Classic Showcase: Chopin Songs

Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin (pronounced ˈʃoʊpæn/' or sho-PAN) was a Polish pianist and composer born on 1st March 1810. His brilliant musical compositions on the piano made major innovations to the world of music, specializing in romantic music and expression of heartfelt emotions through melody. For a more complete biography on the musician, click here.

Three of his pieces have been put into Taiko no Tatsujin. This series exists not just because they were all composed by Chopin, but because they were all remixed and rocked up by the Taiko Team to create a song with higher tempo for more playability, as opposed to Chopin's usually slow, flowing pace of music. Chopin's songs are usually very difficult to clear.

Most of the remixes were done by Masubuchi Yuuji (増渕裕二).

Song of the Week! 30 October 2010

 

This is koocono's request. Remember what song he picked two weeks ago? Well, it's being featured here, this week! Got any other special requests? Just leave a comment, as usual!

Namco Taiko Blog (28 October 2010)- Taiko Wii 3 guest characters

It's actually confirmed last week, but only shown on the official blog just today. Shots of some of the guest characters that will appear in Taiko Wii 3 are now out!

Already seen in Taiko 13 and 14, this is the first time the Felynes from Monster Hunter Diaries are on a console Taiko game. It's actually really appropriate that Wii gets Monster Hunter Medley. It'd be a crime not to include it.

This is new. The characters from Piramekino make their first appearance, with Tetsuo and Hana, despite being on the Taiko series for some time in the arcade.

I think a more appropriate response to this is, what Taiko game DOESN'T have IdolM@ster guest appearances ever since they were introduced? These are kinda expected, though brand new song L.O.B.M could be pretty cool.

Link to original post

Medal no Tatsujin 2

 

Medal no Tatsujin 2 Atsumare! Go! Go! Sugoroku Sentai Don Ranger Five (メダルの達人2 あつまれ！ゴー！ゴー！双六戦隊ドンレンジャーファイブ) was released in February 2007 as a sequel to the original. Aside from a few new songs in Tatsujin Game, Medal 2 also introduced a bunch of new minigames and features to the original, including seasons of the year and Waru-Mekadon battles. Note that they are not the same as the Waru-Mekadon in Taiko DS2 (but were probably an inspiration). The basic rules remain the same.

Namco Taiko Blog (27 October 2010)- Score Battle + Taiko Wii 3 dev screen

Gosh, the Taiko Team are excited about their brand new Twitter account. Since it opened last week (amidst a large announcement on their blog which I didn't post about), it has surpassed both 765 and 876 followers. Hey, you know how important those numbers are, right? They're aiming for 2000 followers (which is yet another significant number in Taiko). Want to follow them? Their profile link on Twitter:

http://twitter.com/taiko_team

The following portion was of the team playing on Taiko 14 and recording their scores.

No Way Back on Oni, Shinta Mode

Pony Tail to Shushu on Muzukashii, Shinta Mode

Sweet Lay on Futsuu. Geez, why is it getting easier? Interestingly, the easier it gets, the more misses they have. LOL.

Onara Hazukashikunai yo on Kantan. Most probably not a full combo. They're restraining themselves from performing well, I just know it.

Oh yeah, Taiko Wii 3. This mysterious screenshot of high scores on different songs by the team...

That 'cle' is the only hint of any new songs in Wii3's song list. No one knows anything about it, but one thing's for sure, Ura Oni is returning to consoles.

Link to original post

Taiko Towers!

The Taiko Tower challenges in Taiko no Tatsujin: Doka! to Oomori Nanadaime (a.k.a. Taiko PS2 7) are a series of ten survival challenges against all the tricks the game can pit against you. It's a minigame found in the Waku Waku Bouken Land. The rules are slightly different in that unlike the regular mode, it's possible to fail in the Taiko Tower if you do badly. The 魂 flames on the top-right corner of the screen indicate how many times you're allowed to miss before you lose. While all this is happening, Don-chan continuously climbs the tower to its summit on the bottom of the screen, and announces each time he climbs ten floors.

Most of the Taiko Towers let you play without any music in the background, but with a slowly building BPM that goes faster and faster until you finish, piling on the difficulty and the speed. As mentioned before, there are ten in all, each harder than the last. Two difficulty settings are available, Ama-kuchi (甘口) and Kara-kuchi (辛口), the latter being Hard mode. All videos below are done on Kara-kuchi.

In all the Taiko Tower challenges, the Bachi o Sensei wear different clothing.

Taiko no Tatsujin 12 Don~! to Zoryoban song list

Taiko no Tatsujin 12.5 (the widely accepted short form of the 12 Zoryoban machine) was released in July 2009, a month after Asia 12. It's not a fully new version, instead 12.5 succeeds at what the original Taiko 12 failed to do- provide compelling reason to come back to the arcade to play compelling new songs. 'Zoryoban' means 'expanded version' which is very true, as it included a whopping 145 songs on debut and 155 after all the secret codes were revealed, a far cry from the minimalist approach by the original. 12.5 is almost completely different from 12 in terms of fun.

When it was first announced, many initially felt increasingly ripped off by the Taiko Team because they were 'just using all the songs from 12 and stuffing a few new ones in to create a new arcade version'. That sentiment would soon fade. 12.5 introduced far better songs than 12 could ever have done. The 12 Asia exclusive secret songs were put on a Japanese machine for the first time, and joined by four to five new Namco Originals, and also Hatsune Miku's first ever Taiko debut 'Melt' and 9mm Parabellum Bullet's 'Punishment' which dethroned Kurenai as the toughest J-Pop song.

Lots of other record-swapping activities took place. 12.5 is currently the one with the most secret songs (though 14 will change that), and all ten of them are well-accepted Namco Originals and great songs. 12.5 introduced Ryougen no Mai, a song so tough it's put up together with some of the hardest songs in history. 12.5 introduced more Ura Oni difficulties than any other arcade too, and crazy ones at that. Even the easiest children song, Mori no Kuma-san, got a Ura Oni that would have most players screaming in frustration (play it to find out!)

All the changes are within the software, in the song list. As for gameplay changes, well, it's the same as Taiko 12, and 11 before it. Not much has changed in the past few years, but the widespread popularity of Taiko 12.5 when code after code were revealed, proved that while improving gameplay of Taiko was still important, the song selection will always be king.

Taiko 12.5 secret code 1
Taiko 12.5 secret code 2
Taiko 12.5 secret code 3
Taiko 12.5 secret code 4
Taiko 12.5 secret code 5

Pre-code song unlock

Taiko no Tatsujin 10 song list

The 10th arcade Taiko, released on July 2007. Another big step for the series, this version was the first one to have secret unlockable songs deep within the arcade software. They are unlocked by hitting the rims of the drum in a certain order after your coins are slotted in. The methods of unlocking secret songs would be placed on Namco's official Taiko blog (which was started together with Taiko 10 and DS1).

Not many other changes were made, except now, instead of 'Game Over', the arcade presents the message in full Japanese (it says 'おしまい　まだあそんだね！-oshimai, mada asonda ne! ' meaning 'The game has ended, come play again soon!') and an option is presented to people who still prefer to see the songs arranged by difficulty- just hit the left and right rims quickly one after the other at the song selection screen to switch orders. Plus, the tutorial is no longer forced onto players selecting Kantan, instead placing an option to open the tutorial right next to Kantan. You can skip it with 5 taps on the rim, and it disappears altogether if you open the Oni difficulty.

Medal no Tatsujin

Medal no Tatsujin is a lesser known spinoff of Taiko no Tatsujin, released on April 2005, and unlike the rhythm game, doesn't feature drums of any sort. In fact the gameplay of Medal no Tatsujin is almost completely different. Medal no Tatsujin Doki~tsu! Ōatari-darake no Sugoroku Matsuri (メダルの達人 ドキッ!大当たりだらけのすごろく祭り), its full name, is actually a board game, with dice.

Song of the week! 23 October 2010

 

It's Saturday again. That means it's time for another Song of the Week! We'll feature two songs this week. Which ones? Read more to find out!

Taiko no Tatsujin Red/Blue

The first two Taiko soundtrack CDs, each containing about 30 songs from various genres. Both Taiko no Tatsujin Red (太鼓の達人 レッド) and Taiko no Tatsujin Blue (太鼓の達人 ブルー) were released on April 23, 2003, and are named for the colors of Don-chan and Kat-chan (the two different colors of notes used in the Taiko no Tatsujin game). Red/Blue were released to coincide with the first (and second) Taiko console game on PS2.

There are no major differences between the two. Red has anime songs, Blue leans towards J-Pop songs, and the rest is made up of a mixture of the other genres. The final song in each CD (number 33) is a medley of all the songs before it on the disc, and neither one of them has appeared on any Taiko game, ever.

Being such an old album, Red/Blue is long out of print, and has become a desirable collector's item, fetching quite a high price on online auction sites.

Namco Original Showcase: Taiko Ranbu Songs

'Ranbu' literally means, 'wild dance'. When the series first started on Taiko DS1, it was innovative in that completely no music of any sort was involved at all. Instead, the BGM was fully made up of a team of Taiko drummers performing. Three separate songs with three separate styles of note patterns, played to the tune of the same performance. This was composed by Masubuchi Yuuji.

All songs in the series are in Namco Original and have 'Ranbu' in its name.

Taiko no Tatsujin Wii: Do-Don to Nidaime! song list

The second Wii Taiko game, released on November 2009. Continues what made the first one a joy to own- a huge song list of over 70 songs, great variety and family fun, plus unprecedented fan service. This time the big shock to Taiko fans was the inclusion of Ura Oni difficulties in a console Taiko game, for the first time ever! Unlike in the arcade, Ura Oni are selectable in a separate panel from their regular counterparts and have full difficulty sets, so instead of 70 songs, there are actually 79 in Taiko Wii 2. Unlike the first game, which was all packaged with a Wii Tatacon for obvious reasons, you can buy Wii 2 with or without a Tatacon, which is easier on the wallet.

Not many new gameplay elements were introduced, aside from the boss battles, interspersed throughout the interesting story mode, involving a new character, Arumi-chan. It's identical to DS2, all you have to do is hit notes to lower the boss HP and you win when your HP exceeds the boss at the end of the song. Progressing through it involves the same method used in Wii1, by filling up the Tamashii gauge to bring back Arumi-chan's memories of who she really is.

Wii 2 is the first Taiko to acknowledge a full combo at the end of the song with a simple animation, which later becomes a permanent feature in both arcade and console, and has a simpler version of the costume system from DS1, in that you don't get to change Don-chan's body color, just the clothes that he wears, in one set instead of two. It also features the training dojo and most of the other stuff from Wii 1.



Costume gallery
List of bosses in the game

~  Theme song ~ 

LaLaLa☆Happiness (ららら☆ハッピネス)

Taiko no Tatsujin- Doka! to Oomori Nanadaime song list

The seventh and final PS2 Taiko game, released just in time for Christmas, on December 2006. One of the most successful versions of the game on this console, not least because of its expansive song list and wonderful song choice. Nanadaime was the one which introduced us to some of the most memorable tracks in the entire series. After 2 to 3 PS2 games without an ending theme, Nanadaime lets it go with a bang- it has both an opening and an ending song, the latter of which has become one of the most enduring classics in Namco Original, Densetsu no Matsuri (The Legendary Festival).

The final game modifier, the Reverse mode, was added here. The gameplay remains largely the same aside from that. What's different was the addition of the Waku Waku Bouken Land, which features ten sets of increasingly difficult challenges, the Taiko Towers. Each of them are very clever, innovative spins on the different aspects of Taiko, including multiple balloon and yam notes, increasing BPM, and fast notes hidden behind slow drumrolls. It's here that the nonstop note streams of the Ura Oni mode of Yawaraka Sensha was made.



List and videos of all Taiko Towers

~ Opening song ~
Bouken-biyori (冒険日和)

~ Ending song ~
Densetsu no Matsuri (伝説の祭り)

Song of the Week! 16 October 2010

 

Lokamp on air! From now on, Taiko Time will have a Song of the Week section to feature trivia and interesting facts about all the different songs in the series, that aren't already covered in the Song Series section. If you have some preferences or suggestion about particular tunes, just post a comment, or email any of the contributors!

And our very first song of the week is...

Taiko no Tatsujin Wii song list

Taiko no Tatsujin Wii was released in December 2008, and is the culmination of two versions (DS1 and 2) experimenting with the casual gaming crowd and the appeal of Taiko no Tatsujin to them. Who could resist buying a Wii game with family-friendly fun, likeable songs, and cute graphics? The Wii versions of Taiko get their own version of the plastic Tatacon accessory, connected to the back of the Wiimote and operated wirelessly. PS2 tatacons are not compatible on Wii, and vice versa.

In terms of song choice, Namco didn't just please the casual crowd, it bowled series' fans completely over by having the largest total number of songs in a single console game, save PSP2 and later PSP DX, counting downloads. It is the first console version to shift the songlist focus way more heavily towards Namco Originals, which constitutes a whopping 3/7th of the total number. As if that wasn't enough, all ten songs in the infamously difficult 2000 series at the time (up to X-DAY 2000) were in here, along with many modern favorites in Namco Original. It truly was the compilation to have.

The story mode was integrated into play mode by filling up the Tamashii gauge and leveling a baby Don up to make him grow. As he grows up and matures, you're rewarded with songs, sounds and costumes. You even get to play as Mekadon! In a way, it's similar to the Don Point system from the PS2 games, only presented differently. Two-way multiplayer is supported, and each player can mind their own business and play on whichever difficulty they please, though players can't compete with each other if the difficulty isn't the same (they play together, but there is no winner/loser). A Challenge Dojo is here and is different to the one on DS in that you can challenge it as many times as you want with many different stages to go through, though of course there's a new one unlocked every day for 15 days. There are no minigames here either.

Features in Taiko Wii which are currently exclusive to all Taiko games on Wii are song lyrics for all songs with vocals, including all anime and J-Pop songs, and Miis showing up on the bottom of the screen as dancers.



Full costume list

~  Theme song ~  
Happy de Rippa! (ハッピーでリッパ！)

Namco Taiko Blog (14 October 2010)- Taiko no Tatsujin Wii 3 official reveal

There goes Taiko's short-lived dabbling in Story Modes (DS2, Wii 1, 2, DS3). The official Taiko blog confirms the release date and total songs for the newest game in the series, Taiko no Tatsujin Wii: Minna de Party Sandaime! as December 2, featuring 70 songs (not counting Ura difficulties) as with previous Wii games. Instead of another story mode, Namco brings the focus back to what Wii is all about- the parties. Like it or not, good games or not, Wii has always been a party machine. Taiko Wii 3 must be the bajillionth Wii game to have the word 'party' in its title (seriously, stop it. It's overused).

The party element comes from having Taiko-related minigames in a place called the Dream Taiko Land (ドリームたいこランド) and although the way they work is still not known, they're themed around the usual carnival fodder- haunted house, jungle, pirate ship...and Namco's own Wani Wani Panic. The last time a fun fair was used in a Taiko game was in PS2 Nanadaime, so it'll be interesting to see how this turns out.

The other gimmick being promoted this time is the 4-player simultaneous play. Minds were blown as to how FOUR FREAKING BARS OF NOTES can be fit on-screen at once, but they've achieved the impossible, and still has space for the song lyrics (don't worry, it won't obscure Player 4's view of things). Part of the unnamed Wii 3 theme song was shown in 4-way play. Getting 4 friends together is fine, but not when you're playing on super pro Oni mode and the rest stuck trying to clear Futsuu. Hahahah....getting 4 Taiko experts together is no mean feat. But if the DS can do it, why not Wii?



The official site is also up, and it's showing the really festive, yellow box, the above video, and screenshots of the Dream Taiko Land. Oh, don't miss the button on the top left to turn on the music! The theme song is quite good this time, go give it a listen!

http://taikowii3.namco-ch.net/

As for the song list, we're in pretty good hands. Black Rock Shooter, Pirameki Taisou, a new Totoro song, and (expected/10) Monster Hunter Medley. *waits for awesome Namco Original list*

Anyway, remember the date Taiko fans will break down and go crazy all over again! December 2 2010! Wow, and just 5 months after DS3 too...

Link to original post

P.S. The hidden entry in the source code of that blog post states there will be an important update next week, probably pertaining to Taiko 14's secret songs. (thanks, crystalsuicune!)

Taiko no Tatsujin Portable 2 song list

One of Namco's most successful and comprehensive Taiko games to date. Taiko no Tatsujin Portable 2 was released on the PSP on September 2006, and is sometimes viewed as an expansion pack to the first game, as many Namco Originals previously downloadable on PSP1 are included in PSP2, and new downloadable songs are provided.

Discounting the console games and downloadable songs, Taiko Portable 2 has the biggest handheld song library to date prior to its successor, boasting a total of 62 songs (although admittedly many of those were repeats from PSP1). Add in the downloadable songs and its total number exceed that of any Taiko game ever made. This makes up for the fact that, again, PSP cannot support a simulated drum controller. It is also the first console Taiko to feature a Story mode, which is done in 5 chapters and includes a stage play, quiz, and songs to play. Unlike the later Story modes in Taiko DS, this one is comparatively linear.

To commemorate the success of the download system, Namco re-introduced support for the download service for PSP2 in May 2010 (which ended in January 2011 to make way for the release of Portable DX), introducing at least 2 new songs per month from the later Taiko games after Portable 2's generation. There are 20 of these.



How to download songs
List of new download packs (May 2010- January 2011)

~ Opening song ~
Kumo Made Todoke! (くもまでとどけ！)

Namco Original Showcase: Mika Songs

This song series is in the Namco Original genre, and is named after the person who provides vocals for all the songs, Mika Sato (佐藤美香). Mika's voice has a distant, almost mechanical quality that is very distinct. You'll instantly know if a song in Namco Original is sung by her. She explores unusual themes for her songs. She started off her vocalist career in Taiko fairly early, and comes out with one song every two to three versions or so. It's not one of the most highly anticipated series in Taiko, but it's very recognizable when there is a new song. It is unknown whether this is the same Mika Sato who is a Japanese pianist (is looking into that now), but it looks to be highly unlikely.

Masubuchi Yuuji (増渕裕二) composes every song here for her to sing.

Taiko no Tatsujin Wii 3 art and details

It's not exactly the box art, but you get an idea of the general color scheme and logo through this.

And what's a Wii party without minigames and lots of people? This is the first Taiko Wii game to feature four-way multiplayer in regular Game Mode! Wait, how will the screen be split for that? As for minigames, there's definitely going to be a few of them, including the frequently-seen Namco kids arcade game, Wani Wani Panic (click for image). Um, yay?

The song list is correct, but the total number of songs is still unknown (hope it's >70).

Taiko no Tatsujin Portable Song List

Taiko no Tatsujin Portable was released on August 2005 alongside Tobikkiri! Anime Special. It is the first handheld Taiko, and the first console Taiko to be released outside of PS2. As the PSP has the exact same button setup as the Dual Shock, Taiko games can easily be made for PSP. The downside is that no simulated drum-style controller can be connected to it, unlike the Tatacon for PS2 and Wii and the touch-screen for DS.

Portable makes up for it by having a large, expansive song list consisting of many popular songs and Namco Originals and is also the only platform that supports downloading extra songs online, which are stored as .don and .kat files on the PSP's memory stick (which changed to the usage of .edat files for PSP DX). Support for Portable 1's downloadable songs stopped as soon as its successor, Portable 2, was released, but you can still download the existing songs to this day. To give a comparison of the average size of one song, you can store a maximum of 19 songs in an empty 32MB memory stick. (source)

The PSP Taiko games are also the only ones to have the Bell note, which makes use of the analog stick below the PSP's D-Pad. Two PSPs can play together in competitive multiplayer, and if you only have one, you and your partner can share the PSP too! D-Pad and L button for 1P, and ○△×□ and R button for 2P! Imagine all the trembling and laughing that ought to cause.



How to download songs

~ Opening song ~
Nijiiro Yumeiro Taikoiro (虹色・夢色・太鼓色)

No. of songs	38 (total 60)
No. of secret songs	4
No. of downloadable songs	22

Partial Taiko Wii 3 songlist published!

Fresh news from crystalsuicune! The japanese Taiko-listing site Wikihouse has published some of the songs we are going to see next december on Taiko's third Wii release. Most of them comes from pre-existing arcade/console games, but there's something totally new, too! Here's a little pick:

Note: Songs marked with a green New! make their first console appearance on Taiko Wii 3, but the red-marked songs are exclusives of this game. Check it out!

J-POP
New! Tamashii Rebory Ushon (タマシイレボリューション)
New! Kimi Ga Iru (キミがいる)
New! Ring a Ding Dong
New! Butterfly Kimura Kaera (Butterfly　木村カエラ)
New! VICTORY
New! Mata Kimi ni Koishi Teru (また君に恋してる)
New! Ponītēru to Shushu (ポニーテールとシュシュ)
New! Hiro (ヒーロー)
Sobakasu (そばかす)


Anime
New! Yukaitsūkai Kaibutsu-kun (ユカイツーカイ怪物くん)
New! Sanpo (さんぽ)
New! One day
New! Tomeidatta Sekai (透明だった世界)
New! Mainichi Kasan (毎日かあさん)
New! Kimi ga Shuyaku Sa~tsu! (君が主役さっ！)
New! GO-GO Tamagotchi! (GO-GOたまごっち！)
Gake no Ue no Ponyo (崖の上のポニョ)
Saikou Everyday! (サイコー・エブリデイ！)
Tensou Sentai Goseiger (天装戦隊ゴセイジャー) 
Alright! Heart Catch Precure (Alright! ハートキャッチプリキュア！)

Variety
New! Pirameki Taisō Taiko de Metabo Yattsukero! No Maki (ピラメキたいそう　太鼓でメタボやっつけろ！の巻)
New!  Black Rock Shooter (ブラック★ロックシューター)

Classic
Symphony No. 7 (交響曲第７番から)
The Nutcracker Suite (行進曲「くるみ割り人形」から)

Game Song
New! L・O・B・M
New! Monster Hunter Medley (モンスターハンターメドレー)
Overmaster (オーバーマスター)
No Way Back

No infos about Children/Folk and Namco Original selection, so far. Stay tuned!



 

Namco Taiko Blog (7 October 2010)- Taiko no Tatsujin Portable 2 6th download pack

Today, Namco announced another two songs to be available for download on Taiko no Tatsujin Portable 2 for the month of October. The two songs are...

Kimi no Akari
Symphonic Motos

Oh my god. Kimi no Akari. Taiko 13's ending song, on its first console debut. And I was really hoping for it to come to Taiko Wii 3...There's still hope though, if Namco has some sense.

The other is the orchestral remix of music from the game Motos, not seen since Taiko 10.

When can you expect to download them? October 20th, about two weeks off. Don't forget!

Link to original article

Taiko no Tatsujin: Tobikkiri! Anime Special

The second and final anime song compilation on PS2 Taiko, released on August 2005. Much has changed since the release of Anime Matsuri, the graphics have been improved greatly, the music is of higher quality, new and better gameplay mechanics were introduced, and the song list is beefed up. Game modifiers, Go-Go Time and the new genres were introduced along the way to Anime Special's release. As usual, the majority of songs in this game are in the Anime genre, with a small number of Namco Originals.

In terms of game mechanics, this is also the first Taiko to show the number of times you hit drumrolls on the screen (this carries over to Rokudaime and all subsequent versions). The song list includes Rising Weather Hallelujah (or, Kaisei Joushou Hallelujah), the first 10* Oni Anime song of the whole series.

By the end of August of the same year, a soundtrack CD of the game was released with 23 of its songs on one disc, including half the anime list and popular Namco Originals.

~ Opening song ~
Hibike! Taiko no Tatsujin (響け！太鼓の達人)