Base song library is atrocious if you don't want to spend money for harder songs, and holds up very poorly to the PS4's equivalent Drum Session. You can't customize your don or turn off skills on other selectable characters if you don't want to play with buffs.
I give it a pass for reintroducing me to rhythm games and one of the 2 first English releases since Taiko Drum Master in 2002. Later updates also eventually brought online 2p and matchmaking mode which was nice. Don't play with an unmodded tatacon, and don't use motion controls if you're actually trying to get good
I give it a pass for reintroducing me to rhythm games and one of the 2 first English releases since Taiko Drum Master in 2002. Later updates also eventually brought online 2p and matchmaking mode which was nice. Don't play with an unmodded tatacon, and don't use motion controls if you're actually trying to get good
I only learned recently that this game got delisted ?????? what the heck ???
my first Taiko no Tatsujin entry and what a goodie!! lots of variety in the song catalog (some tracks I discovered years ago are still in my playlists), a lot of good DLC packs in case you want even more, and I love the addition of a coop mode and a selection of minigames to play with friends!
my first Taiko no Tatsujin entry and what a goodie!! lots of variety in the song catalog (some tracks I discovered years ago are still in my playlists), a lot of good DLC packs in case you want even more, and I love the addition of a coop mode and a selection of minigames to play with friends!
I don't think there are many rhythm games with mechanics this simple. Just a pure joy to play, whether you're learning or dozens of hours in. I quit around hour 70, I've had a blast, and I STILL have so much more to learn.
I wish there were practice options, but for 10$ it's a great start to learning the game.
I wish there were practice options, but for 10$ it's a great start to learning the game.
GOTY 2018 - NUMBER SIX
Video version
The Nintendo Switch is a fantastic platform for so many reasons, but one aspect has been a thrilling surprise for me. The audience it has cultivated is very much in line with my tastes. Switch owners tend to be people who have been playing games for decades, who hold older games in high esteem and are particularly responsive to unique, charming games. Publishers have noticed, and here’s the wonderful result of all of this – Taiko no Tatsujin has been released in Europe.
Now, you may know, I am a really big fan of Taiko no Tatsujin. It’s a big part of the reason why I have a Japanese PS2. It’s a cute, simple rhythm game with tracklists cultivated and contributed to by some of the musicians who worked on Katamari Damacy. About half of the Namco Original tracks in each game sound like they could have appeared on a Katamari soundtrack, and there’s nothing that draws me quite to a rhythm game quite like that.
Drum ‘n’ Fun is a really great entry-level Taiko no Tatsujin. You get a few big Nintendo songs, a load of big anime theme tunes, some weird arrangements of publicly licensed nursery rhymes and classical music, and a load of J-pop stuff you’d likely never heard of. Mind you, a couple of them are songs you might recognise from Ouendan, and if you’re into Japan-focused rhythm games, you really ought to be familiar with Ouendan.
Crucially, the difficulty range is maybe the widest it’s ever been in the series, and the control options are similarly diverse. You can have young kids play, shaking the joycon with a ton of assist options on, or if you’re a real rhythm game elite, you may opt to invest in a Tatacon and try everything on the hardest settings. Domestically available Tatacon. I never thought I’d live to see the day. You can also play with traditional buttons or use the touchscreen if you’re playing portably. You can enjoy the game how you like.
There’s also DLC, which is a bit of a novelty for me, since I’ve only really stuck with the PS2 games before. There’s new tracks every few weeks, and with the game selling so well in Japan, I don’t see it slowing down any time soon. I have to mention that the PS2 experimental breakbeat techno screaming classic, Saitama 2000 is available for purchase on western eShops and comes with a heavy recommendation from me. I’d almost go as far as to say I’d consider it to be Taiko no Tatsujin’s theme tune, and my only disappointment is that it wasn’t included from the start.
There’s party games too, and while they’re generally fun, with some really great highlights amongst them, I’ve only really included them in the video to make it look a little more visually interesting. The real draw for me is the core rhythm gameplay and the bizarre tracklist.
Taiko no Tatsujin is a firm favourite for me, and I’m so glad to have such easy access to it. Not only in the sense that I could go into my local GAME and ask for a copy, but it’s on the Switch. I can load the game up whenever and wherever I want, and try perfecting Odoru Pompokorin yet again. I could always go make sure the Japanese PS2’s connected, set up a Tatacon, browse through for a certain disc and play Taiko no Tatsujin until I decide to put it away again, but now I can turn it on and off on a whim. And I often have those whims. Taiko no Tatsujin’s an arcade classic because it’s really great in short sessions, and now that experience is accessible to the home audience. Brilliant. I’ve got to applaud it for that.
Video version
The Nintendo Switch is a fantastic platform for so many reasons, but one aspect has been a thrilling surprise for me. The audience it has cultivated is very much in line with my tastes. Switch owners tend to be people who have been playing games for decades, who hold older games in high esteem and are particularly responsive to unique, charming games. Publishers have noticed, and here’s the wonderful result of all of this – Taiko no Tatsujin has been released in Europe.
Now, you may know, I am a really big fan of Taiko no Tatsujin. It’s a big part of the reason why I have a Japanese PS2. It’s a cute, simple rhythm game with tracklists cultivated and contributed to by some of the musicians who worked on Katamari Damacy. About half of the Namco Original tracks in each game sound like they could have appeared on a Katamari soundtrack, and there’s nothing that draws me quite to a rhythm game quite like that.
Drum ‘n’ Fun is a really great entry-level Taiko no Tatsujin. You get a few big Nintendo songs, a load of big anime theme tunes, some weird arrangements of publicly licensed nursery rhymes and classical music, and a load of J-pop stuff you’d likely never heard of. Mind you, a couple of them are songs you might recognise from Ouendan, and if you’re into Japan-focused rhythm games, you really ought to be familiar with Ouendan.
Crucially, the difficulty range is maybe the widest it’s ever been in the series, and the control options are similarly diverse. You can have young kids play, shaking the joycon with a ton of assist options on, or if you’re a real rhythm game elite, you may opt to invest in a Tatacon and try everything on the hardest settings. Domestically available Tatacon. I never thought I’d live to see the day. You can also play with traditional buttons or use the touchscreen if you’re playing portably. You can enjoy the game how you like.
There’s also DLC, which is a bit of a novelty for me, since I’ve only really stuck with the PS2 games before. There’s new tracks every few weeks, and with the game selling so well in Japan, I don’t see it slowing down any time soon. I have to mention that the PS2 experimental breakbeat techno screaming classic, Saitama 2000 is available for purchase on western eShops and comes with a heavy recommendation from me. I’d almost go as far as to say I’d consider it to be Taiko no Tatsujin’s theme tune, and my only disappointment is that it wasn’t included from the start.
There’s party games too, and while they’re generally fun, with some really great highlights amongst them, I’ve only really included them in the video to make it look a little more visually interesting. The real draw for me is the core rhythm gameplay and the bizarre tracklist.
Taiko no Tatsujin is a firm favourite for me, and I’m so glad to have such easy access to it. Not only in the sense that I could go into my local GAME and ask for a copy, but it’s on the Switch. I can load the game up whenever and wherever I want, and try perfecting Odoru Pompokorin yet again. I could always go make sure the Japanese PS2’s connected, set up a Tatacon, browse through for a certain disc and play Taiko no Tatsujin until I decide to put it away again, but now I can turn it on and off on a whim. And I often have those whims. Taiko no Tatsujin’s an arcade classic because it’s really great in short sessions, and now that experience is accessible to the home audience. Brilliant. I’ve got to applaud it for that.
Game itself is a solid rhythm game with a decent tracklist, but the minigames feel cheap. Additionally, I bought the physical drum controllers for this and had a lot of issues trying to get the input lag figured out with my TV. There's an in-game system that supposedly helps you auto-sync your controller, but even after doing that it was way off. Completely unplayable with the physical drum controllers, sadly.