A nightmare has fallen, and to the victors go the spoils...
With the recent declaration of Dark Don Challenge's full completion, today we're taking a look at EVERY unique track that was delivered to the arcade shores in such an odd way! Minimal spoilers on how to summon the involved songs and how to clear their respective chapters are provided in the same breath, so caution ahead if you want to expereince the event yourself while being left in the dark (heh) of it.
Onward!
Asobi Kata Setsumei
あそびかた説明
| Game | Genre |  |  |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AC Nijiiro (Y7) |  | ★1 11 | ★1 11 | ★1 11 | ★1 11 | - |
89.6-92.81
???The first of many 'anomalies' presented in the course of the event is the disappearance of Don-chan's voice from any ingame screen (even the songs with the Taiko sibling's name in the title/as the singer are gone!), leaving in their wake one off duck in the song selection screen... without Don-Chan vocals, the same!
This is the song that is played in the 'How To Play' section on Nijiiro Version arcades, hence the JP name. One day after its reveal, its very composer -the ex-BNSI composer steμ- posted on SNS (link) about this track's origins. In the transition from the 3rd-gen arcades to Nijiiro, the initial idea was to just use the background music for the How To Play section, so the then-arcade sound director steμ took matters on his hands and composed a unique piece for the tutorial area on its stead, one that would match the speed of the tutorial narration by the Taiko drum sibling for the segment.
A couple of traits that are shared across (most of) the other Dark Don Challenge-unique songs are accounted for this playable outing of the How To Play: there is no preview track unique to the song when it's highlighted on the song selection screen and once the unlock step/anomaly completion criteria involving the track has been successfully performed, the song would disappear for that Banapassport user for good, even by scanning the appropriate QR code in a later credit play. Among "coventional" playable songs, the Asobi Kata Setsumei ditty breaks new grounds: it's the first track released since Violin Concerto in E Minor from the PS2's Godaime to be devoid of any Go-Go Time section... hell, it's the first time period without any bar line to separate note stanzas, on top of that!! This is also the first time a song features the Kusudama notes since the MUST SONGS PsVita entries.
Well sure, you may point fingers at the really low note count being sported on all modes (all sharing the same patterns), but hold onto your seatbelts just for a second- we're not even getting started...
middle of the middle
| Game | Genre | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AC Nijiiro (Y7) | | ★1 9 | ★1 9 | ★1 9 | ★1 9 | - |
123-226.35 ???The three following anomalies can be found with the Chapter 2 QR code, kicking things off with what has easily become the shortest-playable "song" in any official Taiko game to date. No matter the difficulty of your own choosing, it's a 3-seconds crescendo of scrolling enhancements of small Kats leading into a big Don!
As you can hear, the 'song' on display is just the small jingle that can be heard while opening the Ranking Dojo in arcades, with the title itself being a clue to lead players into browsing said mode and discovering the unique Gaiden trial found there (middle of the first), in order to progress into the anomaly's solution. And once again, you think THAT's a low Max Combo?
Get a load of this.
Fukkatsu Renda
復活連打
| Game | Genre | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AC Nijiiro (Y7) | | ★1 0 | ★1 0 | ★1 0 | ★1 0 | - |
120-240 ???Shin Fukkatsu Renda
新・復活連打
| Game | Genre | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AC Nijiiro (Y7) | | ★1 1 | ★1 1 | ★1 1 | ★1 1 | - |
120-209.15 ???Do not adjust the screen you're using to browse this page: your eyes are not deceiving you. We've come to the point there's a song out there that can be officially played in Taiko no Tatsujin and has ZERO notes to even initiate a combo counter on. Just a long, invisible drumroll marker and that's it- no matter how hard you go at it, no progress to the soul gauge is performed and you will fail it. And that's just part one to the solution of it!
Fukkatsu Renda stands for 'Revival Drumroll', which is where either of these two songs can be heard at older arcade Taiko models: when you fail the first song and you're given a chance to play the rest of your credit by performing a drumroll as best as you can. The noteless version is the one that can be heard in 2nd-generation arcades from Taiko 11 to 14; while a 'New' version can be unlocked once you fail at the 2nd-gen noteless revival... by reviving yourself afterwards! The 'new' edition is the one for the 3rd-gen "Taiko 0" family of arcade firmwares, with Torine (トリ音) composing the results BGM that can be heard at the very beginning of the track. Having only one note to hit, however, be sure to score a perfect hit on it or your soul gauge will only charge up by half and you'll end up failing again! At least, this one is visible...
Hurtling Beams
| Game | Genre | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AC Nijiiro (Y7) | | ★5 408 | ★7 408 | ★8 408 | ★10 408 | ★1 34 |
195 ???Lightning Beams
| Game | Genre | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AC Nijiiro (Y7) | | ★5 684 | ★7 684 | ★8 684 | ★10 684 | ★1 57 |
225 ???When checking the Chapter 3 QR code, you'll find how both Namco Originals from composer Sadakichi -Hurtling Boys and last year's Lightning Boys's Ura (also on regular Oni)- have had their trademark charting-hell portion replaced by a long drumroll, removing the iconic 'Etou Beam' from both songs. A cursory glance at the music selection screen, however, and you'll see a couple of new songs where's nothing but the most brutal charting section from both songs, repeated 12 times in a row!
Hurtling Beams and Lightning Beams are just as written in the tin: nothing but their own 'beam' charting sections repeated 12 times. However, by some selective playing and the unlock of particular titles to wield, Ura settings can be unlocked for both, resulting into the same chart that only has one copy of their brutal 'beam' chart in a more-than-digestible manner! From there, figuring out how to "copy" these patterns back to the original charts should be easy, ... right?
When compared to 'regular' songs, it goes without saying that some records are to be broken... most important of which being the hit ratio: 14 hits/second for the non-Ura Lightning Beams is the highest measurement registered for note density of any other chart to date!
Linda wa Kyou mo Zetsufuchou
リンダは今日も絶不調
| Game | Genre | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AC Nijiiro (Y7) | | ★1 282 281 | ★1 282 281 | ★1 282 281 | ★1 282 281 | - |
120 ???Also from Chapter 3 is this anomalous alteration to the niche arcade darling Linda wa Kyou mo Zekkouchou, only this time we've gone from a title of "Today Linda is Feeling Perfect" to "Today Linda is Feeling Terrible". And no wonder why; none of the 2000 songs appear in this QR code challenge's beginning, except Saitama 2000!
The tone is set in from the getgo, with this song actually playing Joubutsu 2000 instead of the expected Namco Original tune. The change doesn't stop there, as this is now a forked-paths chart rendering a lot of SOS in Morse code. Two different messages can be heard, according to how you play the charts (and more specifically, if you drum roll at all or not)!
Help Ex Machina
ヘルプ・エクス・マキナ
| Game | Genre | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AC Nijiiro (Y7) | | ★1 1 | ★1 1 | ★1 1 | ★1 1 | - |
120 ???Chapter 4 had the wackiest (and quite expensive) anomaly to go through, all centered around the AI navigator from Nijiiro's AI Battle Performance mode and her dark counterpart that was first introduced at April Fools last year.
The couple's two signature songs -Yell Ex Machina and Dark Ex Machina- would lose their preview clip/artist mention in the subtitle and instead have an unexpected change... Machina the Dark is the singer for Yell Ex Machina, and regular Machina sings Dark Ex Machina in turn (see here and here)! By performing the right steps, it's possible to break down both songs and channel the duo in a 'separate song slot': this "song" in particular. The quotes are in place as it's just a message from the duo, once again with just a giant Don note to hit at the end. Players are asked to revive then by collecting "fragments of their music", and if the task is performed to a tee, you'll end up with...
Yell Ex ◯◯◯!
エール·エクス·◯◯◯!
| Game | Genre | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AC Nijiiro (Y7) | | ★3 164 | ★5 224 | ★6 382 | ★9 765 | - |
176.5 ???Dark Ex ◯◯◯♡
ダーク・エクス・◯◯◯♡
| Game | Genre | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AC Nijiiro (Y7) | | ★5 474 | ★7 717 | ★8 896 | ★10 1333 1270 | - |
108-432 ???...effectively the first playable "karaoke versions" of any song to date! The chart on display are the exact same ones from the regular Yell Ex/Dark Ex (and the vocalist-swap versions), only with no vocals outside the pieces of Namco Original music from other songs. This surely makes the ending of Yell Ex especially cruel with no sound to have a good read on that last note!
Key No.1
第1の鍵
| Game | Genre | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AC Nijiiro (Y7) | | ★2 42 | ★4 38 | ★3 42 | ★1 44 | - |
116 ???Key No.2
第2の鍵
| Game | Genre | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AC Nijiiro (Y7) | | ★4 55 | ★2 44 | ★1 45 | ★3 43 | - |
116 ???Key No.3
第3の鍵
| Game | Genre | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AC Nijiiro (Y7) | | ★3 51 | ★1 42 | ★4 50 | ★2 46 | - |
116 ???Key No.4
第4の鍵
| Game | Genre | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AC Nijiiro (Y7) | | ★4 41 | ★1 43 | ★2 539 | ★3 42 | - |
116 ???The anomaly available with Chapter 5's QR code is different from the others before and after it, in that you don't have to solve a riddle inside the game, but outside of it. A code of 16 characters had to be shared on the official Taiko no Tatsujin X handle and in order to find the code, four different songs were shipped with nothing but different morse codes in all difficulties, while Yuji Masubuchi's music selection BGM in arcade Taikos plays in the background.
The catch? Each of the keys was tied to arcade of a specific regional area, so the sixteen morse code intel had to be gathered by players in four separate parts of the world! Reportedly, among the eligible places, the 1st Key track was found in Taiwan arcades, the 2nd Key was located in South Korea, Key No.3 was left for Japanese arcades while Oceania reported the appearance of the last key.
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Before going to the end of this journey, here are the other songs like the "Boys" and vocals-swap Machina songs to have had some alterations as part of the Dark Don Challenge, minus a title change:
- Senpuu no Mai [Earth], where each Don and Kat hit was inverted, just how the charts would appear under the Doron modifier (Chapter 1);
- Soroban 2000, with different morse codes displayed on the no-hit Advanced Notes route (Chapters 1, 2 and 3).
The 16-code for Chapter 5 was found within the day of QR reveal, granting the coming of an upcoming gauntlet like none other before. And lying at the end of it was none other than...
Rough: CHA0Z
Nothing But Requiem
| Game | Genre | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AC Nijiiro (Y7) | | ★5 239 | ★7 462 | ★8 604 | ★10 987 | - |
7.65-333 ???The track standing at the end of the EX chapter has lead many a skilled arcade Donder into a perilous journey, just for the mere ability of unlocking it. So much so that the challenge was set into three difficulty degrees and the unlock conditions revealed on official Taiko SNS a few days into the reveal. As if for the base condition of performing a Donder-Full Combo on both Chaos Time songs... in the SAME CREDIT... wasn't spicy enough, the upper variants of the EX challenge -Kiwami and the later-released Miyabi- demanded the same-credit DFC action with one of the two randomizer mods active (Detarame and Kimagure, respectively), making it excruciatingly hard not only to perform but also to read. Of course, the same stipulations had to be upheld for this here newcoming beast, so it's no wonder how the first public unlocks of this song were dated eight days after the hardest EX QR code got revealed, in the day where the Iki QR code was handed out and no modifiers were required!
Rough: CHA0Z is the first original creation for Taiko no Tatsujin from the Hokkaido-based Shohei Uno (宇野将平; YouTube/X Account), a hardcore/gabber artist in affiliation with a number of national hardcore-affine labels. As revealed in an interview published on the bemani fansite, after learning of the gabber genre's existence via D-crew's disable dA STACK from pop'n music, Uno started his own music production in 2004, owner of his own label (Notebook Records) and as member of many other labels under a number of aliases, most prominently RoughSketch among Konami's music gaming series (for reference, 666 from SOUND VOLTEX) and the lower-caps uno he uses as a member of IOSYS and for a few original songs across rhythm games (for reference, Stardust Vox and DX Choseinou Full-Metal Shoujo from Groove Coaster). As a member of Konami's inhouse beatnation Records label, Uno was also the only artist affiliated to the HARDCORE TANO*C circle that was able to make original music for its games for a number of years, following up from the happenings around the creation of the song Battle No.1 that is also available to play in arcade Taikos (see here!).
Despite the Nothing But Requiem alias being relatively new, it was already spotted in a number of hot seats in music gaming prior to this exotic introduction into Taiko, on top of a dedicated X account set up for it. Maimai's first entry in the ongoing Deluxe era had received his Majogari, Lanota's Chapter 6 main pack launched with Horizon Blue starring the same singer aides and Arcaea's final story chapter (of part 1) included his Pentiment, made in collaboration with the nick-named Museo (please note that it's a different 'Museo' from the one behind EterNal Ring).
The reward to ace a couple of top-star Oni treats in a row that wear soflan scrolling wizardry like a tight-but-just-right smoking is -unsurprisingly enough- a charting approach to walk on the same steps and even surpassing it on a few aspects. Despite the internal limitations of Taiko notecharts on how many internal bar lines can be set for a given chart, a more creative solution was met by a gradient-rise scrolling set for every two notes, instead of a change every note that was employed sparingly (SUPERNOVA's Ura and Taiko no 2000), allowing longer portions of a song to wield multiple scrolling gimmickry and bring forth chaos. As you can see by the video above, only the Oni mode was available to select on launch as for any other song played under one of the EX Dark Don Challenge codes; unlocking it, however, allows lower difficulties to be played in regular play, too! Not to mention this song will become a public unlock next Saturday anyway, so if you lack the earth power to pull off the single-credit miracle, you can do it with a bit of patience. Just don't expect ANY of the scrolling gimmickry to be toned down, however- most of the stanzas starting with a note will keep the same modifiers as of the harder difficulties, including the final note flowing at 7.65 BPM with a scrolling speed modification to allow it to menacingly linger on screen for as much time as it does!
