First Video: Yellow ver. V3.08/Asia V2.03 Songs

It's update day for both Japanese and General Asia Yellow Version arcades! While the more licensed side is a JP-exclusive affair, there's something lurking behind the scenes for everyone to enjoy.

See you after the jump!

Ouka Ranman joins Taiko no Tatsujin Namco Original Playlist (May 17 2017)

And on a coincidental stroll across the Yellow ver. main site one day before the next update, we came across an update to the Taiko Team's full-version music playlist happened back on May 17 2017 with one song:

 Ouka Ranman
 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)

By the way, if you can figure a pattern for when these pop out, tell us and we'll try to schedule more regular checks around your suggested times.

Playlist's first open announcement

Ryuu to Kokuen no Himegimi Lyrics

Composer, Arrangement: Drop
Lyrics: Yura Hatsuki (葉月ゆら)
Vocals: Hisui (翡翠), Yura Hatsuki (葉月ゆら)

Japanese lyrics sourced from official YouTube preview dated March 15 2016

Site Announcement: Ending the Lyrics Feature Request Poll Format

After 1.5 years and over 50 Lyrics Features released by all three incarnations combined, the Lyrics Feature Request Poll format that we devised in late 2015 can likely be considered to be fruitful. Yet, as we review the balance with our real-life commitments, it is sad to say we might have to retire the format.

Of course, what is ending here will only be the poll format. A latest count reveals that we have at least 30 songs we have not yet got to for a Lyrics Feature, and as Taiko no Tatsujin games continue to release newer vocal tracks, there is still a long way to go. In the future, Lyrics Features are expected to be posted on select Mondays every 2~4 weeks.

And of course we will still be very welcoming of your suggestions or requests on what songs to do Features. Hit us up in the usual channels you can reach us if you want to do so. Reader submissions are of course also wlecome!

Now to end the format with a final poll: The Lyrics Feature of these four songs will be scheduled for posting on June 19 and July 3, 17 and 31, 2017 respectively in order of votes received (accumulated votes from past votes still count). Voting runs from May 29~June 4.

ベラボーマン Bravoman (+3)
超絶技巧系少女 Chouzetsu-gikoukei Shoujo (+0)
 うそうそ時 Uso'uso-doki
UNDEAD HEART (怒りのWarriors) UNDEAD HEART (Ikari no Warriors)

[LFRP] Our final Lyrics Feature Request Poll, for 06/19 and 07/03, 17, 31! Details: https://t.co/AXs2mgRlqP

— Taiko Time (@taikotimeblog) May 28, 2017

conflict Lyrics

Composition: Ryo 'siromaru' Sakata (酒田遼), Hiroshi 'cranky' Watanabe (渡辺宏)
Vocal: Ryoko 'Pico' Watanabe (渡辺良子)

Song of the Week! 27 May 2017

...Let battle commence.

Across Japan (May 26 2017): Summer's In Store for Asia: Yellow ver. Asia G/V 2.03 Update

Quick update post on our part as greater Asia will be getting an equivalent update of G/V 2.03 as Japan's G/V 3.xx. Hopefully by this time you have learnt to not expect licensed picks to be on time, because the additional three J-POP and Anime songs really did not make it this time... yet.

What, you forgot what's on the update even though I already explicitly linked to our past post above? *sigh* Alright, see after the jump then.

Sonority Scouts - Synchronica's Sacred Fusion

As foretold by some choice tweets, the Taiko lore hit the Synchronica shores once more, starring from yesterday a new couple of hi-difficulty Namco Original tracks from the drumming series.

Be it for the newly-crafted album art or the touchscreen-based way to catch up the rhythms, it's a new way for both songs to be experienced in official rhythm gaming!

Namco Taiko Blog (25 May 2017) - Pre-Seasonal Change Update and the Yellow Retaliation (=more Yellow ver. Song Removals)

The weekly blog update deals with the next seasonal song list refresher for Yellow Version, as the May 31st update is up to add more than the Namco Original song march of last week...

[RANDOM] - Taiko 3DS 2's Digital Content Removal

Out of nowhere, the website for Don to Katsu Jikuu Daibouken has reported the gradual digital content removal concerning the game in question, also ruling out one removal notice issued back in January this year we previously missed.

Starting out from DLC songs, these tracks will (or have already) become unavailable to download make new purchases from the suggested dates:

• Hare Hare Yukai (from January 31st)
• Let It Go ～Ari no Mama De～ (from June 25th)
• Yukidaruma Tsukurou (Do You Want to Build a Snowman) (from October 31st)

Finally, the game itself's digital version will also get removed disabling new purchases later this month, from May 30th; after said date, only the still-available additional contents will be up to download.

Erratum (24/05/2017): All four items allows for re-downloading after the respective deadlines, if you already made the purchase before they're de-shelved. Wording above has been fixed to clarify.

Source (DLC removal)
Source (digital game removal)

Twitter Snippets (19~21 May 2017) - Color-Changing Synchronica's Screenshot Quiz of Ruin

【ビジュアル新曲クイズ：5月その2】
ゲーム内ビジュアルから新曲を予想する「ビジュアル新曲クイズ」 5月、2回目です♪
薔薇っぽいシルエットが見えますが…もう１枚は瓦礫のような感じですね。果たして何の曲なのか…！！
予想リプライお待ちしております～☆#シンクロニカ pic.twitter.com/kNKY13T1Pl

— シンクロニカ公式@楽曲リクエスト実施中！ (@Synchronica_prj) 19 maggio 2017

Following up from last week's Synchronica screenshot quiz on Twitter, a new guess-the-song round for May 25th's new releases has been made, once again featuring rosy-inspired backgrounds and different Taiko no Tatsujin guessing alternatives to choose from.

If you want to play along before knowing the name of the next Taiko-related song to be ported into the series, here are the four-option vote guesses that have been listed in another tweet:

• Sacred Ruin
• Blue Rose Ruin
• Yuugao no Kimi
• Inu no Omawari-san

Read the answer announcement on today's Synchronica tweet or click 'Read More' to know what's the correct answer!

Sympho-Neighbours - When Two Worlds Collide / Rhythm Game Version

This is a continuation to another feature we've had last year (link), but while the former was focused on collaborative efforts that could cater to a wider public through the magic of pop culture, this Sympho-Neighbours page is for all those hardcore music players that would love to see some of their favorite series get along with other parties in foreign field, be it for mere song sharing or something a little bit more expansive...

Before we started conceiving the idea of a collaborative network of rhythm games since the Tenkaichi Otogesai's inception (and even after!), here are some of the most remarkable get-along parades between different franchises in recent history.

Song of the Week! 20 May 2017

Due to the recent song lot announcement, we're about to have yet another double-pick week, this time around being all about... rabbits! ...kinda.

Twitter Snippets (18-19 May 2017) - The Great Post-Update Artists Round-Up

【太鼓の達人 イエローVer.】忙しい人のための「'17夏新曲」メドレー【試聴だドーン♪】
一応（？）今回もメドレーを用意！お納めくださいｗ（試聴用なのでゲームには実装予定無、twitter仕様にて↓の動画は途中で切れます。）https://t.co/f9XbD3fEti pic.twitter.com/XBMIgK36l0

— 太鼓チーム (@taiko_team) 18 maggio 2017

Between yesterday and today, there have been lots of composers chiming in the official Taiko Team's Twitter feed, being related to either yesterday's original song lot announcement or other future-related means.

If you want a quick refresher of the songs, you can check the newly published "Summer '17" version of the Medley for the Busy People that the Team posted on Youtube alongside the other song previews, but after that... see you after the jump!

Namco Taiko Blog 2 (18 May 2017) - Yellow Version's Summer Rewards Shop Appendium

For something a little bit different from our usual formula of spotlighting Taiko Blog updates, in this blog entry we're taking a look at the Summer Rewards Shop songs that have been announced in today's main post, featuring both an early clip video from the Bandai Namco Youtube channel (as well as yet another secret blog entry that was posted today) and the song introduction that was provided by either Etou or the song's creator.

With that out of the way, let's get started!

Namco Taiko Blog (18 May 2017): Summer Clash! Yellow ver. Version 3.xx Update and Rewards Shop Yellow ver. Summer Update

Woohoo update! Woohoo new songs! It may be hot (depending on your location) but it is still time to celebrate and hype!

Across Japan: Of Dragons and Men: May 2017 Facebook Tournament

Following the pre-announcement and hint to unlock one of the songs, here are the full reveal of the May Facebook Tournament. Good luck!

Note that the results will have to take one more day to prepare for this month, and be out on May 25 (Thursday) instead. Follow the official Facebook fan page then.

Facebook Tournament: May 13~21 2017
竜と黒炎の姫君 Ryu to Kokuen no Himegimi (Oni ★8)
+♂(プラス男子 Plus Danshi) (Muzukashii ★6)
　　　ギガれをる feat. 鏡音レン Giga/Reol feat. Len Kagamine

Link to original post

Twitter Snippets (16 May 2017) - A Genpei Toma Den Anniversary Soundtrack

ドンだーのみなさんにおなじみ、マスブチさんがアレンジした楽曲「KAGEKIYO 源平討魔伝メドレー （from 太鼓の達人）」も収録されたアルバムです！よろしくだドーーン！そして、３０周年おめでドーーン！！ https://t.co/OYcm6vHf98

— 太鼓チーム (@taiko_team) 16 maggio 2017

Back in the 80ies, Namco launched the original Genpei Toma Den video game and 30 years later, its modern company assessment is up to celebrate its release with the so-dubbed "Sorcerer Anniversary Soundtrack".

Being printed by Sweep Records (link here), this end-of-June release is set to include music from anything related to the gaming series, including some choice cameo roles... So much so that both the iconic KAGEKIYO of Taiko medley lore and SAMURAI ROCKET (from the Ridge Racer series) will be included as bonus tracks. Everyone's invited to this musical tribute!

Twitter Snippets (12~14 May 2017) - Freshly Picked Rosy Screenshot Quiz

【ビジュアル新曲クイズ：5月】
お待たせしました！ゲーム内ビジュアルから新曲を予想する「ビジュアル新曲クイズ」 5月分いっきますよ～♪　ついに来たあの高難度曲！！
まずはリプライで予想の曲名を送って下さいね！#シンクロニカ pic.twitter.com/urq9FLIbhM

— シンクロニカ公式@楽曲リクエスト実施中！ (@Synchronica_prj) May 12, 2017

Due to Synchronica's visual design being much more unique between songs compared with Taiko no Tatsujin, holding screenshot quizzes is a logical way to tease new songs, just as in the installment for this May. The first hints includes the rose-adorned gothic backgrounds and the textual clue of a much-anticipated high level notechart.

Being a sister Namco music game franchise and the rosy imagery, many commenters logically guessed along the lines of Zeami's Rose Series. Following the mass's first guesses, a four-option vote is compiled for a final hint:

• 君は薔薇より美しい Kimi wa Bara Yori Utsukushii (by Akira Fuse)
• Black Rose Apostle
• Red Rose Evangel
• Purple Rose Fusion

Can you guess which one of the above is the right one? Make your guess now and then go to the answer tweet to find out!

Disclaimer: Do note that we are reporting this solely because the Rose Series is prominently guessed by people and that the Synchronica Team also acknowledged here. Even if the answer is not the Rose songs we would have made this post anyway.

Postcards from Reitasai '17 - Early Anniversary Song Textual Reports

Some weeks after the latest limited events starring some Taiko no Tatsujin action, data surrounding the 9-Anniversary edition of Cirno's Perfect Math Class has begun to spread across the Internet and getting recorded on Taiko wiki wikihouse. Until we wait for visual evidence/official announcements of any kind, here's what has been (allegedly) found out so far:

• The song's credited unit in the subtitle has been settled to IOSYS and Happy⑨Anniversary Friends (IOSYSと愉快な⑨周年フレンズ), confirmation pending for the official release;
• Rankings for all modes are 3/4/5/9, with respective notecounts of 128/229/350/751;
• Perceived BPM is around 350, with most of the song being played at an halved scrolling bar speed (like for FLOWER and Honey Heartbeat ～10 Stars Mix～)

Song of the Week! 13 May 2017

At long last, Dokodon! Mystery Adventure's DLC legacy ended with this week's additional content delivery. In order to give one last salute to the latest portable entry in the series, here are a couple of songs that have been featured in the game, chiming both old and new vibes...

Twitter Snippets (11 May 2017) - The End of Taiko 3DS 3 DLC Content

3DS「太鼓の達人 ドコドン！ミステリーアドベンチャー」の配信は5月配信コンテンツをもって一旦フィナーレとなります。1年間遊んでくれて本当にありがドーン！https://t.co/fYsst7dmxw pic.twitter.com/8Sv3fxTyqY

— 太鼓チーム (@taiko_team) 11 maggio 2017

One regrettable piece of information about Dokodon! Mystery Adventure has escaped the general public, until the Taiko Team itself went on its way to deliver the news through the tweet announcement displayed above. Indeed, this May's DLC lot is actually the last one for the third Taiko title for Nintendo 3DS, overlapping with its 1-year milestone of montly extra content delivery.

Now, the wait is all put into the next major Taiko console installment...

Namco Taiko Blog (11 May 2017) - Want to Hear More? Notecharter Interview 13

Taiko Team memeber Yamaguchi is back on the official blog spot, not only for telling us that he could chart Genkai Toppa×Survivor without gathering 7 magic balls, but also to present to us the latest installment of the recurring notecharter-oriented feature family.

Today's protagonist is the nick-named Kohara (こはらー), one of the three currently-active series contributors who has been a regular one since the very beginning!

First Video: OLGA BREEZE [Sun Scene]

 OLGA BREEZE [Sun Scene] (OLGA BREEZE [太陽シーン]) (3/5/6/8; 743 notes on Oni)

It's already the Thursday Midnight in Japan, which means that gameplay videos for the latest Darius-related song in action on Taiko grounds are finally here. While you're waiting for us making up room in the Taito series showcase for today's newcomer, let the exotic cluster signature mixture featured in the video entertain you, for one of the hardest 8* trials to date!

Feature: The Wear and Tear for Taiko no Tatsujin

Please, just don't.

Source: Twitter (original tweet deleted, mirrored from here)

That Taiko no Tatsujin as a franchise stood in the gaming market (mostly in Japan) for over 15 years is evident that Don-chan can take some serious wear and tear through time. But when the game ask you to literally hit on a drum, the physical equipment can and eventually will suffer from deterioration even when everyone takes very good care of it. Worse is that not everyone will necessarily be as nice to the drum as possible, especially towards an arcade cabinet drum.

We have previously talked about how much of a bad shape the cabinet-included drumsticks can be. In continuation to that, here is an overview of what the drums might do when one is out of maintenance.

Twitter Snippets (7 May 2017) - Taiko Postcards from Reitasai '17

おはようございます。太鼓チームのタケモトです。
第14回 博麗神社例大祭＠ビッグサイト、あと30分ほどで開場となります。

東1ホールのバンダイナムコブースでは、太鼓の達人とシンクロニカの試遊ができます。太鼓の達人は初心者台も用意してますので、太鼓初めての方も是非お越しください♪ pic.twitter.com/Rpf4Vtk5k3

— 太鼓チーム (@taiko_team) 7 maggio 2017

Despite the hiatus announcement involving a communication halt for all the previous week, Takemoto has decided to interrupt the radio silence one day earlier to document the Team's experience at the Hakurei Shrine Reitasai throughout yesterday.

After the jump are the most remarkable highlights!

Natsumono☆ Lyrics

Composition: Takuro Go (郷拓郎)
Vocal: Tanqun Democracy (たんきゅんデモクラシー)

[SITE] - Farewell to a Fellow Donder

皆様初めまして。
太鼓の達人にてその名を残したらいりん君改めrairin mnrのアカウントの削除等を
二度程手伝わさせて頂いたKurosaki Junという者です。
今回彼の動画及び彼自身をご愛顧くださった皆様にご報告があり、
このアカウントの作成に至りました。

— Kurosaki Jun (@Jun_krsk) 2 maggio 2017

Earlier this week, we have reported how the Taiko gameplay videos coming from one of the most recurrent Youtube uploaders were removed from the platform, due to its proprietary channel getting shut down. After some rounds of research, however, we came to acknowledge that there's a more dreary reasoning behind this situation, something that we also want to share with our readers.

We're saddened to echo the news of the death of professional Taiko no Tatsujin player Jun Kurosaki, publicly known under the Rairin (らいりん) alias. Earlier this week, one of his acquaintances has created a Jun Kurosaki Twitter account to let his followers on Youtube/social media know about the popular player's last deathbed wishes, including the closure of his rairin mnr Youtube channel as well as his social accounts related to the nostal_phobia handle that are scattered all over the Web. Rairin's decease occurred last Wednesday, at the age of 24.

While joining the online masses in order to share our condolences to his family and friends, we also want to personally thank the skilled Taiko player for the incredibly extensive video footage that was shared along the years; foreign games in general manage to get worldwide attention thanks to the work of many dedicated people, but very few of those were devoted to provide perfect-play video footage for all difficulty settings in Japanese music gaming. Rairin was one of the few people to repeatedly cover that spot for the Taiko-related communities in the past few years, so we wanted to honor his memory one last time, under the same vein of gratitude that we also held for the passing of music creators on this blog.

May his soul rest in peace.

Addendum: In light of this, many fellow Donders have paid their respects (example, example) to Rairin by playing his favorite song Dream Tide -Yume no Chouryuu- (Dream Tide -夢の潮流-) while using his special routine (getting all 良s but not hitting any yellow drumrolls) to get the theoretical ceiling score, as seen in his many videos. The song can be found in the new Taiko 0 arcade and Wii3.

Song of the Week! 6 May 2017

With this year's Golden Week ending up on the latest edition of the Reitasai convention, we've decided to make up the space for a Touhou Project double feature!

It's time to meet Gensokyo's most known girls...

Across Japan: Turning the Month in Due Course: May Facebook Tournament

Had you not noticed, we have actually stopped going through the monthly tournaments' result announcements, because there just isn't much to add from us. If you are the type to follow the leaderboards, then following the actual page at https://www.facebook.com/taikoac.asia would be a good suggestion.

No, we're here to pick up from last week's results, which came with a side preview note that Ryu to Kokuen no Himegimi will be picked for the Oni department of May's tournament rounds, so here a belated reminder to get the 1500 Don Medals to unlock it in advance.

As for the actual tournament announcement (i.e. the Muzukashii selection), come back on May 10 on the fan page. And of course prepare yourselves for the actual tournament across May 13~21.

Link to original post

Twitter Snippets (3 May 2017) - !!!Choreography Collaboration Time!!!

太鼓の達人ナムコオリジナル「!!!カオスタイム!!!」とコラボさせて頂きました！
振付はIGさんです。面白い仕上がりになっておりますので是非ご覧ください！#太鼓の達人 #こじとり #カオスタイム #876tv #taiko765 https://t.co/cOXJz1ZBaL

— COJIRASE THE TRIP (@cojitri_info) 2 maggio 2017

The Taiko Team taking a Golden Week-sized hiatus doesn't mean that the official Taiko sources can't have some collaboration-fueled silliness in-between! Today's spotlighted tweet is about another of those times...

Game Music Showcase: Nintendo Medleys

Founded on September 23rd, 1889 in Kyoto, Japan, Nintendo is nowadays recognized as one of the world's largest video game companies, netting an over-85 billion dollars of market value. With the first activites involving all sorts of niche businesses, the company shifted its focus on toy-making since the early 60ies, up to entering the consumer electronics market during the later decade. Since then, a wide number of electronic systems, both for home and portable gaming, were realized for the general market, while also creating its own personal catalog of titles ang game series along the years and its many video game systems.

While Taiko no Tatsujin started adopting music from Nintendo games quite early in its life span, we've had to wait over 15 years since the franchise's inception for an inclusion of custom medleys that are based on its gaming past, looking at both time-honored classics and relatively-recent releases. As usual, the entries listed on this series will respect their chronological Taiko debut.

Site Announcement: Mass YouTube Linking Embed Failure

Small announcement that we have recently found a not-small number of video embeds and links going kaput, because apparently one of the uploaders whose video we frequently use "has closed their YouTube account".

We are replacing the links as we discover them. If you find any broken links or embed failures we haven't got to, especially those on a game's song list or one of our feature articles (Song of the Week, Series Showcase or Lyrics Feature), please reach us via all the normal routes (Twitter DMs, chatbox on the left, post comments, etc.).

PS. re: the song list links. With nearly 200 songs for each latest console releases and 500+ on the current arcade build, their upkeep are getting harder and harder for us. We actually have, at one point, been thinking of some way to more easily keep track of these massive lists of songs and video links, possibly involving some database magic and stuff, but that also did not go anywhere significant or practical enough. If you have this kind of expertise and want to collaborate, please also reach us.