Taiko: Drum Master


Taiko: Drum Master, also known as Taiko no Tatsujin: Taiko Drum Master in Japan, is a 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 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

Symbols moving horizontally along a timeline show what to hit and when. Home versions distinguish single and double strikes, unlike the arcade versions of this franchise which register hard and soft strikes. A drum simulating the taiko is played in time with music.
Successful play builds up a life meter. 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 tamashi gauge to pass, and 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" - 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 " - 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

  17. "Dragon Ball Z Theme" - by Shuki Levy
  18. " Theme" - by Bowling for Soup

    Classical

  19. "Beethoven's Symphony No. 5"
  20. "Carmen Prelude"
  21. "Foster's Medley"
  22. "Hungarian Dances No. 5"
  23. "Symphony No. 25 in G Minor"
  24. "William Tell Overture"

    Namco original

Pop

  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

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