Customer Reviews

Samba De Amigo

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(27)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Samba de Amigo is the revival of Sega's classic Dreamcast game. The original was one of the first rhythm games to come with its own special peripheral controller in the form of maracas, which have now been translated to the Wii's motion-sensitive controls. You shake your controllers in time with the music, matching the beats in either the high, middle, or low circles.

This game has been unfairly panned in professional reviews, and to get the most out of it you have to understand how the controls actually work. Unlike the Dreamcast version, the Wii remote does not sense height - raising your arms above your head to shake won't actually register a high beat. It's about angles, so you tilt the remote up to hit the high circles, point it down to hit the low circles, and hold it level to hit the ones in the middle. It's very much about wrist work, and once you've got this down the game's easier to manage. The other problem is that the learning curve is pretty steep. Easy is a write-off, Normal isn't much challenge, but at Hard the beats start coming every which way, and it's often hard to focus on what you're supposed to hit next. With practice you'll get better, but the game isn't great at prepping you for the challenge.

Otherwise the rest of the presentation is mostly solid. Graphics are wild, colouful, and totally psychedelic. It's exactly the type of look to make the game stand out. The song list features a bunch of well-known Latin and pop beats, and while a lot of them are covers, this is a pretty strong lineup. There's also downloadable content available, so like other music games you get a bit more value. What doesn't work are the various game modes, which basically all amount to what you're doing in single player career, and the minigames, which are an absolute brainless waste of time. Hit a pinata? What's the point?

I'd recommend going against the reviewers for this one and picking this up if you want a music game that's not Guitar Hero/Rock Band. The Wii controls get the job done once you figure them out, and the catchy beats and visuals make this an easy game to get into.

PS: Like most Wii games, they're selling a pair of plastic maracas that can snap on to your controller for that added "realism." Skip 'em. The shaking is fun for a few songs, but you'll be more accurate without the added weight.

The first thing I noticed with this game is how incredibly fast you can pick up and play - no cut scenes, dialogue, etc. You even set up whether you want to use a wiimote/nunchuck or wiimote/wiimote combo by simply "shaking your left hand!" It's very satisfying to turn on the game and be playing within 30 seconds, so few are like that nowadays.

The music is so much fun, the colors and background scenes are bright and cheery, everything about the game makes me happy! So far I have done the Quickplay mode, Career, and Minigames. I guess the only thing keeping it from being a 5 out of 5 is that it seems to have a little trouble detecting my movement sometimes. I may have one wonky remote that makes the game even less responsive than it needs to be. Somehow this doesn't make the game any less fun! Normally I'm easily frustrated but this game leaves me grinning from head to toe.

I guess one other oddity of the game is the scoring system: maybe it's me but I can't figure out why an 89% is an A sometimes and a D other times! Maybe it has to do with how many "Perfect!" hits vs "Yeah!" hits?

Really really can't wait to play it with a group, I can see how it would be a blast! I don't have kids but I can't imagine a kid that couldn't handle it. Easy to figure out, super fun to play! One of the best Wii purchases I've made all year.

I rented Samba De Amigo first from a Blockbuster. I was put off from purchasing the game because I've heard so much that the controls do not work well and can be at times impossible to use. After I've rented it and played it for a good couple of days I never really noticed any bad controls mentioned by some reviewers. On Easy and Normal mode I've been able to get an A Rank on every song. The same goes for my nephew (age 8) so the controls must not be as difficult as some say. It's not hard to play but the controls are certainly far from being perfect. Also, with this review I can't compare how the controls do with the Dreamcast version of this game as I've never owned it.

Since I've enjoyed playing Samba De Amigo so much I've purchased the retail version. So far, I'm loving the game. There are plenty of modes to choose from. In Career Mode you can unlock maraca sound effects and other tracks to be playable. The tracklisting is what really got me into this game. There was no other rhythm game I've played where I was most familiar with the tracks. I knew most of the tracks that was played here and enhanced my enjoyment of the game. Later tracks in Career Mode do get much harder to unlock as you progress. Now that I'm in Hard Mode of the game the movements become more challenging but still not impossible to beat. At the time of writing, I've completed 53% of Career Mode and unlocked most of the tracks available with not much motion control issues. I do imagine that Super Hard Mode may have some problems but that is what practicing is for. Also, production values of this game are really great. I love the environments of the stages. Everything moves and flows to the beat of the songs. It may be distracting as you're trying to hit your beats correctly but it's fun to watch.

My biggest complaint with the game are the minigames. The games seem so lazy that after playing each game I felt sort of an empty experience with them. Sega could've done something better with them. The most enjoyable one is the Volleyball minigame and is the most competetive. The rest go so fast they feel as if they were part of a WarioWare title. It is fun for a short period but I feel that I may barely play this part of the game. Another thing is, the graphics to this game are really beautiful. The way they've done the intro to this game is remarkable but I feel as if it were a waste. So far, this is the only cutscene you can see. For a sequal I'd love to see a story mode where it can show more scenes like this. It may ruin the classic feel to Samba De Amigo but I'd definitely be all for it.

In conclusion, with such a large tracklisting (over 40) and downloadable content available for Samba De Amigo you can't go wrong with this game. Plus it is cheaper than the average retail Wii game. With friends this is one of the best party games and rhythm game available for the Wii right now. If Samba influenced music isn't really your thing you may not enjoy it as much. Also, if your the type who still hasn't bought this game because of the controls I say "rent it" before you buy. I did, and didn't expect to get so much fun out of it. Can't wait for a sequal!

One more thing for those who don't know. Sonic the Hedgehog is in the game. However, he's only a guest appearance to the songs "Low Rider", "Un Aguardiente", and "Mambo Number 5" when you've unlocked them in Career Mode. Another guest star from Sega is Ulala from 'Space Channel 5' on the Dreamcast. As of now I don't know of any other Sega cast appearances.

I loved playing Samba de Amigo on the Dreamcast; I was lucky to have 2 sets of Sega original maracas controllers, even! I was thrilled that it was making a comeback for the Wii, because this meant wireless play. However, early reviews from professional game review sources panned the Wii remake almost unanimously for one basic reason: the controls were broken. Some have even said to wait until the game is "fixed" or adapted to the Motion Plus accessory Nintendo is releasing this summer (probably).

However, the controls are not broken, and I have some doubts that the game will be re-tooled for Motion Plus. Some reviews were pretty lazy, and the reviewers did not even try to learn how the game senses position and maraca-shaking. Indeed, you cannot play the Wii version precisely how you played the Dreamcast version and expect good results whatsoever. There are adjustments that must be made.

Luckily, adjusting to the Wii version's controls is not very difficult; it just requires keeping a few things in mind: 1) the height of the "maracas" is determined solely by the tilt of the controllers; 2) shaking is most successful along the plane of the controller (i.e., to hit the upper targets, thrust the controllers vertically toward the ceiling, as if you're jabbing the balls into the rings); 3) crossing-over left and right for poses requires the controller surfaces to be facing your torso; and 4) middle target shaking is forgiving for the most part, but it's easier if the controller surfaces are facing outward (and try to shake horizontally, tapping the balls into the targets). I started a discussion on this page with these and other tips for controls, but these 4 might be the most important tips. So far, I've been able to clear Career Mode on "Hard."

One frustration of the game is that so much is locked, until you clear certain challenges in Career mode. A huge motivation for keeping at Career mode was finally unlocking Soul Bossa Nova, although the songs in Ulala's Challenge are also awesome. Frustrations notwithstanding, the song selection is so amazing that it's worth the practice to get the unlocks. Unlocking new sound effects for maracas and dance moves is less compelling for me, but it is part of the career trial nonetheless. I don't like the maraca sound effects, but the controllers vibrate on successful shakes, and that's cool.

The mini-games are pretty fun. To unlock Guacamolé! (Whack-a-Mole), just get a C or better in the rock busting mini-game. Really, the total content of this game is incredible: the huge number of songs are uniformly high-quality: they are Latin/mambo with some pop. Downloadable song packs are also available for purchase for 500 Nintendo points each (1 pack = 3 songs or so) within the game, and the quality of those are very high; they are the original performers (no cover/tribute bands). Multiplayer includes head-to-head, Love Mode, and Battle. Sega superstars such as Sonic and Ulala make appearances, although if you're dancing they are hard to notice. Happily, so much is happening (visually and otherwise), that even people waiting for their turn to play (or just spectating) will stay entertained.

The game really gets you moving, sweating, dancing, and feeling awesome. I'm stunned how far the price has fallen on Amazon, too. This game is the easiest Wii recommendation ever. Buy it while you still can. ¡Samba!

When I bought this game, I was a little wary because I only paid $10 for it. However, it turned out to be a sound investment in fun because my 3-1/2 year old daughter and I have a blast playing this game. It's easy enough for my daughter to play without needing a lot of help from mom and dad and the music is fun to listen to...you really do get into it!
The only complaint I have is that sometimes the controls can be frustrating, but other than that, it is a super fun game and I'm really glad I took a chance on it.

This is a really fun game-my kids love it-they are ages 3-7-10, and they all can play, and really enjoy it.

WE LOVE THIS GAME. DON'T LET THE PRICE FOOL YOU. THE TEEN GIRLS PLAY THIS FOR HOURS!!

Samba de amigo is a really cool game. I buyed it and played it a lot with my friends, it's really tropical and the music is really fun. For people like me that don't dance too much, is great because you have the oportunity to shake your bootie... I have to tell you that it's a really fun game to play with a bunch of friends and show your abilities with the maracas.

This is the only game my 62 year old mother plays! The other reviews have hit it dead on with the game play. Select different games to play in two modes: hustle or traditional style. Then, select difficulty level. Easier means fewer positions to shake at are required. You can play in friendship mode (a favorite for my boys, ages 5 and 6) or compete against each other. There are mini-games like hitting the pinata or playing beach volleyball. These are mildly amusing, but it's the toe tapping, getcha movin', posing, musical numbers that are the real hit. I love that there are Latin twists to some of my favorite non-Latin songs. It's fun being able to unlock more songs as we progress. We all love the songs that require several "poses." This is where the wii remotes have to be posed in a certain position with very short notice. Another feature that really helps in our home is that different players can participate by playing at different difficulty levels. This allows everyone to play, no matter how young or old. We originally bought the maracas that attach to the Wii remotes and actually shake. The boys found them very uncomfortable and hard to hold on to, so they might be the same for your young children. They gave me hand cramps by my thumb (I know, hand cramps?) when I played for more than a few songs. They didn't affect Hubby at all. We took the maracas back since we felt like they were a poor investment for our family. Get to shaking!!

When Samba de Amigo was originally released the controllers were cost prohibitive at $80 per set plus the price of the game. If you had the money it was totally worth it but the game had more of a 'following' than a huge fan base. Having played both Dreamcast and Wii versions of the game I have to say that the frustrations I had with the Dreamcast version are the same as the ones I have with the Wii version. It's all in the controls. Once you get used to the angle concept over the height idea of the original it works very well though it still seems somewhat sluggish reading the controls on the harder levels. I have had the Wii version since it's release and it's pretty easy to pick up and play on the casual levels. As the game progresses the controls seem to miss a bit but with practice and getting used to the songs the controls seem to be fine. So it's a question of sluggish controls or just figuring out the rhythms of the music. We love it and it's especially nice not to have to shell out a ton of $$ for extra controllers. We have found that the nunchuk/wiimote method isn't that much different than two wiimotes. Others will argue you must play w/two wiimotes. It's simply up to you. The game is tons of simple fun, the music is great, it's fun at parties and people love being able to pick it up and just play it. It's also a good workout for the arms so it fits into that category of games that get you off the couch. Hopefully this time Samba won't be overlooked like it was when it was released for the Dreamcast. Don't hesitate to purchase it. It's lower priced than the other games, is great for get togethers-even for those who will usually never pick up a controller, and if you just want to get ONE more game for the family for Christmas this is an easy one to recommend that most everyone will enjoy. You do need a sense of rhythm though. You'll find yourself removing your sweaters and laughing and smiling a lot. Add on: We've been playing the game with the nunchuk and controller now almost exclusively and we like it even better than with both wiimotes. Either we've gotten better or the accuracy of the basic control is honestly better than using two wiimotes.