Unlike Taiko PSP DX which had an immense gap to fill with songs that PSP owners had not played before (and it did a stunning job too), the expectations from Taiko Wii 4 are much lower. After all, all the best from the Taiko 12, 13 and 14 generations save for a few songs have been included in the three Wii Taikos' massive tracklists, and there's not much ground left to cover.
Hence, Wii4 faces the exact opposite problem from PSP DX; instead of needing to include too many songs in a limited list, it finds itself with too much space and not many existing songs to fill it. Well, there will be enough, but not without significant overlap with previous Wii versions. This is an opinion-divider; some might not mind having a few of the same songs, but when it's songs that people have played to death already, you can't help but feel short changed. What do you think?
A lot of this overlap comes from the unexpectedly influential memories poll Namco held. Angel Dream, Hakuchou no Mizuumi, Saitama 2000, Senpuu no Mai, The Carnivorous Carnival, New Super Mario Bros...(assuming the rumors hold true)...aren't you getting a little worried? All the songs I mentioned are playable on another Wii Taiko. Would you want to play them again when you can readily do so in an already existing version on the same console?
Of course, not everything nominated in the memories poll has been on Wii (KAGEKIYO currently being the sole example), but what's not known is how much of that poll Namco is going to utilize for the songlist. Top 10 of every genre? Top 3? Are some genres going to be left out? (personally I hope at least one Variety song from the poll makes it, because you-know-what is right at the very top of the pack in that genre *wink*).
And then there's the everlasting discussion over new songs every time a new Taiko comes up. For Wii 4, 31 songs have been shown so far, 47 if the rumor list is true (including the Usavich Medley). Let's say another 20 spots will be used up for player-chosen songs (painful overlapping...!). That would make 67, and 33 spots left for brand-new songs from PSP DX, Taiko HD and who knows what else, which is quite a lot of potential. Anything on your wishlists? SORA-VI? Another new Garyoutensei, Kikyoku or .ac song? Better licensed songs (looking at you, Connect)? Old song remakes with Ura difficulties? Anyone here still hoping that Miku no Shoushitsu and Red Rose Evangel will be part of Wii4's songlist (both are currently exclusive to Taiko HD)?
So much of Wii4 is dead predictable, but under the surface, so much that we don't know. What does Namco have under their sleeve for this one? There's a little over a month left to its release, and half a month left to New Taiko which will definitely show some new songs that could be on Wii4. In any case, I'm still excited. Are you?
