Twitter Snippets (31 July 2014) - Silver Forest's future Taiko song

Silver Forest夏コミ新作から1曲試聴mp3 太鼓の達人にも収録されるよ mp3→http://t.co/ckwdvZkUP2 サイト→http://t.co/uACE1KlLmG 【東6シ-34a】#toho #C86 #シルフォレ #taiko765
— Silver Forest土シ34a委託 (@Silver_Forest) 31 Luglio 2014

Touhou music circle Silver Forest isn't surely a stranger to the Taiko lore, being behind the creation of Taiko 0 default Namco Original Chiheisen no Aeolia and -of course- Kero⑨destiny from the Touhou Arrange project.

What is unheard of is, instead, the announcement of another brand new Namco Original in form of a tweet, being also re-twitted by the Taiko Team as well! According to Silver Forest's official website, their latest commissioned song for Taiko games will be called Mugen no Sora (夢幻の蒼空), featuring SAYA as the female vocalist. This song will be also featured on Silver Forest's next CD as well, debuting in the coming Comic Market expo from August 15~17!

On the tweet above there's also the link for a generous extract from the song, so go and give it a shot!

Namco Taiko Blog (31 July 2014) - Kimidori's Summer-styled Donchare

The monthly arcade feature will return from tomorrow for the latest Taiko arcade firmware! Let's see what is going to be delivered this time...

Taiko Tourney 2014 - Area Preliminary Postcards

  

 

And the Area Preliminary events has concluded for the Taiwan Tournament 2014! The above 5 photos shows all 16 finalists emerged from the contest, each taking home one special Momoiro Banapassport card and a certificate to prove it. Great job and congratulations! We will be seeing them again in the finals on August 30.

Check out Sume's official albums on Facebook to see more of the matches!

Official Taiwan Tourney 2014 Albums by Sume
Taoyuan/Hsinchu Area (桃竹區, July 12)
Jiayi/Tainan Area (嘉南區, July 13)
Northern Area (北區, July 19)
Southern Area (南區, July 20)
Central Area (中區, July 27)

Tournament Rules and Regulations

Site Announcement - Taiko Time Twitter!

Per this message we received from the chatbox:

Name: You should create a twitter account that (auto) posts a twitter every time a new article is created
Name: This would be incredibly helpful and your blog may become more famous

Well Name, we have not disappointed you, so here you go: the blog's very own Twitter feed @taikotimeblog! We had a soft release a few weeks back, and now we are confidently announcing a full opening!

And it's live! -tetsu
— Taiko Time (@taikotimeblog) July 12, 2014

Although not automatically, we will be tweeting out our latest articles. This would be a good way to keep track of our many features and reports!

Song of the Week (July 26 2014) - Have you been watching Japanese TV dramas? A Variety double feature. http://t.co/dAaDsOBkdT
— Taiko Time (@taikotimeblog) July 27, 2014

The feed will also feature tweets on real-time Taiko scope, and retweets to noteworthy tweets from other Donders, before we come up with a complete article here.

Taiwan Tourney 2014: The fifth and final Area Preliminary in Central District (中區) has just started! See the last 3 finalists emerge!
— Taiko Time (@taikotimeblog) July 27, 2014

And like the chatbox and Facebook page, we also welcome Song of the Week and Made By You submissions, as well as any general creative works. We are happy to help share them out!

So follow us today! We are at https://twitter.com/taikotimeblog. And as always thanks for sticking with us for your Taiko no Tatsujin news!

List of titles in Taiko no Tatsujin (Kimidori Version)

The title system was introduced by a firmware update in Taiko 0, and gives players with access to Banapassports nicknames to put beside their usernames while they play, as a mark of their in-game achievements, much like in other rhythm games with user profiles. The titles can be interchanged in Donder Hiroba when you have obtained them, and the one currently selected will display on the arcade screen wherever the player name is. Some titles unlock hidden content like songs and costumes.

It is possible to get more than one title in a go by overlapping the conditions for unlocking them. In addition, for newer players, Don Points (DP) will also be given out for titles they get.

Almost all the titles from the Momoiro Version are available on Kimidori as well, with the addition of new title unlocks. Once again, titles are not ordered under a numerical order.

Titles are listed below, translated into English wherever possible.

Song of the Week! 26 July 2014

This year, songs from the Variety genre often tend to appear in couples for this feature! Today, it's another one of these kinds of double-feature.

Taiko no Tatsujin Kimidori Version: Rewards Shop

 

Continuing from Taiko Momoiro, the Rewards Shop is a service on the Donder Hiroba website, where players can access their play data and customize their costumes, Don-chan colors and titles. The shop makes use of the accumulated Don Points (which were useless in previous HD arcade firmwares after the counter was maxed out) by allowing players to use them as currency to buy things like costumes and costume parts.

All the not-limited items which were purchasable with Taiko Momoiro arcades can also be purchased by Banapassport newcomers on Taiko Kimidori, as well as new items since the latest arcade firmware's launch.

Twitter Snippets (July 25 2014) - The Day I Met G

【告知です】8月6日～ AC太鼓の達人 キミドリVer.にて、 僕の新曲『Ｇ意識過剰』が配信されます！ Ｇと出逢ってしまった女性の気持ちを歌った曲です。 選曲して頂いた際は、素早く逃げるＧを叩くイメージでプレイされるとイイと思います。 よろしくお願いします！ #taiko765
— かねこちはる@新曲8月6日配信 (@Chiharu_v9) July 25, 2014

Context from today's surprise blog update, did you wonder what G 意識過剰 actually means? Let's put it literally as "an excess of consciousness of G" with the context the composer Kaneko Chiharu provided through this tweet.

As far as the tweet's capacity can convey, the song will be sung in the shoes of a female who had an encounter with this fellow, mysteriously named simply G. When you choose the song, it is recommended to play with "the image of hitting him trying to escape as quickly as possible". That... is kinda wrong. Very wrong, in fact, if I may add.

Anyway, the song and its charts will hit Kimidori in two weeks. Let's see if you share this sentiment!

Namco Taiko Blog (25/07/14) - Kimidori Version's first update

Yesterday's promised other entry for the Taiko Team's blog ultimately turned out to be the announcement of Game Version 1.05 for the Kimidori arcade firmware, the first one for the latest firmware brand. Wanna know what's inside?

Small Update: Taiko no Tatsujin: Don to Katsu no Jikuu Daibouken Version 1.1.0

Those who boot up their Home menu on their JP 3DSes and are connected online will see a message scrolling beneath the splash screen for Taiko 3DS2 prompting a software update from the eShop. It's nothing major; a preparatory update for handling DLC quests, the first of which will be released tomorrow (together with five DLC songs!).

It's 17 blocks large, and without it, you will be unable to play DLC quests, so it's pretty important regardless.

Namco Taiko Blog (24 July 2014): Awesome Taiko toys

Today's blog entry is for the announcement of two new Taiko no Tatsujin toys. These aren't your average toys; they're quite the deluxe sets!

The first one is 'Hit When it Lights Up! Rhythm da-don!' (太鼓の達人　光ってたたいてリズムだドン！)

Twitter Snippets: 4 new songs for Taiko Momoiro (Asia)

Surprise update just now from the Taiko Team! Even as Japan embraces Kimidori, Momoiro Asia continues to get support, with four songs introduced a few months ago on its Japanese counterpart: the three Touhou songs and the other song from the two Pokemon XY Medleys!

Variety

• Cirnos Perfect Math Class
• Grip & Break down!! -Tatsujin Edit-
• MeGa/PoSi*Love/Call

Game Music

• Pokemon XY Wild Pokemon Battle Medley

The update hits tomorrow so players will get to try the songs right away, Ura modes and all! Have fun!

A Kimidori Summer Welcome (15/7/2014)

At long last, here's a handy recap of the Taiko Team's July livestream session, where almost every recently-released game from our drumming franchise got its chance to shine, together with pre-release announcements about Kimidori Version's first new features and limited events. Let's begin!

(screenshots and stream coverage courtesy of tetsutaro, crystalsuicune and Lokamp!)

Taiko no Tatsujin Kimidori Version unlock list

All unlockables are limited to Banapassport users only.

Taiko 3DS2 QR Code Page

Any and all QR Codes will be posted here for convenient scanning.

Instead of relying on secret passwords like in previous handheld games, Namco finally makes use of the 3DS' ability to read QR Codes to distribute some new content; in this case, new team members for use in the Great Space-Time Adventure story mode. Many of them are recolors of existing enemies, however some are all-new.

To scan a QR Code, go to Game Settings on the Main Menu and tap QR Code. Wait for the outer camera to prepare itself and line up the screen with the code (screens above from left to right showing the menus involved, provided by Famitsu). You'll instantly know if the read is successful, and the monster will be in your party the next time you enter Story Mode!

There are other items obtained through QR Code such as promotional costumes and usable items for Story Mode.

Note: QR codes that are given out through issues of magazines and Game Corners of department stores will not be posted here (though they are available elsewhere online) as it is part of their promotional revenue and putting them out here is tantamount to stealing. Only free-for-all codes will be shown in this post, including expired promotional codes that are put up on Taiko 3DS2's official site.

Taiko no Tatsujin 3DS2 Story Mode Data: Costumes and Items

**Incomplete as of now. Do tell us if you have more information!**

Random: Don-Chan in Yokai Watch 2

After spotting Level-5's latest succesful franchise on Taiko games several times in form of both the Anime-related track and the many Jibanyan cameos in Taiko (with the latest one being a recruitable party member for Taiko 3DS 2's Story mode), it makes sense to feature some Taiko love in the latest Yokai Watch game as well!

The spirit of Taiko games' drumming mascot can be spotted and fought in the franchise's second entry, as the video above shows. It's also being rendered in 3D!

Song of the Week! 19 July 2014

In a rather unusual trend, the introduction on newer Namco Original songs for the arcades heavilly gravitates around female singers. Today we're featuring two of these Day 1 female-inspired songs!

From Time To Time! Taiko 3DS 2 Boss Battles

Spoiler warning ahead.

As the game's title states, the story mode this time around is about the time travels of the two drum siblings Don and Katsu, on a journey with their rabbit friend Takkun in order to rescue the pocket clock Tikkun from the Professor Timedine and his helpers, who intend to use Tikkun's powers and mold the world to their will.

While both the random enemy encounters and boss battles work in the same way of the previous Taiko portable games in terms of visual distractions and harmful Bomb notes, the big change this time around lies in Don and Katsu's party members. Up to 4 allies gathered from the game's time eras are used in order to deal damage to the enemies, also granting a special attack boost for a few seconds while a special bar on the lower screen is fully charged.

Through the extra Story Mode chapters being delivered by the Popular Song DLC packs, seven of the main story's boss characters make their comeback in a particular Ura variant. Overall, their presence in the extra Story Mode scenarios is being justified by the space-time alterations caused by Professor Timedine and his gang, appearing in form of space-time swirls that cause havoc in different locations and characters from the previous Taiko no Tatsujin games. In battle, Ura bosses are stronger than their regular counterparts and present many new features, such as a color palette swap, a different song for the fight and new notechart/visual distraction gimmicks for the fight.

Taiko 3DS's Story mode has 10 boss battles. Ura versions of said boss fights will be noted right below the original boss fight description, marking in red the song being used for the Ura fight.

Namco Taiko Blog (July 17 2014) - Livestream Recap and 4th Outfit Contest

Good morning guys! Having fun with Kimidori? Today we look at the livestream goals results and the written announcement of the 4th Outfit Contest.

Our own recap is still underway. Stay tuned!

Taiko no Tatsujin Kimidori Version update post

The race is on! Find out what the latest Taiko arcade firmware has to offer on release day here!

No. of updates: 19

Taiko no Tatsujin Kimidori Version song list

Red, yellow, blue, pink....the only basic color that has not yet been used is green. So green it is! Taiko no Tatsujin Kimidori Version (lit. yellow-green) is the 5th HDD upgrade to the 2011 Taiko arcade models.n It comes seven months after Momoiro Version (hence making Momoiro the shortest Taiko HD cycle yet) and once again all of its Banapassport features are carried over, like the Rewards Shop and the upgraded title and outfit customization features, as well as all the events and other stuff.

Besides the new songs, this software upgrade introduces more folders for Banapassport players to sort songs in more ways, in addition to the already-available 'Osusume' (popular) folder and the Recently Played folder. While some of the new folders are permanent and are there for convenience ('Favorite', 'Taiko School' , ...),  many others are made for special events, such as a folder for the firmware's latest songs and collaboration events (Touhou Arrange and Taiko 3DS 2 songs). Other minor graphical changes have been made through both the menu selection and in-game screen as well.

First video of Denshi-Drum no Tatsujin

While we are preparing our usual features upon the incoming firmware release and today's Taiko Team streaming session (which is still rolling at the time of this entry's redaction!), here's the first video of one of Kimidori Version's new default songs (4/6/7/9), being played by Etou during the stream by popular demand. Its main gimmick is its high speed and long length, making every cluster more and more difficult to bear as the song progresses.

Shortly after this post, we'll publish the proper Kimidori Version songlist, as the star ratings for all the new songs have been revealed. Stay tuned!

Taiko no Tatsujin Original Soundtrack - Girls Pop Mania

Released five months after the previous official mini-album, the second Taiko related album compilation by CLARICE DISC puts its focus on four brand new Namco Originals featuring female vocals (hence the 'girls' name), all of which were released on either Taiko no Tatsujin 3DS 2 or the arcade Kimidori Version.

Once again, the four songs of this mini-album come with three alternate versions each: Off-Vocal, Muzukashii and Oni mixes. The first edition run of the mini-album come bundled with a promotional Donko Coaster sticker, not available elsewhere.

Taiko Plus - Introducing the Donder! Japan Playoff Pack 2

While we are waiting for today's introductory Taiko Team stream about both the least arcade tourney's impressions and our first steps into the Kimidori firmware build, Taiko i-players can now please their drumming needs with another tournament-related pack.

First English trailer of Mario Kart Arcade GP DX

Uploaded yesterday on Bandai Namco's Japanese Youtube channel, here's the first English trailer for the latest arcade entry of the Mario Kart franchise. Now we have an official proof that Don-CHan's voice comes directly from the Japanese version with no English dubbing. It's also the first official mention to this drumming franchise as 'Taiko no Tatsujin' overseas!

Feature: Bad Jokes and Other Deleted Nonsense, Taiko Edition

Unless you have been living under a rock (wait then how do you read us), you should have heard of this large-scale human experiment of a free encyclopedia where everyone can edit, called Wikipedia (WP hereafter). As surly enough there are pages on WP about Taiko no Tatsujin!

But just as Twitch plays Pokemon shows, not exactly everyone can contribute positively to the project. Today we look at some of the less accurate and more absurd additions to the small Taiko no Tatsujin corner in WP.

Disclaimer: This is possibly the only BJAODN Taiko Edition we are doing. Do NOT go and deliberately vandalize Taiko no Tatsujin WP pages to get featured by us. You may be burnt at the stake by the otherwise-nice folks at WP.

Song of the Week! 12 July 2014

This year I've already talked about some of my absolute favorite Namco Original songs, so it feels quite natural to also feature some of the tunes from this genre which I'm not -really- fond of... oh, boy.

Taiko no Tatsujin 3DS2 Story Mode Data: Battle Members

**Incomplete as of now. Do tell us if you have more information!**

Taiko no Tatsujin in Smash Bros for 3DS/Wii U!

Nope, not playable Don-chan, and no trophy either (from what we currently know of the game).

But Don-chan's face appears when Pac-Man, the playable Namco representative in Smash Bros., does his up taunt, which features several 8-bit icons from Namco's past. Don-chan is the only one that isn't from the retro days.

Pac-Man seems to be representing most of Namco's major franchises in the game. Let's hope we get a Don-chan trophy in Smash 4 to make it complete!

Taiko no Tatsujin 3DS2 Story Mode Data: Songs Used

**Incomplete as of now. Do tell us if you have more information!**

Twitter Snippets (July 10 2014) - Puzzling Goals, Kimidori Livestream ver.

Update: Takemoto has revealed the answers. The three songs are Burning Force Medley, Surfside Satie and Akuukan Yuuei ac12.5. The location covered in squares is Huis Ten Bosch, where the 3D Projection Mapping Taiko is still in exhibition. [link]

というコトで、開発日記の下の方にひっそりと書かれていました、毎回恒例のコメントアチーブのプレゼントを発表いたします！！ 表を画像で載せましたので、ご覧ください。 。。。あれ？一番肝心な曲名が…(ゴシゴシ)(タケモト) pic.twitter.com/hvk71psjvI
— 太鼓チーム (@taiko_team) July 10, 2014

And we are not done with Kimidori news! Or specifically news about the livestream to Kimidori.

Here Takemoto presents us with a preliminary table for the comment goals for the livestream. And to prevent spoilers, some of the more crucial parts are hidden, but most are really similar with previous streams: free icons, shop bonuses, smartphone backgrounds and Etou's misadventures with the Tatsudon shirt among them. We will talk more when the full set is out.

Note also that this time there are three songs to be put up for limited revivals here, and the audience number also counts! Here are the hints translated by sound (i.e. exact spelling may be different). Can you make out what the songs are? Tell us below!

• [？？？] Medley
• [？？？]d  [？？？]i
• [？？？]

Namco Taiko Blog (10 July 2014) - Taiko Kimidori's Day 1 new songs and features!

Less than a week is left from the next major arcade firmware's release, and today's blog entry from the Taiko Team holds everything you should know about its first new features. What's new this time around?

Smartphone Taiko Adds More Kyary Pamyu Pamyu

【お知らせ】iOSアプリ太鼓の達人プラスにて「きゃりーぱみゅぱみゅぱっく2」配信中だドン！超人気曲が大集合！第一弾のぱっくとあわせて、チェックしてみてください♪ pic.twitter.com/y8zXTmqHwZ
— 太鼓チーム (@taiko_team) July 9, 2014

It's time again for iOS-wielding Taiko fans to fork out! As this promotional image says, the iOS Taiko no Tatsujin Plus has just added a second Kyary Pamyu Pamyu Pack. The pack gives you five more songs from the cutesy eccentric idol, bringing the artist's count in Taiko to eleven. Two of which are debuts here, again like the last pack (CANDY CANDY and Kyary ANAN).

• Kira Kira Killer / きらきらキラー NEW!
• Mottai Night Land / もったいないとらんど
• Invader Invader / インベーダーインベーダー
• Ninjary Bang Bang / にんじゃりばんばん
• Furisodeshon / ふりそでーしょん NEW!

And the Kyary goodness does not stop here! Onto Android users (with au SmartPass): five Kyary songs including the new Kira Kira Killer is also available on Shinkyoku Tori Houdai (for a limited time)! And if you play by August 8, you stand a chance being one of the 25 lucky players to win Kyary goods or Taiko stationery prizes!

Twitter Snippets (July 5-6 2014) - Taiko no Tatsujin 3D Projection Mapping Opening Weekend Postcards

いよいよ！明日7/5よりハウステンボスさんで太鼓の達人の3Dプロジェクションマッピングがお楽しみいただけます！ぜひ遊びにいってみて下さい！RT @HTB_official [ハウステンボス]3Dプロジェクションマッピング 太鼓の達人: http://t.co/ihBAoRWaNz
— 太鼓チーム (@taiko_team) July 4, 2014

The groundbreaking Taiko no Tatsujin 3D Project Mapping event in the Nagasaki theme park resort Huis Ten Bosch opens this weekend! Takemoto of Taiko Team is responsible to be at the resort for the opening weekend to look over matters of the exhibit, and he has been busy tweeting it out also!

Made By You: Entrance and more

We're back with another 3 maps! As always, keep sending in those charts.



A song from mobile rhythm game Cytus returns! Entrance was known as the hardest song in Cytus at initial release (updates have since provided harder songs). There are secret variations of the track available on Cytus as well; simply slide the wings on either side of the title into the center to access hidden difficulties.

The version above is the standard playable version, and tetsutaro's given it a full 10* treatment. With speed and tricky clusters that require handswitching, it lives up to the difficulty set by it's game of origin. Beware of the extremely long stream at the chorus!

Rules and First PV of Taiko no Tatsujin RPG Da-Don!

For a couple of days, we failed to mention on this blog the release of the latest Taiko no Tatsujin spinoff for i-devices, which also indirectly influenced our choice for yesterday's Song of the Week feature.

Let's recover the time lost with the game's first PV and some infos about the rules and other small nods to the main games!

Song of the Week! 5 July 2014

Time for an old J-Pop feature! Anyone familiar with other commercial rhythm games and Japanese music should recognize this song and this band; they're literally everywhere.

Namco Taiko Blog (4 July 2014): Taiko Momoiro Game Version 18.03

First and foremost, happy 4th of July to our readers from the United States!

With that said, the main content of today's blog entry from Namco is a wrap-up of everything related to Momoiro, in preparation for the transition to Kimidori.

Game Version 18.03 will be up for the Japanese region on July 9th, and the following changes take effect:

• Preparation for large firmware update
• Retirement of Dojo Ranking
• High scores no longer viewable in song select screen

So what will be new in Kimidori? The livestream on July 15th, 8pm Japan time will reveal some answers.

Each player will also get a special title corresponding to the highest rank they attained in Momoiro, e.g. if someone cleared 7-dan and can go no higher, they will get the 'Momoiro 7 Dan' (モモイロ７段) title. To be eligible for the title, register your JP Banapassport on Donder Hiroba before 2pm Japan time, July 16th.

High scores will be back as soon as Kimidori goes live, so not to worry!

Link to original post

Namco Taiko Blog (July 3 2014) - The Transition: What Gets Carried Over To Kimidori and other stories

Another week, another blog post from the Taiko Team! Today we look at the data to be transferred across the versions.

Taiko 3DS 2 first week sales

Media Create figures for the week ending June 29th, 2014.

01./00. [PSV] Freedom Wars (Sony Computer Entertainment) {2014.06.26} (¥6.264) - 188.888 / NEW
02./00. [PS4] Watch Dogs (Ubisoft) {2014.06.26} (¥9.072) - 63.595 / NEW
03./00. [PS3] Kamen Rider: Battride War II # (Bandai Namco Games) {2014.06.26} (¥7.689) - 62.649 / NEW
04./00. [3DS] Taiko no Tatsujin: Don to Katsu no Jikuu Daibouken (Bandai Namco Games) {2014.06.26} (¥5.119) - 53.095 / NEW 
05./00. [PSV] Girls & Panzer: Senshado, Kiwamemasu! # (Bandai Namco Games) {2014.06.26} (¥7.171) - 31.526 / NEW
06./00. [PS3] Watch Dogs (Ubisoft) {2014.06.26} (¥7.992) - 31.028 / NEW
07./02. [3DS] Yo-kai Watch (Level 5) {2013.07.11} (¥4.800) - 29.590 / 1.147.202 (-3%)
08./03. [WIU] Mario Kart 8 (Nintendo) {2014.05.29} (¥6.156) - 23.520 / 492.837 (-16%)
09./01. [3DS] Pokemon Art Academy (Nintendo) {2014.06.19} (¥3.908) - 15.373 / 46.454 (-51%)
10./04. [PS3] World Soccer Winning Eleven 2014: Samurai Blue Challenge (Konami) {2014.05.22} (¥8.208) - 13.026 / 136.893 (-37%)

The sales figures do not count digital copies of Taiko 3DS2.

Once again, a portable Taiko game manages to cram into the Top 10 best-selling games on its launch week (that is, from last Thursday's release to Sunday), despite the recent period of slow sales for the gaming scene in Japan. Only three fresh releases for Sony platforms deny a podium place to Don to Katsu no Jikuu Daibouken, sitting in the fourth place.

Comparison-wise to past portable Nintendo Taiko games on a 4-day sales span, the latest title doesn't match the sales of the second Taiko videogame for Nintendo DS (55950), or even the previous entry for Nintendo 3DS (65462)! Still, it's a good initial result for the game, following suit to the positive trend of portable games in Japan. Aim to the top!

Taiwan Tourney 2014 - Namco's Song Choices Decided

More quick Taiwan Tournament news! Namco's Taiko Team has made up their mind on their song choice for the Area Preliminaries, designating Saturday Taiko Fever and Mekadesu.

The team justifies the choice as "chosen from past high-tier challenges" in response to "players choosing mostly new songs." The rationale also notes "these notecharts is of  different types than the other three, making for a change in styles."

As a recap, the Area Preliminary matches will use one song out of these two, and another out of Senbonzakura, Bad apple!! feat. nomico and Noushou Sakuretsu Girl, as previously voted. The songs will be randomly drawn on the spot.

Taiwan Tournament 2014 Info on Sume's FB Page