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Aug 09 2005
Taiko no Tatsujin Portable Review
PSP Game Review | Rhythm
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| Summary: AWESOME
95
I was skeptical at first when I read this game was being ported to the PSP. I was a huge fan of the original Japanese series and just didn't see how much fun this game would be without the Tatakon. But I was wrong.
The game works remarkably well on the PSP. D-Pad is used as left face hit, buttons for right face hit, L and are for left and right rim hits respectively. There are 35 tracks normally, 3 that are also unlockable (although I've only unlocked two). Most are Japanese pop-songs, with some Namco game tunes, random anime songs, and believe it or not Queen's We Will Rock You and Brittany Spears' I'm a Slave 4 U. The game shines with headphones (speakerwise it's okay but you don't get the same sensation, there is even an option to change what audio method you're playing). It sounds great and is faithful to the other versions.
Visually the series retains its quirky graphical presentation. It's nice and looks just as it does on the other versions.
There are three minigames. The first being a disco dancing game that prompts you to hit simulataneous button presses reflexively as soon as possible. The longer you play, the more complex the combinations and the shorter time you have to input it. The second is Japanese paper sumo wrestling, but all you really do is play against someone else (on the same PSP!) or CPU, and you have to hit a sequence of Face or Rim hits as fast as you can. The last is a mecha drum game where you use the analog stick and play the game vertically. Mechanical parts drop from the top and you have to use these tilts to make them fall into robot parts. You get points when you complete a robot. All the minigames are pretty fun.
There's single song mode, and a mode where you pick how many minutes you want to play for and it'll pick random songs that will match those number of minutes. There's also some multiplayer modes although I haven't had a chance to test them out, although game sharing seems to be supported as well.
There are some other options I can't seem to make out as my Japanese isn't great. That being said, the game is completely in Japanese, mostly hiragana but a lot of kanji. Still even if you don't know Japanese it's totally playable, and if it makes it stateside I'm pretty sure Namco is going to change the song list again.
There's also a game sharing mode as well as other adhoc multiplayer options.
If you're at all a fan of the series, highly consider purchasing it. Great fun on the go. My only complaints are that my hand cramps up during the more difficult songs and that there aren't enough songs!
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Comments
08/09/05
13 
digi
| California USA | XBC: diagram | KAI: diagramOSC | SOCOM: soldit
omg, that looks like so much fun.
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08/09/05
49
TechRep
| Japan
Most of my PSP games are the Japanese versions... and, most of those games have English menu options.
From this review... I assume there are no English menus available?
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08/09/05
18
WhiteBoyTroy
| Arizona USA
No there isn’t any english menus, but there are a couple of english songs on it. I have the one for ps2 and I saw this and I had to give it a spin other than the annoying high pitched character and Japanese menus its good game to kill some time
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08/09/05
8
ridestowe
| Vermont USA
08/09/05
32
melloncollie
| New York USA | SOCOM: melloncollie
ridestowe said: "booo, give us ddr!"
What?! DDR is idiotic without actually using your feet.
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08/09/05
13
digi
| California USA | XBC: diagram | KAI: diagramOSC | SOCOM: soldit
i know i know, sony can release a usb2 hologram interface projector for your feet so you can dance while holding the psp.. GREAT IDEA just kidding.
+
08/09/05
5
sirtez
| Illinois USA
Actually I'd prefer a new Frequency/Amplitude type game.
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08/09/05
3
jonathantl
| Florida USA
what the hell is this game?
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08/09/05
3
jonathantl
| Florida USA
08/09/05
6
hausome
| California USA | XBC: hausome | KAI: hausome
that sounds like so much fun, i bet multiplayer is 10x's more fun. i like these type of party games, it gets everyone involved and ur not just enjoying the game by yourself feeling like an outcast :P or it could be the other way around, but hey, share the love :D
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08/09/05
18
espy
| California USA
TechRep: A lot of Japanese games include English to make them seem more hip or worldly (it's not to make it import friendly). Often times games with strong Japanese cultural ties (like this, or Tenchu) will only have text in Japanese. That being said, it's still totally playable. There's no story mode or anything and the options are pretty easy to figure out.
sirtez: Amplitude and Frequency have a minor cult following in the US, but they don't sell terribly well. But who knows, they might release one.
jonathant: It's a game where you hit a drum and it's rim to a song's beat or rhthym by way of graphical prompts on screen.
hausome: It's much better on PS2 with two tatakon drums. =)
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08/09/05
3
jonathantl
| Florida USA
looks interesting, I understand the headphone thing now
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08/09/05
11
wsun
| New Jersey USA
That sounds mad fun.
When i visited my relatives in taiwan, their communiy was provided with a free arcade room, and they had that game.
It's addicting to say the least
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08/09/05
18
espy
| California USA
Yeah it is. There's a PS2 version with a small plastic drum called a tatakon, which is pretty fun too. PSP version doesn't have one but it's still a good game.
+
08/10/05
akwai
| Australia
Will this be porting this game to an english version?
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