Will the third time be the charm for me and Namco's Taiko no Tatsujin 3DS titles?

Full disclosure: I've owned a copy of the first Taiko no Tatsujin 3DS game--subtitle: Chibi Dragon to Fushigina Orb--for some time now and have yet to even open it.

I bring that up because the bulk of the remainder of this post will focus on how I'm awfully intrigued by the just-announced third Taiko no Tatsujin 3DS title and I'll probably buy it even though I've completely ignored its predecessor so far.

This third Taiko no Tatsujin 3DS release's subtitle is Dokodon! Mystery Adventure, by the way.

Here's what else is known about this handheld rhythm game at the moment: it's set to hit the streets--and 3DS eShop--of Japan on June 16, its cart will include over 70 songs and it'll offer players an RPG mode (like pretty much every other portable Taiko title).

Oh, wait, I nearly forgot: Dokodon! Mystery Adventure also will feature tunes from Ace Attorney, Kirby's Return to Dream Land and Monster Hunter X.

Now all I need for the folks at Bandai Namco to do is reveal the game's box art--which you just know is going to be brilliant (or at least brilliantly cute and colorful, much like that of Taiko no Tatsujin DS).

Oh, who am I kidding? Even if its cover illustration is a complete turd I'll very likely pick up a copy as soon as AmiAmi or Amazon Japan starts allowing pre-orders.

I don't suppose any of you are in the same Don-chan-loving boat?

(Via famitsu.com and neogaf.com)

Help me come up with some recommendations for a new DS owner who prefers retro games

My friend Simon, who runs the lovely retro-focused game blog called Red Parsley, recently reached out to me to share the joyful news that he's now the proud owner of a Nintendo DS.

Unsurprisingly, he also asked if I could offer up a few DS game recommendations.

I did just that late last night. Specifically, I said he should consider picking up some or all of the following for various reasons I won't go into here:

9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors
Bangai-O Spirits
Big Bang Mini
Contact
Dragon Quest IX
Hotel Dusk
Kirby Canvas Curse
Mr. Driller: Drill Spirits
My World, My Way
Pac-Pix
Puzzle Bobble DS
Retro Game Challenge
Rhythm Heaven
Soul Bubbles
Taiko no Tatsujin DS
Tetris DS 
The World Ends with You
Yoshi Touch & Go

Although I have a feeling all (or at least some) of the games mentioned above could keep Simon and his new DS busy for a long time to come, I also think it couldn't hurt to send him a few more suggestions.

So, I'm asking all of you: which DS titles would you recommend to someone who is new to Nintendo's first dual-screened system and who tends to prefer games of the "old school" variety? 

Taiko no Tatsujin V Version, eh? If it were up to me, it'd be called Taiko no Tatsujin VI Version...

If the headline above is causing you to send a side-eye in my general direction, hopefully the following will help explain things: basically, in the last few months, I've acquired a whole slew of Taiko no Tatsujin games.

Specifically, I've acquired five of them. I started with the initial Taiko no Tatsujin DS title, as some of you may remember, and it so pleased me that I quickly ran out (or ran to various places on the Internet) and bought the second and third Taiko no Tatsujin DS releases as well as the first to hit the 3DS. A month or so later, I added the third PSP iteration, called Taiko no Tatsujin Portable DX, to my ever-growing collection.

Given all of the above, it should come as no surprise to hear that the recent announcement that a Taiko no Tatsujin title was being prepped for the Vita prompted me to bellow with delight.

This particular entry in the long-running series is going to be called Taiko no Tatsujin V Version, of course--which I guess brings us back to my lame-ass header. (After all, in it I'm implying that this Vita cart should be re-named Taiko no Tatsujin VI Version, because it would be my sixth Taiko no Tatsujin game--har har. Don't worry, I'm not planning to give up my day job.)

As for when Taiko no Tatsujin V Version will hit the streets in Japan, how much it'll cost and all that jazz: the game's release date is July 9 and the price tag attached to it at that time will be 5,690 yen. Oh, and according to sources like gematsu.com and neogaf.com, it'll feature 80 songs and an RPG-esque mode called "Donda Quest."

If all of that sounds swell to you, and if you've got a Vita and some cash to blow, you can pre-order this sucker right now via amiami.com for just 5,200 yen (about $44).

See also: my 'A Decade of DS' post about Taiko no Tatsujin DS

A note for the handful of people who'll care: I'm putting my #ADecadeofDS posts on the back burner for a couple of weeks

Don't worry, this doesn't mean I'm leaving my #ADecadeofDS series in the dust. On the contrary, I'm only stepping away from it for a short while so that I can spend some more time with a few of the DS games that have really struck a chord with me over the last month or two.

Specifically, I'd like to experience a bit more of what Awatama, Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales, My World, My Way and Okamiden have to offer.

Once that's out of the way, though, I plan to jump back into the fray by playing Contact, Mr. Driller: Drill Spirits, Pac-Pix and a whole slew of other intriguing DS games.

In the meantime, you may want to read through the #ADecadeofDS posts I've already published--about games like Awatama, Catch! Touch! Yoshi!, Chocobo Tales, Maestro! Jump in Music, Okamiden, Pop Cutie! Street Fashion Simulation, Taiko no Tatsujin DS and Zombie Daisuki.

Lights, camera, Taiko no Tatsujin DS!

Early last week, I shared some impressions (in this #ADecadeofDS post) of my weeklong playthrough, of sorts, of Taiko no Tatsujin DS.

Although that was my first experience with the vaunted Taiko no Tatsujin series, it was more than enough to get me to fall in love with it.

In fact, I fell in love with it to such an extent that I've since bought (but not yet received) copies of the second and third Taiko no Tatsujin DS games, and I'm seriously considering picking up one of the PSP Taiko titles soon as well.



While we all wait for those copies to make their way to my doorstep, why don't we ogle some of the physical products that are associated with Taiko no Tatsujin DS?

The front cover of this 2007 release can be seen in the photo above, of course, while the back cover can be seen below.



Copies of all three of the DS games--and the first 3DS one, which is known as Taiko no Tatsujin: Chibi Dragon to Fushigina Orb--come with a pair of Taiko-themed styli packed inside their cases, in case you weren't aware.

Here are the two that came with my particular copy of Taiko DS:

Completely adorable, right? Strangely, I've yet to actually use them. Instead, I've used the stylus that came with my original (red) 3DS and the stylus that came with my pink-and-white XL.

As for Taiko no Tatsujin DS' cartridge, well, it's far from amazing in terms of label art, but I snapped a photo of it anyway.

This game's instruction manual is rather nice, though, despite the fact that it was made for a DS title. (In general, I'm not a fan of DS instruction manuals, as they tend to be too long, with too many words and too few photos and illustrations. Of course, the same could be said of most manuals made since about 2001.)



The page above isn't one of the manual's best, mind you, but I'm sharing it here anyway because I love how, in the last of the three boxes explaining how to use the included Taiko styli while playing this game, the document's designers felt the need to point out that you shouldn't stab your 3DS' bottom screen like it's one of the eyeholes in Jason Vorhees' hockey mask.



Pages like the ones above, on the other hand, are nearly worth the price of admission, if you ask me. In fact, I'd do some pretty nasty things if it would net me a poster-sized (and text-free) version of this illustration.

How will the second and third Taiko no Tatsujin titles for DS stack up to this effort? I don't know, but I'm very much looking forward to finding out--and soon. And of course I'll let you know the results of that fact-finding mission as soon as I am able (likely in a post similar to this one).

See also: my #ADecadeofDS write-up about Taiko no Tatsujin DS

#ADecadeofDS: Taiko no Tatsujin DS

Amount of time devoted to this DS game in the last week--Three hours, 39 minutes.

Most recent boss toppled, location reached or milestone achieved--I've played through (and earned golden crowns for) the easiest versions of all of the songs that are available to me at the moment. I've also played a handful of the daily challenges.

Overall comments on the experience--Before I tucked the colorful Taiko no Tatsujin DS cart into my 3DS last weekend, I imagined it would be a nightmare--or at least a bore--to play using buttons rather than a pair of styli. I mention that because despite those misgivings, I began my first Taiko DS foray by--you guessed it--using the former instead of the latter.

I'm glad I did, because it forced me to recognize that this style of play actually is pretty fun. It can be a little awkward, yes--especially when you have to press the left and right shoulder buttons on your DS or 3DS system at the same time to hit a blue "Big Note"--but it's nowhere near as unplayable or even uncomfortable as I thought it would be.

As for playing the game using the two Taiko-branded styli that came packed inside its case, that's nice, too, of course, although it can be a bit trying to transition from one control method to the other. (I've been switching between the two because I don't want to scuff up the screens of my 3DS.) Also, using the styli-plus-touch-screen combo can feel less accurate than buttons now and then--particularly when tackling the blue "Big Notes" mentioned above.

With that out of the way, the other obvious aspects to focus on while critiquing Taiko no Tatsujin DS are its soundtrack and its aesthetics. The former's more important to the overall enjoyment of this game, I think, so let's start with it. Although just 35 songs are on offer here (I've only got access to 30 of them at the moment), that's proven to be more than enough for me thanks to the variety of the selection.

Among the genres represented in this particular title: anime, classical, folk, J-POP and "game music." I can't say I knew any of the included anime or J-POP tunes before I began this Taiko journey, but that didn't keep me from enjoying every single one of them after a couple of plays.

As for the aesthetics, well, that's the element of the Taiko series that first grabbed my attention way back when, so it should go without saying that I find it awfully appealing. Of course, it's bright, colorful, cute and very Japanese--what's not to like? That its protagonist, Don-chan (an anthropomorphic taiko drum), is beyond adorable--not to mention one of my favorite game mascots--helps matters a good deal, too.

In the end, the nearly four hours I've put into Taiko no Tatsujin DS so far has me pining to play other iterations--especially one or more that use the famed "Tatacon" controllers--as soon as humanly possible.

Will I continue to play this game in the coming days, weeks and maybe even months?--Definitely, although it's likely to be set aside sooner rather than later so I can play the first Taiko no Tatsujin title that was released for 3DS a few years ago, which I recently picked up.

Do I recommend it to others?--If you tend to enjoy playing rhythm games and you also like--or at least don't actively dislike--Japanese music, yes, I'd very much recommend buying this game. I'm not entirely sure this is the best version to buy, though, if this is going to be your first time at the Taiko rodeo, so to speak. Both the second and third Taiko DS titles seem to be more robust experiences (offering more songs and modes), for example, and the PSP and Wii iterations are widely adored, too, so consider them if prices for this iteration are too high for your liking.

Next up--Zombie Daisuki

See also: previous #ADecadeofDS posts

A decade of the Nintendo DS

The Nintendo DS system hit store shelves across North America exactly 10 years ago today, on Nov. 21, 2004.

Its Japanese release followed on Dec. 2 of the same year, while it didn't arrive on Australian or European shores until Feb. 24 and March 11 of 2005, respectively.

Although I now consider the DS to be one of my all-time favorite systems (along with, say, the Famicom, the PC Engine and the GameBoy), it took some time for it to worm its way into my heart.

What can I say? Aside from its dual-screened design, I wasn't all that impressed with the system or its initial selection of games following its early-2004 reveal.

A stack of some of my favorite Japanese DS games.

In fact, I waited until sometime in 2006, after the DS Lite had been on the market for a couple of months, to join the fray. (I believe I did so because I was about to travel and I wanted to play Animal Crossing: Wild World while I was on the road, but don't quote me on that.)

Once I experienced a handful of the DS' most noteworthy games, though, I fell head over heels in love with it--and those feelings have only grown stronger in subsequent years. (In fact, I'm just about to splurge on a rather large assortment of Japanese DS games.)

Do any of you also consider yourselves to be DS fanpersons? If so, please share some of your most cherished memories of this unique system in the comments section below.

(Note: this isn't the extent of my "decade of DS" coverage. Look for another post related to the system's anniversary on Monday--and for additional posts to follow early next year.)