Taiko Time

For the tenth anniversary of the blog, we have prepared ten new questions to test your knowledge in Taiko no Tatsujin in ascending difficulty. See how many you can answer correctly!

There are two ways you can participate in this year's quiz:

You can vote in the four-way polls we are posting periodically for each question on our Twitter handle @taikotimeblog, between July 22 and September 2 2020.
You can also send us your full answers to us through Twitter direct message at any time before September 2 2020, and we will give you your score out of ten. For the fairness for the upcoming polls, we are not going to specify what questions you got right or wrong.

We will be posting the answers on September 9 2020 for you to check whether you are right.

Question 1: Which of the following songs is introduced to the Taiko no Tatsujin franchise the earliest?

　　A. TD -28619029byte remix-

　　B. Toon Town's Toys' Tune

　　C. MEGALOVANIA

　　D. Calamity Fortune

Question 2: Which of the following songs has the fastest running note (in any difficulties)?

　　A.ポケットモンスターオメガルビー・アルファサファイア Pokémon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire

　　B. FREEDOM DiVE↓

　　C.拝啓ドッペルゲンガー Haikei Doppelganger

　　D.もりのくまさん Mori no Kuma-san

Question 3: Which of the following songs does NOT feature Papa Mama Support on its arcade appearance?

　　A. あなたとトゥラッタッタ♪ Anata to Tu-lat-tat-ta♪

　　B. ウルトラマンX Ultraman X

　　C. ポケットモンスター Let's Go! ピカチュウ・Let's Go! イーブイ Pokémon Let's Go! Pikachu/Let's Go! Eevee

　　D.ゲゲゲの鬼太郎 Gegege no Kitaro

Question 4: Which of the following licensed songs uses the original recording in its Taiko no Tatsujin inclusion? No title romanizations are provided in this question, and all answers have some missing characters.

　　A.前前□□

　　B.君をの□□

　　C.シュガー□□□□□□□ステップ

　　D. S□□□ □UNE

Question 5: Which of the following SongIDs are in both Nintendo Switch Version and PS4 Session de Dodon ga Don?

　　A. rlnedy

　　B. ryuhim

　　C. tnkgrd

　　D. espera

Question 6: In which Taiko no Tatsujin game and with which scoring method would you get the highest ceiling score for Saitama 2000 (さいたま2000) Oni?

　　A. Taiko no Tatsujin 7 (arcade), normal scoring

　　B. Taiko no Tatsujin Portable 2 (PSP), normal scoring

　　C. Taiko no Tatsujin V Version (PS Vita), Shin-uchi scoring

　　D. Taiko no Tatsujin (March 2020/Nijiiro ver.) (arcade), normal scoring

Question 7: Complete this line of combo chants that Don-chan has previously said in a Taiko no Tatsujin game: 「500コンボ！10コンボ！600コンボ！２0コンボ！__________」(assume that no notes have been missed in the scenario)

　　A. 700コンボ！100コンボ！1000コンボ！

　　B. 100コンボ！700コンボ！1000コンボ！

　　C. 700コンボ！100コンボ！800コンボ！

　　D. 100コンボ！700コンボ！800コンボ！

Question 8: Concerning Taiko no Tatsujin, pick the odd one out of the following four classical pieces.

　　A. Johannes Brahms - Hungarian Dance No.7

　　B. Frédéric Chopin - Etude Op.10-3

　　C. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Symphony No.24

　　D. Ludwig van Beethoven - Symphony No.8

Question 9: How many of the following five notecharts have more kat notes than don notes?

1. Jump Up, Super Star! Short Version Kantan

2. ペンパイナッポーアッポーペン(PPAP) Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen (PPAP) Futsuu

3. Blessed Bouquet Buskers Muzukashii

4. God knows... Oni

5. 亡き王女のためのパヴァーヌ Pavane pour une infante défunte Ura Oni

　　A. zero

　　B. one

　　C. two

　　D. three

Question 10: Only three out of the following four pairs has a meaningful connection between the date and the Taiko no Tatsujin song. Pick the pair that does not.

　　A. January 19 - タイコロール Taik-color

　　B. February 14 - どん子のファーストデート Donko no First Date

　　C. March 11 - Red Rose Evangel

　　D. April 9 - そつおめしき Sotsu Omeshiki

After a pretty long silence of DLC termination news, PSVita V Version unfortunately has to say farewell to their Chain Chronicle and God Eater (anime) content from its DLC lineup. Three DLC packs will be affected by this change. Re-downloading the pack is NOT possible after the termination, but you can continue playing all the songs you have already downloaded.

Like previous terminations, other songs in the packs (without the grey background) will be made available on the next day as individual DLC, at the price of 150 yen+tax.

[Vita1] Popular Songs Pack 1 (人気曲パック1)
　　Terminated date: June 29 2020

Title
Ai Uta 愛唄	★2	★2	★2	★3
Daydream caféIs the Order a Rabbit? 　　「ご注文はうさぎですか？」より	★3	★5	★6	★7
Attakai'n Dakara♪ あったかいんだからぁ♪	★3	★5	★4	★7
Chain Chronicle Normal Battle Medley チェインクロニクル通常バトルメドレー	★3	★5	★6	★8
Chain Chronicle Normal Battle Medley チェインクロニクル通常バトルメドレー				★9
DEBSTEP!Yaju 　　やじゅ	★5	★7	★8	★10

[Vita1] Popular Songs Pack 3 (人気曲パック3)
　　Terminated date: June 29 2020

Title
R.Y.U.S.E.I.	★3	★5	★7	★8
Connect Puella Magi Madoka Magica コネクト／「魔法少女まどか☆マギカ」より	★3	★3	★3	★5
Chain Chronicle Final Battle Medley チェインクロニクル最終決戦メドレー	★4	★6	★6	★8
Chain Chronicle Final Battle Medley チェインクロニクル最終決戦メドレー				★9
Samba Alegria サンバアレグリーア	★4	★6	★6	★7
Samba Alegria サンバアレグリーア				★9
Gunslinger Cinderella ガンスリンガーシンデレラ	★5	★6	★7	★9

[Vita1] Popular Songs Pack 5 (人気曲パック5)
　　Terminated date: July 30 2020

Title
Kimi ni Sakura-hirari to Mau 君に桜ヒラリと舞う	★3	★5	★5	★7
Feed A 　　「GOD EATER」より	★4	★6	★7	★9
Senkou no Yukue The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II 閃光の行方／「英雄伝説閃の軌跡II」より	★3	★5	★6	★7
Break Line ブレイクライン	★3	★5	★7	★8
Yuugen no Ran 幽玄ノ乱	★5	★7	★8	★10

Lots of callbacks and timely updates to upcoming content are brewing! The first stepping stone for those is next week's Nijiiro update, coming out on July 29th.

Nijiro Ver. New Songs: July 29th, 2020

	Title
PP	Machigai Sagachi Masaki Suda まちがいさがし／菅田将暉	★?	★?	★?	★?
PP	Byoushin o Kamu Zutto Mayonaka de Inoni. 秒針を噛む／ずっと真夜中でいいのに。	★?	★?	★?	★?
PP	Ao to Natsu 青と夏	★?	★?	★?	★?
PP	Hachigatsu no Saka Ndaho & Peketan from Fischer's 8月の坂／んだほ＆ぺけたん from Fischer's	★?	★?	★?	★?
PP	AV-A-MI AVNTIS アバみ／アバンティーズ	★?	★?	★?	★?
PP	God Song Band Ja Naimon! MAXX NAKAYOSHI ゴッドソング／バンドじゃないもん！ MAXX NAKAYOSHI	★3	★5	★6	★8	★10
VC	Inochi ni Kirawareteiru. Iori Kanzaki feat. Hatsune Miku 命に嫌われている。／カンザキイオリ feat.初音ミク	★?	★?	★?	★?

Nijiro Ver. New Songs: August 8th, 2020

	Title
GV	JOIN THE PAC -Taiko no Tatsujin Ver.- 　　Pac-Man 40th Anniversary Official Theme Music JOIN THE PAC -太鼓の達人 Ver.- 　　パックマン40周年公式テーマ楽曲	★?	★?	★?	★?

Key: red = series debut; blue = arcade debut

This 8-fold licensed serving of tracks puts an heavy focus on the Pops genre and series newcomers overall, all the while some room is made to let the drumming series celebrate with Pac-Man for his 40th birthday, with a custom version of its anniversary song. How much will it diverge from the original cut?

-) New Ura Oni Notecharts: Mekadesu. and Taiko Drum Monster
Remember when the two Namco Originals had some erroneous Ura Oni notations on Nijiiro Version's official website, back to its launch day window? Now the deal is about to get real, when the two songs will have their extra difficulty layer available from tomorrow (Mekadesu.) and July 25th (Taiko Drum Monster) respectively.

We already have confirmation of how Mekadesu's Ura Oni is going to be a 10* challenge from the official Twitter account (link), so it's safe to assume how the top-star-rating Tenkaichi Otogesai debutant will most likely follow suit. Get ready!

-) New Titles for Toshinsai 2020 High-Rankers
Unfortunately for tourney goers, the Toshinsai 2020 competition had to be canceled right after the preliminary phase's final rounds, but the Taiko Team wants to make sure their top competitors' efforts wouldn't completely go to waste!

All the preliminary winners from both divisions, in fact, will be able to set up a custom title for their feat in the abruptly-ended event, in two flavors according to the tourney divisdion attended: Toshinsai 2020 Elementary School and Under (闘神祭2020小学生以下ファイナリスト) and Toshinsai 2020 Junior High School and Above (闘神祭2020中学生以上ファイナリスト)

-) No ~~copypasta~~ Dojo no Ushi for 2020
Also due to the still ongoing pandemic, the recurring Doyo no Ushi time-limited song delivery won't be held for 2020. That, however, didn't stop No.11 from reposting the luster-old celebratory picture for the occasion... and neither won't stop us!

In loving memory...

-) A Thank-You Message from the Faith Creation Contest Judges
Following the update bullettin, Etou stepped in with steμ and Masubuchi to give out their latest impressions as judges for the recently-concluded Taiko no Tatsujin song contest on Faith Creation, one whose 18 winners will be adopted in the Taiko family from this upcoming Autumn season.

The key points from the paragraph include the deep appreation for the high number of entries that have been collected for the contest (over 700!), as well as the main evaluation points upon which the heart of the judgement came by:

On the musical originality side, whether the songs had an 'uniqueness factor' to it (no doubt that is found among the winners for sure, with almost half of them being bloody denpa/pop songs like many others before them...)
On the gameplay side, whether they are fun to play on Taiko or not

Just like for select contest winners from the CreoFUGA winners, it's also possible for some of the winning candidates to get slightly altered from their originally-submitted form for their grand Taiko no Tatsujin debut, so look forward to that!

One last tweak that is getting added with the July 29th update is a Game Over screen renewal, in order to spread some personal safety awareness is such tiring and ill-weary times. Wash your hands people, and do it often!

Link to original post

Thanks to Nedmara from the Taiko no Tatsujin Discord for the info!

Title
Zen Zen ZenseYour Name. 前前前世／映画「君の名は。」より	★3	★4	★6	★8
Itsumo Nando DemoSpirited Away いつも何度でも／「千と千尋の神隠し」より	★2	★1	★2	★1
Jounetsu Tairiku 情熱大陸	★4	★4	★6	★7
Flight of the BumblebeeNikolai Rimsky-Korsakov 熊蜂の飛行／リムスキー＝コルサコフ	★3	★4	★7	★9
Anzu no UtaThe Idolm@ster Cinderella Girls あんずのうた／「アイドルマスターシンデレラガールズ」より	★3	★5	★6	★7
Ridge Racer	★4	★7	★8	★8	X
Negai wa Esperanto 願いはエスペラント	★4	★6	★6	★7
Hiyokko FantasyTsuyomi ひよっこファンタジー／つよみー	★5	★6	★7	★9
Koi Nigeru wa Haji da ga Yaku ni Tatsu 恋／ドラマ「逃げるは恥だが役に立つ」より	★2	★3	★3	★6	X
OVER THE TOPOne Piece Wano Country Arc Theme Song 　　ONE PIECEワノ国編主題歌	★1	★2	★2	★6

Key: blue = unlockable;purple = DLC song (lower chance if not owned); red X = difficulty not used

Thanks to Nedmara from the Taiko no Tatsujin Discord for the info!

Title
MemeshikuteGolden Bomber 女々しくて／ゴールデンボンバー	★3	★4	★5	★8
TRAIN-TRAIN	★4	★5	★4	★5
Kimi ni 100 PercentCrayon Shin-chan キミに100パーセント／「クレヨンしんちゃん」より	★2	★3	★5	★5
Alphabet Song ABCの歌	★2	★2	★2	★7
Omae Butamen!Oyatsu Company & The Puh おまえブタメン！／おやつカンパニー＆ザ・ぷー	★3	★4	★5	★7
Eine Kleine NachtmusikWolfgang Amadeus Mozart アイネクライネナハトムジーク／モーツァルト	★4	★4	★6	★7
PAC-MAN CHAMPIONSHIP EDITION 2 　　PAC TOY-BOX	★4	★6	★7	★9
Boku wa Synth ボクハシンセ	★3	★3	★4	★8
Sonata, Gekkou 其方、激昂	★5	★6	★8	★10
Kimi no Shiranai MonogatariBakemonogatari 君の知らない物語／「化物語」より	★3	★4	★3	★7

Key: blue = unlockable;purple = DLC song (lower chance if not owned); red X = difficulty not used

	Title
NO	Mekadesu. メカデス。	★4	★7	★7	★7	★10 (999)

After losing 3 stars in the span of 9 years (PS2-3 in 2003 to 3DS1 in 2012), Mekadesu. regains its rightful place among the audience of ★10 just like its 1st-generation brethren Go Go Kitchen. Mekadesu. is slightly harder to reach as it is currently exclusive to Banapassport (or equivalent) users.

The new notechart takes the "put every sound in" route while also throwing in a generous dash of large notes among the carnage, making it more a challenge to even just read. Probably a good time to remind everyone that large notes don't give score bonus in the 4th generation anymore...?

Note for title hunters: Full Combo title is "I am Mecha-desu." (ワタシガメカデス。 )

	Title
NO	Taiko Drum Monster 　　steμ feat.siroa	★3	★5	★7	★10	★10 (1044)

The Tenkaichi Otogesai ~~(and crossover music game events for the Taiko series in general)~~ may be long gone for the time being, but each of its participants have had their share of fun in the later years by staking an absurdly-difficult extra challenge on top of some of the original tracks they brought in the tourney craze. It already happened for SOUND VOLTEX's tracks and Groove Coaster's Scarlet Lance in their native grounds, and now it's time for Taiko Drum Monster!

This beast of a Banapassport-exclusive Ura Oni debut sprays a lot of quickfire small clusters to constantly keep up the pace throughout the entire piece, while also not sparing any punches in the jumpscare department with sudden drumroll scrolling and longer note clusters to spare. In select stanza beginning portions in the latter half, you can even out a Nam-combo and 1000-combo threshold in precise portions of the song, if no pregress pistakes were made!

Note for title hunters: Full Combo title is "Taiko Drum Monster"

From Taiko Drum Monster, down to... Taiko Drum Master!

As we've witnessed one of the highest Ura Oni spike bump resurgence in this ending week, today're we're talking about one song whose hardest chart's difficulty degree in its origin game definitely lingers around the complete opposite side of the spectrum!

That's The Way (I Like It)

Version
All (US)	x1 (110)	x1 (188)	x2 (265)	x2 (265)
All (JP)	x1 (110)	x2 (188)	x2 (265)	x7 (364)
All (2P)	x1 (88/88) (video)	x2 (148/148) (video)	x2 (184/184) (video)	-

TDM

105

none

???

TDM JP video

One of the four songs in English-friendly PS2 Taiko game whose Oni mode hit the lowest difficulty valley in its original North American release, here's one disco piece that definitely oozes of magic from the 70ies!

That's The Way (I Like It) is the 7th single release from the Florida-based disco/funk band KC and the Sunshine Band, founded in 1973 and named after the two founding pillars of the act: record store employee and part-time TK Records worker Harry Wayne Casey ('KC') and the local junkaroo act known as Miami Junkanoo Band, from which talents on both sides agreed to lend their talents in the then-named KC & The Sunshine Junkaroo Band project for the release of original disco singles stateside. Especially the coming of TK Records's talents in the likes of composer Richard Finch (and several sound engineer, among many others) was what marked the act's first works to hit it big in the worldwide musical scenario in the 70ies. With the disco genre's popularity decline, KC and the Sunshine Band had to disband in 1985 due to poor returning discography sales, but in spite of several internal issues between member fallover and a few unfortunate deaths, Harry Wayne Casey revived the act in 1991 with many of the original band's members and is still performing to this day.

Their indirect contribution to Bandai Namco music gaming made its 7" vinile debut on June 10th, 1975, predating its studio album primer in the band's 2nd album -KC and the Sunshine Band- of about a month (July 6th, 1975). The song is in natural minor with 13 performers on it, from KC as the lead lyricist and Richard Finch as the lead guitarist/percussionist to backing sets in trios for vocals, guitars, saxophones and percussions! Both said album and the single received high acclaim in the United States, peaking yearly charts for the best R&B album and the Cash Box/Billboard R&B Hot 100 charts respectively; the song alone was also a recurring high charter on foreign soil as well, peaking 1st in Canada and the Netherlands with many a European country soon to follow. That's The Way was also one of the few singles in history to chart 1st in any monthly worldwide chart (again, the US Billboard for this case) twice in a single year, on July and later on December in 1975! As a result to the song's everlasting appeal, it was adopted in the score of 1977's Saturday Night Fever movie, while in gaming it found its niche place as a cover piece in music games, with Namco alone starting first in Taiko Drum Master and later for Donkey Konga 2, using the same cover version of TDM with some slight alterations to it.

Musical notation is what we'd describe the song's first Oni chart best, punctuated with small clusters that seldon stray away from the vocal piece. The Japanese TDM's notechart take on it, as with many of the other returning licenses from the US version, takes some more liberties for itself in order to deliver a more challenging chart with 3-note clusters and more handswitch-involving moments in general.

The midsummer licenced track update is up! Check out the six songs just entered arcade Taiko no Tatsujin (March 2020/Nijiiro ver.) and their seven mid-tier Oni notecharts:

	Title
PP	Machigai Sagashi Masaki Suda まちがいさがし／菅田将暉	★1	★2	★4	★8 (189)
PP	Byoushin o Kamu Zutto Mayonaka de Inoni. 秒針を噛む／ずっと真夜中でいいのに。	★2	★4	★5	★8 (402)
PP	Ao to Natsu 青と夏	★2	★2	★3	★6 (350)
PP	Hachigatsu no Saka Ndaho & Peketan from Fischer's 8月の坂／んだほ＆ぺけたん from Fischer's	★2	★3	★5	★7 (291)
PP	AV-A-MI AVNTIS アバみ／アバンティーズ	★2	★3	★4	★8 (653)
VC	Inochi ni Kirawareteiru. Iori Kanzaki feat. Hatsune Miku 命に嫌われている。／カンザキイオリ feat.初音ミク	★2	★3	★5	★7 (379)	★8 (486)

Before the jump was Masaki Suda's second inclusion in Taiko after Sayonara Elegy. With the lowest note count for an ★8 ever, Machigai Sagashi features mostly low-BPM (78) 16th patterns just around the ★7 level... until the seven apparent-48th 4-hits come rolling in, which could be devastating to your spirit gauge considering the proportion.

Back onto normal grounds, Byoushin o Kamu upkeeps the modern ★8 standards with hanging even-number patterns, a sprinkle of 24ths (single color) and fairly complex mixed streams, all under a respectable 130 BPM.

Ao to Natsu takes the opposite approach, having a higher BPM (185) and simpler patterns (at most triples kkd and ddk) to meet at the ★6 middle-ground.

Following the Plus/STH exclusive of Champion Road, Ndaho and Peketan of Fischer's are again explicitly credited for Taiko's inclusion Hachigatsu no Saka. The healthy mix of triple clusters and double-doubles lands the Oni notechart among typical ★7 fare, but remember to keep count for the final large kat.

Highest note count of the day goes to AV-A-MI, as well as the only addition with spurious scroll speed gimmicks not unlike top-tier trials like DEBSTEP! or Waraeru 2000. The actual rhythm is much milder since it is following mostly the rapping vocals.

Now in the fourth generation, it is actually rarer to have a major update without an Ura Oni notechart than one that has. The Vocaloid track Inochi ni Kirawareteiru. took the Ura-bearer title for this update, with the regular notechart focusing on the vocals and the Ura notechart more on creating a percussion line to accompany the music.

As a final note, in addition to the credit end screen, the graphically-enhanced message to remind players to wash their hands after a game of Taiko no Tatsujin arcade is also shown just before the last song of your credit. Amidst the global crisis, it is important to observe safety among the fun.

Thanks to Nedmara from the Taiko no Tatsujin Discord for the info!

Title
Sugar Song to Bitter Step シュガーソングとビターステップ	★3	★5	★7	★8
Yokai Taisou Dai IchiYokai Watch ようかい体操第一／「妖怪ウォッチ」より	★2	★3	★5	★7
Anpanman no March アンパンマンのマーチ	★2	★1	★5	★1
Juumensou colorful ver. 十面相 colorful ver.／YM	★3	★5	★3	★6	X
Grip & Break down!! -Tatsujin Edit.- 　　Touhou Project Arrange/SOUND HOLIC feat. Nana Takahashi Grip & Break down!! -達人Edit.- 　　東方Projectアレンジ SOUND HOLIC feat. Nana Takahashi	★4	★5	★6	★7	X
Clapolpolska クラポルポルスカ	★4	★5	★7	★10
The Carnivorous Carnival	★4	★6	★7	★9
Carnation 和蘭撫子	★4	★5	★6	★8
Heartache 心の痛み／「UNDERTALE」より	★4	★5	★7	★8
Hopes and Dreams 夢と希望／「UNDERTALE」より	★3	★5	★6	★8

Key: blue = unlockable;purple = DLC song (lower chance if not owned); red X = difficulty not used

We figured the anniversary event for the blog focused on Taiko no Tatsujin should have encouraged readers to actually play Taiko no Tatsujin, so here you go! But it is not the same old tournament format you are familiar with...

What is a Challenge Gauntlet Tournament?

A Challenge Gauntlet (挑戦状) in Taiko no Tatsujin terms is basically a duel between Donders, where one Donder plays a specific notechart, asks the opponent to do the same, and have their scores compared to decide the victor. This event will merge that idea into a tournament structure.

The editorial of Taiko Time and moderators on the Taiko no Tatsujin Discord has come together to form "Team Staff". For this event, you can challenge Team Staff on (almost) any track and difficulty from any official Taiko no Tatsujin game of your choice. One of us from Team Staff will play the same track and difficulty. Participants will be ranked by how much they have won over Team Staff.

Rules

We only accept at most one entry for each Twitter handle. If there are multiple submissions from the same handle, the latest one will be taken as final. You are free to retry after your initial submission and submit better scores to replace prior submissions up to the deadline; we would appreciate you deleting your older submission tweets if you choose to re-submit.

Only official Taiko no Tatsujin games can be used for your entry. This includes all arcade, console and mobile releases including trial versions/demos to those games. Entries with minigames within other games (e.g. Yakuza 5), unofficial simulators (e.g. Taiko Sanjiro, osu!, Taiko Web etc.) and Oira (Granblue Fantasy 2018 April Fools), even if the notechart is exactly the same, are NOT accepted. We might ask for additional proof that this is an official copy that you are using.

You can choose to play almost any track and any difficulty in official Taiko games for your entry, with some exceptions. Notecharts with Diverge Notes are accepted but you cannot specify which path for Team Staff to take (it is your responsibility to check whether the path you take is optimal). We are unable to accept your entry if:

your choice is not available in any of the games that Team Staff has access to. For reference, Team Staff currently has access to (not all DLC included):
Green ver. Asia 2.0, Wii1, Wii2, Wii3, Wii4, Wii5, Wii U2, Wii U3, Switch, DS2, DS3, 3DS1, 3DS2, 3DS3.
your choice is a 2-player exclusive notechart

Using modifiers and/or Performance Characters that change the notechart, input and/or judgement timing is NOT accepted:

Support, Abekobe/Inverse, Kanpeki/Spartan and random modifiers are NOT accepted
Tokkun/Perfect, Doron/Vanish or speed modifiers are accepted, but Team Staff does not have to follow
You can only use the following Performance Characters: Don-chan, Kat-chan, Yomogimaru, Squid, HIKAKIN, Nekoko & Tomomo, Hatsune Miku, Takoyaki; any other Performance Characters are NOT accepted

How to Enter

Entry Submission: 2020/07/31-08/24

Simply play the notechart of your choice and take a photo or video of your results, then post your photo/video to Twitter with the hashtag #TaikoTime10thACGT. To confirm that you are playing an official Taiko game, your entry should have the entire rim of the screen visible. Pure screenshots/screen captures are not accepted.

Example submission picture

Please make sure that we would be able to see your submission tweet through our Twitter handle @taikotimeblog. In case you routinely delete old tweets from your timeline, please make sure your submission tweet is kept at least until 2020/09/14.

Entry Confirmation: 2020/08/25-09/07

We will confirm your entry submission through Twitter direct messages from our Twitter handle @taikotimeblog and settle any problem it has (if any). Please make sure that we can contact you in this way. If any problems arise or your choice of notechart is not accepted, we would contact you as soon as possible through Twitter DMs to discuss, and (if needed) allow up to 2020/09/07 for you to re-submit.

If you receive no confirmation from us, we might have unfortunately missed your submission. Please contact us by 2020/09/07 or we would not be able to include your entry.

Rankings Announcement: 2020/09/14

All scores will be converted into the 4th-generation scoring scheme. If the track you chose has not been in arcade March 2020/Nijiiro ver. (and hence no 4th-gen. scoring scheme yet), we will set a tentative scheme (on basis of approximately 1,050,000 points when under a drumroll speed of 16.6 hits/second) which will also be openly announced. Participants will be ranked by the net difference between their score and Team Staff's score.

Thanks to Nedmara from the Taiko no Tatsujin Discord for the info!

Mission		Reward
Achieve 60 wins! 60勝達成せよ！		Base Icon (A)
Achieve 56000 hits! たたけた数を56000達成せよ！		Base Icon (B)
Play 35 matches! 35試合達成せよ！		Front Icon (A)
Play 15 different songs! ちがう楽曲を15回プレイせよ！		Front Icon (B)
Achieve 25 wins! 25勝達成せよ！		Greeting: I swear to fight fair. 正々堂々戦うことをちかいます
Achieve 26000 Goods! 良の数を26000達成せよ！		Greeting: Failures are the rungs on the ladder to success. 負けの数だけ強くなる
Play 110 matches! 110試合達成せよ！		Greeting: I'm in the zone. ゾーンにはいってます
Play 30 different songs! ちがう楽曲を30回プレイせよ！		Sports Digestdon スポーツダイジェスドン

	Title
	Sports Digestdon スポーツダイジェスドン／～Fill in The Sky～	★4	★5	★6	★7	★9

Base Icon (A)	Base Icon (B)	Front Icon (A)	Front Icon (B)
(WIP)	(WIP)	(WIP)	(WIP)

So Lokamp has been out this Saturday due to technical issues with the computer, as also pointed out in our Discord server's news channel. Instead of leaving you guys hanging for too long, I'm gonna slip in with another part of the "unfinished Classical Series Showcase" I have mentioned the last time Lokamp was out.

Rhapsody in Blue (ラプソディ・イン・ブルー)

Version
All	x5 (247)	x7 (347)	x8 (447)	x8 (563)

Taiko 11, DS 2, Wii 4, Wii U2, PS4

55~160

none

Also composed in 1924 like Fascinating Rhythm, Rhapsody in Blue is made for piano and orchestra, fusing classical music elements with more modern jazz influences. The song's contemporary urban ambience has been widely associated with New York's city landscape. The song has garnered so much critical acclaim and popular success since its debut in the 1924 concert An Experiment in Modern Music, it has been deemed that this is the quintessential work that kick-started Gershwin's fame and reputation. The 1945 (fictionalized) biopic on the composer, for instance, was directly named after this very tune.

One of the most famous uses of Rhapsody in Blue is perhaps a segment of the same name in the 1999 Disney animated feature Fantasia 2000, in which the title is taken literally with a mainly blue-tinted sketch, showing the crisscrossed lives of several inhabitants of New York City tapping right into the composition's vibrant rhythm.

As a trivia, Rhapsody in Blue was also used as an ending theme for the television drama adaptation of the classical music-themed manga Nodame Cantabile. The connotation is especially significant when the drama's opening theme, an excerpt from Symphony No. 7, just debuted in the Taiko franchise not too long ago in DS1 with Rhapsody in Blue following suit in just 10 months in AC11.

Rhapsody in Blue's notechart packed much more than the first Gershwin tune, and features more fulfilling rhythm patterns, flurry of clusters and long mixed streams that have been proven to be high-end 8★ fare, as seen from the rating not being cut even into Wii U2.

--------------------------------------------------

We're not quite done for the day yet- not only the Mekadesu. and Taiko Drum Monster SotW entries got updated with their brand new Ura Oni, but Tanoshii Taiko Dojo was also added to our General Medleys song series showcase. By all means, check them out!

Another month, another batch of new songs added to the Gakkyoku Tori Houdai subscription model for you to drum to on the go!

Gakkyoku Tori Houdai Adds: July 31 2020

Title
Kimi ga Kureta Natsu 君がくれた夏	★3	★4	★5	★6
Nonsense Bungaku ナンセンス文学／Eve	★2	★2	★4	★7
Kagerou DazeJin カゲロウデイズ／じん	★3	★3	★5	★7	★8
Ohayou! Taiko Summer 　　Taiko no Tatsujin: Atsumare! Matsuri da!! Yondaime Theme Song おはよう！太鼓サマー　　「太鼓の達人あつまれ！祭りだ!!四代目」テーマソング	★4	★4	★5	★6
Kien Banjou Kagura Penoreri 気焔万丈神楽／ぺのれり	★5	★7	★8	★10
Senpuu no Mai [Earth] 旋風ノ舞【地】	★4	★6	★7	★9
Senpuu no Mai [Heaven] 旋風ノ舞【天】	★4	★5	★8	★10

Key: red = series debut; green = GTH debut

Thanks to Nedmara from the Taiko no Tatsujin Discord for the info!

Title
Takane no Hanako-san 高嶺の花子さん／back number	★2	★4	★4	★6
Tomo ni ともに／WANIMA	★3	★4	★5	★7
Lupinranger VS Patranger ルパンレンジャーVSパトレンジャー	★1	★2	★3	★5
Haikei Doppelganger 拝啓ドッペルゲンガー／kemu	★3	★5	★7	★10
Bad Apple!! feat.nomico 　　Touhou Project Arrange/Alstroemeria Records 　　東方Projectアレンジ Alstroemeria Records	★3	★5	★6	★8
Turkish MarchLudwig van Beethoven トルコ行進曲／ベートーヴェン	★3	★5	★6	★7
Honwaka Kazoku ~Nekotomo no Uta~ ほんわか家族～ネコトモのうた～	★2	★2	★2	★2
Sou'ryuu no RanXeami 双竜ノ乱／世阿弥	★5	★7	★8	X	★10
U.S.A.	★2	★3	★5	★6
Mission! Ken-kou-dai-ichiCells At Work ミッション！健・康・第・イチ／「はたらく細胞」より	★3	★4	★5	★7

Key: blue = unlockable;purple = DLC song (lower chance if not owned); red X = difficulty not used

We're at the 8th day of the 8th month... Time for a suiting 8* Oni song feature, pronto!

Original Mirai (オリジナルミライ) feat. Mamoru (nhmbase)

Version
All	x3 (136)	x3 (182)	x5 (348)	x8 (618)

Taiko PS4, CD CC-7

130-150

none

omirai

We're back in Session de Dodon ga Don territory, with one of its Namco Originals that currently sits in as a single-game DLC exclusives. Original Mirai is a six-hands effort that stars Kawamoto 'Kawagen Kollagen' Yoshinori (川元義徳) as its lead composer, with Mamoru (マモル) from nhmbase being the singer of the lyrics that are penned by Satou-jin (在藤銀) for the first time in Taiko gaming outside of nearly all the Namco Original songs of the past that star Chata as the singer. While this may feel like one original song creation like many in the series, this is actually a re-arranged track by Kawagen Kollagen from a formerly-released Namco title in the past, as revealed on Twitter by the composer himself (link)!

The game in question is February 9th, 2006's DS Machigai Museum (DSまちがいミュージアム), the first title in the Japan-exclusive series of Uno no Tatsujin (右脳の達人, lit. 'Master of the Right Brain') games. With the word 'Machigai' meaning 'mistake', this is a simple spot-the-difference kind of game, with players being asked to compare a series of pictures with the Nintendo handheld's dual screens and touch any alterations on the touch screen copy within 10 seconds before the image changes, while interacting on it in order to better compare the two pictures by -for example- scrubbing darkened corners of the screen or blowing on the ststem's microphone. This was also the only game in the Uno no Tatsujin series to receive its own sequel, which was released on the same system on March 1st of the subsequent year.

Original Mirai is a lyricized arrangement of the first Machigai Museum game's Result Screen BGM, sharing the name with said precursor BGM despite the game not having a dedicated soundtrack/in-menu labeling of the song with such name beforehand. With an average density of 5.31 hits/second and Kat-centric note triples being ever so abundant, its Oni mode is sure to keep up the pressure all throughout the play. Be mindful of the consecutive 1/24 cluster passages, too!

	Title
GV	JOIN THE PAC -Taiko no Tatsujin Ver.- 　　Pac-Man 40th Anniversary Official Theme Music JOIN THE PAC -太鼓の達人 Ver.- 　　パックマン40周年公式テーマ楽曲	★3	★3	★6	★9 (606)	-

The pizza-inspired-looks Namco mascot is back into Taiko gaming, with a custom cut of the song that is being used for the historical franchise's 40th birthday. Aside from the incrementa scrolling speed gimmick that permeates its Oni mode, however, it makes for one of the weakest modern 9* candidates to date with quite the old-school notechart backing it up.

Note for title hunters: Full Combo title is "JOIN THE PAC".

【お知らせ①(家庭用)】『太鼓の達人 Nintendo Switchば～じょん！』の無料大型アップデート「eスポーツトーナメント」の配信日が8/19(水)に決定！eスポーツ大会さながらの激アツバトルをおうちで楽しめる、新オンライン対戦モードです！https://t.co/15A3Jn44DP #taiko765 pic.twitter.com/UfYO9rZC2Z
— 太鼓の達人 (@taiko_team) August 12, 2020

Next week is going to be an eventful one for the latest Taiko console entry, as the Nintendo Switch game is going to receive the already-hinted-at eSports Tournament (eスポーツトーナメント) mode next week on July 19th, as a free update to the game!

The day after isn't a content-slouching matter either, as a handful of DLC tracks will be added to the game's roster. See you after the jump for those!

Rock Music Pack: August 20th, 2020 (400 yen+tax)

Title
Nonsense Bungaku ナンセンス文学／Eve	★2	★2	★4	★7
ROCKET DIVE	★3	★4	★3	★6
PHOENIX Hakyuu!! TO THE TOP 　　「ハイキュー!! TO THE TOP」より	★?	★?	★?	★?

Key: red = series debut; blue = console debut

Vocaloid Songs Pack Vol.5: August 20th, 2020 (500 yen+tax)

Title
Otome Kaibou DECO27 feat. Hatsune Miku 乙女解剖／DECO27 feat.初音ミク	★2	★3	★4	★6	★8
Taiyoukei Disco NayutalieN feat. Hatsune Miku 太陽系デスコ／ナユタン星人 feat.初音ミク	★3	★4	★5	★8
Alkali Rettousei Kairiki Bear feat. Hatsune Miku/#C.O.M.P.A.S.S. アルカリレットウセイ／かいりきベア feat.初音ミク　　「戦闘摂理解析システム #コンパス」より	★4	★6	★6	★9
Melt Original Song: supercell feat. Hatsune Miku メルト／原曲：supercell feat.初音ミク	★3	★3	★5	★8
Coffee no Aji to Harunaba 珈琲の味と／はるなば	★4	★5	★6	★9

Key: red = series debut; blue = console debut

Individual Song DLC Delivery: August 20th, 2020 (150 yen+tax)

	Title
	1・2・3 After the Rain (Soraru x Mafumafu)/Pokemon 　　After the Rain（そらる×まふまふ）　　「ポケットモンスター」より	★?	★?	★?	★?

Key: red = series debut; blue = console debut

More than a year since the last Vocaloid song pack release, here's a new 5-parter deal with Hatsune Miku taking the spotlight! Joining it are also a 3-track licensed pack with rock-styled songs as well as the latest Pokemon opening getting a solo DLC debut in Taiko gaming. With such a mix among licenses for this month, there's a little something for everyone!

Thanks to Nedmara from the Taiko no Tatsujin Discord for the info!

Title
R.Y.U.S.E.I.	★3	★4	★5	★8
Silent Jealousy	★4	★6	★7	★8	X
Doko Made Mo ~How Far I’ll Go~Moana どこまでも～How Far I’ll Go～／「モアナと伝説の海」より	★2	★3	★5	★6
A Cruel Angel's ThesisNeon Genesis Evangelion 残酷な天使のテーゼ／「新世紀エヴァンゲリオン」より	★4	★4	★6	★7	X
Onigiri wa Doko Kashira♪Yomii おにぎりはどこかしら♪／よみぃ	★5	★7	★8	★9
YouTube Theme Song YouTubeテーマソング／HIKAKIN & SEIKIN	★3	★4	★5	★7
Kirby's Dream Land MedleyKirby's Return to Dream Land 星のカービィメドレー／「星のカービィ Wii」より	★2	★4	★5	★8
Racing the StormCritical Velocity 　　「クリティカルベロシティ」より	★4	★5	★7	★8
Pastel Dream パステルドリーム	★4	★6	★7	★8
Ladystar Wandering 　　Touhou Project × NAMCO SOUNDS/Junichi Nakatsuru 　　東方Project×NAMCO SOUNDS 中鶴潤一	★4	★6	★7	★8

Key: blue = unlockable;purple = DLC song (lower chance if not owned); red X = difficulty not used

New songs are coming for Nijiiro Version, and one per week at that! Starting from tomorrow, we're going to have four 'Weekend Warrior' additions in a row, each getting announced on the official blog one day ahead of its release. We're starting up with...

Nijiro Version New Song: August 15th, 2020

	Title
GV	ALiVE REDALiCE	★3	★4	★6	★9

One more factor differenciates this just-started Saturday additions trend from the rest: each of the songs' announcement posts will be followed by a short featurette with the artists' impressions on their newly-released song, followed by its Taiko Team notecharter getting a little insight about its chart's creation. The first song of this Summer's Saturday debutants is a song from a well-renowned HARDCORE TANO°C which was previously released for the label's group album HARDCORE SYNDROME 9. REDALiCE himself is quite happy to see this song getting ported as, by admission of the author himself, there's no exaggeration in saying this track has established his current composing style! Backing up the quick impressions is Marimo (まりも), the veteran Notechart Sentai member in charge of the song's charts.

When charting a song for Taiko means, Marimo always keeps in mind the general idea of "each song is one stage of the game", which leads to believe how to better arrange the elements of each 'stage' in order to make it memorable, just like the though process that goes into making stages for games of different genres in general, such as action titles. The process usually goes to the 3-steps sequence of 'Setting the key elements and general feel of the stage → practice the stage → apply the key strategy to complete the stage', whose general ideas in place are not felt that distant when your game's "stages" are songs; that said, as enjoying the notechart is a key factor in music gaming to enjoy the song, weighting the notechart's difficulty degree and finesse at the same time is one of the greatest hurdles for those who are tasked to create notecharts for each song.

In regards of ALiVE, this last aspect is tackled by Marimo in some sort of a general "idea of harmonization" by featuring a key note formation staple multiple times -the 'DoKaKa' for this track in particular- while offering slight alterations of it as the song goes by, making such quirky aspect one of the 'key elements' of this particular 'stage' set by Marimo herself. Of course, hard sections are also factored in with one particularly nasty passage in the 2nd chorus repetition, but once the player gets a firmer grasp of the recurring 'DoKaKa' passages, playing the song will result into a smoother musical experience while tackling such hard bits with that mental image stored into a corner of the mind.

Link to original post

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First Video: JOIN THE PAC -Taiko no Tatsujin Ver.-

[NSwitch] - August's Update of eSports and New Songs

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