Twitter Snippets (31 March 2017) - Brother's Promo Bandai Namco Papercrafts!

【お知らせ】ブラザー（@BrotherJP_com）さんのサイトで太鼓の達人などバンダイナムコの6作品を扱ったペーパークラフトを配布中！
組み立ててお部屋に飾って欲しいドーン！ #taiko765https://t.co/SIDry3uu0U pic.twitter.com/LiEr80hkRV

— 太鼓チーム (@taiko_team) 31 marzo 2017

Having some spare sheets of paper and you want to make a new Taiko-themed papercraft after those old models for Don-Chan and Arumi-Chan back in the Wii2 days? Japanese printer manufacturer Brother is teaming up with Bandai Namco for the digital distribution of free paperkit models from many of the company's videogame-related IPs. As you can see, among the first models to appear there's a Taiko-themed figure to make, too!

The campaign is running from today until June 29th, after which date all the papercrafts' related PDF files won't be retrievable anymore. There's also going to be featured a second course of Bandai Namco papercrafts if the cumulative milestone of 10.000 downloads is met, so perhaps there may be more of a model concerning the same series...?

Source [Brother x Bandai Namco Campaign website]

Twitter Snippets (31 March 2017) - Into the Cinders and Back: Idolm@ster Cinderella Girls ver. Angel Dream on Yellow ver.

【速報】みなさんの熱い要望で実現！≪エンジェル ドリーム/「アイドルマスター シンデレラガールズ」より≫が、「太鼓の達人 イエローVer.」に収録決定！詳細は続報をお待ちください！https://t.co/U9UZ1uJo1D #taiko765 #idolmaster pic.twitter.com/lbrLhPHEjz

— 太鼓チーム (@taiko_team) March 31, 2017

Due to popular demand, the version of Angel Dream that is featured in The Idolm@ster Cinderella Girls Starlight Stage will be making its way back to its roots, coming soon in Taiko no Tatsujin Yellow ver. Details coming soon.

Across Japan: Thank You for Waiting! Yellow ver. Update Announced

 

And we have a date too now! April 5 2017, as shown in the above announcement image from, will be when Taiko no Tatsujin Yellow ver. applies to connected cabinets across the rest of Asia. Wonder why it took a half-month delay again, when Red ver. has managed same-day update?

As for info on new songs coming to the new version (or rather what songs did not come to Asia) and more, keep an eye on the official Facebook page as always.

Link to original post

3DS3 Update: Right into Cloud Nine (and Ten): April 3DS3 DLC

Last month's real challenges is not enough for you? Get more of ★9 and ★10 picks right where it comes from starting April 6.

DLC: April Free Download
大空と太鼓の踊り Oozora to Taiko no Odori (~2017/05/10)
　　　paraμ

DLC: Donder Pack 2 (500 yen +tax)
Wings of Tomorrow (Tatsujin Mix)
　　　「GOD EATER 2」より
Abandoned Temple Final 2nd Console debut
　　　「鉄拳7 FR」より Tekken 7 Fated Retribution
チャーリー ダッシュ！ Charlie Dash!
電子ドラムの達人 Denshi-drum no Tatsujin
　　　ふぇのたす Phenotas
タイコタイム Taiko Time (+ Ura?)

[UPDATE] - Taiko Time Ura confirmed for the pack; they only forgot to add the label on the initial announcement...

Namco Taiko Blog (March 30 2017): Did You Know Your Tubes?

In a bite-sized feature for today, Etou's deputy lets you know (or rather, reminds you) that the Taiko Team has been gradually releasing Namco Original song previews on YouTube.

Avid Namco Taiko Blog and/or Taiko Time followers will know that this trend started with the short-version previews of Gasshou Stabofe! and DokuLO CANdy around their debut update. The next step was to go full version since Sotsu Omeshiki Full and Yellow ver. arcade debuts, with a full-blown playlist no less.

It is kinda pointless for the Team to be officially talking about these videos and the playlist and then to immediately kill it off, so stay tuned to more Namco Original songs released this way in the future!

Link to original post

Behind the Drums: SueP

The nick-named SueP (すえP) has been a member of the Taiko Team since January 2015, during Taiko no Tatsujin V Version's development. His main role as a worker at Bandai Namco is deeply intertwined with the company's other arcade music game series -Synchronica-, for which he's been one of the main song chart makers. Within his primary occupation concerning the touchscreen-based series, he often took Taiko no Tatsujin notecharting tasks as a side job, up to then become a semi-regular Taiko Team member with other jobs to take in said series! Being a skilled Taiko player himself, SueP has been the test player for the Dojo Ranking courses since Kimidori Version, up to getting a course-deciding promotion under the Red ver. firmware.

SueP's charting style often relies on the more technical spectrum of Taiko gameplay, while always weighting in the placement of notes for their sonding with the base track (especially big ones) in order to realize what he has dubbed to be a "Singing Score" chart, a mode set which is musically in harmony with the base song at the point to make layers remembering about it just by thinking about its Taiko-mapped modes. Despite preferring rough-looking aspect for her hairstyle/outfit selection like Notecharter Sentai Shika@ni～san (しか@に～さん), he loves cute and fancy things. He's also in good acquaintance with the aforementioned Shika@ni～san, which taught him the basics of notechart-making during the creation of his first works, together with Kuboken (くぼけん).

Behind the Drums: Shika@ni~San

Another of the 3rd-generation Taiko Team notecharters, the nicknamed Shika@ni~San (しか＠に～さん) (pictured in the right corner of the top image) has joined the ranks sometime during the development of Kimidori Version, with its arcade role stepping up from Murasaki Version onward as the course curator of arcade-exclusive features such as the Don Challenge missions, the Dojo Ranking and Taiko School modes. Born in 1957 on June 30th (the day after Taiko Team leader Etou's!), he's notorious among the other Notecharter Sentai members for his huge appreciation towards cats, which also lead to the inclusion of Ms. Cat and Mr. Ladle as the Taiko School assistants.

Being an average 10-star Oni clearer himself, Shika@ni~San's charting approach was mostly based on a difficult degree that he himself could tackle, with a preference to scrolling speed modifications and short hit-balloons. Upon receiving some criticism for his initial charting job on Namco Original track Shiuryu, he started to follow the indications of other team members (such as Etou) to make it so that his future works wouldn't be harder for players to enjoy the base song and to reach the Norma clear due to charting gimmicks. That sentiment was also the basis for one of his charting mottos, "self-weighted challenge to be self-weighted", as a personal pointer to deliver a set of modes that can make the players enjoy both the base song and its charts in equal parts. As of his Notecharter Interview post, Shika@ni~San has charted more than 50 songs so far, starting with Kyary Pamyu Pamyu's Family Party.

Song of the Week! 25 March 2017

For our very first Spring pick of the year, we're back at the racing scene once more, with a Bandai Namco-fueled racing series that, unlike for Ridge Racer games and other minor racing titles, found its fortune on the arcade game rooms...

Twitter Snippets (23 March 2017) - Pro Yakyuu Don-Chan Returns

3/21発売「Vジャンプ5月特大号」に3DS『プロ野球 ファミスタ クライマックス』の最新情報が掲載中！
3号連続でVJ特別パスワードでレアキャラクターをGET！
今月のキャラは「どんちゃん選手」#ファミスタ pic.twitter.com/OQVZZQmqR5

— プロ野球 ファミスタ シリーズ[公式] (@Famista_Series) 22 marzo 2017

The latest installment of the long-running Family Stadium series has hit store shelves a few months ago, and now it just so happens that the Taiko drum mascot can get a piece of action by cameo means!

Indeed, Pro Yakyuu Famista Climax (プロ野球 ファミスタ クライマックス) -the Nintendo 3DS's latest entry to the baseball-related franchise- is offering to its players the chance to employ Don-Chan in their dream teams! Readers of the Japanese magazine V Jump can find a password for this collaboration cameo in the latest issue, released 2 days ago.

Namco Taiko Blog (23 March 2017) - Taiko no Tatsujin @ Hakurei Shrine Reitasai '17

【速報】祝⑨周年 IOSYSさん主催「チルノのパーフェクト⑨周年イヤー」に #太鼓の達人 参加だドン！＆5/7「博麗神社例大祭」にも参加！本日稼働開始の「太鼓の達人 イエローVer.」でそれぞれ実施！続報お楽しみに！#チルパ9周年 https://t.co/frA3z9rDe0 pic.twitter.com/gm4S4vmPAo

— 太鼓チーム (@taiko_team) 15 marzo 2017

Rather than a full-blown Thursday blog entry from one of the usual Taiko Team members, this time around we got a small teaser instead from someone who dubs him/herself to be "Etou-san's Secret Agent", reporting to some early details about Taiko no Tatsujin participating at this year's Hakurei Shrine Reitasai convention.

The spring fair for everything Touhou-related will be held at the last day of the Japanese Golden Week (May 7th), with the Taiko no Tatsujin crew coming back with a limited cabinet of Yellow Version containing all the songs released to date plus the Cirno-related collaboration track that we also talked about last week (link). Apparently there's something else brewing for the event as well, but it's not the right time to reveal more for now...

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First Video: Yellow ver. V1.07 Songs

Yellow Version's first update is already out! Here are the two new featured songs.

Sonority Scouts - Heavenly Otogesai

Much like what we already witnessed with the maimai series months ago (link), another of the recurring Tenkaichi Otogesai arcade series has decided to pick out the pre-existing crossover-y climate in order to add extra difficulties to some of the earliest shared additions. Thus, the latest installment of bemani's SOUND VOLTEX series (SDVX IV HEAVENLY HAVEN) has added a bunch of extra difficulty modes to Kita Saitama 2000 and the other notorious boss tune sharings from the event's Phase 1 of the 1st edition.

Being a Taiko blog and all of that, we are obliged to put Kita Saitama 2000's Heavenly mode on top of this post, but feel free to check out the other 3 songs as well- they're all rated 19 (out of 20)!

Garakuta Doll Play
Got more raves?
FLOWER

Behind the Drums: Silver Forest

Silver Forest is a music-oriented Touhou Project doujin group which was founded in 2006 by the nicknamed NYO, who is the arranger and lyricist of all of the unit's compositions. The act started with the also-nicknamed Sayuri (さゆり) and Aki (アキ) as the main vocalists, but the former had to leave the unit in 2012 due to her health condition's worsening, ultimately resulting in the unit being temporarily disbanded on May of the same year. The Silver Forest circle returned in 2013 with both returning and new singers subscribed to the act and it's currently active to this day.

Although the circle has been mainly involved for the porting of their most popular Touhou Project arrangements in many music game series, Silver Forest's contribution to the Taiko no Tatsujin series mostly comes in form of Namco Original works.

Houkago☆Magician Lyrics

Artist: Marine Base (まりんべーす)
Composer: Mamoru (マモル)
Lyrics, Vocals: Mariko Takei (武井麻里子)

Japanese lyrics sourced from Mariko Takei's Twitter (@mmmr_i)

Taiko no Tatsujin Yellow Version: Rewards Shop

Originated from Momoiro Version, the Rewards Shop allows Banapassport players to unlock new elements for the arcade play (namely, customization avatar elements and songs) that are not unlockable through the unlocking of selective avatar titles. Previously a service which was exclusive to the Donder Hiroba platform, the Rewards Shop functionalities have been reworked from Yellow Version, disbanding the former system based on the Don Point/Shopping Point currency and dividing its catalog into two main different outlets, each using their own currency.

Together with the main Rewards Shop alternatives, the service is also supporting other theme-based outlets that are available for a limited time (like for the case of collaboration events and such), which also refer to one of the two currencies used in the main RS sections.

Classic Showcase: Rock-omatopoeia Songs

Under this unusual wording are classified a selection of arrangements that all share a family of traits; each of the songs are rock-styled arrangements of different pieces of Classic track from all over the world and all of them have a title that is formed out by four letters from different Japanese writing systems, whose translation gives out a four-syllable onomatopoeia title that is somehow related to the song's composition and/or background motif that has inspired the very same tracks' creation in some way or another.

One additional link that tie all these tunes together is NAMCO SOUNDS composer/guitarist/piano player Katsuro Tajima (田島勝朗), who both created and performed all the tracks for the Taiko no Tatsujin series.

Song of the Week! 18 March 2017

The wait is finally over and the genre color spectrum is now complete in the Taiko firmware scenario! It's also time for us to close this special feature circle with a Classic pick...

3DS3 Update: Back to School with the Taiko Stationery Set

While it's still too soon for us to get more details about the next DLC batch for the only currently-active console Taiko title, everyone who is about to buy Dokodon! Mystery Adventure is eligible to be subject of yet another gift campaign!

Starting from tomorrow in every participating store, every purchase of the latest 3DS game will be paired with a B5-size note book and sticker sheet with many Taiko characters from the Wada family, together with a Taiko-labeled pen. If you want to nab these freebies for yourself, act fast before the supplies are over!

Source (Taiko 3DS 3 official website)

Namco Taiko Blog 2 (17 March 2017): Swiftly Updated: Yellow ver. Update (G/V 1.07)

Swiftly after the release of Yellow ver. do we already have the first update. A tiny one but a doozy nonetheless.

New Songs: March 22 2017 (Yellow ver. G/V 1.07)
恋 Koi NEW!
　　　ドラマ「逃げるは恥だが役に立つ」より Nigeru wa Haji da ga Yaku ni Tatsu
ようこそジャパリパークへ Youkoso Japari Park e NEW!
　　　どうぶつビスケッツ×ＰＰＰ Doubutsu Biscuits x PPP / 「けものフレンズ」より Kemono Friends

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Taiko Team's *actual* Yellow-est Stream Session (14/3/17)

Contrary to the usual course of events, this pre-new-arcade-version broadcast from the Taiko Team's franchise news scoop is on the feather-weight league of magnitude, mostly due to the fact that we've already had another arcade-focused livestream last month on nearly the same topics... It's then more reassuring for us to know that what was lacked in coverage awe was doubled in in the cheesy department with all sorts of shenanigans!

This has also been one of those times where the Taiko Team has been more quick than us for the broadcast recap action, as Daifuku already made an image-based summary on the official blog (from which we've picked some snaps, too), so it's only fair play from our part to open our feature with a fresh picture of the experienced Taiko mascot!

List of Title Parts in Taiko no Tatsujin (Yellow Version)

From Momoiro Version 2.04 onwards, arcade Banapassport players are able to set titles for their personal nickname either with one of the titles previously unlocked by doing specific tasks or by creating a new one by scratch by using specific title parts.

These title parts are basically divided into two different groups: nouns and phrases ('Group A') and symbols or connectives ('Group B'). Players can use up to 2 words from Group A and a symbol/connective from Group B to construct a custom title, following the scheme A-B-A. Any spot of said scheme can be left blank and the slots for Group A words can be filled with the same word.

While all the units from Group B are unlocked by default, players have to get the title parts from Group A through the rewards shop. Certain Group A parts can be unlocked only by achieving specific goals just like regular titles, whose unlocking requirements are explained into White Version's unlock page.

List of Titles in Taiko no Tatsujin (Yellow Version)

The title stem 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 (until Red Version).

Almost all the titles from the Red Version are available on Yellow ver. 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.

Taiko no Tatsujin Yellow Version unlock list

All unlockables are limited to Banapassport users only.

Taiko no Tatsujin Yellow Ver. song list

The 9th firmware upgrade iteration for the third-generation Taiko HD arcades, Yellow Version was launched on March 2017 starring the last of the (current) song genre signature colors as its main motif and naming trendsetter.

Yellow Version is the first new firmware release since Murasaki Version to bring new features to the table since launch day alongside the release of new songs; for this firmware's case, the unlocking methods for customization items and songs has been completely reworked, removing the former Don Points and Rewards Shop models with new seasonal unlocks that can be accessed from the arcade before a regular play and a new permanent shop for the Donder Hiroba.

This has also been the last arcade version to feature the Banapassport-exclusive Tokkun Mode from White Version.

Namco Taiko Blog (17 March 2017) - Taiko x iM@S CG Apps Collaboration Recap

 

The collaboration-related announcements from the past month (link) that got repeated in the latest livestream are now given another platform to repeat the same content as before, so we're just forwarding you to the previous notices we left (like the one we linked above) and our upcoming livestream recap for the full skinny.

Link to original post

Twitter Snippets (15 March 2017) - Taiko no Tatsujin's Official Youtube Song Playlist (and Other Yellow Ver. Launch Tomfoolery)

【太鼓の達人　楽曲プレイリスト】 https://t.co/mgMC56f1Yh
本日より稼働の太鼓の達人 イエローVer.に収録している楽曲から
「ガンスリンガーシンデレラ」
「竜と黒炎の姫君」
「≠ＭＭ」
の３曲について、実際に遊べるフルVer.の視聴動画を公開しました！

— 太鼓チーム (@taiko_team) 15 marzo 2017

Among the many celebratory launch-day tweets, there was also the notice of a trio of Namco Original songs that were added to Bandai Namco's Youtube page yesterday: Ryuu to Kokuen no Himegimi, Gunslinger Cinderella and ≠MM. The three full tracks have been put in a playlist together with Sotsu Omeshiki 2-ban and, much like to the former Youtube official song releases, the description box has both the official lyrics and the artists who made them. Check it out!

Takemoto has been busy on the Twitter handle for a lot of other means in between, from re-tweeting celebratory messages by newcoming Namco Original tracks' creators, tweeting the Yellow Version arcade cartridge together with his after-livestream, mustard-based midnight snack (link), announcing the involvement in the 9th IOSYS anniversary of Cirno's Perfect Math Class (link) and reminding the Taiko audience in general that the Taiko arcade HD website has been updated with the newcoming Yellow Version content. Be sure to stop by for another rundown of the new arcade features, as well as new services such as the most-played songs chart and an improved song list page with star ratings for all the publicly-available tracks!

Namco Taiko Blog (16 March 2017) - March 14th Livestream Recap

While we were busy with the usual behind-the-scene preparations for the new Taiko firmware's related pages, Daifuku has already been nimble in writing her own recap post for last Tuesday's livestream! As we've already seen through our latest Quick Takeaways, however, not that many new Taiko-related scoops were given out... As the blog entry doesn't add new stuff on top of the livestream reveals, a look at our feature will be enough to get informed on all its related news delivery.

By all means, though, feel free to give a look at the original blog entry for the icon/smartphone wallpaper rewards and some spicy live Tatsu-Don snapshots!

Link to original post

P.S. - Feel free to hover to this secretly-published Taiko Team blog entry from yesterday in order to know the full Spring Rewards Shop lineup that made its debut with Yellow Version's release!

First Video: Yellow ver. Release Rush!

Unlike past releases, there is nothing secret to be unveiled with the Yellow ver. update, so let's round them up in a classic First Video post. And for the sake of search engine optimization, we'll order the songs in popularity, starting with:

[COLLAB] - Cirno's Perfect Music Game Collaboration

Before our usual launch-day song dump for Yellow Version, a new multi-arcade Touhou-related collaboration is already brewing in the air! Due to anniversary means, it will star everyone's favorite freeze-addicted fairy, no less...

First Video: Take me☆Take you

Take me☆Take you (3/3/5, 390 notes on Muzukashii)
In addition to Angel Dream making to the standard rules (still 765 combo!), this collaboration with The Idolm@ster Cinderella Girls mobile game and Starlight Stage spinoff* also adds the Dondoko Paradise (どんどこパラダイス) minigame mode that is just normal Taiko no Tatsujin gameplay (but no Oni charts :( ). Out of the three playable songs on this mode this is the one that is exclusive to here as of now.

Onegai! Cinderella and Star!! in the mode are the same as the regular Taiko no Tatsujin releases.

*Addendum (15/03/2017): Thanks to Makoroku in the comments for clarifying: Angel Dream is in Cinderella Girls Starlight Stage (Deresute) but Dondoko Paradise is in the Cinderella Girls mobile game (Mobam@s).

Quick Takeaways: March 14th, 2017 Livestream

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

Comments Challenge
All goals achieved:

• 10k - Twitter icon
• 30k - Smartphone wallpaper
• 50k - Title part: (Real) ((本物))
• 76.5k - Tatsu-Don Live Performance on Taiko Yellow ver.

AC0 Red ver.

• Red Version Dojo Ranking Hall of Fame revealed, updated to February 28th (from Juudan to Tatsujin, both normal and Gold clears); final version to be revealed in a later date

AC0 Yellow ver.

•  ≠MM to be a Day 1 unlock for the Donder Hiroba Rewards Shop (Katsu Medals)
• Koi (恋) by Gen Hoshino (genre placement unknown) to be released in one of the first Yellow Ver. updates
•  Ooka Ranman (桜花爛漫) is the name for the 9th Butou song; set to be released together with  8OROCHI in a later date

Future Talk / Others

• Taiko no Tatsujin-themed content coming to the iDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls and Starlight Stage apps
• 4th episode of Audio Deka aired

Namco Taiko Blog (13 March 2017) - From Red to Yellow: Taiko Team's PSAs

Two days before the next firmware's release, the Taiko Team felt the need of making a couple of blog entries about the element changes that will occur from Red to Yellow, together with what kinds of data recorded in Banapassport cards will be carried over to the new firmware.

The Idolm@ster Cinderella Girls Collab's Angel Dream on Album

While the collaboration on arcade Taiko no Tatsujin has ended with the month of February, and the collab songs stay in the Game Music folder like any other GM song, that is far from the last we will hear from the idols. Way, way far.

The upcoming Cinderella Girls soundtrack "THE IDOLM@STER CINDERELLA MASTER Treasure☆" (March 22nd, 2017) will include the collaborative remixes of Taiko staple Angel Dream as bonus tracks. In addition to the base version with the ensemble of Riina Tada (多田李衣菜, CV: Ruriko Aoki), Chieri Ogata (緒方智絵里, CV: Naomi Oozora) and Rika Jougasaki (城ヶ崎莉嘉, CV: Kibou Yamamoto), each of the idols also stars in their own solo remix.

About Angel Dream going to Cinderella Girls Starlight Stage, the ensemble version might be the one to be used, but we'll report deeper as the full extent of their collab efforts come out.

Announcement post: Columbia Japan Idolm@ster portal

What's Up With: Diet Fighter

At a total of 63 default and on-cartridge unlockable songs, Taiko no Tatsujin 3DS3's song list has been the biggest among the series' installments on Nintendo handhelds, and especially among those with random-encounter-RPG style story modes so far.

With that also comes a higher difficulty to include all of the songs into the story mode. In Don-chan's hunt for the Ryuumyakus/Dragonveins, for instance, there are way more songs set as boss-only songs and one-off challenges (especially collab songs) and not being put into random encounter on the enemy-ridden roads. But count it to the Taiko Team for managing to find a place for... only 62 of the songs?

In Seagal's (セガール) third contribution to Taiko no Tatsujin after Robot Rock 'n' Roll and Maigo no UFO, Diet Fighter drops the sci-fi facade and have vocalists Miyako Hagihara (萩原みやこ) and Ayuka Watanaba (渡辺あゆ香) sing about the struggles of dieting in swearing off all the tasty desserts and snacks. Yet after any decent playthrough of the game you might have noticed that this is the only default song to not be found in the 3DS3 story mode at all as other Donders have suggested.

The possible rationalizations for this is either it is put at a really obscure place such that no one was able to find it even after 9 months of release, or that it was a stashed mid-boss song for Lily at the museum or in Ancient Greece. The latter holds more water when Lily claimed must having extra-fudged desserts after multiple of her defeats, resonating the song's subject matter.

What do you think? Or have you already found the answer but was just withholding from the entire Donder community? Share with us below.

Across Japan: The Last Blood: March Facebook Tournament

Contrary to wishful thinking, this month's Asian ver. Facebook tournament had the audacity to have March 15 right at the middle of this tourney cycle. So much for same day Yellow ver. guys.

That does not mean you can slack off with the tournament though. Get going!

Facebook Tournament: March 11~19 2017
 そつおめしき2ばん Sotsu Omeshiki 2-ban (Oni ★10)
　　　feat. unmo
 マサカリブレイド Masakari Blade (Muzukashii ★6)
　　　REDALiCE / 「SOUND VOLTEX」より

Link to original post

Song of the Week! 11 March 2017

Before Yellow Version's release week, we have the time to make a bonus feature about one of the recurring traits that the ongoing Taiko HD arcade family shares... permanent song removals.

While deleting songs from subsequent arcade games isn't exactly a brand-new trait, the firmware-based model of modern Taiko games makes it so that when a song gets removed in the latest iteration, all the previously-released firmware boards still active will also lose it, effectively marking the removal of several arcade-exclusive tracks from the series.

Only two of the soon-to-be-lost songs of the latest removal batch are left for us to feature...

Community Post: Taiko no Tatsujin Philippines

Chances are, if you play Taiko no Tatsujin on the arcade, you probably have a local community or two with players you can talk to and share experiences together, which is one of the greatest joys of the game. Our friends from the Philippines have still yet to get online Taiko no Tatsujin. Maybe all they need is a little exposure!

I've personally known several Taiko no Tatsujin players from the Philippines, and they are all very passionate folk. Skilled too! They've set up a Facebook group to gather their numbers together. If any of our readers are interested, join in and help them grow!

This has been a community message. Keep on Taiko-ing!

Namco Taiko Blog (March 9 2017): Imminent Release Calls for Song List: Yellow ver. Release Change Notes

Less than a week away now, it is high time for the formal song list additions to be released, right? Taiko Team would not disappoint with a last minute info boom by Etou('s deputy) right here.

Twitter Snippets (6 March 2017) - Pre-Livestream Random Composer Facts

どんな曲なのカッ！？今後の続報をお楽しみに！ご協力いただき、ありがドンございます！ https://t.co/3c11UmROun

— 太鼓チーム (@taiko_team) 6 marzo 2017

お疲れ様でしたドン！急なリクエストにも応えていただきありがとう！ https://t.co/QCPIC611Uq

— 郷拓郎 (@detunedetune) 6 marzo 2017

By this point, we are already used to 2-round song reveals when it comes of a new Taiko HD firmware's launch day song additions. For Yellow Version's case, the end-February livestream was the first tasting while many elements are leading to new reveals that are slated in the coming days/weeks.

More to the point, the Taiko Team's Twitter account was eager to re-tweet and comment the after-work endavors of Miko Tsujibayashi (辻林美穂), singer and member of the independent unit Futari no Bungaku (ふたりの文学) that was commissioned to provide the vocals for an upcoming original song. Judging by the return of Go Takuro (郷拓郎) from detune commenting about his latest experience indoors with the singer, it's highly the case that he is the composer of the newly-vocalized track.

With one last tweet for the day from the Taiko Team, it also appears that we'll be hearing more of the Yellow Version newcomer lineup in this very week, even before the February 14th livestream run!

Shugaku Travelers Lyrics

Composition: TonCHAN (とんCHAN)
Lyrics: Shock Tarou (ショック太郎)
Vocal: Yuka Uchiyae (うちやえゆか)

Sympho-Neighbours - Computing Dissonance

Back in the day, we at Taiko Time were used to host an episodic family of features under the title of 'Taiko Goofs', where we took a look at several glitch-derived situations in different Taiko no Tatsujin games throughout the years. Even if most of these discoveries documented in the past have been removed from Youtube in video form, we managed to find enough content to keep the talk alive for quite a long time!

Of course, the other music-game competitors are not 100% immune to technical faults either; venture after the jump to have a taste of some of the most curious glitches that have affected other franchises throughout their run!

Song of the Week! 4 March 2017

Our Road to Yellow Version has brought us to our last two stops before the next firmware's release with White and Red.

As both firmware colors have been translated for their Taiko HD label in a Japanese wording that points to their English naming (like for the incoming Yellow firmware), here are a couple of songs with English titles!

Namco Taiko Blog (2 March 2017) - Want to Hear More? Notecharter Interview 12

Just two weeks have passed since the last Notecharter Interview segment, but apparently it's already time for a new one! Today's guest is newcomer notecharting member SueP (すえP).

Taiko Plus/STH: Early March GTH Additions

Today also marks the release of a new song quintet for the mobile Taiko games's GTH mode, featuring the return of old/new Taiko cold hits, Touhou invasion and us catching up with the news on the iOS-related hemisphere in a really timely manner for once!

Gakkyoku Tori Houdai Adds: March 1

 TRAIN-TRAIN
 Help me, ERINNNNNN!!
 Raiko Taiko Disco (ライコタイコディスコ)
 Le Tombeau de Couperin (クープランの墓)
 Kagutsuchi (カグツチ)

First Video: Surf Zapping

 Surf Zapping (4/6/7/10, 840 notes on Oni)
From as slow as 0.5× and up to beyond 2× than basic BPM, the newest t+pazolite inclusion and Synchronica crossover plays mostly of scroll speed changes. Oni in particular features 24th and long 16th streams among those speed up/downs pushing thing up to a legit ☆10.

Addendum: For reference, a DFC Capture

Behind the Drums: Kojima Takuya @ Ojima

*image pending*

One of the Taiko Team's senoir members, Kojima Takuya (小嶋拓也) has been a relatively-active contributor to the series during the first two arcade generations, while also having several charting commissions to do on the side, most of the time being referred to as Ojima (オジマ).

The first mentions of this member was by the cryptic label "A Person in the Seat Behind Etou" (エトウの後ろの席の人), which at the time was the only hint/nickname to the true identity of Mata Saitama 2000's charter. Starting from that episode, Kojima Takuya was used to periodically reveal what the other notecharters were working into through his Twitter page, but a few months inside the Taiko HD arcade period he closed his Twitter account. Little else is known about this member to this date...