‘Taiko No Tatsujin’ Rhythm Game Series Available On PS4 and Switch Today

By Brittany Vincent

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Bandai Namco’s colorful and quirky rhythm game series “T aiko no Tatsujin ” returns to Western gamers for the first time in 14 years today.

The franchise, known to Western fans as “Taiko: Drum Master,” has been revived for two games: “Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum ‘n’ Fun!” for Nintendo Switch and “Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum Session!” for PlayStation 4. This time around, the games will not adopt the “Taiko: Drum Master” moniker, which it originally used when it debuted in 2004 on PlayStation 2.

For Switch owners, “Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum ‘n’ Fun!” will include a selection of songs from video games and anime series, such as “Dragon Ball Z,” “Pop Team Epic,,” and “Super Mario Odyssey.” The Switch version also includes exclusive characters like Kirby and a Squid Kid from “Splatoon” as well as 20 mini-games that allow up to 4 players. Those who opt for the PlayStation 4 title “Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum Session!” will get online play and ranked mode, as well as a Guest Session option, where players can drum alongside vocaloid character Hatsune Miku and Sanrio’s Hello Kitty.

Both PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch titles are available now as digital downloads worldwide, though unfortunately the drum peripheral set included with the UK and Japanese versions of the games will not be released in a bundle the same way the original PlayStation 2 “Taiko: Drum Master” was. Instead, the Switch version will allow for Joy-Con “drumming” motion controls to make up for the lack of peripherals available.