[RANDOM] - Chronicles of a Forgotten April Fools Stunt

While we managed to catch an admirable amount of April Fools pranks in one of our most recent Sonority Scouts features, it may happen that some of those tricky expedients may fall off our radars, mainly due to either poor visual/video documentation or us being unaware of the joke itself (or both).

For this year, one of these misreported pranks comes from Synchronica, which got a full digression in a dedicated blog entry of the Synchronica Lab.

Taiko no Tatsujin Namco Original Playlist Adds 4 (April 18 2017)

Okay, okay, I have to check back whether this was featured in the prominent social media outlets back on April 18 2017, and it was not (phew that would have been embarrassing on our part). Apparently Taiko Team will be having us put on standing duty on the main Yellow ver. site once every month or so now?

*cough* Anyway, the whole rant-y opening is to highlight that the Namco Original playlist has since added four new videos featuring full versions of songs:
Turquoise Tachometer
Negai wa Esperanto
UNDEAD HEART (Ikari no Warriors) (with official lyrics)
Sayonara Varya (with official lyrics)
Ryu to Kokuen no Himegimi (with official lyrics)
Gunslinger Cinderella (with official lyrics)
≠MM (with official lyrics...?)
Sotsu Omeshiki Full (with official lyrics)

Playlist's first open announcement

Song of the Week! 29 April 2017

Since the inception of the movie Frozen, the quota of songs coming from English-speaking countries in Taiko has seen a small bump thanks to the porting of popular tracks from the most recent animated Disney movies.

While this very week has seen the introduction of a Japanese song cover from the recently-released Moana, let's take one slight step backwards for today's feature...

Taiko Plus - Fighting Idols Collab and End-of-April GTH Additions

アイドル生合戦優勝軍「みどり アンジュルム軍」がスマホアプリ「太鼓の達人プラス」に期間限定で登場!
期間限定無料配信中のアンジュルム「大器晩成」をプレイしよう!https://t.co/oclw23TKxm#taiko765 #ANGERME #アイドル生合戦 #アソビスタ pic.twitter.com/dHBCID4DIy

— アイドル生合戦 by アソビスタ (@asobista) 28 aprile 2017

A double treat for both Android and iOS Taiko players was revealed right before the Taiko Team having their latest hiatus period, as the monthly Gakkyoku Tori Houdai new song supply is coupled with a mini collaboration campaign, of which we're talking about after the jump.

Sonority Scouts - Hakurei Shrine's Musical Troopers / 2017 Edition

With the very last blog entry before the Golden Week hiatus being about the exclusive content that is featured in the promo Yellow Version builds being shipped at the yearly Hakurei Shrine Reitasai convention, it's time -once again- to wonder just what the other music series competitors will pull out for the returning danmaku-fueled event.

Reach us out after the jump!

Twitter Snippets (27 April 2017) - Silence is Golden (Week)

【お知らせ】弊社ＧＷ期間休業のお知らせです。弊社の休業期間に伴い、4/28～5/7の間、太鼓の達人公式ツイッターの運営もお休みとさせていただきます。また、期間中の木曜日の公式ブログの定期更新もお休みとなります。5/8以降はそれぞれ運営を再開いたします。よろしくお願いいたします。

— 太鼓チーム (@taiko_team) 27 aprile 2017

By this point, we've got used to Bandai Namco-related media taking a break as the yearly Golden Week celebrations approach, and 2017 is no exception.

From this Friday until May 7th, all Taiko Team-related activities (Twitter handle, blog entries and such) will be stopped for the nationwide celebration, only to be resuming from the following Monday onward.

Namco Taiko Blog (27 April 2017) - Cirno Project @ Reitasai 2017

Today's weekly blog entry is mainly made out of a visual reminder of the IOSYS Touhou Project arrange collaboration coming to the 14th Reitasai's promo Taiko no Tatsujin builds, alongside the other previously-released arrange songs. Also, we now happen to know what the song's official title is going to be: Cirno's Perfect Math Class ⑨ Anniversary Edition (チルノのパーフェクトさんすう教室 ⑨周年バージョン).

Once again, we remind you that this song's outing is currently scheduled to public Taiko (and Synchronica) arcades as well, set to an unspecified future date.

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3DS3 Update: Cruising Round the Sun: May 3DS3 DLC

While we are ever so close to the one-year mark of the release of 3DS3 (and also the typical active cycle of console DLCs), continue to have some brand new and familiarly exciting picks for the month of May! Available May 11.

DLC: May Free Download
D's Adventure Note (~2017/06/07)
　　　暖＠よみぃ Dan@Yomii

DLC: Donder Pack 3 (500 yen +tax)
OLGA BREEZE [太陽シーン Sun Scene] NEW!
　　　「ダライアスII」より Darius II
 蒼の旋律 Ao no Senritsu (+Ura)
マリオネットピュア Marionette Pure
夜櫻ブレヰダアズ Yozakura Braiders
　　　ぽんきち Ponkichi
DEBSTEP!
　　　やじゅ Yaju

First Video: Yellow ver. V2.07/Asia V1.05 Songs

With the update day's coming and the official Japanese update version number fully revealed, the one thing left for us to do is to cover the newcomer songs! Let's start with the sole Namco Original addition.

[RANDOM] - Tatsu-Don's... Less Known Cousin?

マストドンってこういう事じゃなかったのか… pic.twitter.com/EeqVTddi5B

— sasakure.UK (@sasakure__UK) 21 aprile 2017

As we started this week on random notes, we're also ending it on a tangent of randomness, thanks to a Taiko-related tweet made by independent composer sasakure.UK that has managed to achieve an overwhelming amount of positive attention... yes, even higher than Etou trying to sing conflict!

Basically, the artist wondered how big can a Don note get after the 'regular' normal and big variants, resulting in the doodling process of a muscle-powered creature that goes by the name of Must Don (マストドン). How would such a creature get along with the rest of the Wada family or even the Tatsu brothers? The world may never know...

Song of the Week! 22 April 2017

With something Nintendo-related making its debut next week, we might as well join the fray with a feature that is also linked to the Kyoto entertainment company!

Across Japan (April 20 2017): A Big Regrettable "Whoops Sorry": Yellow ver. Asia Update G/V1.05

With such astounding additions next door, a same-day-as-Japan update for the greater Asia region won't be half ba... wait, what? THREE?

Namco Taiko Blog (20 April 2017) - Leave Anime Licenses to Heaven: Yellow Ver. Version Update (v2.xx)

Full version update notes abound! Spoilers: It's got Disney, Nintendo and lots of Bandai-related IPs.

Aka no Senritsu Lyrics

Composer: AILE

Twitter Snippets (April 19 2017): Angel Dream ver. CGSS Dated

【速報】≪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≫の収録日が4月26日に決定しました！どうぞお楽しみに♪https://t.co/U9UZ1uJo1D#taiko765 #idolmaster pic.twitter.com/DaipQ1q8cI

— 太鼓チーム (@taiko_team) April 19, 2017

Following the breaking-news first announcement, another breaking-news tweet dates the addition of Angel Dream "ver. CGSS" at April 26, together with the next update.

[RANDOM] - Not-Namco Idols with Namco Artists

【4/20(木)「天王洲 なずな(CV:山本 彩乃)」キャラソン追加！】 #イロドリミドリ の天王洲なずなが夢の中で見たものとは…？全難易度プレイでキャラクターもゲットしちゃおう！ #チュウニズムAIR https://t.co/ykxHKp1epE pic.twitter.com/Tcs26kvFoH

— チュウニズム公式@4/20新曲！ (@chunithm) 17 aprile 2017

It doesn't happen very often to see songs from NAMCO SOUNDS composers branching out to external music game series... let alone brand new tracks, for that matter! This, however, is the scenario that is bound to happen later this month for Sega's Chunithm series.

We've seen for a while how the not-Vocaloid-related music game franchises have started to feature a proprietary idol unit in the past that goes by the name of Irorimidori (イロドリミドリ), and after some iDOLM@ster songs getting ported to the earliest maimai builds it's now the turn of one Namco musician to contribute for this cause! More specifically, Hiroshi Okubo (大久保博) has been in charge of the arrangement direction of the latest Irorimidori track (Tic Tac DREAMIN'), which is about to be publicly released later this week.

For those who are curious enough for a song preview, head over to this tweet!

Song of the Week! 15 April 2017

We've seen many success stories from different kinds of media who managed to draw attention to themselves thanks to Internet-related fame... today's featured track is about another one of them!

Across Japan: Back in the Yellow: April 2017 Facebook Tournament

The initial delay from Japanese version might be scary and afar, but now that Yellow ver. Asian version is well up and running, it's alright now! :D

Let's kick back into gear for the regular monthly happenings then! (Nope, not DonChare. We still don't get to have Donder Hiroba :( )

Facebook Tournament: March 15~23 2017
 ガンスリンガーシンデレラ Gunslinger Cinderella (Oni ★9)
 前前前世 Zen Zen Zense (Muzukashii ★6)
　　　映画「君の名は。」より Your Name.

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Namco Taiko Blog (13 April 2017) - Announcement of Future Announcements: Game Version 2.xx

Today's choice for our weekly Taiko Team blog article feature has been made for the fact that most of the next update's content will actually be revealed some time in the future...

That, however, doesn't mean that we don't have anything else interesting to say about it today!

The Almost Transient Mysteries: Soroban, Dark Turn Rises

So now that everyone knows that what Yuu-ge-ra-sai-kyou might have meant, Taiko Team deem it suitable for Yellow ver., of all timing, to renew the hidden messages in Soroban 2000.

Twitter Snippets (12 April 2017) - Marine Base's Incoming Album

太鼓の達人に収録中、ナムコオリジナル曲「ほうかご☆マジシャン」を歌っていただいた、武井麻里子さんのアルバムが発売決定だドン！アルバムには、その「ほうかご☆マジシャン」が収録される予定です！レッツチェックだドーン！ https://t.co/jM4F9mFRdN

— 太鼓チーム (@taiko_team) 12 aprile 2017

In the ongoing, harsh climate of Taiko news drought, the Team has been eager on promoting the latest album release of one of its music-making contributors once again!

This time around it's the turn of Marine Base, who is including her Namco Original song contribution (Houkago☆Magician) in the soon-to-be-out Multitasking Girl (マルチタスクガール) album, set for a May 17th release. Will an extended version of the song be included, or is it going to be the 'regular' Taiko cut instead?

Sympho-Neighbours - Digital Singers Concerto

...well, I got to read that message sent to me by the other blog TT blog editors last week. To sum it up, it stated that I'd have to make up for the April Fools stunt with a feature concerning a topic I tend to dislike to "balance it out", or else I might see something of mine around the Interned be freezed...

With that said, here I am, making a Sympho-Neighbours feature about Vocaloid music in rhythm gaming!
...breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out...

Song of the Week! 8 April 2017

A couple of Namco Original tunes are on our spotlight today! Both of them were also created for tournament means, too.

Namco Taiko Blog (6 April 2017) - Brother's Promo Taiko Papercraft

The mysterious "Etou-San's Agent" is back! ... and once again, it's just for rehashing old news pieces without adding nothing else new. As the Brother papercraft campaign was already tackled by us thanks to a Taiko Team tweet we talked about last week (link), just imagine at this point one of us waggling fingers at the screen to reach out our reading audience and say: "These aren't the news you're looking for; you can go about your business".

Move along, move along...

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Taiko no Tatsujin Yellow Ver. (International) Song List

The 3rd-generation Taiko arcade line's 9th firmware iteration is another distinguished step for Taiko players from the not-Japanese Asian areas to catch up with the brand new content being featured in the main build since Day 1; the feat was accomplished by porting the majority of the JP Yellow Version launch content, including the revamped unlock system (to an extent).

The Don Point unlock system discontinuation has led to the instantaneous unlock of all its related tracks for all players to enjoy, while the newcomer Don Medal system (and related unlocks) has managed to be ported unscathed. That said, however, most of the Donder Hiroba-features and their revamped counterparts (such as the Katsu Medal-based shops) are still inactive for the overseas arcade brand.

Across Japan: Yellow ver. Song Adds and Minuses

We did not show you this last time, but here's the cross-fading Facebook cover made all exciting with the wait we've had

Now that Lokamp has had his fun *cough*, let's get back to actual news for actual Taiko no Tatsujin. Specifically, a celebratory cheer goes out to the Donders (and our readers) in the greater Asia regions for the full new song list for Yellow ver.

Taiko Plus/STH: End-of-March GTH Additions

Right before the whole April Fools charades could take place this year, the Taiko Plus STH app players can have a taste of some popular and difficult songs to enjoy between Namco Originals, some nostalgia and Touhou invasion while we're at it.

Gakkyoku Tori Houdai Adds: March 31

 Sakuranbo (さくらんぼ)
 Akeboshi Rocket (明星ロケット)
 Eikyoku/Gyouan (郢曲／暁闇)
 Kayou ～Flourishing Blossoms～ (花漾 ～Flourishing Blossoms～) (+ Ura)
 Mahou no Kissaten (魔法の喫茶店)

Sonority Scouts - Prankfully Yours, 2017 Edition

...yes, once again we've been on the fools' chariot to treat our audience for some of that delicious April Fools fondue, but we've not been the only music game-related tricksters of the town!

Meet us after the jump for a collection of the most amusing AF stunts of this year, together with what the Taiko franchise has cooked up for this year in particular...

Sympho-Neighbours - One-Butapunch Man

To round off our last Taiko Time-styled set of features before our blog overhaul in our trilogy, it's time to fall further down the rabbit hole for other glimpses of rhythm gaming glory that Tsugumi Kataoka managed to build up along all these years! This is about to become a tale for the ages...

Song of the Week! 1 April 2017

Expecting a regular feature? TOO BAD. KATAOKA TIME.

Super Mogoo lyrics

Composition, arrangement, lyrics, vocals, cheese: Tsugumi Kataoka (片岡嗣実)

[SITE] - Early Spring's Major Blog Update

Before starting this out-of-schedule update notice, as usual, I personally want to thank every single one of our readers, be it 1-time viewers or recurring visitors, who've been coming to our humble web space for the latest scoops about the Taiko no Tatsujin series; the passion and dedication to the overall music game scenario is what has inspired the inception of this very blog, but your renewed interest is what it made it flourish up to this day (and counting!).

It's also for the very same passion-driven motifs leading all of us so far that we're announcing a full blog overhaul project, so that we can further expand on one of the driving forces that are moving the entire Japanese rhythm games scenario forward.

We deem this change so important, in fact, that we're leaving our new main topic behind a jump. We invite you to delve further as we unveil Taiko Time's new raison d'etre.







The time has come. Meet the man.






Nay, the giant.






Nay, the legend.