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Samba de Amigo faq by J.T.Kauffman
ver.0.92 May 29, 2000
covers the Japanese Dreamcast release & arcade release (partial)
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Contents
1. Intro
2. Basics
- Gameplay
- Menus
3. Songs
- Song List
4. Normal Modes
- Arcade Mode
- Original Mode
5. Challenge Mode
6. Party Mode
7. Other Modes
- Training Mode
- Internet
- Options
8. Misc.
- Secrets
- Tips
- Download Schedule
- Maracas Controllers
- Bonuses
- Ricky Martin
- 38
- Randomities
- Release Info
9. Outro
- Versions
- Recommended Reading
- Sources
- Legal
- To Do
- Contact
- Dedication
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1. Intro
Samba de Amigo is a highly addictive music game developed by Yuji Naka
and Sonic Team, and featuring a very unorthodox musical instrument:
maracas. Yes, maracas are no longer for Spanish speakers and grade
school music class* - thanks to Sega, you can now enjoy the wild maraca-
shaking game, complete with original maracas controller, in your own
living room.
The premise behind Samba is simple: shake the maracas in the correct
position in accordance with the on-screen commands. While some people
may find this a bit challenging or hard to understand at first (proved
by the game's recent E3 2000 showing), it really is quite a simple
concept, and deceptively fun. Combine the gameplay with a smooth 60 FPS
refresh rate, extremely colorful graphics, and a killer selection of
songs, and you have a winner of a game.
This document is in the same vein as my BEMANI series faqs: song lists,
secrets, and translations abound, while actual techniques for the songs
do not. Attempting to explain techniques has proven harder to do than is
worth while - instead, I simply give you the hint of "Practice,
practice, practice." Also, while this document was written for the
Dreamcast version, much of the song info and hidden modes should be
useful for the arcade version as well.
A final note: this document is written assuming that you are using the
maracas controllers. If you are not, simply substitute left maraca with
D-Pad, and right maraca with A/B/X/Y buttons. Any actual differences
between maracas and normal controllers will be noted.
*no offense to any professional maraca players out there
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2. Basics
- Gameplay
Samba de Amigo has very simple gameplay that is fairly self-
explanitory... or so I thought. After seeing people attempt to play the
game at the recent E3 2000 show, I was proven very, very wrong. Hence
the reason for this section...
The basic idea of Samba is to shake the maracas to the on-screen
commands. Most of the commands involve spheres radiating from the center
of the display in one of six directions. Once these spheres hit one of
the six circles surrounding them, you need to shake the maraca a single
time in that area. Hence, if a sphere is heading for the upper left
circle, then you need to shake a maraca high and to the left. Likewise,
if there are two spheres heading for both of the middle circles (one on
the right, and the other on the left), then you need to shake the
maracas in the middle, about waist-high, one on either side of you. If
you still don't understand, simply let the demo run - eventually, you'll
see an illustrated explanation.
There is one other type of command - the Pose. Poses differ from normal
shakes in the fact that you have to hold the maracas (i.e. strike a
pose), and that they are not shown via spheres, but with a picture of a
person striking the pose that you need to. Unlike maraca shakes, poses
are totally random, and change every time you play the song.
A quick bit about Amigos - there are two kinds of Amigos in the game
(gameplay-wise). The first, and more obvious, is the combo Amigo - for
all intents and purposes, it is a combo meter; a 38 combo chain is
called a 38 Amigo. The second is a bit harder to find - if you shake
both maracas on the same sphere at the same time, you get an Amigo. This
boosts your points a bit. Basically, whenever you only have one sphere
to shake at a time, try to use both maracas to do so, in order to rack
up more points (and to have a bit more fun).
Finally, if you don't own the original maracas controllers (it's really
the only way to play the game, although they _are_ rather expensive...),
simply look up the commands in the instruction book - there are two
different controller command schemes, each of which is illustrated
nicely in the rather large instruction manual.
- Menus
Samba has been greatly enlarged from its original arcade form. Not only
is the arcade version still (somewhat) intact, but it has been joined by
numerous other modes. For the katakana-impaired, I've provided a simple
menu translations. Look for more on each mode in its own section.
Main Menu (following title screen)
- Arcade
- Original
- Challenge
- Party
- Training
- Internet
- Options
Also, as a normal arcade game, two player mode isn't selected per se,
but each player must press the start button on his or her controller.
Following one player pressing start and selecting a Mode to play in, you
will see a screen confirming the player number, and giving the other
player a chance to join in. After this screen is a warning not to knock
yourself out with the maracas (hey - they are dangerous - I got a nice
bruise at E3 from a fellow gamer getting into the game a bit too
much...).
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3. Songs
- Song List
A few quick notes about the song list... Max Amigos are the total number
of shakes/poses in the song - basically, the longest combo that you can
get. Easy and Random are not in the Max Amigo list since they contain
the same number of notes as Normal. Difficulty (on a scale of 1 to 3) is
taken from Famitsu Weekly; they rated each song, and as they are doing
the official guidebook, I'm using these ratings instead of coming up
with my own (unless no rating has been published yet, in which case I
have applied my own, and marked it with a *). Songs are in the order
that they appear in Original Mode.
Title Max Amigo Difficulty
Normal Hard SuperHard
Samba de Janerio 178 278 1.5
Tubthumping 294 376 1
El Ritmo Tropical 307 335 2
Mambo Beat 188 252 2
Macarena 200 236 2.5
Mas Que Nada 240 299 2.5
Take On Me 222 302 2.5
La Bamba 218 291 2
El Mambo 323 339 2
Tequila 220 271 2
Love Lease 324 420 2.5
Soul Bossa Nova 185 300 2
Samba de Amigo 293 397 2.5*
The Theme of Inoki 268 338 2.5*
Open Your Heart 230 280 2
Super Sonic Racing 326 386 2*
After Burner 223 240 1.5*
Rent A Hero No.1 239 272 1.5
*Burning Hearts
*OPA-OPA!
*Magical Sound Shower
*Sonic-You Can Do Anything
*DREAMS DREAMS
*not yet released
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4. Normal Modes
Arcade Mode and Original Mode are where the bulk of your time will be
spent in Samba, and are, for all intents and purposes, the "normal"
modes of the game. Both modes play exactly the same, but have different
song flows. Basically, Arcade Mode gives you three to six pre-selected
songs to choose from at a time, and Original Mode allows you to choose
from all of the songs that have been played previously, as well as the
new downloadable tunes.
Upon selecting either mode and going past the two initial join/warning
screens, you'll be faced with a difficult choice: what game level to
play:
*SuperHard Mode (2 stages)
Hard Mode (2 stages)
Normal Mode (2 stages)
Easy Mode (1 stage)
*Random Mode (2 stages)
*hidden mode
To access the two hidden modes, simply shake the left maraca rapidly
high (for SuperHard) or low (for Random). Using the controller, don't
press rapidly, but hold for a while, again, in either the left-high or
left-low position.
Moving the left maraca up and down selects the mode, and shaking, or
pressing the button on the right maraca confirms it. Pressing the button
on the left maraca will always take you back a screen. In two-player
mode, the first player only can select the mode.
A quick rundown of the available modes:
Easy Mode: for beginners only, it is an unfailable mode with shakes
identical to Normal Mode.
Normal Mode: for novices, but with the added option of failing. Many
of the songs lack the flair that they possess in the more difficult
modes.
Hard Mode: for above average maraca shakers, Hard mode throws a lot
more into the mix, and is more how the songs should be shaken to. I
personally consider this the canon mode.
SuperHard Mode: for expert shakers only, the songs range from do-able
to near impossible. The shakes come fast and furious, and the songs
provide little in the way of breaks.
Random Mode: more of a fun mode for people who have mastered Normal
Mode, Random takes the Normal/Easy song set-ups and randomizes the
maraca shakes. What once was a left-high is now a right-mid, and so
on.
After the mode selection you'll be asked to enter your height. For the
centimeter-impaired, I've added the heights in feet and inches (again,
as per what was shown at the E3 show - I didn't do these conversions
myself):
190cm (6' 1") or taller
170cm (5' 9") or taller
150cm (5' 5") or taller
130cm (5' 1") or taller
110cm (4' 9") or taller
It is here that you can select All Music in the Arcade Mode. Simply
shake the left maraca high, rapidly, and after a bit you'll hear "All
Music" said by the announcer (note that All Music lets you select from
all of the Arcade music, and not downloadable/unlockable songs).
Following that, select your height, and move on.
Once this is done, you'll be put into the music selection screen for the
first stage. Again, in a two-player game, only the first player can
select the song. Song rundowns and stage flows are in the separate
Arcade and Original sections.
- Arcade Mode
While it says "Arcade" mode, it isn't exactly. Due to the removal of the
two Ricky Martin songs from the game (see section 8 for more information
on this topic), this mode has been re-arranged from the original arcade
version. This is, however, the only way to open up the origianl, non-
downloadable songs for Original Mode. Except for the aforementioned
Ricky Martin songs, all of the original arcade release is here,
including the Bonus Stage.
Stage Flow
Stage 1-------------->Stage 2-------------->Stage 3/*Special Stage
El Ritmo Tropical Mas Que Nada Tequila
Samba de Janeiro Mambo Beat Soul Bossa Nova
Tubthumping Macarena Love Lease
*El Mambo
*Take On Me
*La Bamba
*finish Stage 1 with an A Rank to unlock these songs in Stage 2
*Special Stage is accessed by getting a 98% in both of the first two
stages
- Original Mode
Original Mode contains all of the songs that you've played so far in
Arcade Mode, as well as any songs that you have unlocked or downloaded.
The Bonus Stage is gone, as is All Music mode (after all, you already
have all the music, making it pointless). Unlike some other games, the
maraca shakes are the same as in Arcade Mode, making the only difference
the available songs and stage flow.
Stage Flow
(remember that you can only play songs that you've played previously or
otherwise unlocked; also, you can't repeat songs - if you play a song in
Stage 1, it won't be selectable in Stage 2 or 3
All Stages
Samba de Janerio
Tubthumping
El Ritmo Tropical
Mambo Beat
Macarena
Mas Que Nada
Take On Me
La Bamba
El Mambo
Tequila
Love Lease
Soul Bossa Nova
Samba de Amigo
The Theme of Inoki
Open Your Heart
Super Sonic Racing
After Burner
Rent A Hero No.1
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5. Challenge Mode
Challenge Mode is simple: play through a song and fulfill a certain
requirement to unlock the next challenge. Complete all of the challenges
in a challenge level to unlock a new song (for the first three levels
only). Level translations and challenge requirements are listed below:
Main Challenge Menu:
Maracas Apprentice
Maracas Standout
Maracas Expert
Maracas Master
Maracas King
Maracas Apprentice Course Menu:
Challenge No. 1: Finish Samba de Janeiro (Normal) with a C Rank or
better
Challenge No. 2: Finish Mambo Beat (Normal) with a B Rank or better
Challenge No. 3: Finish Take On Me (Normal) with an A Rank
Unlocks: Tequial, Love Lease, Soul Bossa Nova
Maracas Standout Course Menu:
Challenge No. 1: Finish Tubthumping (Normal) with an A Rank
Challenge No. 2: Finish Macarena (Normal) with an A Rank
Challenge No. 3: Finish the Total Check Mode of the Mini Games with
an average score of 80 or better
Challenge No. 4: Finish Samba de Janerio (Normal) with a 98% and an A
Rank
Unlocks: The Theme of Inoki
Maracas Expert Course Menu:
Challenge No. 1: Finish Tubthumping (Hard) with a C Rank or better
Challenge No. 2: Finish Mas Que Nada (Normal) with a Perfect (100%)
Challenge No. 3: Finish La Bamba (Hard) with a score of 400,000 or
better
Challenge No. 4: Finish Mambo Beat (Normal) with a Perfect (100%)
Challenge No. 5: Finish Take On Me (Hard) with an A Rank
Unlocks: Samba de Amigo
Maracas Master Course Menu:
Challenge No. 1: Finish Love Lease (Normal) with a Perfect (100%)
Challenge No. 2: Finish La Bamba (Hard) with an A Rank
Challenge No. 3: Finish the Total Check More of the Mini Games with
an average score of 90 or better
Challenge No. 4: Finish Tequila (Hard) with a 98% and an A Rank
Challenge No. 5: Finish Tubthumping (Hard) with a Perfect
Unlocks: nothing
Maracas King Course Menu:
Challenge No. 1: Finish Samba de Janeiro (Random) with a score of
430,000 or better
Challenge No. 2: Finish Macarena (SuperHard) with a C Rank or better
Challenge No. 3: Finish The Theme of Inoki (Hard) with a Perfect
(100%)
Challenge No. 4: Finish Mas Que Nada (SuperHard) with a B Rank or
better
Challenge No. 5: Finish Soul Bossa Nova (SuperHard) with an A Rank
Unlocks: nothing, but you do get to see a nifty credits roll... :/
*note: yes, Maracas Master and Maracas King unlock _absolutely nothing_.
I worked for hours to finish King, and didn't get a damn thing for it,
save for the game credits... And I have double-checked the official
guidebook, and it confirms that there is nothing gained by clearing
Master and King (again, save for the credits).
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6. Party Mode
Not only is Party Mode Samba's attempt at a collection of fun mini-
games, but it allows you to open up new Voices (ie. sound effects) for
your maracas (see the Secrets section for more info on this). Below is a
quick rundown on the menus; mini-game descriptions will/may come later
on...
Party Menu:
Battle
Love Love
Mini-Games
Mini-Games Mode Select:
Total Check Mode (all five mini-games)
1 Stage Mode (select one mini-game)
1 Stage Mode Menu:
Mogra Panic (aka. Whack-a-mole)
Power Rush
1-2-Samba
Pose & Pose
Monkey Replay
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7. Other Modes
- Training Mode
Training Mode is merely an unfailable chance to play through any song.
It starts just as Arcade and Original do, and you can select from any of
the five difficulty levels. Unlike many other music games, there is no
option for slowing down or pausing the music, or even simply watching
the computer run through it.
- Internet
Samba de Amigo runs a slightly modified version of DreamPassport 2. I
have heard that people who do not have DreamPassport set up (i.e., the
Japanese web browser), but have instead set up either the U.S. or
European (etc.) browsers, cannot connect via this method.
For those that do have DreamPassport set up, the browser is exactly the
same as DP2, except for the home page (which is now a Samba page, with
links to the Samba web page [
http://samba.dricas.ne.jp] and DreamHome)
and the screensaver, which now runs pictures of the Samba cast. Also,
the Chat function (both Dricas and IRC) has been disabled, and is not
selectable.
More info on downloading the extra songs can be found in the
Downloadable Songs section of 8. Misc.
- Options
Options screen:
Game
High Score
Play Record
Sound Output
Sound Test
Voice
Control Setup
Maracas Setup
File Manager
Game screen:
Game Level
Stage (use to select how many stages are in a game for Easy, Medium,
or Hard: 1, 2, or 3)
Continue
High Score screen:
(use to see high scores for each difficulty level)
Play Record screen:
(keeps track of games played, average score, average rate, total
shake, and gives you total points and an Amigo Rank. See the Misc.
section for more on Play Record)
Sound Output:
Mono
Stereo
Sound Test:
(a typical sound test)
Voice:
(assigns a sound effect to the maracas; more useful if you aren't
playing with the maracas controller, as the actual maracas tend to drown
out the virtual ones via the Voice. overall, these are pretty
strange...)
Nothing (no effects - default)
Maracas
?? (sounds somewhat like actual voices)
Whistles
Phone Voices
SF (Sci-Fi)
Chu2 (ChuChus, from ChuChu Rocket)
Chao (from Sonic Adventure)
...more to come (16 Voices in all, plus Nothing)
Control Setup:
(pretty self explanitory)
Maracas Setup:
(lets you set up the height that the maracas will sense the middle
command at)
File Manager:
(lets you load a file, check VMUs)
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8. Misc.
- Secrets
Like so many games, Samba has its share of secrets. And as per most
music games, these mainly result in secret modes and unlockable songs.
What follows is a list of the secrets found in Samba, and how to access
them:
SuperHard Mode: when selecting between Hard/Normal/Easy modes, shake
the left maraca high 15 times very quickly. The game will then
select SuperHard Mode. For the normal Dreamcast controller, instead
of shaking/pressing rapidly, simply hold the respective button down.
Random Mode: when selecting between Hard/Normal/Easy modes, shake the
left maraca low 15 times very quickly. The game will then select
Random Mode. For the normal Dreamcast controller, instead of
shaking/pressing rapidly, simply hold the respective button down.
All Music Mode (Arcade Mode only): when selecting your height, shake
the left maraca high 15 times very quickly. The game will then say
"All Music Mode," after which you can go on selecting your height.
For the normal Dreamcast controller, instead of shaking/pressing
rapidly, simply hold the respective button down.
Tequila, Love Lease, Soul Bossa Nova: finish all of the Challenges in
the Maracas Apprentice Course (the first course) in Challenge Mode
The Theme of Inoki: finish all of the Challenges in the Maracas
Standout Course (the second course) in Challenge Mode
Samba de Amigo: finish all of the Challenges in the Maracas Expert
Course (the third course) in Challenge Mode
Voice Set 1 (Whistle, Phone Voice, & ?? Voices): finish Total Check
Mode of the Mini Games with an average of ?? or higher
Voice Set 2 (SF, Chu2, & Chao Voices): finish Total Check Mode of the
Mini Games with Voice Set 1 unlocked and an average of ?? or higher
Voice Set 3 (??, ??, & ?? Voices): finish Total Check Mode of the
Mini Games with Voice Sets 1 & 2 unlocked and an average of ?? or
higher
Voice Set 4 (??, ??, & ?? Voices): finish Total Check Mode of the
Mini Games with Voice Sets 1, 2 & 3 unlocked and an average of ?? or
higher
Voice Set 5 (??, ??, & ?? Voices): finish Total Check Mode of the
Mini Games with Voice Sets 1, 2, 3 & 4 unlocked and an average of
95% or higher
- Tips
This is merely a collection of short, non-song-specific tips. Use as you
will...
* Practice, practice, practice
* Look for patterns - all of the songs have them (even the Hard and
SuperHard mode ones), and finding the patterns in the maraca shakes
makes things much, much easier.
* Watch other people play, learning from their mistakes and observing
their successful techniques
* If you are having trouble with a song using the maracas, play through
it with the controller to get a feel for what the song is asking you to
do. Plus, I've never met anyone that was better at the maracas than the
controller...
* Correlate the shakes with the music; nothing is random here - it is
all in beat with the music..
- Download Schedule
Sega plans to offer one download a week, with each download unlocking
another song (or set of songs) from the disc. While some of the
downloads are merely the same songs that you unlock via Challenge Mode,
many of the songs are only available through this method. And don't
expect songs quite like are on the disc already; the songs that are
download only are all from previous Sega games (be it the original song
or a remix/remake).
Each download is 2 blocks, and must be saved to your VMU. To download
the songs, go to Internet Mode in the game, and click on the top option,
which will take you to
http://samba.dricas.ne.jp. Once there, click on
the fourth link down in the sidebar, click on the active link in the
main part of the page, and then choose the song that you want.
I have tried to connect with both DreamPassport 2 (the full version) &
DreamPassport 3 and download the songs, only to find that you _have_ to
use the browser on the Samba disc. Thus, if you don't have DreamPassport
set up to work, you're out of luck (at least via the offical route). I
have heard that
http://booyaka.com (I believe that is the name of the
site) has the files, either offically or hacked; I'm not responsible for
anything regarding these files or what you might do with them, and have
not personally confirmed that they are even there. However, it is an
option to explore if you can't download the files any other way.
At any rate, for those of you that can get the files, the following is
the schedule of which song is available which week, as well as what
system the game is from (DC=Dreamcast, SS=SegaSaturn, CD=Sega/Mega CD,
AR=Arcade):
Date Song Title Game From
Apr 27, 2000 Open Your Heart Sonic Adventure (DC)
May 05, 2000 Rent A Hero No. 1 Rent A Hero No. 1 (DC)
May 12, 2000 Super Sonic Racing Sonic R (SS)
May 17, 2000 Samba de Amigo Samba de Amigo (DC)
May 25, 2000 After Burner After Burner (AC)
Jun 01, 2000 Burning Hearts Burning Rangers (SS)
Jun 08, 2000 OPA-OPA! Fantasy Zone (AR)
Jun 15, 2000 The Theme of Inoki Samba de Amigo (DC)
Jun 22, 2000 Magical Sound Shower Outrun (AR)
Jun 29, 2000 Sonic-You Can Do Anything Sonic CD (CD)
Jul 06, 2000 DREAMS DREAMS NiGHTS ~into dreams~(SS)
Jul 13, 2000 Tequila, Love Lease, & Samba de Amigo (DC)
Soul Bossa Nova
- Maracas Controllers
Samba de Amigo just isn't as much fun unless you ante up the money for
the optional (and highly recommended) Maracas Controllers. Retailing for
a whopping 7800 yen (roughly US$75) for a single controller, these
maracas are some of the best home music game controllers on the market.
One set contains two maracas (with removable noisemakers), a sensor bar,
a mat, and instructions/velcro for the mat, all in a box complete with a
handle for easy transportation.
The maracas themselves are opaque red, with yellow, red, and green
designs on them via a simple band sticker. They are very light in
comparison to the arcade controllers, and generally feel better than the
arcade ones. Unlike the arcade versions, each maraca has a single yellow
button, the left maraca button being cancel, and the right being
start/select. The two maracas are interchangable (ie. there is no
specific right or left maraca). The sensor bar is Dreamcast Grey, and
has the controller plug (ie. what plugs into the DC unit itself) and
ports for the two maraca cords. By ahearing the included velcro on the
bottom, you can attach the optional playmat, modeled after the arcade's
mat and complete with Samba feet.
The controller itself works through a system of sensors. Each maraca has
a sensor directly below the maraca itself, attached to the cord (these
look like medium-sized black triangles). These sensors interact with the
two sensors on the sensor bar to relate the height and location of the
maraca. Keep in mind while playing that each maraca sensor interacts
with _both_ of the bar sensors. Also note that if something covers one
of the bar sensors, you'll lose control of both maracas (on screen they
will just stand still and not move).
The maracas controller is also usable with other Dreamcast games, albeit
with a bit of difficulty. This faq won't get into what works and what
doesn't, but does encourage you to experiment.
As for availability, although the controllers are widely available in
Japan (unlike other specialty controllers, such as the Dreamcast
TwinSticks and the Konami DJ Station PRO), many importers have reported
difficulty getting the units. Samba de Amigo is due for a North American
release later in 2000, so if all else fails, simply wait for the U.S.
release to get the controllers. Since I live in Japan, I don't keep up
with who has what in stock, although I can say that NCS
(
http://www.ncsx.com) is _planning_ on stocking the controllers,
although as of the initial release of this faq, they have not yet
recieved their shipment, and have stopped pre-orders for them.
- Bonuses
Like all of Sonic Team's Dreamcast games, Samba de Amigo has a folder
full of bonus wallpapers that are accessable, and displayable, on
personal computers. The files are in Windows Bitmap format, and are in
both 1024x768 resolution and 800x600 resolution. Nine files are
included, and filenames range from SAMBA_KABE_A1.BMP to
SAMBA_KABE_I1.BMP (substituting the 1 for 2 to change 1024x768 to
800x600).
- Ricky Martin
While many people can't stand his music outside of the game (myself
included), I will admit that the two Ricky Martin songs, Cup of Life and
Livin' Ma Vida Loca, work very well in the game. Unfortunately, a
licensing agreement was not able to be reached with Ricky's record
company (Sony Music, of all labels) by the time of the game's release.
Thus, the two songs have been removed from the game (as well as Arcade
Mode being rearranged due to their absence). Sega has said that they
would like to add the songs to the game at a later date, but unless the
songs are already on the disc, but locked (doubtful), or Sega offers a
replacement disc with the songs available, it is unlikely that a
solution will be found past putting them on a Samba DC sequel or add-on
disc.
Cup of Life was included in the English version of the game shown at E3
2000, so it can be assumed that it will be in the final version. If it
is, Livin' Ma Vida Loca should be as well.
- 38
For some strange reason, the number 38 is featured extremely prominently
in the game. You can find it on Bingo and Bongo's drums, in various
stages, and other odd places. I would personally love to know what it
means, but can only come up with one idea (and a longshot at that).
Samba de Amigo is the third Dreamcast/Naomi game (not counting Sonic
Adventure International, which is simply a re-release, for all intents
and purposes) from Sonic Team. Also, Sonic Team is known internally at
Sega (or, was, as per recent news) as Sega R&D #8. Thus, the 3 from the
third game, and the 8 from R&D #8, and you get 38. Possibly? I'd love to
hear any other ideas, or an actual reason...
- Randomities
Totally misc. type stuff here that doesn't fit in anywhere else:
* Samba de Amigo translates from Spanish as "Dance of Friends"
* The arcade version of the game was released in late November/early
December 1999, and is one of the largest wide-market arcade games ever
in terms of size.
* Samba de Amigo is the first music game that has a separate game-
specific controller to be brought to North America
* The number 38 is featured prominently (see above section)
* The monkey (as well as the rest of the characters) does have a name:
Amigo (Spanish for "friend").
* Bingo and Bongo, who look like teddy bears, are actually robots
* Chumba and Wamba, the two cheetahs, get their name from the original
band that did Tumthumping: Chumbawamba.
* Samba de Amigo has a longer instruction book than both Shenmue and
Final Fantasy VIII.
* Samba de Amigo is one of the games from the Four From Sonic Team
series of press releases (the others being Sonic Adventure
International, ChuChu Rocket, and Phantasy Star Online)
* The music from the main game menu is from Sonic Adventure
* The song Samba de Amigo is a remix of the song Samba de Janeiro
* Samba de Janeiro is also in the Konami dancing game Dance Dance
Revolution Solo Bass Mix (arcade), albeit a different version
* Rent A Hero No.1 is _supposed_ to be incredibly cheesy - if you have
played the game that it gets its name from (available now for the
Dreamcast in Japan), you'll find that it fits the comidic tone of the
game perfectly
- Release Info
Title: Samba de Amigo
System: Sega Dreamcast
Release: April 27, 2000
Dev.Team: Sonic Team
Publisher: Sega Enterprises, Ltd.
Region: Japan (NTSC-J)
Genre: Rhythm Action
Format: 1 GD-ROM
Price: 5800 Japanese yen
Players: 2 simultaneous
Supports: VMU (6 blocks for saved games, 2 blocks for downloads),
Modem, Maracas Controller, VGA Box, Keyboard
Product ID: HDR-0063
Inst.Book: 54 pages plus cover, all full color
Includes: 1 Samba de Amigo GD-ROM, 1 instruction book, 1 double sided
tray sheet, 1 spine card, 1 reply card, 1 point sheet (300
points), 1 DreamLineup vol.8 insert, 1 Sega Provider
message sheet, all in a slightly oversized, totally clear
jewel case.
Title: Samba de Amigo presents
Samba de Janeiro ~ Non-Stop Best of Bellini
Release: March 29, 2000
Publisher: EMI
Region: Japan
Format: 1 audio CD
Tracks: ??
Price: 2548 Japanese yen
Product ID: VJCP-68210
Title: Samba de Amigo Official Guide Book
Release: May 27, 2000
Publisher: Famitsu
Region: Japan
Format: A4 size book, ?? pages
Price: 1500 Japanese yen
ISDN#: ??
Title: Samba de Amigo Original Soundtrack
Release: June, 2000
Publisher: ??
Region: Japan
Format: 1 audio CD
Price: ??
Product ID: ??
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9. Outro
- Versions
29may00 - ver.0.92
All modes except for Party Mode complete. Song list for Normal
(/Easy/Random) and Hard complete. Secrets section mostly complete
(only missing a few Voice percentages). Basics, Misc., etc. sections
complete.
22may00 - ver.pre
Started on the faq after a bout of computer problems. Sorry about the
delay :/
- Recommended Reading
If you enjoyed this faq, we here at prh entertainment recommend these
other fine works by the same author, as well as the games that they
cover:
* DJ Syndrome series: The BEMANI faqs - It was an obsession, an
obsession that started in the dark, noisy arcades of Akihabara... but it
was an obsession that spread, slowly taking Japan, and then the world,
by storm. Starring DJ Konami and his legions of musicians, this gripping
saga of scratching, dancing, and beating is yours to own for the low,
low price of a single visit to gamefaqs.com. Over 10 different faqs to
collect, each with its own special BEMANI Kung-Fu grip styled action
move. Can DJ Konami escape the wrath of the evil Jaleco and Namco
imitation games? It's up to _you_ to find out...
- Sources
Famitsu Weekly No.596 5/12~19/2000 Issue
- Song difficulties (main songs)
Famitsu Weekly No.599 6/9/2000 Issue
- Song difficulties (Open Your Heart & Rent A Hero No.1)
Dreamcast Magazine (unknown issue)
- Info on how Voices are opened, and how many are in the game
Samba de Amigo Instruction Book
- Info on Samba audio CD (Non-Stop Best of Bellini)
Personal Experience
- Everything else, including info from the E3 2000 show
- Legal
Samba de Amigo, Dreamcast, Naomi, Sonic Team, Amigo, Bingo, Bongo,
Chumba, Wamba, Maracas Controller, and all related terms and names are
copyright/trademarked by Sega Enterprises, Inc. All other copyrights are
properties of their respective owners.
This document is copyright J.T.Kauffman 2000 and cannot be reproduced
for profit in any form without the author's express written permission.
It can be freely distributed over the internet as long as it is
unaltered and is only distributed on free (i.e. non-subscription) sites.
If you do choose to post this document on your site, please email me to
let me know.
- To Do:
Things that will be added to later versions of the faq (to the best of
my ability, that is...). Consider this more of a list for my own
personal use, but I'm including it so that you can see what I am
definitely going to add... Once these 'definites' are added, the faq
will reach version 1.0:
* Finish song list (Max Amigos for SuperHard)
* Finish secrets (voice percentages & voices opened for sets 4 & 5)
* Finish Party Mode (descriptions, voice list, etc.)
These are possibilities, if I have the time to add them, and if I get
positive feedback about the faq:
* Add Cast section
* Add Music Credit section
Also, if there is something that you would like to see (other than
strategies for specific songs; see the intro for this) please let me
know, and I'll do my best to add it.
- Contact
J.T.Kauffman
[email protected]
Before contacting me with a question, please make sure that you are
reading the latest version of this faq, found at either GameFAQs
(
http://www.gamefaqs.com) or About.com's Video Game Strategies site
(
http://vgstrategies.about.com).
- Dedication
This faq, along with all that I do in life, is dedicated to tmb, the
woman that I have known, and loved, all my life, but have only recently
found. We will make such beautiful music together, and then procede to
shake our maracas in time to it, ending with a brilliant pose!
Also, this faq is dedicated to the staffers at the GIA
(
http://www.thegia.com)... With luck, we'll be able to make Samba de
Amigo 2 the game of next E3...
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since 22may2000, Shibata, Miyagi, Japan jtk.
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