It's just a hope in the darkness, but maybe if the DC version of Samba does well enough over here in the new world, our buddies over at SoA'll release Samba 2000 in US arcades. Although I applaud their rediscovered penchant for risk-taking in the home side of things, they're still rather anal-retentive when it comes to the arcades... And we can't really claim to have had the full Samba experience until we've shaken electronic maracas to La Bamba in public.

   But regardless of how SoA's arcade division treats us, there's no questioning the fact that the DC division loves us. Remember how "Livin' La Vida Loca" and "Cup of Life" had to be removed from the DC version of Samba in Japan due to licensing issues? (Sony Music Entertainment holds the rights to all Ricky Martin songs, in case you're behind the curve.) But we'll put up with no such nonsense on these proud shores, where freedom rings eternal! The US tracklist for Samba de Amigo has been released, and guess which two songs are in it? The bad news is that neither one (or Tubthumping, for that matter) are being performed by the original artists. Aw hell, who needs Ricky Martin anyway? Here's the complete tracklist, as well as the list of downloadable songs to be made available through the Samba homepage:

• Al Compas del Mambo
• Ali Bombaye
• Cup of Life
• El Ritmo Tropical
• La Bamba
• Livin’ La Vida Loca
• Love Lease
• Macarena
• Samba de Amigo
• Samba de Janeiro
• Soul Bossa Nova
• Take On Me
• Tequila
• Tubthumping

• After Burner
• Burning Hearts
• Dreams Dreams
• Super Sonic Racing
• Sonic You Can Do Anything
• Magical Sound Shower
• Opa! Opa!
• Open Your Heart
• Rent A Hero No. 1

   -- Green Gibbon!

Compiled and arranged by Jared "Green Gibbon!" Matte. Hosting provided by Emulation Zone and Emulation World.