Samba de Amigo confirmed for a Wii release

Yet another Dreamcast classic is destined for a franchise revival on the Wii! The latest Nintendo Power, with Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings on the cover, confirms that Sega and Sonic Team’s Samba de Amigo will be getting a new installment sometime next year. The game will be developed by Brothers in Arms developer, Gearbox Software.

For those unfamiliar with the Dreamcast and Arcade original, Samba de Amigo is a music game similar to Dance Dance Revolution and Guitar Hero in that instructions will appear on screen in real-time as to where and when the player is supposed to shake two maracas. The original had two maracas that could be shaken at high, middle, and low positions, while the Wii version will use the remote and nunchuk to somehow resemble the game’s trademark playing style.

The following is the confirmation from Nintendo Power, as transcribed by Bentendo from Nintendopedia:

Long before Guitar Hero took the world by storm, cult-classic Samba de Amigo (For Dreamcast and arcades) was helping gamers connect with the inner musicians. Players would shake a pair of plastic maracas (and occasionally strike a pose) as a sombrero-wearing monkey and other bits of assorted madness danced around the screen. If that sounds like a perfect fit for Wii, Sega agrees; the publisher will bring a new installment in the series to Nintendo’s console sometime next year. Details are scarce, but you’ll shake the Wii remote and nunchuk as you would the maracas (naturally), and the soundtrack will feature a mix of new and classic tunes. Surprisingly, the developer on the title is Gearbox Software, best known for its work on the acclaimed Brothers in Arms franchise.

With the Saturn-classic NiGHTS franchise seeing its revival this year and the possibility of Space Channel 5 seeing the light of day again on the Wii, could we start to see more modern Sega classics come back? Jet Set Radio? Shenmue? Crazy Taxi? Skies of Arcadia? Maybe a new game actually worthy of the Phantasy Star title?

Nintendopedia
via GoNintendo