Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythmic Adventure 1 Shows the World that RPG and Music Games are a Perfect Match
3Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythmic Adventure 1 Shows the World that RPG and Music Games are a Perfect Match
Original Video: https://youtu.be/s7S5TM-z5Ek
Script:
Taiko No tatsujin is a long-time Japanese rhythm game focused on banging a drum to the beat of music. Featuring a wide range of songs from Anime openings to Classical music the series has been such a smash it that it’s made its way over to America. My previous review of Taiko no tatsujin was focused solely on the broken motion controls which lead to a very negative review. Those motion controls have not improved at all over the years leading to these adventure games. However, I already made me complain known and you can watch that original review video linked in the description. What I want to know is how is the series utilizing a Drum Controller and how the RPG elements change this. Well, it turns out, it changes everything. It turns a frustrating game mess into one of the most enjoyable experiences I had in these reviews since Ring Fit Adventure.
[Intro]
The Taiko no tatsujin adventure series combines the classic drumming game and an adventure RPG. It's like the Ring Fit adventure to Wii Fit. The main gameplay of the series has always been drumming with Taiko, which we in America refer to as this specific Japanese drum. The gameplay has you hit the middle of the drums for Don's and the outside of the drums for Ka's as they reach the main circle. There are other types such as repeaters or drum rolls where you hit as fast as you can. In the adventure mode, building combos of hits will corollate to attacks of characters you choose to fight as. I must say that the combination of a fighting RPG with a rhythmic game is absolutely genius and one that I want every game to incorporate. Give me a DDR adventure RPG, and I will eat that up like crazy. A Just Dance RPG? Sounds like a dream in my book. Every game should take inspiration from this game and I would be one happy reviewer and probably weight like ten pounds less.
Battling your way through different characters is how you get through different points in the story. The story of Taiko no tatsujin Rhythm adventure 1 is nothing special. You play as Don, the personification of the drum controller you should be using. You are at the taiko festival when your brother, Ka, gets kidnapped along with a clock dude. From there you meet this ugly rabbit thing that has the ability to open portal through time. You must follow the rabbit through time to rescue your brother and fix the clock, Ticky. Along the way your quest morphs into stopping Professor Tymedine tried to destroy the world. No pressure am I right. The whole story aims to have an excuse to travel through time and unique areas. Again, the story is nothing special, but the expressive cutscenes and sometimes awesome but lengthy interactions make it worth it.
The areas in this game are very different, making each world feel unique. You go from Ancient Japan, Medieval Europe, Prehistoric Lands, and more. Along the way, you meet new main characters, such as Joan of Arc, Cleopatra, and some weird talking dinosaur dude, who will join you on your journey. My favorite interactions of this game are when you return home with the characters in the past, and they interact with modern Japan, being shocked there are flying machines or comic books. The interactions between characters in the party are a lot of fun. Still, the further into the game, it becomes too crowded, with so many characters no longer getting speaking roles.
These main characters can be put into combat to fight enemies. As I said, the fighting in this game is based on getting massive combos in the standard Taiko no tatsujin gameplay. Each character has different combo requirements on attack, with heavy characters needing the longest combos but, of course, hitting the hardest. It would be best to have a nice combination of heavy and quick hitters to bring down your enemies. Once you do, you could get a chance to have them join your party. Over time, you will increase your friendly stats in battles, unlocking special abilities or gifts from your characters. What's weird in this game is that many random enemies you capture are way stronger than the main characters in the story mode. It's why if you look at my gameplay, you won't see any main characters for me. It's all about that werewolf grandma. He is the most OP character in the game, in my opinion.
One of my least favorite parts is how you get into battle in this game. I love games like the Tales of series or Ring Fit Adventure, where you can see when battles will happen. In this game, you can get attacked and into battle if you walk around in any random area. It's 2023… why don't games display enemies on screen in RPGs… It's annoying as hell. Also, battles happen way too frequently in this game. You can always flee, but for this challenge, I couldn't see that the drumming is the actual fitness...
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