Barring really specific exceptions (namely, YMCK), we've not taken a habit out of having song series showcases about recurring popular artists/units in the pop-culture licensed scenario, after the scares we've had on our past Anime features.
That, however, doesn't stop us from eventually talk about them under these lines either!
Killer Queen| Version |  |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TDM (USA) | x2 (95) | x3 (161) | x4 (221) | x4 (221) |
| TDM (JP) | x2 (95) | x3 (161) | x4 (226/223) | x5 (294) |
| TDM (2P) | x2 (95/93) | x3 (136/130) | x4 (226/223) | - |
TDM
109
none
???TDM USA Oni
Three different songs from one of the United Kingdom's most popular musical acts have made their jump into Taiko gaming due to the once-in-a-lifetime Taiko game release thought out for the Western audience, with another tune of the trio making it to have a jump to the arcades thanks to the latest Green Version update. One, however, is still a Taiko Drum Master exclusive to this day, and it happens to be the oldest of the bunch as well!
Released on October 21st, 1974 as a double-A side single release alongside the song Flick of the Wrist, Killer Queen is the one track from the band's repertoire that the musical critique of the time has often saw as the beginning of the band's "radio sound" as a direct demarcation from their first studio album works. Queen's lead singer/frontrunner Freddie Mercury has worked on the song's lyrics before its melody and sound, as opposed to his regular modus operandi, with lead guitarist Brian May proudly claiming at one point to be the song that best sumed up their band's own kind of music. Two months later, Killer Queen would be released on the band's third studio album -Sheer Heart Attack- and its popularity in the following year has led Mercury himself to be awarded his first Ivor Novello Award from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors.
The first Queen song to chart in the US's Billboard Hot 100 (12th place peak) has made it to the no.2 spot in its homeland, while also cultivating a legacy on its own that would resonate in popular culture many years later. Killer Queen has being pointed by Katy Perry as the one song that ultimately has inspired her musical career's beginning and in occasion of the release of the 2018 biographical film Bohemian Rhapsody, the song got a cover version from the Australian pop-rock band 5 Seconds of Summer, peaking 18th in the New Zealand Hot Singles chart. Japan media also had quite the curious winks to the song, seeing as it has been used for Honda Mobilio car commercials and it's even the name of a particular Stand in the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure manga/anime series!
Killer Queen's chart set for the US Taiko release has both Muzukashii and Oni modes share the same chart, while the Japanese version of the game was packed in with an unique Oni mode for it. In both cases, however, slow 1/12 charting reigns supreme!
Ninjyary Bang Bang (にんじゃりばんばん)| Version | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All | x3 (133) | x5 (233) | x6 (425) | x8 (529) |
Taiko 0 S, Taiko 3DS 2, Taiko Wii U1, Taiko PS4 1, Taiko + 130 none ninjbb / ninjb2Be it with this name or the Western-countries-broadcast Ninja Re Bang Bang, here's a song coming from an artist that has been on the rage for early HD Taiko arcade days for quite some time! The song is the 5th single release of the singer/blogger Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, of which we also shared some history under these lines, back in 2013 (link).
Its launch dates back to March 20th, 2013, with its digital-distributed version managing to get the RIAJ Platinum seller certification in just one month! Ninjyary Bang Bang was also Kyary's very first track to reach the peak of Japan Hot 100 charts, subsequently leading to the release of an extended version for DJ sets (as a 7' LP) and to its usage for the au "Full Control Tokyo" event commercials. In later years, it also had its ways to sneak into Western media, from being a playable tune in the Just Dance series (link) to have some cameos on the silver screen, with 2016's animated movie Sing and even the very recent John Wick Chapter 3 - Parabellum!
Some popular licensed songs in Taiko gaming are featured at first as a cover version, up to eventually get the official/audio-remastered one later on; this journey has been the one of this licensed pick as well, with a cover version being playable at first and then ending up with the Taiko iOS and PS4 games (link) which offers a portion of the original version instead, hence the reported SongID change to ninjb2. The charts and related star ratings, however, have remained all the same through thew passage of time, with Oni mode boasting one of the special note-less songs for the genre's 8-star ballpark. The chart by Kawagen Collagen puts a focus on 5-note clusters and a more general prevalence of Kat notes, either opening or closing 3-note clusters in couples often times along the play.
