Now that some time has passed since the latest smartphone Taiko game's release, it's time to take a further look at the whole picture to point out what's actually different between this app and i-devices's Taiko Plus.
- Starting from the app's Play Store page, Version 1.0.0 is currently downloadable from Google Play accounts of any nationality, although this may be changed in the near future.
- Oni mode for all the songs is only available to the devices that are recommended from the Play Store page to use the app. For a full list of the currently-recommended devices, a list is currently in the works by Bandai Namco, as even users with the already-trusted models have sent reports of bugs due to the game or the in-system Android version being too low (although the Play Store page is listing that anything from 'Android 4.0 and Up' is enough to play).
- Ura Oni modes for all applicable songs are not currently playable with the launch version.
- The game comes with Carmen Prelude, March From the Nutcracker and Saitama 2000 already attached to the app, with RIP SLYME song Deep Cleansing not getting ported. Another trio of songs -Bolero, Namcot Medley and Oshiete Kumatomo- can be downloaded for free in the game's Additional Content menu.
- No song pack is currently available for purchase on Version 1.0.0, as the unified Taiko +/Taiko + STH website's Google Play song list side only reports the list of content for the Gakkyoku Tori Houdai (link).
- The subscription-based Gakkyoku Tori Houdai mode also makes its debut with less/different features in comparison to the original version on Taiko Plus. In short, the Android version only offers the over-100 songs that the GTH service had for its launch on Taiko Plus, now being limited only to a monthly subscription system. The service's songs can be played through two different subscription plans: Popular Songs Plan (400 Yen/month sans taxes) for all the J-Pop/Anime/Variety/Vocaloid/Classic songs and Namco Original Plan (300 Yen/month sans taxes) for the Game Music/Namco Original tracks only. It's possible to subscribe to both plans together for the price of 500 Yen/month (again, excluding taxes). These prices are the same for everyone, including the players with not-recommended smartphones (and thus without Oni mode).
- The pre-registration campaign's rewards are already available for everyone as in-app unlocks that are sent through an in-game notification (much like with the Lottery unlocks).
If some of these features will evolve/get changed for the next updates, we'll let you know!
