The exact release date of this is unknown, but information seems to point to somewhere in November 2004. Taiko no Tatsujin RT ~Nippon no Kokoro~ (lit. Heart of Japan) is a simpler version of Taiko, one of Namco's three different RT (rehabilitation) game machines, and is not a game most people would get to play. Not that they would want to; the main purpose of this Taiko machine isn't to insert coins, hit all the notes and get high scores, but instead acts as a digital interactive mode of physiotherapy in Japanese hospitals to help injured people, especially old folks, to regain their limb strength, and precedes more current alternatives like Wii Fit. Namco calls it 'rehabilitation meets entertainment, or rehabilitation-ment'.
Adjustments made for this purpose are lowered positions of the drums for wheelchair-bound people to play, belts to help patients grip the drum sticks, and much, much simpler notes than anything in the regular arcade. The Tamashii bar which denotes a pass or fail becomes a Strength bar. A special mode aside from normal play is the 'drum hitting' mode, where no music is played, it's just a place where patients can drum to their heart's content while fireworks and festivals play out in the background. Other than that the interface resembles that of the old Taiko engine from Taiko 1 to 6.
RT Taiko has 20 songs, of which 19 are old Japanese folk songs and children songs, and one Namco Original. Nearly all of them are exclusive to RT, and the songs were chosen specifically for its much older target audience. It only has two difficulties, Kantan for training, and Futsuu for following simple rhythm. Not much information is available for genre and difficulty levels of each song, save for a few videos on Youtube. There is also a software to raise RT's version to Taiko 6, which includes all 58 songs in the normal Taiko 6, but very limited information on this bit.
In 2006, Namco released a PDF document, which was a report of the effectiveness of its three 'rehabilitation-ment' machines. Kudos to them for having a heart to help the society!
| Title | Genre |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kiso Bushi (木曽節) | Folk (Children/Folk) | x1 | x1 (video) |
| Dondokodon Seasons (春夏秋冬ドンドコドン) | Ondo (Namco Original) | x1 | x1 (video) |
| Fujisan (富士山) | Nursery Rhyme (Children/Folk) | x1 | x1 (video) |
| Mura Matsuri (村祭り) | Nursery Rhyme (Children/Folk) | x1 | x1 (video) |
| Momiji (もみじ) | Nursery Rhyme (Children/Folk) | x1 | x1 (video) |
| Amefuri Otsuki (雨降りお月) | Nursery Rhyme (Children/Folk) | x2 | x2 (video) |
| Umeboshi no Uta (うめぼしのうた) | Shoka (Children/Folk) | x1 | x2 (video) |
| Kuroda Bushi (黒田節) | Folk (Children/Folk) | x1 | x2 (video) |
| Koujou no Tsuki (荒城の月) | Nursery Rhyme (Children/Folk) | x2 | x2 (video) |
| Konpira Fune Fune (金毘羅船船) | Nursery Rhyme (Children/Folk) | x1 | x2 (video) |
| Sohran Bushi (RT ver.) (ソーラン節（RT版）) | Folk (Children/Folk) | x1 | x2 (video) |
| Tankou Bushi (RT ver.) (炭坑節（RT版）) | Folk (Children/Folk) | x2 | x2 (video) |
| Chatsumi (茶摘み) | Nursery Rhyme (Children/Folk) | x2 | x2 (video) |
| Don Pan Bushi (RT ver.) (ドンパン節（RT版）) | Folk (Children/Folk) | x1 | x2 (video) |
| Furusato (ふるさと) | Nursery Rhyme (Children/Folk) | x1 | x2 (video) |
| Warabe Uta Medley (わらべうたメドレー) | Children (Children/Folk) | x2 | x2 (video) |
| Ware wa Umi no Ko (我は海の子) | Nursery Rhyme (Children/Folk) | x1 | x2 (video) |
| Haru ga Kita (春が来た) | Nursery Rhyme (Children/Folk) | x1 | x3 (video) |
| Momotaro (桃太郎) | Nursery Rhyme (Children/Folk) | x2 | x3 (video) |
| Yuki (雪) | Nursery Rhyme (Children/Folk) | x2 | x3 (video) |
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