Taiko Plus - the Dusk of the Ura Modes!

Say, remember when we said that Taiko Plus has got all the remaining Ura modes since last June? Well, turns out we were wrong about that!

Of Synth Voices and Theremins (26/09/14)

It's that time again! Surprisingly earlier than usual, here's our recap of last Friday's Taiko Team live stream, in which we had both special guests and updates on the current Taiko games.

However, the streamer is the same one of the last time, which means once again that pictures may look grainy or yellow at times. Apologies for that!

Song of the Week! 27 September 2014

As resident Bandai Namco composer Torine was featured in yesterday's stream, the next logical thing would be to feature one of her songs on this corner! So here you go.

Twitter Snippets (September 27 2014) - The Eclipse Didn't Happen Yet

本日の解禁を楽しみにされていた方には、申し訳ありませんでした。 お詫びとして、限定解禁の期間を当初予定していた9/27～10/5から、一週間延長して9/28(日)～10/12(日)とさせて頂きます。 よろしくお願いいたします。(タケモト)
— 太鼓チーム (@taiko_team) September 27, 2014

A bit of quick sorry news for those planned to go to the arcades today to catch some Total Eclipse 2035 on AC0 Kimidori: It is not on... just yet.

Because of certain failures the song will not hit the cabinets until tomorrow, September 28. In compensation the Taiko Team will extend the limited appearance for one more week, now ending October 12. So that's a net increase of 6 days, not bad.

Asian Donders: There is, as of now, no news about this on AC0 Asia, but hopefully the song will be also available in the same time frame.

Quick Takeaways: September 26 Livestream

This post will be removed when the full coverage is ready. Meanwhile, feel free to contribute screenshots and information to help out!

• All comment goals met.
• 30K: Title part voted as Cheese (チィーッス) (voted by audience)
• October 24 3DS2 DLC: Chaos! Omikoshi Dojo
• Songs: Etude 10-4, Yawaraka Sensha, Kessen!! (PazuDora Z), Jikuuka Jikuuichika, Taiko Ranbu Kaiden
• PazuDora Tamadra costume
• Masubuchi's cameo
• All Kimidori Ranking Dojo trial songs (except Tatsujin) are released (check them out now!)

Namco Taiko Blog (25 September 2014) - A Sketch of October's Donchare

Regular blog update time! Today we are going to take a look at October's Don Challenge/monthly unlocks for Taiko Kimidori, as well as a small recap for tomorrow's Taiko Team livestream schedule.

Groove Coaster Original Soundtrack Out Now!

While we are waiting for tomorrow's blog entry (and the next Taiko Team stream the day after), I find quite relevant to advise that the first physical-release Groove Coaster 2-disc soundtrack album is now available for purchase. Now I know what you're thinking- why shouting the news here?

Well, turns out that this song compilation from Taito's latest rhythm game has also some Taiko-related tracks being involved! With many blessings from composers Masubutchi Yuuji and Hiro (from Sega), the first disc of this soundtrack will be the first one to include all of the Game Music Triangle collaboration songs being released earlier this year on Taiko, GC and Maimai, including both the three 'GMT remixes' and the three 'GMT mashups'.

With that said, I'm out for today. Stay tuned for tomorrow's Taiko Team blog entry!

Fourth Taiko Plus/RPG Collab!

As sudden as today's earlier bog update is the announce of yet another Taiko Plus/RPG event! This time around, players can enjoy for free another couple of songs until the end of this promotional event (October 19th), after purchasing them with the game's free daily-supplied currency, the Magic Stones.

This time around, the songs involved are Kimi o Nosete and Toccata and Fugue and Rock, a song which hasn't been featured in any of the Taiko + song packs before!

Namco Taiko Blog (September 22 2014) - Peekaboo Update V4.xx

|・_・) *peeks*
|・_・)/ Surprise blog?

|・u・)/ Surprise blog.

Super Namco Bros. - 3DS Edition!

Here's something different for this Sunday! As the latest entry for Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. franchise is already out in Japan since last week, many people already managed to go through the game and access the full BGM listing for the Music Play mode. This time around, since many Taiko-related composers have lent their hand in order to forge this portable entry's soundtrack, it sounds quite right to dedicate a blog entry about their arrangements in the game!

But before beginning, SPOILER ALERT! Some of the Play Music songs shown below may either come from unlockable stages or include a silouhette of one of the secret fighters, so venture ahead if you are not afraid of visual spoilers from this game.

Taiko Tokumori's first trailer video

This year's TGS isn't over yet, but the latest Wii U title's first trailer has just been published on Youtube! This one is particularly relevant for a couple of reasons: we can already hear hear how this game's theme song -Morimori☆Tokumori Rhythm♪- will sound like in-game (complete with vocals!) and we learn that Vocaloid song Roku-Chounen to Ichiya Monogatari will also be available for the game!

Song of the Week! 20 September 2014

We've already seen how, with the huge number of songs out there, a lot of occasions where there is just a single letter difference between two song titles. This week's feature is no exception! Check it out and see why.

Taiko no Tatsujin at TGS '14

As you are reading tthis the Taiko no Tatsujin presentation at this year's Tokyo Game Show just ended, and everyone got to try out the new Wii U Taiko for the remainder of the event. This year we got more than just random

Taiko Plus - Introducing the Momoiro Clover Z Pack

Friday can be an eventful day for Taiko Plus players, as it could mean the coming of a new songpack for their ever-expanding game. Just like for today!

Taiko no Tatsujin Tokumori's first website update

Quick update time for this Friday! As of yesterday, Taiko Tokumori's official website has become fully active, with the introduction of most of the website's sections and all the songs we know so far from the basic songlist, with no mention of either Mori no Kuma-San or the DLC collaboration song Monster Hunter 4G Medley. As of now, there's nothing more on the website we didn't know before, so consider this blog entry just as a small heads-up.

We hope that we can catch some of the Tokumori content from tomorrow's Tokyo Game Show presentation!

The Almost Transient Mysteries: What We Were Not Told for Kimidori 2.06

...or mostly what we have not told you for Kimidori 2.06. Yes we are sorry we didn't get to that sooner, and we are patching up the information void now.

Twitter Snippets (17 September 2014) - Taiko Wii U 2 x Monster Hunter 4G

【MH4G】続いて大人気ゲーム『太鼓の達人』とのコラボ決定！狩猟笛『狩猟の達人』！演奏中は画面上に表示される音色がどんちゃんになるぞ！【PC】http://t.co/X3pf2ooSal【モンハン部編集部】 pic.twitter.com/0z8EKuNZzt
— モンハン部 (@CAPCOM_MHB) 18 Settembre 2014

Yesterday we forgot to mention this tweet from Capcom that -aside for confirming yet another Monster Hunter collaboration with the Taiko no Tatsujin franchise- also confirms to the world that yes, Taiko Tokumori will have DLC content for the game! But let's go in order.

This time around, we have a two-sided collaboration! Starting on November 20th, while Taiko Wii U 2 will get the brand-new Monster Hunter 4G Medley (モンスターハンター４G メドレー) and a promo Miiverse frame as free downloadable content, MH4G will get instead a Matsuri-themed outfit and a special Hunting horn, shown in the picture above. If you want to throw in some Taiko magic during your hunts, the Master of Hunt (狩猟の達人) horn will be your weapon of choice, complete with Don Face-shaped musical notes while performing one of the weapon's chants!

Namco Taiko Blog (18 September 2014) - Taiko Team's September '14 Stream Session!

With Etou being busy this week (as previously mentioned with yesterday's tweets), Takemoto steps in for the usual Thursday blog update for the announce of the next Taiko Team stream session. Get hype!

Mori no Kuma-san in Taiko Wii U 2

Starting from today, every major Japanese gaming-related website has started talking about the reveal of Taiko no Tatsujin Tokumori, with the help of the already-known image set from the Famitsu scans and others being completely brand new. Among these, there's a brief look at the game's starting Variety section that portrays the return of a popular Children/Folk song...

After gone missing from the home console scene since the first Wii Taiko game, Mori no Kuma-San will be back on Tokumori, possibly with its peculiar Ura mode as unlockable goodie! This brings the partial songlist total to 29, still lacking of any names from both the Classic and Namco Original genre.

Twitter Snippets (Sept 17 2014) - REBUILD and Play Cryptic

【お知らせ】先日のアップデートで追加された「僕らの世界にダンスを」の収録されている、サカモト教授さんのニューアルバム「REBUILD」(リビルド)が、本日より発売されています。どれも聞き入ってしまうような曲で、オススメです！(タケモト pic.twitter.com/NyX2fU9qya
— 太鼓チーム (@taiko_team) September 17, 2014

As Etou continues with his deserved break, Takemoto drops by today with a few things. First is a note about Professor Sakamoto's new album REBUILD, which has his new Vocaloid inclusion in Taiko Bokura no Sekai ni Dance wo (the full version, no less), and eight other songs. If you like the song on the arcade, consider supporting the artist and buy the album!

And do not worry about tomorrow's blog post, which Takemoto reassures will be up as scheduled. OK, thanks!

…というワケで、エトウくん不在中にちょっとおジャマしてみました、太鼓チームのタケモトです！ 今日は夕方まで打ち合わせみっちりなのですが、後ほどまたちょっとオジャマできたらと思います。 あ、エトウくんは一週間お休みですが、明日の開発日記はいつも通り更新される予定です。お楽しみに！
— 太鼓チーム (@taiko_team) September 17, 2014

Now the play cryptic part. Later in the day Takemoto starts with the obvious that "Tomorrow is Thursday" and "Next week is end of the month", and then right out asking (sincerely) to try and make free time on Friday the 26th. Unless you have severe paraskevidekatriaphobia it should be nice to do so... Let's not get ahead of ourselves and hear more tomorrow.

ほぇ〜。 打ち合わせその他モロモロで、こんな時間になってしまいました。 明日は木曜日ですねー。 来週は月末ですねー。 (タケモト)
— 太鼓チーム (@taiko_team) September 17, 2014

さてさて、かなり遅くなってしまいましたが、本日はこのあたりで失礼させていただきます。 最後に一言。 みなさーーーーん！！26日(金)の夜は、空けといてくださいねー(切実) 詳細は、、、待て明日。ｗ それでは、おつカレーライス！(タケモト)
— 太鼓チーム (@taiko_team) September 17, 2014

Kimidori Asia Monthly Tourney: September Results are in!

 

The one week tournament for Asian arcade Donders has ended, and the results are, as scheduled, uploaded to the official Facebook page. Congratulations to ~?!~ from Hong Kong and Itougin from Taiwan for ranking first in the two divisions, pulling out the impressive plays of 877,200-point on Night of Knights Muzukashii and 1,211,110-point on Purple Rose Fusion Oni respectively!

Swiftly ahead onto the October tourney, here is the schedule:
Song Announcement: October 8 (Wed)
Tournament Duration: October 11~19 (Sat~Next Sun)
Results Announcement: October 22 (Wed)

The Facebook post is also open for fans to nominate songs to be used in future Tournaments! Desirably a song that does not require unlock, so that everyone can join in with ease. If another commentor has already nominated your desired set, just leave a like and the tally people will count that too.

Results post and request thread

Taiko no Tatsujin: Tokumori! songlist

A follow up to the first Taiko no Tatsujin game on the Nintendo Wii U, Taiko no Tatsujin: Tokumori! (太鼓の達人　特盛り！, lit. Taiko no Tatsujin Extra Large!) lives up to its name with a triple-digit number of songs totaling at 100, akin to two of its predecessors on Wii where tracklist volume is the main theme. Unlike the first Wii U game, the free downloadable songs are not being promoted with as much fanfare, even though the few that are available at launch are still free of charge.

Several features from the first Wii U Taiko remain, including the expansive costume and color customization (with Miiverse sharing!) and the multiplayer Baton Pass mode in which many players pass the Wii U Gamepad or other controller around to clear a song cooperatively. A new multiplayer mode called 'Intro Don!' involves players trying to guess song titles based on the music playing in the background and earn coins, which in turn are used to buy costume parts and other goodies at a Gacha store. Most of the game's unlockable songs come from this store.

It is the third Taiko no Tatsujin console game to exceed 100 songs in its songlist after Ketteiban and Chogoukaban on the Wii, and with the free downloadable songs being put into it, can expand even beyond that lofty variety. In particular, its immense Namco Original selection brings every single arcade-exclusive song over the past 2 years to a home console for the first time, along with every single winning song from the CreoFUGA song composing contest of 2013, the second game to do so after Taiko no Tatsujin Plus (iOS).

Taiko Wii U 2's Famitsu first scans

Courtesy of NintendoEverything.com, we can start off this new week with the first Famitsu scans of Taiko no Tatsujin: Tokumori for Wii U!

Taiko Time 4th Anniversary Quiz Answers and Results

Whew...sorry for taking so long with preparing the answers! One week late at that...we'll make sure to be better prepared for next year. But anyway! Here are the answers to the 4th Anniversary quiz.

1) Yesterday's Song of the Week feature is surely messy, isn't it? However, some crucial information still managed to pop in, as valid indicator of the song we wanted to feature. Which song is it?
Answer: Namco Original Gashadokuro, as it's the only song existing so far which matches with the hints supplied. Being released on Taiko 0 arcades only, it's the only one which has a BPM value of at least 200, a 6* Futsuu, a Muzukashii mode with 444 notes and featuring different combinations of note spacing and beat stanzas! Here's a video reference for the song:



Be at ease, its Song of the Week feature will be recovered to its original form very soon!

2) Taiko DS 3 boss Wanyudo and Namco Original Jigoku no Taiko Jiten share something in common; what is it?
Answer: Upon defeating Wanyudo and at the very end of Jigoku no Taiko Jiten (the more modern version), the same line can be heard: 'Moetsuki ta Ze...' (燃え尽きたぜ…)

3) From which parts of the videogame Genpei Toma-Den come from the three themes that are being remixed together in the all-time popular Game Music song KAGEKIYO?
Answer: In order of appearance, the three tracks being featured from the TurboGrafx-16 version of Genpei Toma-Den that made into the GM remix KAGEKIYO are:

• the main theme for the side-scrolling stages 
• one of the themes used for the top-down perspective stages (ex. Kyoto)
• a portion of the track used for bonus levels (ex. Amaji)

This bit of info will be also added to the SotW feature of KAGEKIYO very soon!

4) The most recent console games have cut out some of the Ura songs' features. Which are the last two songs (in order of the song's appearance on Taiko) to have both Kantan/Futsuu/Muzukashii Ura modes and different song previews from its regular chart?
Answer: Dodon Ga Do-n and Kimi to Hibiku Harmony are the very last songs in order of appearance which got both Kantan/Futsuu/Muzukashii Ura modes and custom preview points, in Taiko 3DS1.

5) Name a 4-song credit on AC0 (as of Kimidori ver. 1.05) that gives 430 DonPoints from titles relating to song choices alone, but requires less than 1765 hits to achieve. Use only Oni notecharts.
Answer: Many answers work, as long as the DonPoint target and hit number ceiling is met. An example is DoReMiFa Sorairo / Diamond Happy (Regular) / Haru Uta / Geragerapo no Uta, which has 1167 notes only and satisfies the two Tamagotchi titles (100P×2), the Aikatsu title (100P), the Yokai Watch title (100P), and the "only Anime in one credit" title (30P).

6) What are the Oni notecharts that has the most large notes by proportion (divided by total number of notes) in AC0 (as of Kimidori ver. 1.05), Wii U1 and 3DS2 respectively? All unlockables, time-limited appearances and DLC as of August 31 2014 are included.
Answer: On AC0 it's Kurae! Butto Burst!! with 116 out of 454 notes being large (25.6%). This chart is also ranks second overall in all of Taiko history, just under Oodain's 100% large notes gimmick chart.

On Wii U we have Happy Go Lucky! Dokidoki! Precure, seeing 68 large notes out of 292 total notes (23.2%).

On 3DS2 Kumamoto Surprise! takes it with 53/371 notes being large (14.2%).

7) What is the only song on any console version Taiko to be time-unlocked? (i.e. play a certain number of days for the song to be unlocked)
Answer: Koi wa Mizuiro, a Game Music song from Meccha! Taiko no Tatsujin DS: Nanatsu no Shima no Daibouken (a.k.a Taiko DS2). Players will get one new letter daily when they turn on their game even if they don't play anything else, and after seven of these letters, Mizuiro-chan will send the player a letter containing the secret song. Tenjiku 2000 from Taiko DS1 also works, in this case you had to play for 6 days and a letter will arrive with the song in it.

8) Name two songs whose Ura Onis have less notes than their normal Onis.
Answer: Yozakura Shanikusai (Oni has 986 notes, Ura Oni has 942) and Rokuchounen to Ichiya Monogatari (Oni has 864 notes, Ura Oni has 753)

9)Which songs by Kyary Pamyu Pamyu that are in Taiko no Tatsujin are the original voice and not covers?
Answer: PON PON PON, Fashion Monster, and Tsukema Tsukeru for arcade and console. Hint: any Kyary song that credits her name in the subtitle of the song (きゃりーぱみゅぱみゅ) uses the original voice! Specifically mentioning the iOS versions are also correct, as even if the arcade/console versions of the song are covers (eg. Mottai Night Land), the iOS one is the original voice.

10) Which song has 8 extremely short Go-Go Times (all lasting one beat each) before the chorus?
Answer: Yi-er Fan Club/Iaru Fan Club. Don't believe me? Keep an eye on the ticker in its video!

Two readers submitted their answers via email, Yusri Khairi and Marvel Ferdinand.

Marvel got 3 questions correct, while Yusri is this year's winner again, with 8 questions correct! Not much in the way of prizes this year due to personal commitments, but we'll be sure to make the next event more fun for everyone! Thanks for supporting Taiko Time all these years and keep on drumming!

Song of the Week! 13 September 2014

In today's feature, we take a look at yet another console-exclusive song, as Namco's gaming tradition merges once more with traditional Japanese festival music!

Random: Taiko Wii U 2 at the Tokyo Game Show

Here's another pre-SotW update about the next home console game! 

Predictably enough, Taiko Wii U Tokumori will appear at this year's Tokyo Game Show, both for a stage performance and of a playable demo game. The half-hour live presentation of the game is scheduled next Saturday (September 20th), as the Family Stage's first presentation of the day, from 11:50 to 12:20. Bandai Namco members Miwa Fukuda and Wakako Hazama will briefly talk about the game's features, together with a real-life version of Don-Chan for the younger fans' joy! Being a Family Stage event, however, means that it's not possible to watch the presentation through a public stream.

On top of that, the game can be tried by every attender for the remainder of TGS, featuring the base songlist of the game. Will we be lucky enough to find someone sharing some photos, this time around?

Twitter Snippets (Sept 11-12, 2014) - Festivity at Idolmaster Side M (and Break)

【お知らせ】アイドルマスター SideMの夏祭りイベントに、どんちゃんが登場だドーン！SideMでもドンドコお祭り騒ぎだドーン！ http://t.co/GjmY8qQUOJ #taiko765 pic.twitter.com/ib5qLUaF3t
— 太鼓チーム (@taiko_team) September 11, 2014

Well Don-chan and Kat-chan sure are having fun at this festival, but where is it? This shot is one of the assets for an upcoming event the smartphone game Idolmaster Side M, a card RPG style spin-off of Namco's idol game franchise, featuring a male-focused cast turning to idol business from various other occupations. Be sure to catch some Taiko sightings in the art when you play!

In other news, (probably for TGS preparations) Etou will be taking off from @taiko_team for a week, until September 24. Blog post will be as scheduled on the Thursday. And maybe Takemoto could drop by some time?

さてさて、この時間ですがお知らせです。来週は１週間エトウがおやすみになるため、本アカウントの運営もオヤスミさせていただきます。再開は9/24予定です。それまではたまにタケモトさんが登場するかも？開発日記の更新はしっかりありますので、お楽しみに！ #taiko765
— 太鼓チーム (@taiko_team) September 12, 2014

Namco Taiko Blog (11 September 2014): Taiko Wii U Wrap-Up and Sequel

Having its supply of monthly free DLC abruptly cut was not the best of news for the ailing Taiko Wii U, but it appears Namco is giving its first eighth-generation home console Taiko game some closure after all, while at the same time officially announcing its successor!

[RUMOR] - Taiko Wii U 2's (partial) starting songlist

It doesn't happen so often to find out about a major console Taiko game's release with days in advance from the (still missing) official announce from the creators themselves, let alone any of the initial songs! However, the latest issue of Famitsu has properly acknowledged its incoming release, together with some of its tracklist!... or, at least this is what the supposed readers are stating without any proper magazine scan on the Internet.

First Videos of Game Version 2.06's new songs

Good morning guys, it's update day! Let's cut the chase and jump into the first videos of the new songs!

Taiko no Tatsujin Wii U 2 is announced!

Though there's no official announcement yet, the rumors are starting to solidify with a name, Taiko no Tatsujin Tokumori (meaning 'super special') which sounds similar to the names given to the later Taiko games on Wii. It apparently has 100 songs in it by default and will launch in Japan on November 20th, 2014.

Stay tuned for more info as we confirm the rumors!

Source: nintendoeverything.com

Kimidori (Asian) Updates! September 11

Tomorrow is the day that Taiko no Tatsujin Kimidori ver. (Japan) will be updating with seven new songs. Today, though, we have news that the Asian version will also be updating with new songs, one day later on September 11!

So what songs will it be getting? Well... seven songs from a previous Japan version update. Sorry, no Xa or Souryuu no Ran just yet guys. :(

•  Gomenasai no Kissing You
•  Love Song wa Tomaranai Yo
•  Kimi no Shiranai Monogatari
•  BORDERLESS
•  Bugi Bugi Funassyi
•  G Ishiki Kajou
•  Oresama Pirates

Anyway, do stick around for tomorrow's first videos for the Japanese version. See you!

Official Facebook Page post

Taiko Plus - Old and New updates

We're having a Taiko Plus talk even today, as we're having a look to both new features and a collaboration event we forgot to advertise on this blog before...

PazuDora's Fourth Taiko Collab

Yes, fourth! Gungho's flagship puzzle RPG is once again collaborating with Taiko no Tatsujin (Plus) from September 8~14. Even though there is limited new stuff on the Taiko side, let's still check things out!

Song of the Week! 6 September 2014

A new month means a new week, and ultimately a new Saturday feature! For this one, just be sure to watch the video with the maximum volume if you want to hear the beats; this is the only HQ video of the song uploaded and it has a really low volume.

Namco Taiko Blog (September 5 2014) - August 28 Livestream Recap and Outfit Contest Results

Today's blog post was intended for yesterday, which was postponed because Etou was feeling under the weather with the cold, but he's back now. The topic is a recap of the August 28 2014 livestream session. And since we have already published our own recap a few days back, we are going to do the very self-promotional thing and ask you to check that out instead of reiterating everything here. For this post we are just going to re-post the links for the downloadable perks. Here you go!

8/28 Livestream Twitter icon: http://taikoblog.namco-ch.net/pic/taiko_0826aic.png

8/28 Livestream smartphone wallpaper: http://taikoblog.namco-ch.net/pic/taiko_0826sp.png

4th Costume Contest smartphone wallpaper: http://taikoblog.namco-ch.net/pic/taiko_coscon4.png

...OK, maybe we do have to talk a little about that. So here goes in point form:

• All comment goals are completed and the rewards delivered.
• Prof. Sakamoto: Bokura no Sekai ni Dance o coming September 10, his Sacred Ruin and Mappy Medley remixes later.
• Tatsh/Zeami: Xa (read as Ikusa) and Souryuu no Ran coming September 10, with newly named Sou-uchi (double play) Ura Oni notechart for the latter.
• Also coming: 3DS2 September DLC, AC0 Ranking Dojo and Taiko School

Again, do check out our recap for more details!

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Taiko Plus - Popular Song Pack 17 and 2nd Taiko RPG collab!

Double update run for everyone's favourite drumming game for Apple devices! Today, the Popular Song Pack 17 (人気曲ぱっく17) bring in 5 other very recent licences to Taiko Plus:

• Kumamoto Surprise!
• Ressha Sentai ToQger
• SHINING LINE*
• JUST LIVE MORE
• V (Volt)

On top of that, another promo song delivery with Taiko RPG Da-Don has been issued, also starting from today! Until October 2nd, players will be able to purchase with the Musical Notes another couple of songs which can be played on Taiko Plus for free until the promotional period's end: Pastel Dream and Kurenai. If you don't have the song packs wit5h these song in, this is a good chance to try them out for free!

Namco Taiko Blog (4 September 2014) - Taiko 3DS 1's downloadable version

After all the talk about the most recent Taiko games, today's blog entry brings us back to the past for a very quick announcement. If you happen to want to play the first 3DS Taiko videogame but haven't, now it's more accessible than ever!

Taiko Team's Yellow-est Stream Session (28/08/14)

We had an official blog entry feature today, but now let's recover some unfinished business! After nigelliusnitrox's generous sum-up of the previous stream session, it's time to have another look at last Friday's Taiko Team livestream, complete with visuals and some extra bits.

My apologies in advance for the quality of some of the screenshots; due to the sparking color of the wall behind, some of the images got really bright, at the point to make hard to read things!

Namco Taiko Blog (2 September 2014): Taiko no Tatsujin Kimidori Game Version 2.06

As a direct result of the livestream on August 29th, the Taiko no Tatsujin Kimidori in Japan is getting another firmware update with all the stuff announced in it, and more!

First of all, the new songs!

J-Pop
Kenka Joutou (喧嘩上等) (by Kishidan)

Anime
FUTURE FISH (from Free! Eternal Summer)

Vocaloid
World's End Dance Hall (ワールズエンド・ダンスホール)
Bokura no Sekai ni Dance o (僕らの世界にダンスを)

Namco Original
Mugen no Sora (夢幻の蒼空) (by Silver Forest feat.SAYA)
Souryuu no Ran (双竜ノ乱) (by Zeami)
Xa (by Tatsh)

Next, the announcement of a collaboration with Professor Sakamoto! The new Vocaloid song, Bokura no Sekai ni Dance o, is composed by him, and that one song will be placed in a promotional folder once the firmware is rolled out.

There will be another promotional folder, for composers who are actively and recently involved in Taiko no Tatsujin. The initial folder will have three songs, which are all the new Namco Originals as mentioned above!

And last but not least, the second phase of the Funassyi x Taiko no Tatsujin collaboration will go underway! There will be lucky draws for special Funassyi Taiko merchandise for anyone in Japan who accesses the Donder Hiroba.

The duration of this giveaway is from September 10th, 2014 to October 28th, 2014.

Prize A: Funassyi and Don-chan plush doll
Quantity: 20
Five plays count as one chance for the draw.

Prize B: Funassyi hand puppet
Quantity: 100
Three plays count as one chance for the draw.

Prize C: Keychain
Quantity: 500
One play counts as one chance for the draw.

Kimidori Game Version 2.06 will go live on September 10th, 2014. Don't miss it!

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Merch News: Squishy Mascot Gacha

Retrieved from Bandai Product Info Sheet

Today we look at some upcoming Taiko no Tatsujin-themed gashapon prizes! Named suitably the Taiko no Tatsujin Squishy Mascots, these keychain mascots are made with squishy foam, so you can squeeze them all you like!

Staff Interview: CoroQuetz

Who are you and what are you doing here?
CoroQuetz here, and I'm the guy currently in charge of the Made By You column~

When did you start playing Taiko?
I can't remember the exact year, but I remember trying out a Taiko no Tatsujin 7 in an arcade somewhere when I was young. My first console Taiko was DS1, 2 or 3 years after that. I've been seriously playing for about 4 years now, though.

What was your first Taiko arcade version?
Taiko no Tatsujin 7, though I only played it once, actually.

What are the versions of Taiko you've played?
On the arcade side, I've played 7, 11 Asia, 12 Asia and 14. Console side, only DS1, DS2 and iOS+, surprisingly. I spent way more time on the arcade versions than the console versions.

What's your favorite console/arcade version?
I have to say that having spent so much time on 11 Asia, it holds a special place in my heart.

What's your favorite control method?
Bachi controls~ If I'm playing a console I'd prefer to use bachi controls as far as possible (touchscreen, tatacon etc)

What about on the arcade?
I have a set of bachi I use~

How long do you usually play Taiko?
Usually in 1/2 hour sessions, though I sometimes play a little longer.

What's your favorite genre and why?
Game Music, mainly because I recognise the most amount of songs from there. I have a fondness for videogame music, so I'm always excited to find a new song I like in this category.

What's your favorite song and why?
Favourite song... that's a hard one. There's a lot of Namco Originals I like... I guess the one I played the most is Taiko Time, funnily enough.

What's the song that gives you the most trouble?
At this moment, Kurenai and Kamikaze Remix are giving me problems. I still can't full combo them...

What's your least favorite song?
Honestly, I can't think of any song that I've actually played that made me feel that it was least favourite or anything like that. Ah well.

Do you actually like any of the side modes/minigames in Taiko?
Story mode's always a blast~ Though it would be nice if I actually knew Japanese so I could understand what was going on...

What song would you like to see in one of the future Taiko games?
More Namco Game Music songs would be nice~ There's a lot of potential in Namco games, especially in, say, Soul Calibur or Tekken.