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)

Feast your eyes on Taiko no Tatsujin V Version's first trailer

Considering it was announced almost a month and a half ago, it's kind of shocking that it took the folks at Bandai Namco until a couple of days ago to release the first trailer for Taiko no Tatsujin V Version.

That's the name of the latest entry in the company's vaunted series of music games, by the way. Oh, and it's about to be released for the Vita--a fact that's made patently obvious about four seconds into the following, three-minute-long clip.



Despite the fact that I pre-ordered this sucker the first day I was allowed to do so at amiami.com, I can't say I'm completely thrilled by what I see here. I mean, it all looks nice enough, but it's also very ... "more of the same," I guess?

At any rate, I'm still looking forward to getting my hands on it--in part because it'll provide my only other physical Vita game (the first Danganronpa) with a bit of company.

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

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

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.)

I'm not completely sure what's going on in this crazy MH4G x Animal Crossing 'collaboration trailer,' but I (think I) like the looks of it anyway

Of all the collaborative content the folks at Capcom could've announced for Monster Hunter 4G (Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate elsewhere), this one--involving Isabelle and Resetti costumes for the 3DS game's felyne characters--has to be the most surprising. Or at least the most "out there."



Thankfully, it appears as though the costumes shown off in the trailer above, as well as the previously revealed Sonic the Hedgehog armor and Taiko no Tatsujin hunting horn, will be offered to those who pick up the North American version of the game as well, although Capcom has yet to say how that will be accomplished.

Four Japanese 3DS games I'd like to play in 2014

Let's be real here: it's likely I'm going to buy a lot of 3DS games in 2014. And when I say a lot, I mean it. A few of the North American titles that are likely to be picked up in the next 12 months, for instance: Yoshi's New Island, Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth, Kirby: Triple Deluxe and Bravely Default.

And then there are Japanese 3DS games like Zoo Keeper 3D, Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call and Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai 2 and the following quartet:

Fantasy Life--I truly wish I could say I'm looking forward to playing an officially localized (into English) version of this Level-5 game in 2014, but at this point that seems about as likely as Square Enix bringing Slime MoriMori Dragon Quest 3 to our shores. So, I'm thinking I'll finally cave and buy the Japanese version, even though that may not be the best idea given my current inability to understand the language. (Don't worry, I'm planning to get back to learning it after the start of the year.)

Labyrinth no Kanata--Another questionable choice considering I barely know a lick of the Japanese language at the moment, but how could I pass up a portable dungeon-crawler as nice-looking as this one? Plus, its box art (below) is the definition of gorgeous, and you know how I am when it comes to gorgeous box art. I'm not so sure the gameplay will prove to be as appealing as the graphics and cover imagery, but I'm willing to take one for the team and find out.

Taiko no Tatsujin: Chibi Dragon to Fushigi na Orb--The Taiko no Tatsujin series has intrigued me for years now, yet I still haven't played a single one. This entry seems to be fairly well received, so why not start with it? The only issue that could keep me from buying it is my fear of scratching the lower screen of my gold Pokémon Center 3DS LL.

Touch Detective Rising 3: Does Funghi Dream Of Bananas?--You'd think someone who owns but has yet to play the first Touch Detective game and hasn't even bought the second one wouldn't pine for this soon-to-be-released 3DS entry. Well, you'd be wrong in my case. It helps, of course, that this sequel has a great subtitle. Also, it's being made for the 3DS, which means it's going to be awesome.

See also: 'Four DS games I'd like to buy and play in 2014,' 'Four PSP games I'd like to buy and play in 2014' and 'Four Japanese retro games I'd like to buy (and play, of course) in 2014'

In which I blather on about a trio of Japanese 3DS game demos ...

Although I've owned a Japanese 3DS (read about it here) for about two months now, I've yet to buy a game for it. (Not even a digital one.) I have, however, downloaded a healthy number of demos from that region's eShop. As such, I thought it might be nice to write up a few mini-reviews of three of the demos I've played so far.



1. Neratte! Tobashite! Rilakkuma Guragura Sweets Tower--You didn't expect me to pass up this demo, did you--especially after I slobbered over its cover art in this previous blog post? Anyway, this one's a pretty straightforward demo: it can be played just three times and it offers up three levels of varying complexity. As I believe I shared in the aforementioned blog post, Neratte! Tobashite! Rilakkuma Guragura Sweets Tower is little more than an Angry Birds clone--which isn't a bad thing, in my opinion. It helps, of course, that it attempts to bring a few new things to the Angry Birds table, such as awarding bonus points for hitting characters from the Rilakkuma universe that are strewn about some of the levels. It also helps that the graphics (and the soundtrack, too, I guess) in this one are the gaming equivalent of a sugary waffle covered with ice cream, caramel and a cherry on top. Given all of the above, I'd actually pick up a copy of this disgustingly adorable game--if doing so wouldn't set me back as much as it currently would.



2. Shippuu no Usagi-Maru: Megumi no Tama to Fuuma no Shirushi--I've been trying to come up with an existing game that is most like this eShop-only puzzler-platformer since I first played this demo, but I can't quite do it. The closest one I can think of is Konami's Moai-kun for the Famicom, although even that isn't the best point of comparison. Regardless, both games task players with doing a bit of platforming while avoiding traps, pushing and pulling blocks, saving kidnapped maidens--that sort of thing. Anyway, Shippuu no Usagi-Maru's demo is pretty beefy as far as demos go, what with its seven included stages. Granted, five of them are little more than tutorials, but believe me when I say such introductions are needed if the second of the "real" levels is representative of the level of challenge that awaits folks who buy the full game. (It took me five tries to get through said stage.) That's a big plus in my book, as are the pixel-based graphics and Asian-influenced soundtrack found in this Arc System Works-published title. 



3. Taiko no Tatsujin: Chibi Dragon to Fushigina Orb--I've had my eye on this latest entry in Namco-Bandai's Taiko no Tatsujin series ever since I bought my "misty pink" Japanese 3DS, so it should come as little surprise to hear that it was one of the first Japanese eShop demos that I downloaded and tried. Unfortunately, Chibi Dragon to Fushigina Orb's demo is pretty thin in terms of content, featuring just two battles. Still, that was enough to convince me to add this title to my so-far-non-existant Japanese 3DS game collection sooner rather than later--thanks in large part to the gloriously over-the-top version of "O Sole Mio" that serves as the backdrop to the first battle. Here's hoping that by the time I finally do that (buy a copy of the game) I'll have a better understanding of what I'm supposed to do while playing it. (I don't know what I'm supposed to do with the bombs that appear every so often, for instance.)

The trio of demos discussed above are just a small sample of the ones I've nabbed from the Japanese eShop, so expect a similar post (or two) to this one to be published soon.

One import system I bought in 2012 but didn't tell you about until now

OK, so I did tell you a bit about it--in this post. But I didn't tell you much about it, did I?

What more do I have to say about it, you ask? Well, how about this: I wasn't planning on picking up a "misty pink" Japanese 3DS until sometime later this year. Until I came across an auction for the one you see in the photos below.

As for what prompted me to place a bid on said auction: I can't remember what the starting bid was, but it was quite a bit less than what Japanese 3DSes tend to sell for in the States.

What I do remember is what I ended up paying for it--a smidge less than $150. Even after shipping was factored in I paid less than I would have for a North American version of the same system.



I know, I don't know what prompted the folks at PlayAsia to offer up such a deal either, but I gladly took advantage of it.

Sadly, all I've done with it so far is downloaded a bunch of Japanese demos. I'm planning to buy a few Japan-only eShop games in the coming weeks, though, so once I do that I'll write about them here.

I'm also hoping to purchase my first Japanese 3DS retail game sooner rather that later. I haven't yet done so because I'm still unsure as to which one I want.

Taiko no Tatsujin: Chibi Dragon to Fushigina Orb is the frontrunner right now, although Osawari Tantei Nameko Daihanshoku (a puzzler based on the characters of the Touch Detective series) and even Zoo Keeper 3D are distinct possibilities, too.

See also: '12 import games I bought in 2012 but didn't tell you about until now'

Five Japanese 3DS games I'm hoping to pick up (and play, too, of course) in 2013

Would you believe it if I told you I recently bought a Japanese 3DS system? I hope you replied in the positive, because that's just what I did shortly after my recent birthday.

I'll share the curious story behind its purchase and also share a few photos of it in all its gloriousness shortly, but today I'm going to focus on something else entirely--with that something being the following five Japan-only (for now, he says with fingers crossed) 3DS games that I'm both keeping an eye on and hoping to buy sometime in 2013.

1. Daigasso! Band Brothers 3DS--How can I say it's likely I'll buy this game when it hasn't yet been given an official name or release date? Because I completely loved playing both of its DS-based predecessors, that's why. Unless the folks who are busily piecing together this iteration muck up the formula that worked so well for past Daigasso! Band Brothers titles, you can count on the 3DS version being added to my collection shortly after it's released in its country of origin.

2. Dragon Quest VII--To be honest, I only plan to pick up this much-anticipated remake if it fails to come to North America like Dragon Quest Monsters: Terry's Wonderland 3D and Slime MoriMori Dragon Quest 3 did. Considering there's about an 80 percent chance of that happening, though, I probably shouldn't be too cavalier. Anyone know a quick and easy way to learn the Japanese language?

3. Labyrinth no Kanata--This is another import-only game, known to most westerners as Beyond the Labyrinth, that I desperately want to play, but I'm just not sure it would be a good idea to buy considering I don't know a lick of Japanese. Should I ever come across a reasonably priced copy of it, though, I'm pretty sure I won't be able to resist its beautiful cover art (or its dungeon-exploring gameplay).

4. Taiko no Tatsujin: Chibi Dragon to Fushigi na Orb--Despite the fact that I love rhythm games and that I find this series' mascot to be one of the cutest I've ever seen, I've yet to experience a single Taiko no Tatsujin title. Granted, only one has been released in my neck of the woods. Anyway, this one looks pretty darn good to my eyes--thanks in no small part to the "chibi dragon" mentioned in its subtitle--so why not start with it?

5. Zoo Keeper 3D--Go ahead. Look down your nose at me for including this game. I'm not ashamed of the way I feel about Zoo Keeper, no sir. That said, I'll admit to straddling the fence when it comes to this particular version of Success' animal-themed puzzler, as I haven't seen enough of it to know whether it would be a good or bad title to buy. For now, though, I'll just pretend that it would be worth every precious penny I'd spend on it.

Should you realistically expect me to pick up all five of these games? Probably not. I think there's a better-than-good chance, though, that the first and fourth ones will be purchased at some point in 2013.

What's cuter than a WadaDon amigurumi? A Mr. Saturn amigurumi, that's what...

Actually, I'm not sure about that. I mean, is the Mr. Saturn amigurumi shown below really cuter than the WadaDon (the precious Taiko no Tatsujin protagonist) amigurumi seen in this previous post?

Ah, who cares. Both are pretty damn adorable, don't you think?



Both of the above-mentioned amigurumi were made by the same person, by the way--with that person being blogger Spelinnea.

Those of you who can crochet may want to check out this recent blog post, as it includes instructions on how to make your very own Mr. Saturn amigurumi.

Taiko no Tatsujin amigurumi + PC Engine Core Grafx controller = one adorable photo

How's this for a fluff post?

Actually, "fluff" takes on two meanings in this particular instance, as not only is this kind of a throw-away post (aka "a piece of pure fluff"), but it also focuses on something that's literally fluffy: Yarn.

Specifically, it focuses on the adorable Taiko no Tatsujin amigurumi (below) that was stitched together by blogger Spelinnea.



Spelinnea gets extra points in my book for not only making the crocheted Taiko drum (WadaDon) above as cute as can be but also for making him clutch a PC Engine Core Grafx controller.

Anyway, to see more photos of this fuzzy PC Engine fan, check out this post on Spelinnea's blog.

Note: This post originally appeared on my other gaming blog, iwasateenagepcenginefan.wordpress.com.