If you’re a fan of the immensly cute and cuddly subculture of Japan, as well as the music and rhythm games from the same area, I believe that Taiko No Tatsujin is definitely for you (as it is for me).

Having played the arcade game before and seeing adverts for the it online, the DS version intrigued me as it came with two cute looking drum stick styli for the handheld itself, which will most probably find themselves down the side of your sofa in no time at all.

As with the majority of the rhythm genre, the game works by hitting various icons at the correct time as they scroll along the screen. This type of gameplay has become synonymous with the rhythm game cliché and Taiko No Tatsujin from the DS barely adventures from the norm. As you tap away against those nasty red and blue symbols crashing down upon you, it’s easy to believe that this type of gameplay will never get old. It is the music included in the games that becomes dated, which fuels the need to release ever more music games into the wild.

Taiko No Tatsujin for the DS takes everything embelished in the word ‘cuteness’ and wraps it all up snuggly into one excellent rhythm game. Graphically the title works extremely well with it’s 2d drawings and cute, manga styled characters -not even getting close to the handheld’s full capabilities. At first sight the game looks like it wouldn’t go amiss with a younger child, perhaps due to its very simplistic and to the point graphics. However, the difficulty of later levels is definitely in juxtaposition with the simple nature of the design and is actually very difficult to get to grips with.

Although the tiny touch screen is not as fun as playing at the arcade or, dare I say, with a real drum – the DS stylus makes an excellent drum stick. The touch screen becomes your drum and you can perform a variety of different things with it. Primarily you will be bashing the drum but sometimes you will be forced to tap the sides of it or perform a mixture of both. Also of note are the special beats; the ‘hit-where-ever-you-like’, yellow note which does as it says on the tin, as well as the spinny, cyclone instrument whereby you must hit the side of the drum and the middle of it consecutively.

Of course, the game is not without its little problems. Perhaps it is just me being picky but I really do feel a lack of a strong musical selection really does bring this title down. The many different genres in the game lack clarity and it feels that the only genre with love put into it was the commercialised J-POP genre. Whereas many of the other genres included in the selection (Anime music, western classical music, traditional Japanese festival music, and video game themes) recieved barely a nod with some of the selections only containing 2 or 3 songs each. Clearly the DS cartridge doesn’t have a massive amount of space open to it, but competition from games like ‘Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan’ and it’s sequel with the strongest and most relevant soundtracks on the DS, you would have thought the creators would have put a little more interesting songs into this game. Although not instantly the best songs upon first play through, the songs become quite endearing after you get to recognise them and know how they play.

Don’t take my negative comments too seriously though, Taiko No Tatsujin for the DS is definitely the cutest rhythm game that I have ever played. It’s fun and addictive as well which is a shame, as an impromtu visit to my dressed up and customised Taiko drum would be quite a thing to behold on a night bus into the city. It is a real shame that the game is only graced with a Japan release at present and won’t be hitting local stores anytime soon. You can however pick up the game right now from many online import specialists which is most definitely recommended.

[youtube]2Q9W1vSo4Jk[/youtube]

[This piece also posted on Rhythm Gamer]