The first of two PS2 Taiko anime-only compilations, and the last Taiko console game styled after the first arcade generation's graphical style. Waku Waku Anime Matsuri does what it says on the tin: it's jam-packed with nothing but anime songs (and one secret Namco Original).
Released just two months after Sandaime, this Taiko game doesn't have any of the console-exclusive modes from the first 3 Taiko console games. It's also one of the few titles of the series that doesn't feature a single Oni 10* difficulty song in its songlist.
The 3rd PS2 Taiko no Tatsujin game, and the last one to feature the Arcade, Battle and Survival modes. Basically, the game is the same as the previous one, featuring the same modes and a new list of songs, together with three new minigames to play with. It's also the only one to feature different Game Over screens at the end of Arcade mode, based on the run being a successful one or not.
While, once again, the game was nothing but an updated/tweaked version of the first two games, it's a remarkable release due to the fact of introducing Linda AI-CUE's infamous 2000 song series, with Saitama 2000 being one of the unlockable tracks.
A series started in Taiko Wii 2, featuring songs composed by the Japanese chiptune band, YMCK.
Formed on May 2003, YMCK has published six albums, sold from Japan to Korea and USA. The band is comprised of three members: Midori Kurihara (栗原みどり; vocal), Yokemura Takeshi (除村武志; music, lyrics, arrangement) and Nakamura Tomoyuki (中村智之; music video) and their primary specialty is songs that sounds like they come from 8-bit or 16-bit videogames of old. YMCK's name is based on a subtractive color model: Yellow, Magenta, Cyan and Black. Aside from their own discography, they also composed the retro NES-style soundtrack for DSiWare game ArtStyle: PiCTOBiTS.
In Taiko, the songs created by YMCK have not been seen on any of their albums (which means they were composed specially for Taiko), and all feature the YMCK members and Don-chan, in 8-bit form, dancing on the bottom of the screen.
Ridge Racer is Namco's signature racing game series, released on the arcade first in 1993. While it has never been known for being extremely standout, it was one of the pioneers of the 3D racing genre and still holds an important spot in today's gaming lineup. Look for any console's launch games, handheld or otherwise, and high chances are Ridge Racer will be there, whether it's being an important pivot game to show off a console's technical capabilities or simply to fill in the gap for a much-needed racer. It looks authentic, but everything from the cars to the tracks used in Ridge Racer are actually fictional, with inspiration drawn from real-life models. The handling and physics also deviates from most serious racing sims, with drifting being a common occurrence in the game.
Namco freely uses the Ridge Racer songs in Taiko no Tatsujin as many of the songs chosen have high difficulty potential, in fact there isn't a single Ridge Racer song on this list that has below 8* on Oni. The song series began in Namco Original but was shifted to its rightful place in Game Music somewhere in the Taiko 10 generation, with a few songs being left out of the change simply because they were not included in the new songlists. The songs are composed by different people, as opposed to one person coordinating an entire song series.
One of the most major turning points for the Taiko series. The slogan of Taiko no Tatsujin 7, which speaks of renewal, doesn't lie. Aside from a huge graphical overhaul, thanks to an arcade board upgrade from Namco System 10 to the much more powerful, PS2-grade Namco System 246, all songs can finally be played on all difficulties, and streamlined into the genres we know today, except for Game Music, which is partially split between Namco Original and Variety until a little later on.
Modern frills were added such as the Go-Go Time and the ability to play with all the notes invisible (Doron mode). Donderful difficulty is renamed to Oni, in line with the name the PS2 versions had been using since the first day. General performance is improved and loading times cut down. The number of songs is stepped up enormously. Taiko 7 marked the beginning of the new Taiko engine, the one which we play today.
The follow up to Tatacon de Dodon ga Don, released on March 2003. Basically the same as its prequel, this version does nothing more than put in a whole lot of new songs, with minor tweaks to the features of the previous game.
While using the same graphical style and modes from the first Ps2 title, this version has a full-fledged Minigame Mode, featuring 3 side activities instead of a single one. The game's Safari Mode gets tweaked as well, particularly in the number of songs per play required to finish the mode on each difficulty, due to the first game's insane requirements forcing the player to re-play at least twice all of the game's songlist for a run at higher difficulties!
This Namco Original series started off with a bang as the first song in the series, Ryougen no Mai, became a god-tier Oni chart almost immediately, bringing everyone's attention to it. All songs in this series have the letters 'no Mai' (ノ舞) tacked onto the end, which is 'dance of' in English. Note that the 'no' letter is always in katakana form, and not the hiragana form の.
Ryougen is the odd one out, despite being the most famous of the three. The basic theme of the rest of the no Mai songs are based on a love
for someone who lives far, far away and the
power of dreams which can connect the minds of the lovers even if they
are distant, appear on a console version of Taiko first before being carted off to the arcade, and have not left the standard difficulty of 9* on Oni. The three 'No Mai' songs always end with a big Don note.
The composer and artist are the same across the entire series, who is a mysterious unnamed character using the pseudonym 'Zeami' (世阿弥) who will also go on to make the Rose series of songs. Many fans have speculated on his real identity. One of the clues was a Morse Code message in Soroban 2000 (Taiko 13, Kantan difficulty) which says:
'This time the Morse Code 2000 feels a bit chaotic. About the question of Zeami's identity which everyone is talking about, it's actually "Shi". Much speculation has been going on as to what 'Shi' refers to, but popular opinion puts it as part of the name Tatsuya Shimizu, popularly known as Tatsh, a prominent composer for Bemani, Konami's gigantic rhythm game division.
Five long years after Zeami first contributed to Taiko no Tatsujin through this series of songs, he finally steps out onto the stage of the final round of the Taiko Tournament 2013 (which took plane in June 2014) to meet everyone, and officially reveals himself to be just the man everyone speculated him to be; Tatsuya Shimizu (清水達也) of Bemani fame! Thus this confirms the collaboration between the rhythm giant Bemani and Taiko no Tatsujin, which has been going on in the shadows for so long.
Taiko 12.5 to 14, Taiko 0, Taiko Wii 2, 4, Taiko Wii U, Taiko + 104~208 none ryogen
Literally translated as "Dance of the Burning Field", it feels like traditional Japanese music, and has no lyrics. During a word with the composer, Zeami, by the Taiko Team, he said that he was aiming for a fast-paced, Japanese-styled song that players could master with magnificence when playing.
Magnificent indeed. After the first eight stanzas with a slow speed and easy notes, Ryougen shows its true colors when the BPM is doubled for the rest of the song, and what results is a genuine surprise. Ryougen no Mai quickly gained status as one of the toughest songs ever, rivaling Kita Saitama 2000 and Rotter Tarmination (Ura), due to the long note streams at a high BPM. At Taiko 13, Ryougen was a safe bet for one of the four Taiko god songs together with the aforementioned two songs and Hataraku 2000, and it still is a genuine obstacle for budding Taiko professionals now.
Beat patterns continue without respite and constantly force you to switch hands, with only minimal time to rest after the beginning portion. There are two very common spots where players tend to mess up- a god-forsaken 1/24 red-blue-red-blue-red-blue chain which is effectively above BPM 300 and requires lightning-quick hands to hit, and the end part, comprising of chain after chain after chain of 8 and 10 note clusters, which are both confusing and difficult to hit, and this part is one of the most frantic in the entire series.
An updated version with an extended intro and more drum beats, called Shin Ryougen no Mai (真・燎原ノ舞) was released on the 2011 Full Combo! Taiko soundtrack CD. This version of the song is not playable.
Taiko 14, 0.5, Taiko Wii 2, 4, Taiko +, CD Full Combo 160 none senpcs
Translated as "Dance of the Whirlwind", this song appeared as an unlockable song in Taiko Wii 2, before the alternate version appeared in Taiko 13 just a few months later. At Oni 9*, it's definitely not as hard, but Senpuu steps it up a notch during the end part where most of the song's note clusters are. Senpuu's song ID is senpcs, where cs is for Console. The song is sung by Ayane (彩音), and represents love in a winter blizzard.
Released together with every other no Mai song on the 2012 Full Combo! Taiko soundtrack CD, it gains an extra suffix to its title, and is now known as Senpuu no Mai 'Earth'.
Taiko 13, 14, 0.5, Taiko Wii 4, Taiko +, CD Full Combo 160 none senbac
Appearing in Taiko 13 it puzzled people as to why it was different from the Taiko Wii 2 version and to further add to the confusion in Taiko 14, regular console Senpuu appeared as the Ura Oni difficulty of this one (which would also make it one of the few songs with an easier Ura Oni than the regular Oni). Before making alternate versions of songs separate from one another, this was the Ura Oni of console Taiko, and regular Oni of arcade Taiko.
The song IDs of both versions of Senpuu no Mai show their relationship: the arcade's version is senpac (where ac is obviously for Arcade, as opposed to the console version's senpcs). Neither version can be truly called the 'full version' of Senpuu- they're about the same length and have different lyrics throughout. 'Full version' is a term probably best used if the two pieces were somehow put together into one song. The arcade version also has multiplayer specific notes with a few minor changes.
This version of Senpuu no Mai has different beat patterns and lyrics
from the console version, still referring to the same love story, but
this time in a spring breeze with flying sakura petals instead of a cold
winter. The irony here is that it has fewer notes than the Wii version,
but is much harder, due to four long deathstreams of notes- two in the
beginning, two near the end - which elevates its difficulty range to
10*, though again, Ryougen trumps it ten times out of ten.
On the soundtrack CD, this rendition is known as Senpuu no Mai
'Heaven'. It is the only no Mai song to be expelled from Taiko 0 (both Earth and Heaven) due to initial discrepancies on how alternate version songs should be handled on the new interface, but after sorting Heaven and Earth, both versions of Senpuu were reintroduced in Taiko 0.5 as the DonChare reward songs on December 2012. Senpuu Heaven maintains ita 10* rating.
Taiko 14, Taiko 0, Taiko DS 3, Taiko Wii 4, Taiko 3DS 2, CD Full Combo 174 none tenyou
The latest member of the 'no Mai' family. Tenyou no Mai, or 'Dance of the Sky Beast' made its first appearance on Taiko DS3 and also has vocals, which makes vocal-based songs the majority on this series.
With the same love-based theme of Senpuu, the song has a much faster beat and typical beat patterns of a 9* Oni song with very little space for rest; without ample focus it's very easy to lose track of the long chains in Tenyou and mess up. In this way it's reminiscent of Kita Saitama 2000, mint tears and Punishment, emphasizing a faster pace with simple note patterns, however it's neither as hard nor as fast as either of the 10* juggernauts.
The song is sung by Imai Asami (今井麻美), the same vocalist for Taiko DS2's theme song, Nanairo Harmony. Plus, the song is used during the battle against the lady Rokurokubi in Taiko DS 3's Story mode.
-no Mai series-
Taiko 12.5 to 14, Taiko 0, Taiko Wii 2, 4, Taiko Wii U, Taiko +
104~208
none
ryogen