Samba De Amigo: Party Central is out now, to the rejoice of anyone craving a Latin-themed music game. The original game produced by Yuji Naka received several ports since its 1999 release, but this marks the first proper sequel since then.
Party Central launched with an exciting and colorful trailer featuring its cast dancing to Mr. Worldwide. It’s a stylistic choice I approve of, as a Miami native.
Beyond marking the revival of a classic franchise, Samba De Amigo: Party Central fills a hole for more stylized rhythm games. Anyone wanting to bust a move while at home was pretty much stuck to the Just Dance games, so this will be refreshing to anyone wanting something different.
Something odd about this release is its chosen platforms. Nintendo Switch is unsurprising due to the type of game this is, but it’s also coming to Apple Arcade as Samba de Amigo: Party-To-Go. It looks like it’ll be fun regardless, and will likely appeal to many casual players with the subscription. A VR Samba de Amigo is also expected sometime later this year.
Multiplayer is the highlighted feature in the trailer, but there is also a story mode. Given the musically whimsical nature, it looks like a light-hearted adventure featuring protagonist Amigo and friends.
While Samba De Amigo: Party Central looks like a blast, the game lacks one of the original’s iconic features. Something that made it special was the special maracas players used to follow the beats, but Joy-Cons and touch controls have seemingly made them outdated.
Still, it’s good news for Sega fans and rhythm game fans. Assuming it lives up to the original game, Party Central can hopefully be a wonderful revival of a classic franchise.
