Saturday, November 20, 2010

Taiko no Tatsujin iOS/Plus STH song list

Taiko iOS was first released on Apple iPhone and iPod touch as a downloadable, on-the-go version of Taiko, which can be easily updated. The increased power of the Apple smartphones meant more could be done with it in terms of features, music quality and graphics than the regular mobile version Taiko.

To group the Taiko iOS games into one song list and into one title would be a fallacy- there are actually four different apps made for Apple devices, and the main one being used and updated right now is Taiko no Tatsujin Plus. Before moving on to the main songlist, I'll discuss each of them in detail.

Taiko no Tatsujin Popular Song Pack 1 (太鼓の達人 ー人気曲ぱっく1ー)
Release: February 1 2010
Price: 600 yen (non-expandable)

First app released and contains five songs. No matter which app you're playing, the gameplay and presentation of iOS Taiko remains the same- notes scroll on the screen, and the entire screen is your touch control pad, because overlapping the note scroll bar is a semi-transparent Taiko drum like in DS, and instead of a stylus, you press your fingers on the screen to hit it. Four-way multiplayer is included from the very beginning, and carries on to all later versions.

Contains 5 songs and cannot be modified to hold more than that. The titles of the songs are in the main song list below.

Taiko no Tatsujin Popular Song Pack 2 (太鼓の達人 ー人気曲ぱっく2ー)
Release: April 15 2010
Price: 600 yen (non-expandable)

Second app, and contains the exact same features as the first pack, only with different songs. 5 songs in total, all in the main song list below.

Together with the Popular Song Pack 1 app, it has been discontinued on March 31st, 2015.
太鼓の達人プラス
Taiko no Tatsujin Plus (太鼓の達人 プラス)

Release: May 28, 2010
Price: free (expandable)

The third and main app for Apple iOS, Taiko Plus was released to extend compatibility with the recently released iPad and its larger screen. To accommodate it, the graphics have been improved and this was also the time where high scores could now be submitted to an online leaderboard, and also featured on Twitter if you have a registered account. All the features present in Popular Song Packs 1 and 2 are still here, and more are being added on as regular updates to Taiko no Tatsujin Plus.

Unlike the song packs, Taiko+ is downloaded for free with one song included (Carmen Prelude), and more free songs are added on in updates. This is the first and only Apple iOS Taiko app that allows expansion of the song list using downloadable packs, for a nominal fee of 600 yen each. All older and future song packs are available as downloads for Taiko+, which means the main song list practically represents the whole of Taiko+.

The title can hold more than 300 songs between the free default tracks and the many song packs being released after its launch. From Version 3.0.0 onward, the game also supports a subscription-based system similar to the Android Taiko games called Gakkyoku Tori Houdai (楽曲取り放題), which allows players to play over 100 songs among the already-released tracks for a set period of time.

Taiko no Tatsujin RS (太鼓の達人 RS)
Release: July 23, 2010
Price: 600 yen (non-expandable)

RS stands for Rip Slyme, a popular hip-hop group in Japan. Like all other apps not named Taiko no Tatsujin Plus, this app does not have extra download packs, and this app's songs can be downloaded for Taiko+. Contains special dancers for all songs in the form of cartoon versions of the Rip Slyme band members.


Taiko no Tatsujin Plus Shinkyoku Tori Houdai! (太鼓の達人プラス★新曲取り放題!)
Release: February 3, 2016
Price: free (expandable)

With its name being the merging of two previous Taiko apps' titles (Plus and Shinkyoku Tori Houdai), this is a port for Android smartphones of the Taiko Plus app, inheriting most of the songs and features of the still-running Taiko Plus app for Apple devices (hence it being featured on this page).

The main difference between the apps is that Taiko Plus STH doesn't feature any of the song packs previously featured on the Taiko games on the App Store, making room only for its default/limited songs and the Gakkyoku Tori Houdai subscription plan. For this game, said subscription mode is separated in two different subscription plans -Popular Songs Plan (songs from all genres but Game Music and Namco Original) and Namco Original Plan- both available for monthly periods of time.

Song of the Week! 20 November 2010

 

This week it's our choice, but we'll get to your requests next week, so don't worry! We remember all of 'em (as long as there aren't too many). So, which song did we pick this week?

Songs unlocked without secret codes

Works on Taiko no Tatsujin 12.5 /13

On Taiko 12.5 and Taiko 13, there were ways to unlock certain songs without the official secret code. This made it possible for them to be leaked out early, but they're not for the novice player to obtain, as these methods have very tough conditions, like FCing a particular song. Below are all the songs unlocked through alternate methods (of course, they're useless after the real secret code comes out)

Taiko no Tatsujin 13 song list

Taiko no Tatsujin 13 arcade
The 13th Taiko no Tatsujin, released on December 2009 just five months after the wildly successful Taiko 12.5. Taiko 13 takes the game to new heights, being the first version to be used in a nationwide (Japan, of course) official Taiko no Tatsujin tournament in April 2010. In terms of new features, again it doesn't introduce many new things, except a slight change in the Children/Folk genre name from Kanji to hiragana.

Being the first arcade to introduce alternate methods of unlocking secret songs other than entering secret codes, a few of them were leaked to players long before the official secret code was given out. Even Namco played along by offering players hints along the way. There was a lot of deduction on the exact method to unlock songs without secret codes, but all of them required an expert hand in FCing a song on triple speed or something or other.

The song list was once again revolutionary, and had enough new songs up its sleeve even though its generation partner, Taiko Wii 2 was released ahead of it. Most notable was the new 2000 song, Hataraku 2000, which challenges even the mightiest of players to a mad challenge. With Hataraku 2000, the 'elite four' of Taiko was finally all present on a single arcade- Kita Saitama 2000, Rotter Tarmination (Ura), Ryougen no Mai and this. Another notable song is Monster Hunter Medley, which once again is Namco's effort to branch out to the most popular trends in Japan. A sneaky April Fools joke was also inserted by Namco into this arcade in advance. They really know how to plan their timed release of information to the players.

Taiko 13 is also the first arcade to have an 'ending theme song', as said by the Taiko Team in their blog when the final code containing mint tears and said ending song was finally given out.


Taiko 13 secret code 1
Taiko 13 secret code 2
Taiko 13 secret code 3
Taiko 13 secret code... 4?

Pre-code song unlock

Friday, November 19, 2010

Partial Taiko Wii 3 songlist - Part 2!

As fast as a jet, as punctual as a clock, the official site of the latest Taiko Wii game has lighten up the approaching of its release, by revealing other songs from the starting tracklist. Most of the favourite songs of Taiko 14 appear once again, alongside with other new entries. Enjoy!

As for the last songlist, a red New! marks the official debut of a song with Taiko Wii 3, while a green New! will sign arcade-only songs which approach the console games on this game.

J-POP
New! Tamashii Rebory Ushon (タマシイレボリューション)
New! Kimi Ga Iru (キミがいる)
New! Ring a Ding Dong
New! Butterfly Kimura Kaera (Butterfly 木村カエラ)
New! VICTORY
New! Mata Kimi ni Koishi Teru (また君に恋してる)
New! Ponītēru to Shushu (ポニーテールとシュシュ)
New! Hiro (ヒーロー)
Sobakasu (そばかす)


Anime
New! Yukaitsūkai Kaibutsu-kun (ユカイツーカイ怪物くん)
New! Sanpo (さんぽ)
New! One day
New! Tomeidatta Sekai (透明だった世界)
New! Mainichi Kasan (毎日かあさん)
New! Kimi ga Shuyaku Sa~tsu! (君が主役さっ!)
New! GO-GO Tamagotchi! (GO-GOたまごっち!)
Gake no Ue no Ponyo (崖の上のポニョ)
Saikou Everyday! (サイコー・エブリデイ!)
Tensou Sentai Goseiger (天装戦隊ゴセイジャー) 
Alright! Heart Catch Precure (Alright! ハートキャッチプリキュア!)

Variety
New! Pirameki Taisō Taiko de Metabo Yattsukero! No Maki (ピラメキたいそう 太鼓でメタボやっつけろ!の巻)
New!  Black Rock Shooter (ブラック★ロックシューター)

Classic
New! Montagues and Capulets (モンタギュー家とキャピュレット家)
Symphony No. 7 (交響曲第7番から)
The Nutcracker Suite (行進曲「くるみ割り人形」から)
Flight of the Bumblebee (熊蜂の飛行)
From the New World (新世界より)
Classic Medley (Rock ver.) (クラシックメドレー(ロック編))
The Entertainer (エンターテイナー)
Toy Symphony (おもちゃのシンフォニー)

Game Song
New! New Super Mario Bros. Wii (NewスーパーマリオブラザーズWii)
New! L・O・B・M
New! Make Inu Henjou feat. Kani Prince (負け犬返上 feat.蟹プリンス) 
New! URBAN FRAGMENTS
New! DESERT STORM
New! Monster Hunter Medley (モンスターハンターメドレー)
IN THE ZONE
Overmaster (オーバーマスター)
No Way Back

Namco Original
New! Taiko de Happī (太鼓でハッピー)
New! Dream Tide
New! Space SAMURAI (Uchu Samurai) (宇宙SAMURAI)
New! Arumujika ac14.0V (アルムジカac14.0V)
New! SORA-III Heliopause (SORA-III ヘリオポース)
New! Taiko Time (タイコタイム)
New! Yumeiro Coaster (夢色コースター)
Gekkabijin (月下美人)
mint tears
Hataraku 2000 (はたラク2000)


...but it's not over yet! Taiko Wii 3's site has revealed also the other mini-games of the Dream Taiko Land! Screenshots will be added soon.





Thursday, November 18, 2010

New Super Mario Bros. Wii in Taiko Wii 3

I knew there was something missing when I put up the scans for the November CoroCoro. There was one page I left out!



This scan details the seven different minigames in Taiko Wii 3 and the special cameo dancers. Let's focus on the cameo dancers...


Nintendo fans, do you see something familiar (to the left of Pirameki)? It's New Super Mario Bros. Wii on the bottom of a brand-new Mario medley song of the same name! In all its 3D glory! I can't wait to see how it moves...

Namco Taiko Blog (18 November 2010)- Arumijika ac14.0V


Taiko's song names are so easy to erase and be kept a secret...Namco must have predicted there would be a time where Taiko would become so popular that the name of one song would be so sought after. Anyway, the mystery screenshot revealed in the official blog's source code was found to be Arumujika ac14.0V, and today Namco lifts the lid on how the song's name came to be, and took away the blackness covering the song title.

So, how did Arumujika get its name? I've edited its profile in Song Series, so go read it from there!

Oh? There's more...Wait, Arumujika ac14.0V is going to show up in Taiko Wii 3?! Oh the joy! Look forward to it! It's a really, really fun song.

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