I have fond memories of playing Taiko no Tatsujin as a kid. When I’d saved up enough allowance, I’d go to the arcade with my friends and wail on those drums till my arms got sore, at which point I’d switch to Dance Dance Revolution or ParaParaParadise to dance clumsily and embarrass myself until my legs got sore. Everything got sore. When I went to Tokyo for the first time, my friends and I made it a point to visit the arcade, where I, once again, beat on taiko drums to the point of exhaustion.
You can, ostensibly, now replicate this experience in the comfort of your own home, where nobody can watch you turn red and gasp for air during a long and intense drum roll. Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythm Festival was released on Steam last week, offering 70 songs to start, and you can join a subscription service that offers 700 more or buy song packs featuring artists like Hatsune Miku and various game and anime soundtracks.
Technically, Taiko no Tatsujin: The Drum Master was also available on PC, but only through the Windows store and Game Pass.
It’s Drums Or Bust
I downloaded the demo to try it out and see if it could replicate my arcade experience, and to be fair, it’s very much the same as I remember. It has all the gameplay modes you’d expect – practice sessions, online competitive and co-op multiplayer, party games, the works. The story mode is pretty endearing, and though it’s just a vehicle for the gameplay (obviously the highlight), I was mildly interested in seeing where it would take me.
Also, the demo let me play through Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, which I quite enjoyed.
The PC version lets you play with a controller or on your keyboard, which for obvious reasons, isn’t nearly as satisfying as banging on an actual drum. In the arcade, you play the taiko drum by smacking either the flat surface of the drum to strike red notes, or the sides to strike blue notes. You’ll have to do drum rolls quite a bit too.
I opted to play on my keyboard, for which the default controls were F and J for red notes, and D and K for blue. Even with a clicky keyboard, there isn’t much satisfaction in hitting notes with keys. The most joy I found was in the drum rolls, where I could button mash to my heart’s content, but it’s really just not the same if you’re not wildly swinging your arms about.
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Good God, This Game Is An Investment
If you really want the full Taiko no Tatsujin experience, you’ll have to buy the drum controller. Obviously, this is going to be an expensive investment. Bandai Namco is releasing official controllers for PlayStation and Xbox (the latter of which is compatible with PC) at $99.99 each, which is eye-watering considering the game is already $50 for the most basic version.
The Taiko Music Pass, while pretty affordable at $3.99 for a month or $9.99 for three months, is still an extra subscription fee, and songs may be discontinued at any time. If you want to own all the song packs instead so you don’t run the risk of your favourite song vanishing from the service, it’ll cost you about $120.
The peripheral for the Nintendo Switch version of the game is cheaper, but you’ll be missing out on the 120fps support the new versions offer.
I don’t know your business – maybe you love Taiko no Tatsujin enough that shelling out all this cash is extremely worth it to you. If I were rich, I’d probably buy all of the above, and then get all my friends controllers too so we could bang drums together over Discord or something. But right now, it might be more worth your money to just go to the arcade instead.
Play Solo! Play Together! Drum to the beat of your heart with Taiko!
Welcome to Omiko City, the stage for Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythm Festival! A city full of everyone’s favorite Taiko elements is gathered into one town! Together with DON-Chan, meet your new friend, Kumo-kyun and aim to become a Taiko Master!
76 songs including Gurenge, Feel Special, and Into the Night are available in the game! As well as Improvement Support that helps you with upping your drumming skills!
Participate in Online Ranked Matches and battle against with players from around the world!
There are other modes to enjoy with everyone, like DON-chan Band, where Players work as a group of 4 to perform successful concerts! Also Great Drum Toy War, where Players make a deck of toys for Taiko battles!
Have fun playing Taiko solo, or together with friends!