Olà! For this week, Brazil is the word of the day with this double feature. Marvel two tracks inspired by the country who held the first Taiko 0 overseas location tests!
Escatumbararibê| Version |  |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All | x2 (???) | x3 (???) | x3 (???) | x4 (304) |
Taiko 0 M (Wadaiko only)
???
none
???As mentioned in this post's introduction lines, Brazil is remarkable in recent Taiko lore for being the first country with location tests for modern Taiko arcades, there dubbed as Wadaiko Master. Being the first overseas country to host these machines, Wadaiko Master got a replacement genre for the J-Pop folder in the Músicas Brasileiras, starring a couple of tracks that can't be played on Taiko titles anywhere else!
One of these songs is Escatumbararibê, a popular Brazilian nursery rhyme that has been circulating for so long time to become a public domain track with no hints about its actual creator/s. While the simply lyrics have more an onomatopoeic purpose rather than an actual meaning, the song is often associated with fun rhythm-based moves to act during the songs, such as the ones featured in this video.
For one of the shortest songs in Taiko gaming, the notechart features simple small mono-color clusters and repetitive rhythms to give newcomers the grasp of simple note patterns.
For our next pick, here's a Taiko Brazilian song you may already have heard about. This anniversary-related song also happens to be nigelliusnitrox's favorite Taiko track!
Samba Alegria (サンバ アレグリーア)| Version | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All | x4 (177) | x6 (238) | x6 (368) | x7 (619) |
Taiko 0.5, Taiko Wii 5, Taiko PS Vita, Taiko + 138 none (Namco Original -> Músicas Brasileiras in Wadaiko only) aya10So still in time for the 15th Anniversary, what about we finally finish up with the last big anniversary celebration? In case you did not know, five years ago Taiko Team has commissioned eight brand new songs to be included in various Taiko games to celebrate the series' 10th Anniversary. Some are very openly announced to press, while the others only allude to this by having hints stuffed in their SongIDs. With the SongID of aya10, this song is the 10th Anniversary commemoration work from Ayako Sasou (佐宗綾子) a.k.a. Sampling Masters AYA, facing fellow Super Sweep composer Sampling Masters MEGA's Dodon ga Do~n (mega10). We have twice featured her other Namco Original work in SotW (here and here), so this time we will kept light on her biography this time.
Easily seen from the title is that the piece is heavily inspired by the energetic Brazilian music/dance style of the samba. Alegria is Portuguese for joy or happiness, again very evident by the enthusiatic chrous provided by GOTANDA AMIGOS (Gotanda is an area in Tokyo; Amigo is Portuguese for friend), filled with cheers and laughter. The whole vibe depicts a very exciting party you would expect during festival times on Brazilian streets. How would you not burst into dance to the awesome rhythm?
And of course with the influences, Samba Alegria is prominently featured in the 2014-spawn Wadaiko Master cabinets, focused towards Latin American and African regions. It also would have been the first Namco Original to be shown on arcade pop-banners, only it was moved light-blue Músicas Brasileiras (Brazilian Music; mirroring to the usual J-POP) folder instead. Wadaiko Master arcades also display it with its English name translation, unlike the other Namco Original tracks featured in said arcades.
While the notechart is not too hard, this may feel comparable to high-end 7★'s if you are not ready with rhythmic structures familiar to the samba genre. The 600-plus-note mass chiefly tests your ability to deal with a good proportional of double hits and offbeat notes, later adding mixed 4-hits to the party. Following the music, there are also a healthy stanzas of 12th-based patterns. Whether it's a challenge or a good place to practice is your call.
Samba Alegria (サンバ アレグリーア)| Version | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All | x9 (765) |
Taiko 0.5, Taiko Wii 5, Taiko PS Vita, Taiko + 138 none (Namco Original -> Músicas Brasileiras in Wadaiko only) aya10Just like Rumble Ranbu before it (and Lightning Passion shortly afterwards), Samba Alegria's Ura Oni holds a Nam-Combo notecount challenge (charted by Taiko Team leader Etou) where stamina management is the key for an error-less play, starring many 1/16-based cluster section and a milder approach to 1/24 patterns with mono-colored clusters towards the end. Don't let the 7 short hit-balloons distract you!
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As you're reading these closing lines, we already fixed our SotW duplicate issue with Choujikuu Adventure, updating the original September 2014 feature with the extra bits we added in the later June 2015 entry. As for the July 2015 spot... well...
...we had to ask the Professor Timedine to go back in time and prevent our mistake, at the condition of having some tracks of his choice. Head back to our June 2015 feature to see what's new!
