Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum Session!

Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum Session! for PS4 is a classic music-rhythm game, which requires the player to produce sounds using virtual taiko drums. The game is the first installment in the series, and as usual, it was developed by Bandai Namco. The Taiko no Tatsujin series was initiated in 2001 in Japan's arcade game rooms, where it gained huge popularity and plenty of fans, becoming a true icon of the popculture. In total, the franchise encompasses over a dozen installments released for PlayStation 2, PSP, PS Vita, Nintendo Wii, Wii-U, DS, and 3DS. The original Taiko no Tatsujin came out also in the West (2004), under another name though, i.e. Taiko Drum Master. Since then, however, all the games belonging to this franchise came out only in Asia. Although Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum Session! is officially unavailable in Europe or North America, it is the first edition of the game that features an optional, English language version on the day of release.

Mechanics

Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum Session! for PS4 offers an experience that is exceptionally easy to get oneself involved in, and in similarity to other games from the genre, it is based on the player's auditory abilities, their reflexes, as well as how familiar they are with particular tracks. The player's task is to produce rhythms on taiko drums in an appropriate fashion; doing that, the player uses only two buttons. While playing, one obsevers red and blue drum symbols moving from the right to the left on a colorful background. The symbols show the spot on the drum the player is supposed to hit (red symbolizes the center, blue stands for the sides). The game offers four difficulty levels – those increase the frequency of the symbols appearing and introduce additional challenges for the player to complete. Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum Session! comes with a few different control schemes prepared for the use of gamepads. Similar to other installments of the series, the creators prepared a special, drum-shaped controller specifically for the game, which is sold separately or in a bundle with the game itself (the device was created in cooperation with the Hori company).

The game offers 70 tracks in total, which as usual were divided into a few categories, including pop music, anime music, vocaloid music, classical music, tracks from games, original tracks prepared specifically for this game, as well as music that does not fit into any of the other categories. The list of available tracks can be extended through purchasing DLC packs. Nine specific achievements were assigned to each of the in-game tracks. Completing particular challenges earns the player coins, which can be spent on additional costumes or accessories for the mascot accompanying the player.

Game modes

Apart from the single-player experience (acquiring coins and achieving the best possible results), one can also play with friends or against the AI in the split-screen mode. Additionally, the creators implemented a ranked mode, which gives an opportunity to compete against players from all over the world.

Technical aspects

In terms of the audiovisuals, Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum Session! for PS4 retains the style from the previous installments. The game offers two-dimensional visuals working in 1080p resolution, at solid 60 frames per second.

Last updated on January 9, 2018