Long versions of original songs have always been a once-in-a-dime trait in the Taiko no Tatsujin series in general, ranging from less to more relevance thanks to either soundtracks and playable versions.
Although the latter aspect is seen more as a relic of the past these days, long versions of Namco Originals still keep popping up in some way or another! Today on our spotlight there's one of the latest songs following this trend.
Sekai wa Itsudemo Mystery (世界はいつでもミステリー)| Version |  |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All | x4 (120) | x4 (159) | x5 (275) | x7 (365) |
Taiko 0 R, Taiko 3DS 3
140
none
???You're reading right: there actually are modern theme songs outside of old classics like Nijiiro Yumeiro Taikoro and Hibike! Taiko no Tatsujin to have an extended version... and it's a very recent track, no less!
Composed by recurrent NAMCO SOUNDS musician Torine (トリ音), Sekai wa Itsudemo Mystery (lit. 'The World is Mystery at Any Time') is Dokodon Mystery Adventure's theme song, singing of what adventures can be experienced around the world in the game's titular Story mode. The singer of choice isn't a random selection either, as the female vocalist involved is also voice acting one of the game's main characters: the mysterious magician Tia.
This voice actress is none other than Honoka Inoue (井上ほの花), a singer who started contributing for the Taiko no Tatsujin series since the White Version arcade firmware's launch. Born on February 9th, she's the daughter of famed voice actress Kikuko Inoue (井上喜久子), with which she's also used to work together and offer jointed interviews. In the very same Dokodon! Mystery Adventure game, for example, Kikuko is the voice of Hexaglia member Deborah (nicely against Honoka as Tia)! At the time of Honoka's first contribution in the Taiko no Tatsujin series, she was one of the guest stars of December 2015's Taiko Team livestream, where she sung live her debut song Love Fantasy under the nickname of HONOKA. Later on, Honohana used different nicknames for later works, such as the CreoFuga-spawn Namco Original Netemo Netemo, where she's credited as Honoka♡Erika (ほのか♡えりか) alongside Erika Kaiho.
At the original time of this writing, Sekai wa Itsudemo Mystery is one of the latest Namco Original songs to date, so it's easy to assume that no external album media outlet contains this song yet. However, the very same 3DS game happens to be hosting a longer version of the song, waiting in the Credits montage that players will be awarded with by completing the Story mode (link).
While light on the notecount side, this theme song's Oni mode will keep players engaged with as many notes as days in a regular year, thanks to small clusters that follow both 1/12 and 1/16 signatures.
