Collection essentials #504: Taiko Drum Master (PS2)

The arcade rhythm game genre took off with a vengeance in the late ‘90s and early 2000s, thanks in large part to Konami and their variety of popular rhythm games which included the very popular Dance Dance Revolution. It’s no surprise that other prominent arcade developers threw their hat into the ring. Namco was one of them, and in 2001 they introduced what would become a popular long-running series called “Taiko no Tatsujin”. 

These games are based on a type of Japanese drum called a taiko. Taiko no Tatsujin arcade machines are easily recognized by featuring two fairly large taiko drum controllers along with two drumsticks each for players to whack the drums with.

Gameplay generally involves hitting the drum in correspondence to red and blue notes scrolling across the screen when they reach a certain point, which is done in some kind of rhythm with the song being played. For red notes, you have to hit the large center of the drum, while for blue notes the outer rim of the drum must be hit. There are other less common types of notes, such as large red or blue notes which require the player to whack with both of their sticks instead of just one. Gameplay is easy to grasp and jump into while still quickly becoming very challenging on higher difficulties.

As a game obviously inspired by Japanese culture, Taiko no Tatsujin games were initially only released in Japan. But after three years Namco wanted to give the series a shot in America. And so, this pictured release on the PS2 was created specifically for America, coming packaged with the home drum controller that you definitely want to have for this game. Now, back in 2004, nerdy Japanese stuff was starting to get a solid footing overseas, but it didn’t quite have the solid established niche that it has now. And so, for the song list in this release, they made covers to a variety of American pop songs such as “ABC” by the Jackson Five, “Toxic” by Britney Spears, “Material Girl” by Madonna, and more. With the game being so obviously Japanese, many (including me) felt like these songs didn’t fit too well with the style of the game. Nowadays developers releasing a game like this worldwide would likely have less qualms about “leaning into the Japanese-ness” and have more actual Japanese music included. 

Taiko no Tatsujin is the type of rhythm that can get a ton of sequels in a fairly short period of time, because the core gameplay generally doesn’t change from game to game; developers simply need to have a brand new list of songs, and fans are satisfied. So there are tons of Taiko no Tatsujin games for both arcade and home consoles. In Japan, they got (if I’m counting right) a total of TEN of these games on the PlayStation 2 alone. I do own a few of them in my collection, and ways to play the others that I don’t have. Sadly not too many games in the series have been released on console.

I don’t have a real long personal history with the Taiko no Tatsujin games. I have enjoyed playing them in arcades in the rare instances that I’ve gotten a chance, including when I visited Tokyo last year where they were easier to find. With so many games vying for my attention, rhythm games like this are the type that I can genuinely see myself getting into, but they tend to wind up on the back burner. Still, fun rhythm games with unique peripherals are something I find very cool, and this one deserves its spot as an essential in my collection.