FAQ - Guide for Samba De Amigo

Scroll down to read our guide named "FAQ" for Samba De Amigo on Dreamcast (DC), or click the above links for more cheats.

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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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