anything (for context, I don't use TikTok and I'm not particularly a fan of even YouTube shorts), but people - I'm not the only one who did it except for tagging those involved - are also free to call you out when that's not the point of the article at all.
@JohnnyMind ok, I admit it! I skimmed a little! And that probably messed with my opinion, I’m sorry!
(Not being sarcastic about this btw)
@Snatcher No worries, I suspected that in your case it was just because you skimmed, I tagged you because I wanted to show you why Nakamura mentioned TikTok which in my opinion is a pretty cool reason as they found a similarity between some of its content (definitely one of the better parts of that platform) and the spirit behind Samba De Amigo games, not to mention that 'happenings' is a nice optional gameplay concept regardless of its inspiration!
@scrubicius Yeah I am not going to suddenly try to like Tiktok or references to it just because someone happens to like it lol.
@Anti-Matter Ah yes, because when it comes to promoting their other franchises for adults, I too am concerned that kids will get into Like a Dragon because they listened to Baka Mitai...
Seriously, this is a nonsensical concern....
@Anti-Matter and I have rights to question the logic for that concern
Baka Mitai is a song about heartbreak and a feeling of betrayal from a broken friendship sung in a foreign language. I struggle to see how that's gonna cause damage in any way...
I just played the demo and there's a goddamn "you're" where a "your" should be. (I got a random event where you have to "run" and after showing my score it said "You're name isn't Sonic, is it?") How the hell does that make it into a public demo?
@PedroMatos *yrou'e
@PedroMatos Spelling mistakes are annoying...The one on GC Luigi's Mansion booklet that says Mario was ''Spearing'' to his brother, instead of ''speaking''...urgh..
@JohnnyMind You know, that actually is pretty cool, and it’s definitely how I would want it to be used!
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