is a Japanese video game series developed and published by Namco (now Bandai Namco Entertainment). In the games, players simulate playing a taiko drum in rhythm with music. The series has released titles for the arcade as well as for console and mobile platforms, including PlayStation 2, Advanced Pico Beena, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS, Wii, Nintendo 3DS, Wii U, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Microsoft Windows, iOS, Android, and Japanese feature phones.

Although the series was primarily developed for the Japanese market, localized versions have also been released in English, Chinese, and Korean.

Gameplay Objective The main objective of Taiko no Tatsujin games is to hit a special taiko drum controller, or a virtual equivalent, in rhythm with a selected piece of music. Players must strike the drum in time with the that scroll from right to left on the screen.

A song is cleared when the is filled beyond the by achieving sufficient accuracy by the end of the song.

Controls Arcade versions of Taiko no Tatsujin are equipped with simulated taiko drums that register hits when struck with drumsticks (bachi).

Console versions primarily use buttons for gameplay, although certain devices support additional input methods: A virtual taiko drum is available on devices with touchscreens (such as the DS, 3DS, Wii U, iPod Touch, smartphones, and Nintendo Switch), which can be played using either a stylus or fingers. Dedicated drum peripherals simulating real taiko drums can be purchased separately for the PS2, Wii, Wii U, PS4, and Nintendo Switch versions. This peripheral is included with the physical North American release for the PlayStation 2 and the European release for the Nintendo Switch.

Notes The variety of notes in the game primarily consists of red and blue markers. The red note requires the player to strike the face of the drum, while the blue note requires striking the rim.

Additional note types require rapid, consecutive hits on the drum. These include the yellow bar, the balloon note (referred to as a "burst note" in Taiko: Drum Master), and the Kusudama ball (represented as a yam in older releases starting from the PlayStation 2 Godaime version, or as a Mallet note in Drum Session! and Drum 'n' Fun!).

Unlike other rhythm games such as Guitar Hero, the drumming in Taiko no Tatsujin serves as an accompaniment rather than replacing an instrument in the music. Missing a note does not result in off-key sounds or interruptions to the background track, and players are free to strike the drum at any time, provided it does not interfere with nearby notes that could trigger a penalty.

Difficulty Most games in the Taiko no Tatsujin series offer four main difficulty levels: , , , and , known as "Extreme" in the English versions of Drum 'n' Fun, Drum Session, and the arcade releases. Oni represents the highest standard difficulty level. In addition, since the console game certain songs may have a 5th difficulty level called , however it is still called "Oni" in the in-game difficulty menu.

The sequence of notes in each level is referred to as a .

Inner notecharts First appearing in , some songs feature additional , often referred to by fans as "Ura Oni." These serve as alternative versions of the standard notecharts and are typically more challenging. Although originally available across multiple difficulty levels, inner notecharts later became exclusive to the Oni/Extreme level.

In some cases, inner notecharts alter the arrangement or version of a song, and in arcade releases, they may even switch to an entirely different track. Beginning with the third-generation arcade release in 2011, these inner versions became categorized as separate songs.

Notechart branching Certain songs include within specific difficulty levels. Depending on the player's performance, the game dynamically switches between the , , or . In some songs, such as "Hyakka Ryoran," a drumroll appears at the beginning, allowing the player to choose among the three notechart paths.

Gameplay options Various aspects of gameplay in Taiko no Tatsujin can be customized according to the player's preference:

Players can select alternative instruments or sound effects to replace the traditional taiko drum sounds. Gameplay modifiers can be applied to adjust elements such as note speed, reversed notecharts (with red and blue notes swapped), or randomized note arrangements. In console versions, players can enable the "Auto" mode to have the notechart played automatically and perfectly; however, scores are not recorded in this mode. Additional options include "Perfect", which ends the song immediately after the first missed note, and "Spartan", which restarts the entire song upon a missed note.

Development

Following the successes of Beatmania (1997) and Dance Dance Revolution (1998), both released by Konami, Namco had originally planned to develop a guitar-based rhythm game for arcades. However, these plans were cancelled following the release of what was referred to internally as the , a set of four arcade games that had all released in 1999 (those being Guitar Jam; Namco's arcade port of Virtual Music's Quest for Fame; Um Jammer Lammy NOW!; and Million Hits). As a result, in 2000, director Ken Nakadate and visual art director Takehito Sasaoka would propose a taiko-based game instead, with the latter demonstrating the basic concept by attaching tape to the bottom of a plastic bucket and striking it with sticks in time with music. Managing Director Yukio Ishikawa would commission a prototype to be used as part of a location test in Yokohama in the summer of 2000: although the sales department had predicted that Namco would only be able to sell 100 units to arcades, the test proved to be extremely popular. The advanced age of CEO Masaya Nakamura, who was 75 at the time of development and would retire in 2002, had previously led to rumours within the company that he was losing interest in video games as a whole. Despite this, he would continue to playtest the company's new games. When it came to test the prototype, he would begin to play it before the team had finished explaining the project; afterwards, he turned to them, smiled, and simply said "this is good." Nakamura would then name the game Taiko no Tatsujin.

The main character of the game was originally intended to be a realistic young man wearing only a fundoshi, a traditional Japanese undergarment: although he was intended to fit in with the theme of a Japanese festival, this was rejected for being too surreal. Don-chan, Ka-chan, and the other characters were then created by a designer unrelated to the project, Yukiko Yokō, who had joined Namco in 1994: after she sketched a "taiko alien" due to the game having been demonstrated throughout the company building, she was brought onto the game and would continue to work on the franchise until 2007.

Releases

Taiko no Tatsujin: Tatakon de Dodon ga Don is the first official home console release in the Taiko no Tatsujin franchise. The game was released for the PlayStation 2 on October 24, 2002, in Japan.

Tatakon de Dodon ga Don includes 29 songs selected from the first three arcade versions of Taiko no Tatsujin, featuring tracks such as "Marionette" by Boøwy, "Traveling" by Hikaru Utada, "Pieces of a Dream" by Chemistry, and "Mr. Moonlight (Ai no Big Band)" by Morning Musume.

The PlayStation 2 version also introduced several new original songs exclusive to this release, including "Stepping Wind" from Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil.

Taiko: Drum Master

Taiko: Drum Master is the first official North American release in the Taiko no Tatsujin franchise. It was released exclusively for the PlayStation 2 on October 26, 2004, in North America, and later on March 17, 2005, in Japan.

Unlike the Japanese releases, Taiko: Drum Master features primarily English-language pop music, including songs by artists such as Queen and Madonna. The game also includes theme songs from both Western and Japanese animated series, such as Dragon Ball Z—a Japanese anime dubbed in English—and Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius.

Taiko no Tatsujin 13

is the thirteenth arcade installment in the Taiko no Tatsujin series. The game began arcade service in December 2009.

Taiko no Tatsujin 13 was also used to host the nationwide Japanese tournament , held in early 2010.

Taiko no Tatsujin 14 is the fourteenth arcade installment in the Taiko no Tatsujin series. Featuring over 150 playable songs, 14 retains many gameplay elements from previous entries in the franchise.

For a limited period, Taiko no Tatsujin 14 was part of a collaboration event with McDonald's. As part of the franchise's 10th anniversary celebration, an upgrade patch was later released for the game, adding five additional songs to its tracklist.

Taiko no Tatsujin Plus , also stylized as Taiko no Tatsujin +, is a video game application released exclusively for iOS devices on May 28, 2010, in Japan. The application is free to download, with optional purchases for additional music packs.

In June 2015, Plus introduced the service, which allowed unlimited downloads of designated songs within a set period for a fee.

The game is primarily controlled via a simulated drum surface on the device's touchscreen, though later updates added support for Roland Corporation's V-Drums electronic drum sets.

In addition to standard Taiko no Tatsujin gameplay, Plus features the system, which allows players to exchange in-game points for rolls of a lucky draw, awarding randomly selected prizes.

Taiko no Tatsujin (2011) is the fifteenth arcade release in the Taiko no Tatsujin series. This version introduced significant changes from previous arcade entries, including the ability for players to store play data using Bandai Namco's Banapassport card, customize player characters, and set individual difficulty preferences. The game also supports online updates to add new songs and features. Initially released exclusively in Japan, the arcade cabinet became available in Southeast Asian regions—including Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Thailand—starting in January 2014.

Since its initial release, the game has received one or two major updates each year. Each update typically adds multiple new songs, introduces modes exclusive to that version, and provides additional costume options and challenges in Ranking Dojo Mode.

Version Release date (Japan) Release date (Asia) Taiko no Tatsujin November 16, 2011 Taiko no Tatsujin C/N KATSU-DON July 25, 2012 Taiko no Tatsujin: Sorairo Ver. March 13, 2013 Taiko no Tatsujin: Momoiro Ver. December 11, 2013 January 27, 2014 Taiko no Tatsujin: Kimidori Ver. July 16, 2014 August 6, 2014 Taiko no Tatsujin: Murasaki Ver. March 11, 2015 April 16, 2015 Taiko no Tatsujin: White Ver. December 10, 2015 January 20, 2016 Taiko no Tatsujin: Red Ver. July 14, 2016 September 6, 2016 Taiko no Tatsujin: Yellow Ver. March 15, 2017 April 5, 2017 Taiko no Tatsujin: Blue Ver. March 15, 2018 April 13, 2018 Taiko no Tatsujin: Green Ver. March 14, 2019 May 7, 2019

Wadaiko Master In May 2014, several Taiko no Tatsujin arcade cabinets, seemingly based on the Momoiro Ver. release, appeared in arcades in Brazil under the title Wadaiko Master. These cabinets were translated into Portuguese and featured a reduced song list, containing only 32 tracks, including three Brazilian music tracks exclusive to this edition. Wadaiko Master is offline-only and does not include network features such as Bandai Namco Passport support or software updates available in other versions.

Taiko no Tatsujin: Nijiiro Ver.