Saturday, September 2, 2023

Song of the Week! 2 September 2023

 

With today's pick, we're about to go astray to our usual trivia-scouting modus operandi, so a little disclaimer on my part is in order.

Here on Taiko Time, we'd usually come by to list song/artist-related notions that can be scouted with enough Internet browsing on sorts, whether these are diretcly re-linked by us on the related posts or heading into its generic direction, such as with artist-related web spaces or even archived Internet links for the most ancient "lost media" salvageable content. When it comes to social media, however, if something gets deleted -by either the very same platform or any of the other involved parties- it's most likely gone, unless screenshots to each of such moments were snapped before being taken down. Hell, for one of these instances, I myself was part of trivia-worthy content scouting that I couldn't save/recollect apart from just typing it here, which is lost to time as the original SM post was deleted and went unarchived!

For clarity's sake, I'll be pre-emptively talking about all of these on a paragraph on its own, so that documented facts with the flimsiest of "you have to take my word for it" evidence to 'em can be taken apart, leaving whatever you want to believe about 'em. For the trivia-enriching story involving me, I can tell you it DID happen but wasn't hasty enough into getting back into snapping/checking out the related documents before they were gone! At the same time, however, I realize how, again, the "take one's word for it" angle isn't as professional as how we usually do things around here, hence this decision and these walls of text explaining it.

At this point, you might wonder just what kind of song deserves such a lengthy prologue!
OH BOY, you wouldn't believe me...

Wednesday, August 30, 2023

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:

Saturday, August 26, 2023

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.

Monday, August 21, 2023

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

Saturday, August 19, 2023

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


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

太鼓の達人 楽曲募集だドン!2023

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...