Taiko no Tatsujin

Objective

The main objective of Taiko no Tatsujin games is to hit a simulated Taiko drum following a chosen piece of music, corresponding to notes (音符, onpu) scrolling from the right.

A song is cleared when the spirit gauge (魂ゲージ, tamashii geeji) is filled past the target (ノルマ, noruma), by playing accurately enough.

Controls

Arcade releases are equipped with simulated Taiko, which can register hits when played with drum sticks (bachis).

Console versions mainly uses buttons to play, while certain devices can support additional methods of input:

Notes

The variety of notes in the game consists mainly of red and blue markers. The red don (ドン) note requires a hit on the face of the drum, and the blue kat (カッ) note requires a hit on the rim.

Other notes require quick consecutive hits on the drum. Types of such notes includes the yellow bar, the balloon note and the Kusudama ball.

Difficulty

Most games in the franchise provide four difficulty levels for play: Easy (かんたん, kantan), Normal (ふつう, futsū), Hard (むずかしい, muzukashii), and "Oni" (おに, lit. demon), the highest difficulty.

The sequence of the notes in a level is commonly referred to as a notechart (譜面, fumen).

Inner notecharts

Certain songs also have extra inner note charts (裏譜面, ura fumen) in addition to the four standard levels. These are intended to be alternative takes on the regular set. Although not a main objective, most inner note charts are made more difficult than regular note charts.

Some inner note charts work by changing to an alternative version of the song, or, exclusively in arcades, switching to a completely different song.

Notechart branching

Some songs can feature notechart branching (譜面分岐, fumen bunki) in certain difficulty levels. According to the player's performance, the notechart changes between Normal notechart (普通譜面, futsuu fumen), Expert notechart (玄人譜面, kurōto fumen) or Master notechart (達人譜面, tatsujin fumen).

Gameplay options

Various aspects of the game can be changed to the player's liking:

Taiko: Drum Master

Taiko: Drum Master is the first and only English-language release in the franchise, first released for the PlayStation 2 on October 26, 2004 in North America and September in Japan. Instead of Japanese pop and anime music, Taiko: Drum Master uses English-language pop music by artists including Queen and Madonna, and Western animation theme songs from Dragon Ball and Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius.

Taiko no Tatsujin 13

Taiko no Tatsujin 13 (太鼓の達人 13) is the thirteenth arcade release of the series, with service commencing December 17, 2009. Taiko no Tatsujin 13 was used to hold the Japan-wide tournament Namco Presents Taiko no Tatsujin Nippon-ichi Ketteisen 2010: The Best Master is You! (ナムコPresents 太鼓の達人 日本一決定戦 2010 ～最強の達人は君だ！) in early 2010.

Taiko no Tatsujin 14

Taiko no Tatsujin 14 (太鼓の達人 14) is the fourteenth arcade release of the series. With more than 150 playable songs, 14 inherits many features from previous releases. For a limited time, 14 participated as part of a collaboration with McDonald's. As part of the franchise's 10th anniversary celebration, an upgrade patch was made available for 14, adding five extra songs to the track listing.

Taiko no Tatsujin Plus

Taiko no Tatsujin Plus (太鼓の達人 プラス), also stylized as Taiko no Tatsujin +, is a video game application exclusively for iOS devices, released on May 28, 2014 in Japan. Plus is free to download but charges for purchasing additional music packs. In June 2015, Plus introduces the All-you-can-take Music (楽曲取り放題) service, allowing unlimited downloads of designated songs within a set time for a fee. Plus is chiefly controlled with a simulated drum surface on the device's touchscreen, but also supports Roland Corporation's V-Drums electronic drum sets with subsequent updates.

In addition to typical Taiko no Tatsujin gameplay, Plus also includes the Fukubiki (福引) feature, where in-game points can be exchanged for rolls of lucky draw for randomly drawn prizes.

Taiko no Tatsujin (2011 arcade)

Taiko no Tatsujin (太鼓の達人) is the fifteenth and currently operating arcade release of the series. This release is significantly different from previous arcade releases, allowing players to store play data with Bandai Namco's Banapassport card, customizing player characters and by-player difficulty settings. The game can also receive online updates to add playable songs and features. Initially exclusively for use in Japan, the cabinet is later released to Asian regions outside Japan since January 2014, including Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Thailand.　

Taiko no Tatsujin underwent multiple large-scale updates, including C/N: KATSU-DON (July 2012), Sorairo ver. (ソライロ ver.) (March 2013), Momoiro ver. (モモイロ ver.) (December 2013) and Kimidori ver. (キミドリ ver.) (July 2014). A fifth large-scale update, to be named Murasaki ver. (ムラサキ ver.) is expected to be carried out in March 2015.

Taiko no Tatsujin: Wii U Version

Taiko no Tatsujin: Wii U Version (太鼓の達人 Wii Uば～じょん！) is the first Taiko no Tatsujin game exclusively for the Wii U, released on November 21, 2013 in Japan only. The game was said to carry 70 songs, and features appearances of Golden Bomber and Super Mario Bros., and a collaboration campaign with Japanese idol group Momoiro Clover Z.

Wii U Version features the new gameplay mode Baton Touch Play (バトンタッチ演奏), where multiple players alternately play a single song in a relay race-like fashion. The game also supports the Wii U GamePad with a touchscreen drum, and can be played with the GamePad alone without needing a television set.

Both free and paid downloadable content, including outfit items and additional playable songs, are available via the Nintendo eShop.

Taiko no Tatsujin: Don to Katsu no Jikū Daibōken

Taiko no Tatsujin: Don to Katsu no Jikū Daibōken (太鼓の達人 どんとかつの時空大冒険) is the second Taiko no Tatsujin game exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS, released on June 26, 2014 in Japan only. The game includes a reported number of 60 songs, and guest appearance of Jibanyan from Yo-Kai Watch, Airou from Monster Hunter 4, Funassyi and Kumamon.

Don to Katsu no Jikū Daibōken features a main story plot in Space-time Adventure Mode (時空大冒険モード, jikū daibōken mōdo), in which series protagonists Don and Katsu travel through time to different periods, encountering various friends and enemies. Players engage in random encounter drum-playing battles and gather befriended enemies as team members, similarly as in Pokemon games with added rhythm game elements.

Both free and paid downloadable content, including additional quests for Space-time Adventure Mode, outfit items and additional playable songs, are available via the Nintendo eShop. Additional content can also be unlocked via scanning QR codes hosted at various other media and using Spot Access functionality at specific locations.

Don to Katsu no Jikū Daibōken was later localized into a Korean-language version and was released on August 27, 2015.

Taiko no Tatsujin: Tokumori!

Taiko no Tatsujin: Tokumori! (太鼓の達人 特盛り！) is the second Taiko no Tatsujin game exclusively for the Wii U, released on November 20, 2014 in Japan only. The game boasts a collection of 100 playable songs, and features appearances of guest characters such as Funassyi, Kumamon and Hatsune Miku.

Tokumori features two new modes: Mekadon Gasha (メカドンガシャ), a capsule toy set-up for unlocking unlockable content, and Intro-don (イントロどん♪), an intro quiz mini-game. Baton Touch Play Mode returns from Wii U Version.

Both free and paid downloadable content, including outfit items and additional playable songs, are available via the Nintendo eShop.

Taiko no Tatsujin: V Version

Taiko no Tatsujin: V Version (太鼓の達人 Vバージョン) is a Taiko no Tatsujin game exclusively for the PlayStation Vita, released on July 9, 2015. The game includes more than 80 playable songs, with a focus on anime, Vocaloid and video game music.

V Version features a main story plot in Donder Quest (ドンだークエスト, dondā kuesuto), in which protagonist Don adventures with a young female named Maple to defeat Noise and the ancient dragon Revolution. The game also features the practice mode Taiko Training (太鼓トレーニング, taiko toreiningu) that can fast forward, rewind and change speed.

A traditional Chinese version, with translated Chinese menu and dialogue text but retaining Japanese voice acting, will be released on the same release date in Taiwan and Hong Kong. This version is expected to feature Asia-exclusive playable songs, to be continually made available after release.

Taiko no Tatsujin: Atsumete Tomodachi Daisakusen!

Taiko no Tatsujin: Atsumete Tomodachi Daisakusen! (太鼓の達人 あつめて★ともだち大作戦！) is the third Taiko no Tatsujin game exclusively for the Wii U, released on November 26, 2015 in Japan. The game is first announced in an official livestream program by the series development team on August 21, 2015. Coinciding with the series' 15th Anniversary, the game includes an original 15th Anniversary short animation produced in collaboration with Studio Ghibli, and the first printing of the bundle version that includes additional 15th Anniversary branded goods.

The game features the brand new Tomodachi Daisakusen! (ともだち大作戦！) mode, with Katsu-chan befriending animals to become the most popular person in the neighborhood. Other modes from past Wii U titles also make a return.

Taiko no Tatsujin: Dokodon! Mystery Adventure

Taiko no Tatsujin: Dokodon! Mystery Adventure (太鼓の達人 ドコドン！ミステリーアドベンチャー) is the third Taiko no Tatsujin game exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS, released on June 16, 2016 in Japan. The game features over 70 songs and introduces a new Mystery Adventure mode, which adds an RPG adventure to the game. In this mode, Don-chan and Katsu-chan explore Mystery Spots around the world. As you advance through the story, the player fights in battles and allies with characters. A party can have up to eight characters.

Collaborations

Taiko no Tatsujin frequently hosts collaboration campaigns with other video game franchises and companies. Collaboration efforts include porting signature songs into Taiko no Tatsujin games, sometimes with special dancers and background designs. In return Taiko no Tatsujin elements are shown as guest appearances in other media. Notable entities collaborated with the series include:

Spin-offs

From 2005, Kids Station broadcast 26 3-minute shorts of the Taiko no Tatsujin characters in clay anime. A manga version of the series was also serialized in Comic Bom Bom.

Mini versions of the game appear in the Namco game Tales of the World:Narikiri Dungeon 3 when the main characters is equipped with a costume resembling a drum, and in the Nintendo DS game Nodame Cantabile.

Playable Taiko no Tatsujin machines also appear in Yakuza 5.

Reception

Consumer Taiko no Tatsujin games generally receive favourable reviews from critics. Most published console and handheld releases receive Famitsu Review Scores of over 30, out of a total of 40. Taiko: Drum Master attained a 77-point Metacritic score from 35 reviews.