Taiko no Tatsujin (Mainland China 4th-gen) Peeking Around the Corner

Before you know it, the release of the mainland China port of the 4th-generation Taiko no Tatsujin arcade cabinet ("September 2023") is peeking around the corner. The services on the WeChat official account run by Wahlpa Tech have also seen additions and revamps ahead of the release:

• The previously "work in progress" button is now "Drummers' Square" (鼓眾廣場), heavily implied to be an equivalent to the Donder Hiroba companion site for Japan and overseas. Tapping it now still only shows the in-progress message though.
• The "Player ID" (玩家ID) button now actually works. When tapped, the official WeChat account will post a message with a link to a generated log-in QR code that expires in 10 minutes. Donders are supposed to scan this QR code with the reader on the cabinet in order to log in on that cabinet.
  
  
  
  
  
• The "Info" (資訊) sub-menu has added the "Shop Locations" (店舖分布), listing all the arcade spots (66 now) that have stocked the cabinet. Like other games ported by Wahlap Tech, the list is expected to update periodically as the network expands.

With most of the services up and running, we feel comfortable breaking out our usual song list format to show you the currently exclusive tracks on the mainland Chinese port:

Taiko no Tatsujin (Mainland China 4th-gen) New Songs

	Title
at release
	Love You 愛你	★1	★4	★4	★6
	The Viral Factor 逆戰	★3	★4	★4	★7
	Two Tigers 兩隻老虎	★2	★2	★3	★6

Key: red = series debut; blue = arcade debut

Meanwhile, official public posts and media from the official outlets:

• Public pre-release event in Hunan on 2023/08/27 (WeChat, 2023/08/23, plus snapshot reel on Bilibili, 2023/08/28)
• First shop location list, offline stamp card event and online social media posting event (WeChat, 2023/08/25)

Song of the Week! 26 August 2023

 

Next week's Sunday livestream about Nijiiro's 2023 Ranking Dojo conclusion is upon us! Let's go greet that day with a song in mind from the former iterations' forays.

Taiko no Tatsujin Nijiiro ver. Farewell Tracks (2023/09/20)

	Title
2023/09/01 (all locales)
	Toki o Matou Yo-kai Watch Shadowside 時を待とう／「妖怪ウォッチ シャドウサイド」より 　　Also in: Plus	★1	★2	★3	★6
2023/09/01 (Japan exclusive)
	MANKAI☆Kaika Sengen A3! Theme Song MANKAI☆開花宣言／「A3!」主題歌 　　ACN exclusive	★2	★4	★4	★5

Farewell Timeline (all times are JST/UTC+9)

Time	Milestone
2023/09/01 00:00	Farewell Tracks unusable in Donder Hiroba tournaments and challenges
2023/09/20 02:00	Crowns and score ranks obtained from Farewell Tracks removed from totals in Donder Hiroba
2023/09/20 07:00	Farewell Tracks no longer playable  Scores and rankings of Farewell Tracks removed from view in Donder Hiroba Liked Tracks slot and Favourite Track reverted to none if Farewell Tracks was selected

Official Links

Taiko no Tatsujin official blog

Taiko no Tatsujin Asia ver. official Facebook fan page

[Plus/STH] Gakkyoku Tori Houdai New Songs (2023/09/01)

✨9月1日 追加予定✨
■楽曲取り放題
🎶魔法のコトバ
🎶タッチ
🎶撥条少女時計
🎶仮想現実のテレスコープ
🎶タベテモタベテモ
🎶punk bastards
🎶LECIEL GLISSANDO

楽曲取り放題の楽曲更新は
9月を入れてあと2回です！#太鼓の達人プラス pic.twitter.com/e5B5pCIMml

— 【公式】太鼓の達人 スマートフォン (@taikosp) August 18, 2023

Even as the second-to-last update to the Gakkyoku Tori Houdai subscription before Taiko no Tatsujin Plus' baton pass to RHYTHM CONNECT, September 2023 still has time for breaking arcade exclusivity.

Gakkyoku Tori Houdai Adds

	Title
2023/09/01
	Mahou no Kotoba Honey and Clover Theme Song 魔法のコトバ／映画「ハチミツとクローバー」主題歌	★3*	★4*	★6*	★7*
	Touch タッチ	★4	★4	★6	★5
	Zenmai Shoujo Dokei Drop & Yura Hatsuki feat. Hatsune Miku 撥条少女時計／Drop＆葉月ゆら feat.初音ミク	★2	★3	★4	★8
	Kasou-genjitsu no Telescope 仮想現実のテレスコープ／deli.	★4	★5	★7	★9
	Tabetemo Tabetemo ☆Shoji☆ feat. Honoka♡Erika タベテモタベテモ／☆しょーじ☆ feat.ほのか♡えりか	★3	★6	★7	★8
	punk bastards 　　Sobrem	★5	★6	★7	★9
	LECIEL GLISSANDO Yomii 　　よみぃ	★5	★6	★7	★10

Key: red = series debut; green = subscription debut

Song of the Week! 19 August 2023

 

Well sure, that newly-released open beta Taiko smartphone game is up to grab everyone's attention by now, but its big brother from Apple-biting fields still has its grip on the Taiko pulse with some of the most exotic exclusive licenses yet. Including today's pick!

Taiko WCS 2023 Song Contest - Final Contestants Entry Update

On the 8th of this month, just as advertised, submission entries have been closed off for the latest of the official Taiko-endorsed music contests, going out with the unusual trend to add five more pages' worth of song entries right on cue. Eleven days have gone since then with no changes, so we're just left assuming that whatever leftover song to be featured has been posted in one fell swoop, instead of waiting a few weeks away like in the former Nijiiro-era contests.

This, of course, means the usual for us: a final looksie at who else is around for this edition! Gather around, as some of these names might ring a bell or two...

• HEARTiF4XZ by CHUBAY, trying to find their "third-time charm" after Itagaki and the contest-winning Vixtory. Will this one have what it takes?
• Massive Samurai Blade, proving once again how there's always room for Japanesque entries among Taiko contests! Composer Shioru (しおーる; Twxtter) strikes back after trying to reaich the peaks in last year's contest with the similarly-titled Massive Taiko Blade. Whether this latest blade is sharped to a tee or not, once again, lays onto the judges' watch...
  
• Arcobaleno by 7mai, already a winner with last year's turned-Ura-Weekend-Warrior L△chesis. Another submission trend is hit with its title too, as like many of the past editions' entries, rainbows are mentioned. In Italian, no less!
  
• Invictus::"O"MEGA', a "Taiko Requiem" coming from the nicknamed Gram (Twxtter) of many an indie label and otoge cameo fame, including for the latter songs for beatmania IIDX (Sigmund, GuNGNiR) and the defunct Muse Dash (XODUS). There's more weigth bulling to this art name, as it turns out being one of the aliased of Genki "DJ Genki" Hikota (彦田元気), straight from the HARDCORE TANO'C ensemble!
• Neko no Uta (ねこのうた), from NOMA. Here's another recurring application-filler for the seemingly-yearly Taiko no Tatsujin contest appointments, breaking away from past entries of his with a lyrics-powered piece. With 2023 being the year of his other song's porting into Taiko gaming, will this be the right time?
• Blessed Horizon, by Qutabire. The Aloft in the wind composer is back for Round 2 after skipping the 2022 contest, looking for the top-spot the same!
• Tokyo Neon (トーキョーネオン), a vocal piece from the art-named Aintops (Twxtter), an artist who managed to climb iTunes charts in the past few years with multiple original songs, not to mention CEO and founder of sound company Big Kick.
• WHiTEOUT by SDF, another yearly artist who keeps coming back every year for the Taiko bout, following his past entries of Nijiiro Taiko no Gosho (虹色太鼓ノ御定書), SUPERNOVA (no, don't worry- no USAO plagiarism is to be found this time!) and Ancient Kingdom. And if the vocalist sounds familiar, that's because it's the returning A.Dokuga (UFO Swingin'), someone who's just as constant with Taiko contest entries as the same SDF! 
• BurlesKa WonderlanDoon, a whimsical cartoon-y piece from contest-winning EteRnal Ring's maker museo and the nicknamed Ryokucha (りょくちゃ), joining the Taiko competition works twice in 2020 (Good bye October; Guzutsuki Nijiimo Yo) and once more last year, with the song Tenmangetsu Overture.
• FERVOR!!, the latest of "Versus" music entries to band together three different victors of different Taiko contests at different point in time. Will the latest collaborative effort from K.key/Mihile/Yomii result into a shared triumph?!
  
• FANTASTIC PANIC, by Yonokid. I'd talk some more about this returning guy and his craft, but that choice avatar on display has reminded me about someone else online uploading a compilation of a certain Super Show's cover song segments, all in one convenient video! Now, if you excuse me...
  

Song of the Week! 12 August 2023

 

On top of renewing the portable Taiko landscape once more, the upcoming Rhythm Connect is already on the rise to share previously-arcade-exclusive tracks into the broader public of smartphone users.

Meet one of these today!

Namco Taiko Blog (August 9th, 2023) - A Million Ways To Drum in the Nijiiro

The next Anime adaptation out of the Idolm@ster anime is about to air, with the arcade Taiko fields already being prepped for the occasion! We've got all sorts of hints and bits we documented over our Twxtter, but today we're coming clean with an official rundown and a little something more to it.

Song of the Week! 5 August 2023

 

With the latest of the last-minute-weekend Taiko Team announcements over Twxtter, a couple of Ranking Dojo Gaiden courses have just been added for every Banapassport owner to enjoy, offering "Ura" variants of the 2023 Main Courses' 9th and 10th Dan Trial.

Among the three songs featured for the latter "Ura Main Course" is one tune we've yet to talk about, one from a massive multimedia Bandai Namco project I finally got the excuse to talk about too, and in greater lengths at that!

Taiko WCS 2023 Song Contest - Judges Board Complete + First Contestants Sampler!

The latest Nippon Columbia Taiko music contest's last judge seats have been filled, and so is our top header for this very post! Three days prior, in fact, the website was silently updated to welcome the return of a couple of Taiko Team veterans, alongside one more page of song previews to take a gander at.

First Video Portal: August 2023

2023/08/23

	Title
	Rat A Tat!!! From Anime "Idolm@ster Million Live!"           アニメ「アイドルマスター ミリオンライブ！」より	★3	★5	★5	★5 (251)	★9 (567)

2023/08/03

	Title
	Kawaikute Gomen 可愛くてごめん	★2	★4	★5	★7 (533)
	Jamboree Mickey! ジャンボリミッキー！	★2	★3	★4	★5 (400)
	Minna no Kakigoori 　　Bonjour Suzuki feat. Yuichiro Tsukagoshi (NanosizeMir) & GIW ミンナノカキゴオリ 　　ボンジュール鈴木 feat. 塚越雄一朗(NanosizeMir) ＆ 祇羽	★4	★6	★7	★9 (765)
	RHYTHM CONNECT 　　TRIANGLE	★2	★4	★6	★8 (645)