Mobile gaming is the theme of this weekly feature, as we take a gander at a couple of songs available in Taiko titles that are (seemingly) coming from the smartphone-friendly music gaming sphere.
Saika Deemo| Version |  |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All | x3 (120) | x4 (195) | x6 (418) | x8 (593) |
Taiko 0 Y, Taiko PS4, Taiko +
128
none
dem31kSetting up quite the precedent for the series, last year has saw the first Taiko-participating music game collaboration that featured on the other side of the deal a music game made by a non-Japanese company! Truth be told, however, the origins of the song Saika branch far deeper that you might think...
This instrumental piece was composed by the Taiwanese music studio Rabpit, bearing a portmanteau name that fuses together the words 'Rabbit' and 'Pit'. Founded in 2007, Rabpit was originally a recording studio for artists like many but due to the continuous gathering of many recurrent local composers such as the nick-named Luke and Rick, it also acquired the functions of a regular studio label for music distribution since May 2013, with all the works being signed under the Rabpit name. In the music gaming scene, this recording/labeling studio hybrid has been renowned for providing music to a number of Taiwan-rooted music games, including Hypaa's Mozarc: Fall In Memory and the smartphone titles made by Rayark. Rabpit's songs can also be heard on their own Youtube channel, featuring plenty of their original works as well as extended/alternative versions for their many rhythm game works.
Saika's journey before its Taiko venture has been an enriching one, thanks to the niche additions the base track received upon each porting; originally featured in the aforementioned Mozarc arcade music game (link), it was then featured in one of the first chapters of Rayark's Cytus, where the song has also received an alternative version, accessible by hidden input means in the song selection screen. With the coming of the piano-based music game Deemo, Saika has received a third version for everyone to enjoy, enriched by a more difficult Extra mode later on (link). Saika's original version from Mozarc was also ported on the music game VOEZ, as part of a Cytus song pack. With the Arcade/PS4/mobile Taiko x Rayark collaboration involving Deemo, the version of Saika that became playable on Taiko is the one from Deemo, which in turn received the cold hit Butou series song Hyakka Ryouran as a freely-playable tune (link).
The Taiko Oni mode treatment for Saika consists in a very old-fashioned chart that winks to the likes of Fuun! Bachi o Sensei's regular Oni, as this pure 1/16 challenge features several different cluster formations that become more and more intricate towards the Go-Go Time portion.
Never say never THE iDOLM@STER: Cinderella Girls| Version | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All | x3 (126) | x4 (179) | x5 (361) | x8 (675) |
Taiko 0 R 156 none ???Tricking your expectations yet again (hopefully), here we have another song that the Taiko series got though a mobile music game tie-in effort whose origins actually branch deeper than the collaboration-related source material! This time around, it involved yet another IP from Bandai Namco, no less. Never say never is the image song of the 346Pro Studio idol Rin Shibuya (渋谷凜), one of the three main idols in the Cinderella Girls branch of the Idolm@ster franchise as well as one of the three recurring custom dancers for the CG songs (it's the main dancer on the left!).
Voiced by Ayaka Fukuhara (福原綾香), this idol made her debut in the franchise with the song Never say never as her first signature song, making its overall debut in the first album in the CINDERELLA MASTER album series: THE IDOLM@STER CINDERELLA MASTER 001 Shibuya Rin, released on April 18th, 2012. The song's main personality behind its creation is Bandai Namco musician Akitaka 'AJURIKA' Tohyama (遠山明孝), being credited as its composer co-arranger with Junjiro Seki (関淳二郎) and co-lyricist with Yuuta Yashiro (八城雄太). The song was also re-arranged in July 2015 starring the idol Anastasia as the vocalist for the 346Pro IDOL selection vol.2 bonus album, included in the limited-edition bundles that tie in the Cinderella Girls anime's DVD/Blu-Ray releases with the Cinderella Girls-related game Gravure For You!
In the games, the song made its first appearance with the first Cinderella Girls app for smartphones, up to later cameos as DLC/special edition additions to home console games of the series, including the PlayStation 3's ONE FOR ALL and the aforementioned Gravure For You! The song also appeared in the mobile gacha/music game Starlight Stage, which has been the main deciding factor for this song's porting into the Taiko series.
Akin to former Idolm@ster Taiko charting trends, this is yet another 1/16 pure notechart challenge, making its players face a barrage of clusters that are made of more than 5 notes for the most part.
