Song of the Week! 30 September 2017

For our final entry in this impromptu themed-feature month, I'm waging a bet on what I'm going to assume is going to be a console-exclusive song for quite a while in the very next Taiko console game release! (I definitely see this plan not backfiring a few months from now, totally)

PS4 Update: Session de Dodon ga Don's Demo Song List

Here's a brief look at what the PS Plus-exclusive demo for the first Taiko PS4 videogame has to offer! It's basically a selection of 6 songs with all difficulties available (including available Uras!), all coming from different genres in couples; from left to right, the songs seem to be EAT 'EM UP!, KAGEKIYO, Tsunagare! Hinogare! Uchi-agare!, Saitama 2000, Carmen Prelude and the Heaven and Hell Overture.

Lo and behold, we also have the first gameplay videos from said demo version! Below is the Oni video of Session de Dodon ga Don's theme song Tsunagare! Hinogare! Uchiagare!, rated 4/5/7/9.

Other details that we've gathered from other first-play videos on Youtube about this demo version can also be found in our Demo/Promotional TnT Releases page, over our Console Games section.

Source (Plurk.com)

Namco Taiko Blog (28 September 2017) - Behind the Notechart: FooFoo Cassette

Returning triumphant after his first Xa Ura clear performance (now aim to a Full Combo!), Taiko Team notecharter Sentai Yamaguchi is back for another rendition of this single-song chart feature, which today is starting to broaden the scope to the Autumn Rewards Shop content.

Twitter Snippets (25 September 2017) - Early-Fall's Random Compoer Facts

先週行われたレコーディング！一体どんな曲が生まれるのカッ！？楽しみだドーン！ https://t.co/dihYA3Ykvn

— 太鼓チーム (@taiko_team) 25 settembre 2017

With a week of "news jet-lag" from the Taiko Team part, the official Twitter handle has shared a tweet concerning last week's post-recording session for new Taiko no Tatsujin songs!

This time around, two new tracks were made, one involving longtime contributor Oogami Masako and the other starring the singer Yako, the ex-member of p-model who has contributed in Taiko gaming under the Danchinomiya alias.

Kitto Motto Zutto Lyrics

Composer, Arrangement: Keiichi Okabe (岡部啓一)
Lyrics: LindaAI-CUE
Vocals: Ichirou Mizuki (水木一郎), Mitsuko Horie (堀江美都子), Hironobu Kageyama (影山ヒロノブ)
Chorus: Katsuyuki Oda (小田一行), Satoru Kousaki (神前暁), LindaAI-CUE, Tomoko Kurosawa (黒坂智子), Katsumi Sawajiri (澤尻克美)

The Almost Transient Mysteries: The Hidden Secret Behind Tsumami-kui Performance

Thanks to Sehuny and I'm don with you kats (Nether) on the Taiko no Tatsujin Discord for setting off this little journey.

Being more than 5 years overdue certainly makes it transient for the longest time. The Tsumami-kui Performance (つまみ食い演奏) mode was first introduced in PSP2 and then revived for Wii4 and Wii5, after which it went on to inspire the Taiko Training (太鼓トレーニング) mode in PSVita1. Today we look at those later incarnations for a quaint little secret.

"It's just a training mode that lets you rewind songs. What's so hidden about that?" And THAT is what is so hidden about this.

Twitter Snippets (September 19 2017): At Least SOME Form of Trial Version for PS4-1

PS Plus Japan members will be able to play TGS demos of Itadaki Street, Taiko no Tatsujin, and Knack 2 on their own PS4 from 9/29-10/9 pic.twitter.com/gTO1Zql5aD

— RPG Site (@RPGSite) September 19, 2017

Now deep within Tokyo Game Show season, let's wind back a bit to a prior Sony press conference, where it is announced that subscribers of the PlayStation Plus can get their hands on a copy of the TGS demo for Taiko no Tatsujin Session de Dodon ga Don for a limited time.

From what we have seen so far in conventions, it is suggested to not expect too many groundbreakingly new songs and features available, but this could be a first-hand buffet to try for the new PS4 aesthetics.

Song of the Week! 23 September 2017

While originally there was no intention to make of this September a themed month to begin with, we might as well carry on with the console-exclusivity theme for the next features, seeing how that was also the motif of this month's (non-hidden) features as well!

Today's pick comes from the early PlayStation 2 times...

Sonority Scouts - Burning Coaster

One day after its Groove Coaster debut, we finally have a hold of some gameplay footage of the Taiko-spawn Burning Force Medley being played on Taito's ongoing music game franchise, which has just celebrated its 500th song release thanks to this track's inclusion!

Just like with the Dragon Spirit Medley port from the last year, the song is rated 8/10 on its hardest arcade setting, with today's feature 1-upping the previous medley cameo for the fact of the Burning Force Medley being completely ported for gameplay means in Groove Coaster, without any song cuts or sorts.

Never Left without Saying Goodbye-da-don! Taiko no Tatsujin x Deemo collaboration

Note: Earlier we posted this based on only one image claiming just a rumor, but since we found the very-official announcement we are rewriting the whole post with more info and images. Thanks to taikojoe from the Taiko no Tatsujin Discord for the initial find though!

Image source: Official BNEI Facebook post

Of course this collaboration is announced on the day the piano-performance rhythm game hits the Nintendo Switch.

The first fully-confirmed additions for this will be the Deemo Pack on the Traditional Chinese version of PS4-1 that was transiently shown on Asian PlayStation Store fronts and later removed. The pack will consist of the Deemo original song Saika by Rabpit (3/4/6/8 apparently) and the Petit-chara outfit part Deemo & the Little Girl. For those who want to have a demo of this Deemo song, here's a gameplay video on Hard mode from the original source game:

But of course Cytus Saika best Saika amiri- (dragged away

The pack will be available first-hand via download codes attached with the first printing of package version and as pre-order bonus digital version . Saika the song will also be available as free DLC later on. And if PS4-1 will not be on your shopping list, releases on the arcade and mobile app versions of Taiko no Tatsujin are also hinted, although with no concrete details yet.

On the other arm of the collaborative efforts, Hyakka Ryouran will be the Taiko ambassador to the piano-score-book nation of Deemo, slated for release in the iOS/Android app's version 3.1 update coming in 2017.

 

Look at Al*** little girl and Deemo having fun with Don-chan and Kat-chan

Image source: Apple Daily Taiwan

In more PS4-1 exclusive news, Asian Donders can rejoice when (The) Tower of Babel, (The) Tower of Druaga Medley, Mappy Medley, Dragon Spirit Medley and Mojipittan Medley are confirmed to also be Traditional Chinese version's first-printing bonuses in the form of packed-in download codes, not as store-exclusive bonuses like in Japan. If trinkets are more your type, the Traditional Chinese version also come packaged with one random Don-chan strap in either Shark, Alpaca, Sushi or Forest Friends outfits.

 

Image source: 4Gamers

BNEI Taiwan press release
BNEI Taiwan Facebook post (has more pictures)

Namco Taiko Blog (21 September 2017) - NO/GM Arcade Revival Poll

太鼓の達人懐かしのオリジナル曲復活リクエストの候補曲をまとめました！
リプライを送るか、ハッシュタグ「 #復活ナムオリ 」を付けてツイートでリクエストできますよ！
9月30日(土)23時59分まで！
詳しくは→ https://t.co/mCVJcHpc6G#taiko765 pic.twitter.com/3c7GVL9m2I

— 太鼓チーム (@taiko_team) 21 settembre 2017

This year's Autumn season opener from the Taiko Team consists of a Twitter revival poll, where 40 tracks among both the Game Music and Namco Original genres are eligible to be chosen for a temptative arcade resurrection in the near future. *coughWinterRewardsShopcough*

With the tweet above briefly showing the full list, after the jump are the translated song title list and the do-s and don't-s of this campaign's submission method.

Twitter Snippets (20 September 2017) - Red Version's Final Dojo Ranking Results

【お知らせ】
大変永らくお待たせいたしました。太鼓の達人 レッドVer.での段位道場・表彰ムービーを公開いたしました。#taiko765https://t.co/ilQz2EOfCT

— 太鼓チーム (@taiko_team) 20 settembre 2017

While Taiko Team livestreams are a thing that is not happening with the same frequency as before, some of their buds are still beneath the ground, ready to resurface when the time is right. Case in point for today, here's the tweet signaling the publication on Youtube of Red Version's Dojo Ranking players, updated until said firmware board's last operative day (March 15th, 2017).

【お知らせ・つづき】
先ほど公開したレッドVer.段位道場・表彰ムービーと合わせて、レッドVer.での、最終到達段位分布と段位別の合格率のグラフを掲載いたします。
現在行われているイエローVer.の段位道場も、より高段位の合格を目指して頑張るドン！#taiko765 pic.twitter.com/yaMTkbhWYa

— 太鼓チーム (@taiko_team) 20 settembre 2017

A more detailed breakdown of the overall results is also provided in tweet form, no less!

Taiko PS4 - LOSER Difficulty Ratings Reveal

Up here we have the latest Japanese trailer for upcoming PS4 games and if you can endure weird rapping up until about 1:35 (or if you just skip ahead on that portion), it's possible to track down the star ratings of LOSER, one of the new J-Pop inclusions of the game, which is rated 3/5/6/8.

Thanks to taikojoe from the Taiko no Tatsujin Discord for the find!

Taiko Time 7th Anniversary Quiz Answers

Song of the Week! 16 September 2017

I'm in the mood for another console-exclusive peak! Be sure to stay with us after the jump...

Sonority Scouts - SDVX Sign「Perfect Effector」

The king of Touhou in music gaming is the next franchise to have a grasp on Cirno's Perfect Math Class, as the current installment of SOUND VOLTEX (SDVX IV HEAVENLY HAVEN) has received the heated 9th Anniversary version one day after its Synchronica port. While not having a max-rated difficulty, you can surely feel its high difficulty degree regardless!

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Just like yesterday, I'm here to drop some clues about something that currently hidden within the blog, but if the answer still eludes you, it will be publicly revealed soon. Anyway, it turns out that the 'missing link' is tied to numbers... Make of that what you will.

I wonder if these posts have some relation to the number that has to be scouted for...

Celebrating YOU for the Taiko Time 7th Anniversary

Our Anniversary celebration could not have been complete without a showcase for the loyal readers we have, and this is for you guys!

Again, we are only three guys trying our best to bring you Taiko no Tatsujin scoop outside the mostly Japanese-exclusivity (not completely as of recently, gratefully), and we wouldn't have stayed for 7 years without your continued support, and even the occasional tip-off to stuff we ourselves missed.

As a collective gratitude, here is us dedicating one whole post on the hidden talents among yourselves!

Sonority Scouts - Synchro Sign「Rezonating Fall」

True to the original intentions of IOSYS's collaboration plans, the 9th Anniversary version of Cirno's Perfect Math Class is starting to spread in other music game series, after last week's debut in Taiko fields. Its first stop is Bandai Namco's Synchronica, where the song (surprise, surprise!) has become the very first track in the series to come with a non-standard dedicated video, which is actually the anniversary track's PV that was already published on Youtube.

Much like with Taiko no Tatsujin, the Synchronica fields have doubled down this occasion with a collaboration event which includes -among other things- yet another commissioned Touhou Project arrange track about the Cirno-related music, also brought by IOSYS people.

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Truth be told, this post shouldn't have come out today in lieu of some other related topics to talk about tomorrow... but it's not like that I'm using this space to include some innuendo to some stuff I hid last week on places like... I don't know, the latest SotW feature. Somewhere, say, among the italic-worded lines of such feature... ptch, how ridiculous would it be!?

Namco Taiko Blog (14 September 2017) - A3! x Taiko no Tatsujin's Collaboration Primer

Another long-ago-announced collaboration is about to move its first steps on Yellow Version grounds, as this week's blog entry is about the A3! x Taiko collaboration's future goodies.

[RANDOM] - New TnT Medley Coming Soon to Groove Coaster

【AC】9/14(木)より「超シューティングゲーム祭 其の弐 ソロイベント」開催！あのシューティングゲームのキャラクターがナビゲーターとして登場します！ https://t.co/19OVmpVuIM #グルコス pic.twitter.com/TynrmzqqYx

— グルーヴコースター公式@9/14新曲 (@groove_coaster) 12 settembre 2017

Taito's arcade branch of the Groove Coaster series is going to have a new shoot-em-up event for the reminder of September, and Taiko gaming is invited once again!... sorta.

What we mean by that is the coming of another song medley from Namco gaming that was created for the long-running drumming series! After the Dragon Spirit Medley, the Burning Force Medley is set to have its premiere in this series later this month, on September 22nd.

Taiko PS4 Update: Cross-Over Prerelease DLC Pack Incoming..?

If you happen to browse the English-friendly PSN store for Session de Dodon ga Don's page, you're now most likely to be facing this message on top, illustrating the pre-order bonuses of the digital version.

Alongside the two already-known prerelease song perks, however, now there's something else being added to the mix, which was never heard of before from the Taiko Team... We're talking about the last-line addition: the DEEMO Pack, which is most likely referring to the namesake mobile music game by Rayark where players have a wide selection of piano-based songs to perform by tapping a variety of markers. As we are a little more than a month from Session de Dodon ga Don's release, right now we can only wait for the Taiko Team to talk in detail about this potential crossover-y course of action.

Thanks to Bankslammer from the Taiko no Tatsujin Discord group for the find!

UPDATE (15/09/2017) - Wonder of all wonders, the small blurb about this DEEMO pack has been removed from the pre-order bonus listings as of today... Was it a typing mistake or is the pack supposed to come out at a later date?

Taiko no Tatsujin Original Playlist Update (August 30, 2017): In Before Autumn Rolls Around

We are back to tell you that the Taiko Team has uploaded full-version soundbites of the newer Namco Original picks on Yellow ver. Kinda sneaky because these were actually uploaded together with the Autumn Rewards Shop previews:

Infinite Rebellion
Kagami no Kuni no Alice
Koi-kurenai

Meanwhile, the playlist now expands to also include preview videos (the aforementioned Autumn Rewards Shop previews). If you are the kind that likes to use this playlist up for a listening session, that would mean more (partial) songs for you too. Yay!

Playlist's first open announcement

Taiko Plus/STH - Coin Exchange and Lottery Removal

In a less jolly manner of news delivery, last Tuesday it was declared through a couple of in-game notices that a couple of features in both versions of Taiko Plus STH are going to be removed in the coming weeks.

Taiko Plus/STH - More September '17 GTH Additions

As a follow-up to last Monday's song delivery, here are 5 more tracks!

Gakkyoku Tori Houdai Adds: September 11

 Ashita mo (明日も)
 Kiseki (キセキ)
 William Tell Overture (ウィリアム・テル序曲)
 Kuon no Yoru (久遠の夜)
 Omoi o Te ni Negai o Komete (想いを手に願いを込めて)

Netemo Netemo Lyrics

Composition, Lyrics: ☆Syoji☆ (☆しょーじ☆)
Vocal: Honoka♡Erika (ほのか♡えりか) (= Honoka Inoue & Erika Kaiho)

Japanese lyrics sourced from original Creofuga submission.

PS4-1 Update: Alternate Language Versions Dated and more

The English, (traditional) Chinese and Korean versions of Taiko no Tatsujin Drum Session are now dated for release on October 26, 2017, the same day as the Japanese version. This is coming from the 2nd PVs in English (embedded above), Traditional Chinese and Korean just dropped on the official BNEI Asia YouTube channel this week.

We are only embedding the English trailer here, since it is the only one of the three that had gameplay footage re-recorded on some English version, outside reusing the live-action parts and audio from the Japanese trailer. And not just from the same taster version that people are seeing from conventions or events: this appears to be near full-release with DokuLO CANdy, Saitama 2000 and Mada Saitama 2000 on the song list, as well as VICTORIA in the Taiko Rank Match footage (complete with the facing alpaca costume).

While the song list has already been revealed by Taiko Team earlier and the alternate language versions appears to be safe in most regards, we do have have one new development from this announcement: The Classical ハンロック is put in English as Hung-rock on official press releases, which likely mean Hungarian Dance receiving the Tajima/Rock-omatopoeia treatment?

In other news, with Drum Session being Taiko no Tatsujin's grand return to Sony home console fronts, Sony has been putting this in their spotlight quite heavily, including PlayStation stage events in gaming conventions in greater Asia, as well as the PlayStation Experience event with exclusive producer appearance and this first clip ever of the Oni notechart for Tsunagare! Hirogare! Uchiagare! (★9, 776 notes):

Thanks Spotty Blue from the chatbox for the recording.

PS. We meant we couldn't justify well a standalone post just for this video, but a shout-out in tandem with other news is more than fine.

Song of the Week! ⑨ September 2017

... okay, you got me.

For what concerns our short-term song schedule for our Saturday features, I know that the Touhou Project lore has been invading these lines quite a lot recently, but there's one more song we need to talk about on this very day...

...I mean, it's not like September 9th is falling on a Saturday again anytime soon, right?!?

Song of the Week! 9 September 2017

Back to console-exclusivity shores for today's feature!

Namco Taiko Blog (7 September 2017) - Session de Dodon ga Don's New Demo Events

More chances for Japanese event attenders arise to have some early-play experiences with the next big Taiko console release, as Session de Dodon ga Don will be available to play at this year's Tokyo Game Show, on September 23-24. All those who will come forward to join the fun will also receive the Taiko-themed memo pad that is displayed in the picture above!

It's also worth mentioning that the game will be also demoed at the Aeon Game Festival fair that is running during the very same time frame! The Taiko memo pads giveaway will be held there as well.

Link to original post

First Video: Yellow ver. 6.07 New Songs

It's arcade update day once again! After the jump await all the brand new song inclusions.
Update (07/09/17): Added LQ video of FooFoo Cassette.

Twitter Snippets (5 September 2017) - Taiko x Osomatsu-San Collaboration Notice

この冬、「おそ松さん」と太鼓の達人のコラボレーションが実施決定！
ゲームセンターの「太鼓の達人 イエローVer.」に、「おそ松さん」のキャラクターが登場!?
いったいどんなコラボになるのか、ぜったい見逃せない！#おそ松さん#taiko765 pic.twitter.com/Ui4cOvrTJJ

— 「おそ松さん」公式アカウント (@osomatsu_PR) 5 settembre 2017

Right at the eve of another collaboration's beginning, we're getting served another early taste of that collaboration punch through Twitter magic! In fact, the official account of the Osomatsu-san series has posted the above tweet today, mentioning a Taiko no Tatsujin collaboration coming up next winter.

Much like the previous, season-early collaboration notice, the only way to find out more about it is to wait for the appointed time frame to come...

Taiko Plus/STH - Shuwatch!

Here's a quick tidbit for today, concerning the mobile Taiko apps: with the latest Ultraman series getting a Saturday broadcast schedule, the event is being celebrated by making GEED no Akashi (its opening theme) available for the Gakkyoku Tori Houdai subscription plans of both the iOS and Android versions!

No other songs are being added today.

Touhou Corner: Legacy of Lunatic Kingdom

Released on August 14, 2015 in occasion of the 88th Comiket, Touhou Kanjuden (lit. 'Ultramarine Orb Tale') ~ Legacy of Lunatic Kingdom (東方紺珠伝 ～ Legacy of Lunatic Kingdom) is the 15th main-line vertical danmaku Touhou Project game.

Following the events of the fighting spin-off game Urban Legend in Limbo, a spider-looking probe crashes in Gensokyo, roaming around the land and withering everything on its passage. Once that the recluded-on-Earth Lunarian people living in Gensokyo found out that this attack was launched by other Lunariarns in an attempt of 'land purification', the Lunarian pharmacist Eirin Yakogoro tasks one of the game's four heroines (Reimu, Marisa, Sanae and Reisen Udongein Inaba) to stop the assault from its roots. The expedition will lead the chosen heroine to the Moon, finding out that the attempted Gensokyo offence was the side-result of a long-lasting war between Lunarians and the sagacious spirit Junko, whose grudge against the Lunarian deity that killed her son has led to her complete refinement as a spirit of pure resentment towards the pluri-millennial Moon civilization.

The main feature sported in Legacy of Lunatic Kingdom is the addition of Pointdevice, a new gameplay mode to go along with the usual arcade-styled one (here dubbed as 'Legacy mode') where the usual life/credit model is instead replaced with a quick-respawn system that breaks down each of the main game's stages into chapters; every time the player dies, he/she's sent out to the most recent checkpoint instead, with the same amount of bombs and a slightly-reduced firepower stock. The scoring system is reliant on both the enemy takedown percentage and, once again, bullet-grazing action, which can reward the most skilled of players with either extra Bomb pieces (Pointdevice) or Life pieces (Legacy) once that a fixed point threshold is reached at the end of a chapter.

After the rise of a wide assortment of die/respawn games such as the infamous PC platformer I Wanna Be The Guy, Team Shanhai Alice's ZUN wanted to try to implement a similar system to one of his Touhou games while having an actual story explanation in-game as to why the player is granted the power of infinite attempts; for Legacy of Lunatic Kingdom's Pointdevice mode, that is the case of the titular Ultramarine Orb elixir that is able to grant such powers. Among the many official Touhou Project games, this is the very first one that doesn't feature English titles/subtitles for any of its overall score's tracks.

Vocaloid Corner: flower

Branded with the product name of v flower (ブイフラワ, with 'v' simply standing for Vocaloid), flower is a Japanese VOCALOID3 voice bank that was released in May 2014. While it was originally made as a collaborative effort between YAMAHA CORPORATION and Gynoid Co., Ltd. (together with the Chinese Vocaloid Xin Hua), its current VOCALOID4 iteration was entirely made by Gynoid.

The official description of flower's character lists her being a Kuudere, the Japanese word describing the trope in media that indicates a person that, while appearing cold-hearted and indifferent on the outside, is actually a very sensitive and emotional individual that hides her feelings under a not-caring facade. Her own name is a testament to the character's will to let herself "bloom" like a flower among the other Vocaloids with her songs. For the time being, flower's voice provider has not been revealed yet.

flower's bloom in Taiko gaming happened during the Yellow Version arcade transition, with one of the first 1+ million views songs that star the Vocaloid.

	-flower songs-

	Charles Ame to Petra

Back to Vocaloid Corner
Back to Song Series Showcase page

Song of the Week! 2 September 2017

For this week's feature, we've been tasked to talk about a certain couple of Namco Original tunes that are related to each other, as a birthday gift to one of our longtime-following users...

...who are we to turn down such a request?

Across Japan (1 September 2017): Pre-Autumn's Shared Bounty

 

Finally, an Across Japan feature where we can say that all songs will make the overseas jump at the same time of Japanese arcades! The Dojo Ranking mode's new trials will also be there, although the same can't be said for the returning Touhou Project campaign...