Meccha! Taiko no Tatsujin DS is the pioneer game in the Taiko series for boss battles based on hitting notes and avoiding obstacles along the way, and though it is simplistic, it paved the way for slightly more complex rhythm battle systems with more mechanics like the ones seen in Taiko DS3 and Taiko Wii 2. In the story mode, Don-chan is sucked into a vortex and lands himself on the distant seven islands, where he is tasked with becoming the master of the Taiko Dojos on each of them. Along the way there are stages like multiplayer duels with computer AI and challenges like getting a certain score on a song (a much better way to present them unlike in DS1, where the challenges were sent through letters which could be easily ignored)
The main antagonist of the story mode is the bumbling Dokon Gang, whose main objective is to make noise, ignore harmony and rhythm and basically do as they please. They've taken over most of the Dojos on the islands and most of your time will be spent fighting them and their lackeys. Here's the list of the Dojo bosses you'll be fighting.
Videos are on Oni difficulty unless otherwise mentioned.
Chapter 1
太鼓島, Taiko Island
Boss: Grandpa (おじさん)
Song: Taiko Samurai (太鼓侍)
*video unavailable*
(Video is Easy mode and quite laggy. PM me or comment if you find a higher-quality one~!)
Your basic training level and your first boss battle, so Grandpa goes easy on you while teaching you all the things you'll need to know about the fights to come. You have to wear the black uniform into this battle on the first attempt. He 'attacks' by blocking off the far quarter of the scroll bar with a scroll containing idioms with 'don' or 'katsu'. Very few bomb notes and scroll speed is normal, also helped by the fact that the song used is the slow 7* song Taiko Samurai. Perfect for first timers.
Chapter 2
ニャンニャン島, Cat Island
Boss: Noisebot 1 (ザコボット1号)
Song: Ridge Racer
The Noisebots are shaped like musical instruments and are the higher-level minions of the Dokon Gang, above the Waru-Mekadon and below the main three villains making up the gang. Noisebot 1 is shaped like cymbals and makes noises that scroll in the same direction as your notes, blocking them off.
Right after Taiko Samurai eased you in, the game immediately goes into kill mode. If you're on Oni difficulty this will be the first boss to murder you. The trouble here is Namco picked one of the hardest songs on DS2 to be one of the earliest boss battles in the story mode- Ridge Racer. The notes remain unchanged from the normal Oni chart, which means the same confusion players face while playing Ridge Racer applies here with even more brutality. Not only that, it's set at double speed, and bomb notes are at seemingly unpredictable places. This and Noisebot 3 are the most torturous early bosses and you'll be glad to even pass.
Chapter 3
おめん島, Mask Island
Boss: Noisebot 2 (ザコボット2号)
Song: Saitama 2000 (さいたま2000)
Noisebot 2 made the Dojo of the Mask Island its territory, and it's up to you to take him out. First attempt by Don-chan has him wearing a robber's outfit to sneak into the dojo. This one is shaped like a set of giant speakers, and the noise it emits pops up at scripted positions on the scroll bar.
The song involved is the ever-popular Saitama 2000, which was greeted with much fanfare by Taiko fans. Although it's a tough nut to crack at 9*, pretty much every Taiko gamer worth his salt knows the notes by now, and although the number of bomb notes are many, the song scrolls at normal speed. This makes Noisebot 2 much less of a nuisance to pass than the first one. Forked paths still apply here.
Chapter 4
おとめ島, Girl Island
Boss: Noisebot 3 (ザコボット3号)
Song: Go Go Kitchen (ゴーゴー・キッチン)
You'd think with a cute girly pink island there would a be a cute song playing on the boss battle, but no such luck here. Go Go Kicchin is out of place, but the abrupt change is such that most people won't mind. In fact, with the costume Don-chan has to wear into the battle on the first attempt (a wedding gown) it almost seems like a rocking wedding after-party. Noisebot 3 is a drum set, and his noise bounces along the scroll bar at scripted places.
Which is more frustrating to clear- this or Noisebot 1? Take your pick. Although the notechart itself is much easier than Ridge Racer, Go Go Kicchin's gauntlet is its high BPM. Combine this with double speed scrolling, absurd bomb note placing and the largest set of obstacles in the early boss group, and you have a real challenge on your hands. Not helping is Noisebot 3 making noise at the most crucial and intense parts of the song, especially the three red-one blue continuous stream at the end, where bomb notes litter the entire stream. The final few strings of notes actually scroll at triple speed.
Chapter 5
りゅうぐう島, Dragon Temple Island
Boss: Nyanki (ニャンキー)
Song: Warera Muteki no Dokon Dan (われら無敵のドコン団)
The Dokon Gang's main components are three- the female leader Botan, the ninja cat Nyanki and the giant robot drum Dorabot (drum+robot). Nyanki is the trash-talker of the trio. In the battle, Nyanki moves very fast- his obstacle is to block your view of the scroll bar with multiple illusions of himself. He hates losing. To get to the underwater temple where Nyanki is hiding, Don-chan must dress as a swordfish to swim all the way there (ironically, cats are supposed to hate water).
Being one of the main guys in the Dokon Gang, it makes sense that the song used is their own theme song. The song is repeated for the battles with Botan and Dorabot later. Again with the double-speed madness- Nyanki is the toughest of the three to clear because of it, even if you memorized Warera Muteki no Dokon Dan, the bomb note placement for all three are completely different.
Chapter 6
メカ島, Mecha Island
Boss: Dorabot (ドラボット)
Song: Warera Muteki no Dokon Dan (われら無敵のドコン団)
The second of the Dokon Gang trio you'll fight is Dorabot, the giant drum who's been spewing Waru-Mekadon from the large void in his body to fight with you, and is now fighting you personally. The Dojo of the Mecha Island is in a distant factory, and cannot be reached unless Don-chan dresses up as a train to speed his way there. Dorabot attacks by smashing the screen making rocks fall on the scroll bar, effectively blocking off an entire half of the screen.
Though the obstacles are annoying, Dorabot's version of Warera Muteki no Dokon Dan scrolls at 1.5 speed instead of double, and is easier. There are points where the scroll speed is erratic, and go fast or slow without warning. One bomb note in particular is hidden somewhere in the speed-up, so watch out. Some notes in the original chart are replaced with drumrolls or balloon notes for this battle.
Chapter 7
どらゴーン島, Dragon Island
Boss: Botan (牡丹)
Song: Warera Muteki no Dokon Dan (われら無敵のドコン団)
The supposed leader of the Dokon Dan who claims herself to be beautiful and young, and holds power over both Nyanki and Dorabot. The temple where Botan is in is surrounded by a lake of molten lava, and it's up to Don-chan to fly over it using eagle wings.
Warera Muteki no Dokon Dan scrolls at half speed here which gives you some time to think and recall the notes after Botan almost completely shuts them down by turning the screen black, with one spotlight circling around her (and Nyanki pops up for a surprise too). This means the front half of the scroll bar is blocked, and you're going to need to memorize the notes and when they will be on the target after seeing them on the right side of the screen. This boss battle has completely no bomb notes for obvious reasons.
Final Chapter
ドコン城, Dokon Fort
Boss: Dokon (ドコン)
Song: Yami no Tamashii (闇の魂)
Notice a pair of menacing eyes in the instruction manual above the intro profiles of the members of the Dokon Gang? This is him. Dokon is the true leader of the Dokon Gang and is supposed to be a harmless little fellow, until he fell under the control of an even more powerful being, which you will fight soon after this. Dokon's Fort towers over the seven islands after you beat Botan, and has no stages other than the two boss battles. He attacks by shoving a statue into the exact middle of the screen, and annoyingly does it really often.
Unlike the other boss battles, this is only done on Muzukashii and has no Oni equivalent. This is the only place where you'll be able to play the instrumental version of Yami no Tamashii, the dummy version which has its own separate songID. Otherwise it's very straightforward and you shouldn't run into much trouble beating Dokon. The pink flowery background is weird though, considering the atmosphere.
ドコン城, Dokon Fort
Boss: Gigadon (ギガドーン)
Song: Yami no Tamashii (闇の魂)
Dokon was just a warm-up. Right after you beat him, the evil spirit that had been manipulating him comes out. His name is Gigadon, and your fight with him is to save the seven islands from destruction! Like a good final boss should be, Gigadon's obstacles block off the greatest portion of the scroll bar, is present at all times, and gets worse when he decides to tighten his tentacle grip on the bar and block off the target as well.
At least the bomb notes are relatively few and far between here, and Yami no Tamashii (the real thing this time, not the dummy song) actually scrolls at normal speed. If high bomb density and double speed were present in this battle, there would be a lot more broken DSes being thrown out of frustrated players' windows. It's a tough song to full combo, but a relatively easier fight to win than the ones with Noisebots 1 and 3...ironic isn't it?
After the story is complete, Dokon Gang turns to good, and Dokon is his old cheery, sunny self once more.
Back to Taiko DS2 song list
