Samba de Amigo Maracas
Olá! Sorry for any followers/readers/randomers for not posting in a while, I've been mental-busy with work. After a brief trip down to the Parcelforce depot in Manchester (in a rough red light district - just where you want to walk with a nice new parcel...) to pay a ridiculous customs charge due to exchange rate bullshit, I picked up something I have wanted for a long, long time:
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| From My SEGA collection |
Yes, Samba de Amigo and Maracas.
The arcade version used magnetic sensors to determine the position of the maracas. As this was costly (with arcade machines selling for £1000s) it had to be reworked for the home version.
The first and best home version is the Dreamcast version. Each maraca has a cord which is plugged into a bar that rests on the floor at your feet. Each maraca has an ultrasonic emitter mounted on its chord; allowing the system to triangulate the position of each maraca - in the same way that the first iPhone used A-GPS for finding its location.
Included in the box is a plastic mat with two brown footprints; which helps the players position themselves in relation to the sensor bar.
Apparently, the maracas can be used to control the character in Mr Driller.
In the Wii version, the player uses the inferior Wii Remote, which leads to a gameplay experience lacking the 'tightness' of the original.
Didn't pick this game up originally, back in 1999/2000 due to the massive expense. Back then, I used to have to properly save and wait to buy a game. If I could have, I would have bought 80-90% of Dreamcast games on release. I only own Forza 2 on the 360 and have a few games for my PS3.
Anyway, Samba!
Same here, I wish I had the kind of cash flow I have now back when the DC was out.
ReplyDeleteSamba De Amigo on Wii ca be picked up for as cheap as a tenner now, which is worth it just to give it a go really. The DC one is still better to play though, I really need to get a 2nd maraca set one day.
Samba de Janeiro! That's a great addition to your collection, those two maracas being a symbol of when SEGA was, too, a big player in the home entertainment business. The thing is that the Wii version isn't as good, so many years after. That in itself means there's something wrong with videogames today.
ReplyDeleteI know it was a pain to get that back from customs, but it was well worth it. You'll eventually forget about how much you were taxes: but the maracas, I'm sure you'll keep on loving and enjoying them for many years to come :)
Cheers,
Bruno
I used to play this game without the macaras back in the day. It was pretty tough.
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