Samba de Amigo ver. 2000 is played with a pair of maracas. As each song plays, the player shakes the maracas at high, middle, or low positions in time with the beat, or strikes specific poses when prompted. On screen, the player is represented by Amigo, a Brazilian monkey whose surroundings — concerts, dances, celebrations — grow more animated and populated when the player performs well, and grow quiet and lonely when they do not. Six spots arranged in a circle on screen indicate where to shake: two red for high, two yellow for middle, two green for low. Blue dots roll outward from the center toward each spot, and the player must shake the corresponding maraca as soon as the dot arrives. Shaking both maracas at the same spot earns an Amigo bonus. Long streams of dots call for rapid sustained shaking, while on-screen pose figures challenge the player to match a specific position within a tight window.