Samba de Amigo: Party Central marks the arrival of SEGA's classic rhythm series on the Nintendo Switch, a destination that feels overdue. If the Joy-Cons have ever been meant for anything, it's taking up the role of maracas for furious shaking to the beat, a role that once required the purchase of peripherals for the franchise's original entry on the Dreamcast. Although motion controls may no longer be as fresh as they were when the first game debuted, the core idea of Samba de Amigo remains as appealing and fun as ever.
Like its predecessors, Samba de Amigo: Party Central is a perfect rhythm game for people who don't care about rhythm games. It's straightforward, immediately involving, and fundamentally party-friendly, with a simple setup and forgiving grading system that make for a perfect pick-up-and-play experience. Shaking the Joy-Cons in six directional axes replaces the mental work of translating a button layout, with rhythms that, even at higher levels, tend to be more furious than complex. Various shakeups can occur across the course of a song in the form of different modes and challenges, but none are particularly disorienting.
Casual Fun Is The Name Of The Game
What makes Samba de Amigo: Party Central sing is that the Joy-Cons work just as well as one might hope, representing a significant uptick in accuracy from the occasionally finicky Wiimote controls. Rarely does it feel like any notes are misread, and the poses that a player occasionally has to strike prove far more consistent than on the Wii. Veterans of the Dreamcast version might still miss the shape of the original maracas, but it's hard to knock significant points from the Joy-Con performance on any other counts.
Special notes can temporarily switch songs into different challenge modes, from changing the tempo to mandating which hand goes where. This feature feels more gimmicky than anything, although tossing its more exciting incarnations into a track alongside poses and tracing lines can occasionally result in a gratifying sense of gameplay diversity. In addition to the normal difficulty choices, which focus on ramping up the intensity of the rhythm, the "Crazy" option sends each song into this sort of overdrive. This may be best employed in a social setting, where keeping up with its off-the-wall demands can have funny results.
From a singleplayer perspective, there unfortunately isn't all that much to master in Samba de Amigo: Party Central. Even maxing out the difficulty on the hardest songs rarely leads to anything where a 100% can't be easily acquired. The StreamiGo mode offers a succession of challenges as a basic excuse for a campaign mode, but it's too bare-bones to be particularly engaging. Things liven up in multiplayer with an online battle royale mode that takes a 20-player approach to the Tetris 99 formula and several different options for direct face-offs with friends.
A Solid Tracklist And Presentation Lack Flavor
Party Central ups the size of the Samba de Amigo tracklist, and some surprising inclusions like Rina Sawayama's XS or Culture Club's Karma Chameleon can be plenty of fun to play. Not every song fits the maraca flavor particularly well, but it does feel like some thought is put into making choices that are at least reasonable across the board. A variety of music packs available as DLC offer a few songs each around a central theme, which are unlikely to be worth the investment for casual play but could be appealing for enthusiasts.
Unfortunately, there's a definite sense that Samba de Amigo: Party Central is sidelining its Latin music roots in favor of a Just Dance-esque pop appeal, with disappointingly minimal representation of the franchise roots across the tracklist. This shift can likewise be seen in the general presentation, although some classic figures do return to dance across the stage. Unlockable costumes tend in the direction of rave apparel, and stage backgrounds are more likely to feature neon lights than a street festival. The merit of this approach is ultimately a matter of preference, but it does come across as a loss of some identity.
Final Thoughts & Review Score
Samba De Amigo: Party Central delivers beautifully on its basic appeal, and any maraca-shaking session is likely to provide a proper dopamine rush. Series enthusiasts might be disappointed, however, by its lack of focus on Latin flavor and the general dearth of truly challenging options. It's hard not to wish that Samba de Amigo: Party Central built a little more on top of its wonderful foundation, but it's still a great party game for the Switch and a welcome return for one of SEGA's best titles.
Samba de Amigo: Party Central is available now on Nintendo Switch. Screen Rant was provided with a digital Switch code for the purpose of this review.
