Taiko no Tatsujin Kimidori Version update post

The race is on! Find out what the latest Taiko arcade firmware has to offer on release day here!

No. of updates: 19

New Taiko arcade build!

Thought Taiko 14 Plus was the end of it? No, Namco has something even bigger in mind, to bring the current antiquated arcade build up to modern standards and hopefully make it relevant for a lot longer than the ones we currently have!

Feature: Arcade stick vandalism

Why else do you think I always cart around my own pair of sticks when I go to the arcade? Some things aren't just for show, you know.

Taiko no Tatsujin 14 arcade code 7

Conditions: After Taiko no Tatsujin 14 code 6 has been used

Number of songs unlocked: 1

• Shimedore 2000  (〆ドレー２０００)

Slot your coins and stay on the Title screen .Hit the right rims of both drums alternatively until the number '14' on the screen disappears:

Before

 

After

 

The above step is Namco's April Fools prank and need not be done to unlock the song. However it will remain here for the sake of posterity.

Hit the rims of the drums the listed number of times in this order.

    Player 1            Player 2
 Left     Right      Left     Right
                                        7
                           6    
               5
  14
                                        8
               7
                           6                            
  14             
   1                                   1
              1           1

If the code is successfully inputted, a cup of green tea will appear on the lower-right corner of the title screen: 

 

Back to Taiko Secrets page

Taiko no Tatsujin 14 arcade code 6

Conditions: After Taiko no Tatsujin 14 code 5 has been used
Number of songs unlocked: 2

• Mulberry
• Karui Zawameki (軽いざわめき)

Ura difficulty unlocked: Taiko Time (タイコタイム)

Slot in your coins and stay at the Title screen. Hit the rims of the drums the listed number of times in this order.

    Player 1            Player 2
 Left     Right      Left     Right
                                        4
                           10    
               7
                                        3
               5
                                        4                                  
    4             
                           10
   1                       1

If the code is successfully inputted, a mochi will appear on the lower-right corner of the title screen:

 

 Back to Taiko Secrets page

Taiko no Tatsujin 14 arcade code 5

Conditions: After Taiko no Tatsujin 14 code 4 has been used
Number of songs unlocked: 2

• Sora-IV Bunpasong (SORA-IV ブンパソング)
• Fuun! Bachi o Sensei (風雲！バチお先生)

Ura difficulty unlocked: Fuun! Bachi o Sensei (風雲！バチお先生)

Slot in your coins and stay at the Title screen. Hit the rims of the drums the listed number of times in this order.

    Player 1            Player 2
 Left     Right      Left     Right
  10 
               1    
                           10
   9
                                        6
               4                                  
                             9             
   10
   1                                   1
                 
If the code is successfully inputted, a daiyaki will appear on the lower-right corner of the title screen:

Back to Taiko Secrets page

Taiko no Tatsujin 14 arcade code 4

Conditions: After Taiko no Tatsujin 14 code 3 has been used
Number of songs unlocked: 2

• KARMA (Tatsujin Mix)
• Go Go Kicchin (ゴーゴー・キッチン)

Ura difficulty unlocked: Shunyuu ~happy excursion~ (春遊~happy excursion~)

Slot in your coins and stay at the Title screen. Hit the rims of the drums the listed number of times in this order.

    Player 1            Player 2
 Left     Right      Left     Right
               1 
   5    
                             7
                                       8
                             4
                                       4                                  
                             4             
   1
               1            1
                 
If the code is successfully inputted, another biscuit will appear on the lower-right corner of the title screen:

Back to codes list

Taiko no Tatsujin 14 arcade code 3

Conditions: After Taiko no Tatsujin 14 code 2 has been used
Number of songs unlocked: 2

• Hikari no Kanata e (ヒカリノカナタヘ)
• Kurofune Raikou (黒船来航)

Ura difficulty unlocked: Hikari no Kanata e (ヒカリノカナタヘ)

Slot in your coins and stay at the Title screen. Hit the rims of the drums the listed number of times in this order.

    Player 1            Player 2
 Left     Right      Left     Right
                                       7 
   9    
                             9
               6
                                       3
   3                                  
                                       7             
   2
   1                                  1
                 
If the code is successfully inputted, a sponge cake will appear on the lower-right corner of the title screen:

Back to codes list

Taiko no Tatsujin 12 Asia song list

The second and last (for now) of the Chinese Taiko arcade machines, released on June 2009. Like with Taiko 11 Asia, 12 Asia is the identical twin of the regular Japanese machine with a language change and the C-Pop genre. However, 12 Asia had something 12 did not have -extra Namco Original game songs which wouldn't appear in Japan until Taiko 12.5 was released. The songs involved are:

Obsession Latino
Angel Dream (Ura)
Naked Glow - Ridge Racer 4

which were all given away in a secret code exclusive to 12 Asia. The secret songs for Taiko 12 (DON'T CUT, Rumble Ranbu, Kami-sama no Birthday) are included in the Asian song list from the beginning, and didn't require anything to unlock. There are even a few J-Pop and Anime songs exclusive to Taiko 12 Asia!

Why Namco discontinued the Asia line of arcade machines after 12 is still not known, but the blog and Chinese Donder Page continues to operate, though very minimally. It's a pity though- this was the first and last time the Asian machine had an advantage over the Japanese machine, song-wise.

Taiko 12 Asia secret code

Taiko no Tatsujin 12 song list

The 12th Taiko arcade machine, released in December 2008. Taiko 12 marked a plateau as far as development of the series was concerned- the game mechanics and graphics have been perfected over so many different versions. No major fixes or upgrades were made on this version, except for one small thing- instead of 'Taiko no Tatsujin Twelve' being announced on the title screen, it was replaced with the Japanese equivalent 'Jyuu-ni' (which also means twelve).

Except for introducing a few great new songs (including the infamous Rotter Tarmination, Caramelldansen and the new 2000 song, X-DAY 2000), Taiko 12's song list was devoid of many interesting new songs to play, and it only had three secret songs which were time-released and didn't need any secret codes. So, not many surprises in this new machine. Also, 12 has one of the highest old song retention rates in all of the Taiko arcades since the new engine was used. Add to the fact that its song list was only 1 song more than Taiko 11 (115. Taiko 11 had 114) and you have a machine that didn't garner as much interest as it should.

Maybe Namco were intentionally saving the good stuff for Taiko 12.5.

Taiko 12 secret code

Taiko no Tatsujin 14 arcade code 2

Conditions: After Taiko no Tatsujin 14 code 1 has been used
Number of songs unlocked: 2

• Arumujika ac14.0V (アルムジカａｃ１４．０Ｖ)
• Scroll Mika (スクロール・ミカ)

Ura difficulty unlocked: No Way Back

Slot in your coins and stay at the Title screen. Hit the rims of the drums the listed number of times in this order.

    Player 1            Player 2
 Left     Right      Left     Right
                            9 
               1    
                                       5
  10
               5
                                       6
               2             
   8
               1                      1
                 
If the code is successfully inputted, a tri-color dango will appear on the lower-right corner of the title screen:

Back to codes list

Taiko no Tatsujin 11 Asian song list

Released just one month after Taiko 11, this was Namco's effort to branch out to the Chinese market for Taiko no Tatsujin after a less-than-spectacular fallout in the US. It's the Japanese Taiko 11's twin brother- language and C-Pop songs aside, the features, options and gameplay modes in both 11 Japan and 11 Asia are identical. Don-chan has a Chinese voice in the Asian arcades.

The secret codes used to unlock songs in Taiko 11 Asia and the code for Ura Oni mode are the same as 11 Japan. (they're different in 12 Asia, but that's another story).



Taiko 11 secret code 1
Taiko 11 secret code 2

Taiko no Tatsujin 11 song list

Taiko no Tatsujin 11 was released in March 2008, and represented another important step in giving Taiko no Tatsujin a modern makeover, both for casual players and for the fans. The most obvious change even before you start playing is the position of the drumsticks, which are no longer placed by the side, but in a bag under the drum, making things neater and allows players to place things in between the two drums.

In the game, Revival Roulette, which allowed players a chance to continue after failing one song, has been removed and replaced with the less luck-based Revival Drumroll. In this, Don-chan will be placed in front of many plates of food, and your job is to make him finish all the food by hitting the drum face as many times as you can in the time limit. If Don-chan finishes, you get a second chance. Of course things are a lot harder the higher your difficulty level is.

Different Taiko sounds, like tambourine sounds, giant Taiko sounds, and farting sounds, have been included in console Taiko games for years, but this is the first Taiko arcade to have a few of the most popular ones. They are accessed by hitting the left rim on Kantan in the difficulty select screen. Kantan has also been given an overhaul, with a much prettier results screen and encouraging messages to players after clearing a song (since Kantan is usually played by very young children). A few select songs in Kantan (the easiest anime songs and children songs) are also compatible with the new Papa Mama Support mode, which allows parents to assist their child in playing on the second drum even though only one player's worth of coins is inserted. Two drum inputs into a single player then.

And for the expert players, the addition of Ura Oni mode was the most important addition of them all. By entering a secret command for Ura Oni, a few existing songs were upgraded to even higher difficulty, and some replaced with full versions lasting 4 to 5 minutes long! Ura Oni has been a great source of Taiko challenge ever since this arcade.



Taiko 11 secret code 1
Taiko 11 secret code 2

Medal no Tatsujin 2

 

Medal no Tatsujin 2 Atsumare! Go! Go! Sugoroku Sentai Don Ranger Five (メダルの達人2 あつまれ！ゴー！ゴー！双六戦隊ドンレンジャーファイブ) was released in February 2007 as a sequel to the original. Aside from a few new songs in Tatsujin Game, Medal 2 also introduced a bunch of new minigames and features to the original, including seasons of the year and Waru-Mekadon battles. Note that they are not the same as the Waru-Mekadon in Taiko DS2 (but were probably an inspiration). The basic rules remain the same.

Taiko no Tatsujin 12 Don~! to Zoryoban song list

Taiko no Tatsujin 12.5 (the widely accepted short form of the 12 Zoryoban machine) was released in July 2009, a month after Asia 12. It's not a fully new version, instead 12.5 succeeds at what the original Taiko 12 failed to do- provide compelling reason to come back to the arcade to play compelling new songs. 'Zoryoban' means 'expanded version' which is very true, as it included a whopping 145 songs on debut and 155 after all the secret codes were revealed, a far cry from the minimalist approach by the original. 12.5 is almost completely different from 12 in terms of fun.

When it was first announced, many initially felt increasingly ripped off by the Taiko Team because they were 'just using all the songs from 12 and stuffing a few new ones in to create a new arcade version'. That sentiment would soon fade. 12.5 introduced far better songs than 12 could ever have done. The 12 Asia exclusive secret songs were put on a Japanese machine for the first time, and joined by four to five new Namco Originals, and also Hatsune Miku's first ever Taiko debut 'Melt' and 9mm Parabellum Bullet's 'Punishment' which dethroned Kurenai as the toughest J-Pop song.

Lots of other record-swapping activities took place. 12.5 is currently the one with the most secret songs (though 14 will change that), and all ten of them are well-accepted Namco Originals and great songs. 12.5 introduced Ryougen no Mai, a song so tough it's put up together with some of the hardest songs in history. 12.5 introduced more Ura Oni difficulties than any other arcade too, and crazy ones at that. Even the easiest children song, Mori no Kuma-san, got a Ura Oni that would have most players screaming in frustration (play it to find out!)

All the changes are within the software, in the song list. As for gameplay changes, well, it's the same as Taiko 12, and 11 before it. Not much has changed in the past few years, but the widespread popularity of Taiko 12.5 when code after code were revealed, proved that while improving gameplay of Taiko was still important, the song selection will always be king.

Taiko 12.5 secret code 1
Taiko 12.5 secret code 2
Taiko 12.5 secret code 3
Taiko 12.5 secret code 4
Taiko 12.5 secret code 5

Pre-code song unlock

Taiko no Tatsujin 10 song list

The 10th arcade Taiko, released on July 2007. Another big step for the series, this version was the first one to have secret unlockable songs deep within the arcade software. They are unlocked by hitting the rims of the drum in a certain order after your coins are slotted in. The methods of unlocking secret songs would be placed on Namco's official Taiko blog (which was started together with Taiko 10 and DS1).

Not many other changes were made, except now, instead of 'Game Over', the arcade presents the message in full Japanese (it says 'おしまい　まだあそんだね！-oshimai, mada asonda ne! ' meaning 'The game has ended, come play again soon!') and an option is presented to people who still prefer to see the songs arranged by difficulty- just hit the left and right rims quickly one after the other at the song selection screen to switch orders. Plus, the tutorial is no longer forced onto players selecting Kantan, instead placing an option to open the tutorial right next to Kantan. You can skip it with 5 taps on the rim, and it disappears altogether if you open the Oni difficulty.

Medal no Tatsujin

Medal no Tatsujin is a lesser known spinoff of Taiko no Tatsujin, released on April 2005, and unlike the rhythm game, doesn't feature drums of any sort. In fact the gameplay of Medal no Tatsujin is almost completely different. Medal no Tatsujin Doki~tsu! Ōatari-darake no Sugoroku Matsuri (メダルの達人 ドキッ!大当たりだらけのすごろく祭り), its full name, is actually a board game, with dice.

Taiko no Tatsujin 7 song list

One of the most major turning points for the Taiko series. The slogan of Taiko no Tatsujin 7, which speaks of renewal, doesn't lie. Aside from a huge graphical overhaul, thanks to an arcade board upgrade from Namco System 10 to the much more powerful, PS2-grade Namco System 246, all songs can finally be played on all difficulties, and streamlined into the genres we know today, except for Game Music, which is partially split between Namco Original and Variety until a little later on.

Modern frills were added such as the Go-Go Time and the ability to play with all the notes invisible (Doron mode). Donderful difficulty is renamed to Oni, in line with the name the PS2 versions had been using since the first day. General performance is improved and loading times cut down. The number of songs is stepped up enormously. Taiko 7 marked the beginning of the new Taiko engine, the one which we play today.

Taiko no Tatsujin 6 song list

The sixth Taiko no Tatsujin arcade, released on July 2004. Is the last Taiko arcade to use the old Namco System 10 board. No significant changes occurred between 5 and 6. The biggest thing Taiko 6 had up its sleeve was none other than Saitama 2000. It paved the way for much more difficult songs to come for the Taiko series.

Taiko no Tatsujin 5 song list

The 5th arcade Taiko, released on October 2003, nearly a full year after arcade Taiko 4 came out. By this time, nearly most of the songs have complete difficulty sets (i.e. can be selected from Kantan all the way up to Donderful). The only exception is the songs created specially for Taiko, which at this time have just had a Futsuu difficulty added to every one of them, and cannot be selected on Kantan.

The new feature in Taiko 5 is the addition of a mode to pick a song before picking a difficulty, instead of the other way around. However, if you choose to pick songs before difficulties on Taiko 5, you will not be able to play on Donderful mode. That's just the way things worked back then, could be a design flaw or maybe it was intended to be that way. This was rectified in all subsequent arcade models with this option.