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Thursday, February 10, 2011

Staff Interview- Zekira

Although he 'resigned' from being one of our contributors, he's one of our biggest fans and still inadvertently finds errors in the site. Please welcome the most skilled Taiko player of our blog staff, Zekira!


Who are you and what are you doing here?

-Zekira G. Drake, Game Conqueror #3. Well, I did resign as a contributor, but I still feel I have a lot to contribute still to the Taiko community. Everything's always better if you're having fun~

When did you start playing Taiko?

-No one would probably believe me if I said that I first played 8 years ago; I actually found a really old broken original Taiko PS2 2 CD before, and I do remember playing it for a really, really short time and I hated it back then. But if we're talking about the actual time that I started to take it seriously, well, that would be around early 2007.

What was your first console Taiko version?

-First console Taiko version would be Taiko DS1. If non handheld, my first would be Taiko PS2 2, followed Taiko PS2 1-3-4-5-6-7, then the Wii ones.

What was your first Taiko arcade version?

-I've played Taiko AC 6 before when I was a kid, in some other country. I vaguely have any memories of it though, and now I have no contact whatsoever to any Taiko arcade.

What are the versions of Taiko you've played before then?

-Uhm, what? Well I started playing Taiko DS1... I don't know where the 'before then' comes in?

(sorry for poor phrasing, I meant all the Taiko games you own :P)

What's your favorite console/arcade version?

-Favorite arcade would be Taiko AC13. Console, would be Wii2.

What's your favorite control method?

-If talking about console controls, it's the four button scheme of using thumbs only. In the case of a PS2 controller or Classic Wii Controller, Square/X for right Don, Right for left Don, Y/Triangle for Right Katsu, Up for Left Katsu. But if we include the touch screen, then the touch screen is my favorite. If we include Tatacon, then that's my favorite above anything else.

What about on the arcade?

-...are there other controls for the arcade? What?

How long do you usually play Taiko?

-I make sure I at least play one hour of Taiko each day unless I'm really busy or doing something else.

What's your favorite genre?

-It used to be Game Music, but like many aspiring veterans, I now like Namco Originals.

What's your favorite song and why?

-Saitama2000, hands down. Catchiest scratchy song ever. To be honest I really can't express in words why I like a song or not. Still, Saitama2000 forever. This does not include KitaSai2000, I hate that for life

What's the song that gives you the most trouble?

-METAL FUCKING HAWK BGM 1

What's your least favorite song?

-I don't know exactly... it's either I like a song or I forget about it, really. But there are some boring Namco Originals and Classics from the early games... that woudl probably be my least favorite. To relate, the revival of some old songs in Wii3 also annoyed me, for reference.

Do you actually like any of the side modes/minigames in Taiko?

-Yeah, especially story modes, where Wii2's story was unarguably the best among the other story ones. Though some minigames really are meant for multiplayer, such as Wii3's games and PS2-6 (5?)'s games, and I only know one other person who plays Taiko with me so meh.

Which song(s) would you like to see in one of the next Taiko games?

-Uhm... uh. I'm not that much of a music fan myself actually and I have a very little library on songs in my head. However, one that I CAN fantasize about is the time when the rhythm games start to intercede with each other. Like crystal, I am starting to realize how awesome it would be to have something like 76573. Actually it's the other way around, where I like to see Taiko songs in other rhythm games... which I see that Music Gun Gun 2 will include the most awesome Taiko song ever (Saitama2000~), and I'm really happy for that. Though to be honest, there were a few points in time where I wished that Touhou songs (the game originals, not the other 92385629476 remixes) would eventually come to Taiko.