Taiko: Drum Master


Taiko: Drum Master, also known as Taiko no Tatsujin: Taiko Drum Master in Japan, is a 2004 rhythm game developed and published by Namco for the Sony PlayStation 2 as part of the popular Japanese video game franchise Taiko no Tatsujin. It was released in North America in 2004, and Japan in 2005.
The game was notable for being the only Taiko no Tatsujin title to release in North America, until the releases of Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum 'n' Fun! and Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum Session! in 2018. The songs featured in Taiko: Drum Master were all in English and mostly taken from various Western artists, even in the Japanese release.

Gameplay

Notes that move horizontally along a timeline show what to hit and when; a red note indicates hitting the center of the drum, while a blue note indicates hitting the rim. A drum simulating the taiko is played in time with music.
Successful play builds up a "spirit gauge", which indicates how many notes have been hit. If the meter is past a certain point by the end of the song, the song is passed.
In the Japanese version, subtitles under the symbols give the pronunciation of the sounds using a traditional system called kuchi shoga.
Despite the game's appearance, players may find the game challenging to master. Players need to accomplish at least a 65% clearance of a song, which is determined by the spirit gauge, to pass, and songs can become challenging on harder difficulties as players progress.

North American release track listing

Pop and rock

  1. "ABC" by The Jackson Five
  2. "American Girls" - by Counting Crows
  3. "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" - by Jet
  4. "Girls and Boys" - by Good Charlotte
  5. "I'm a Believer" - cover version, original by The Monkees
  6. "Killer Queen" - by Queen
  7. "Lady Marmalade" - by Labelle
  8. "Love Shack" - by The B-52s
  9. "Material Girl" - by Madonna
  10. "My Sharona" - by The Knack
  11. "Slide" - by The Goo Goo Dolls
  12. "That's the Way (I Like It)" - by KC and the Sunshine Band
  13. "The Impression That I Get" - by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
  14. "Toxic" - by Britney Spears
  15. "Tubthumping" - by Chumbawamba
  16. "Walking on Sunshine" - by Katrina and the Waves

Anime/TV

  1. "Dragon Ball Z Theme" - by Shuki Levy
  2. "Jimmy Neutron Theme" - by Bowling for Soup

Classical

  1. "Beethoven's Symphony No. 5"
  2. "Carmen Prelude"
  3. "Foster's Medley"
  4. "Hungarian Dances No. 5"
  5. "Symphony No. 25 in G Minor"
  6. "William Tell Overture"

NAMCO Original

Japanese release track listing

Pop

Children's song

Classical

  1. "Beethoven's Symphony No. 5"
  2. "Carmen Prelude"
  3. "Foster's Medley"
  4. "Hungarian Dances No. 5"
  5. "Symphony No. 25 in G Minor"
  6. "William Tell Overture"

NAMCO Original

Bonus

  • The bundle with the game comes with a Taiko controller with plastic drumsticks where players plug into the PS2 console.
  • The Oni difficulty is unlocked by clearing 25 songs.

Reception

The PlayStation 2 version of Taiko: Drum Master received "generally favorable reviews" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.