Shun Nakamura Talks About Bringing The 2000s Back In Samba De Amigo Party-To-Go

The fiesta doesn’t have to stop- on top of the console release of Samba De Amigo: Party Central, mobile fans can also look forward to Samba De Amigo: Party-To-Go, coming to Apple Arcade on the 29th of August.

Party To Go is more than just a mobile spinoff of the rhythm game, which saw its start in arcades. The Apple Arcade version of this game includes exclusive tracks, as well as a story mode- a first in the series history.

We caught up with Shun Nakamura, Producer of the Samba De Amigo series to talk about how the series has gone from arcades to home consoles to now, on your phones.

So rhythm game fans and otaku culture pretty much go hand in hand. So can we expect to see some, any songs in future updates for Samba De Amigo Party-To-Go?

Nakamura: We also figured that the taste of music has got very versatile. So many people like many different kinds of music nowadays. So that’s why we also try to address a very broad audience and have very diverse titles. We have some gaming titles and we would also include more types and more genres of music. But I can’t tell you today specifically about the titles which are to be released on update basis, but we’re definitely considering to even broaden it.

Considering the game supports bluetooth controllers, does this include support for Nintendo Switch Joy Cons? And can you then use motion controls like the Nintendo Switch version?

Nakamura: So you can’t use the Joy Con as maracas, but you can use the controllers and charges.

One of the features coming exclusively to the Apple Arcade version is the story mode. What was the reasoning behind this?

Nakamura: This time we tried to think of the specifics and characteristics of each platform, which was most unique and also suitable for exclusive modes. And of course it would have have also been possible to have a story mode for Nintendo Switch, but we thought this idea of Apple Arcade with a subscription idea is something where gamers can be called to played even longer.

So that was something we thought is very suitable for the story mode. And for on the other hand for Nintendo’s which for example, we have this party central idea so that a lot of people gather and a lot of people enjoy this game together. So this was one thing we thought was you more unique for Nintendo Switch and for Apple Arcade. We chose to go with the way and to have a longer a fun experience with a subscription approach.

A lot of things from the early 2000s are suddenly back in vogue. Can you talk about what made you decide to bring Samba De Amigo back?

So one reason is also, as you said, that I felt that there is a revival boom, so I felt that as a development, so okay, it’s also suitable to very viable. And when I thought of what games that I developed would be suitable and fun to play today as well, then immediately Samba De Amigo, came into my mind.

I think nowadays we have a lot of games, many different kinds of genres, but they’re all rather games where it’s serious to replay, you put all your effort and then play hard.

And it’s not so much where you can enjoy it just for fun, silly, a silly, funny game where what you enjoy with a lot of other friends, but I think this concept of silly fun is still something even when times change can be enjoyed today and so I asked my boss in the company if I could make a reboot of Samba De Amigo because I thought it would be really great also to have it in our times and I’m really grateful that I was allowed to develop it again and also to have this experience to develop it together with apple for Apple Arcade.

Earlier we also saw quite a bit of Sonic music in the game. What’s your favorite Sonic track?

Nakamura: There’s a song called Open Your Heart from Sonic Adventure and I have to say that this is my favorite also because it brings back a Lot of memories. It was the first title I was involved when I came to Sega. So that also showed me that Sonic is really laugh a lot of people all over the world. So open your heart from this Sonic Adventures I think my favorite music title from Sonic.

Are we going to see some kind of compatibility with the Apple Vision Pro?

Nakamura: And so when I saw the announcement of the hardware from Apple, I thought this could be very suitable and maybe we should do this. But right now I think we don’t have any specific plans, but I would be happy to develop that was as well.

Samba De Amigo: Party To Go is coming to Apple Arcade August 29th, where players will be able to enjoy the game without worries of ads or additional purchases.

Between this and the release of Party Central, its clear that Shun Nakamura is keen on making sure as many people get to experience a new age Samba De Amigo experience as possible, just as kids of the 2000s did when the game debuted in the arcades.

Our thanks to Nakamura-san for sitting down to talk with us about the upcoming Apple Arcade release. You can also read his thoughts on the console release here.

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