More Fun Than You Can Shake A Stick At

BrokenPipe writes "When I was in Japan last summer I bought a PlayStation 2 in anticipation of a game that was just released a couple of weeks ago. It is only available in Japan and it will probably never be released in the US. It is called "Taiko no Tatsujin". The game has been in the arcades in Tokyo for a while but it has just been released for the PlayStation 2. Apparently it is the number 3 game in Japan right now and many places are sold out. Luckily, mine arrived this past Monday. So what is the hype all about? Well, the game is based on Japanese traditional drums which are called 'taiko' drums. Basically, you need to drum along with a song, hitting the drum at just the right moment. Most of the songs are either Japanese pop songs (J-Pop) or more traditional Japanese songs. It is a great game for all ages. The official website is here." For more information, here are several more sites to puzzle over: one, two, three, four, five.

Comments

I've seen this...

[GoofyBoy]

Its like DDR for you finger tips.

Re:I've seen this...

[wantedman]

http://shop2.outpost.com/{Pc3axKE23F17vjkzJn1zWbux q3YZYsqSPQU4am1zuBzjTu6LR6Xe|-8600010891477737814/ 168694306/6/7001/7001/7002/7002/7001/-1|6127421640 616020492/168694307/6/7001/7001/7002/7002/7001/-1| 1036901060642}/product/3182950/

heh, nope, THIS is like Dance Dance Revolution for your fingers :-D

Re:I've seen this...

[G-funk]

What, typing in that url?

A very simliar game

[Monkelectric]

Came out in the US a year or so ago called Frequency.

I feel better

[CatWrangler]

Somebody has less of a life than me.

you never know

[mad_cow]

Innovative and interesting games not making it out of Japan for one reason or another has plagued the console market for a long time. Often, it does boil down to interested consumers having to order in the import to play on their foreign or modded (the best legitimate use of mod chips) machines, but Fresh Games (heavy flash site) hopes to change things. An excerpt from their site:

The Fresh Games label was created because there is a wealth of incredible games that come out in Japan and, for whatever reason, are not sold in the US and Europe. A lot of people are importing these games, but we wanted hardcore gamers everywhere to be able to buy these games at their local store without having to deal with mod-chips and exorbitant costs. On the surface these games are very "Quirky" or "Odd" but when you get beneath the surface, you realize that the game-play is outstanding, the depth these games have to offer is incredible, and the polish and attention to detail that is put in to them is obvious.

Video Games are an art form in Japan and we wanted that represented here in it's purest form. Not another character based sequel, not another movie license, not another "extreme sports" game. That's what we call the corporate formula. We wanted to break some rules, and break some of the barriers that exist in this industry in regards to "What type of games do people really want to play?". Many of the major magazines wrote that games like Mad Maestro and Mister Mosquito were brilliant games, and it was a shame that these games would never see the light of the day outside of Japan, where they are both top 10 selling titles. We agreed that they are brilliant and decided to take a chance by releasing them here.

Not that this means that we'll see Taiko no Tatsujin brought over, but you never know.

Re:you never know

[jafuser]

There's a game out right now for the GameCube called called "Animal Crossing", which I assume must be a market-test for it's kind in America.

It's a very odd sort of game, which claims to be a "communication oriented" game. It's not really comparable to anything else I've seen before. It's sort of an RPG/Sim hybrid, with emphasis on making friends, and staying in touch such as chatting with your neighbors, writing to electronic friends, trading virtual items with your RL friends, etc...

It's definitely a concept that would probably never have seen the light of day if it weren't for the novel Japanese way of thinking. I hope the test market succeeds. It's quite addictive, and I hope to see it catch on, and perhaps see more games like it =)

I liked it better...

[Hirofyre]

I liked it better the first time I played it, when it was called "Simon".

Re:VARY interesting

[The Original Yama]

This is a great way for geeks that are too fat for Dance Dance Revolution to get some exercise. All without having to get off the couch, too.

This Is News?

[MBCook]

OK, I've never said something like this about slashdot before, and I realize it's a slow newsday, but what's THIS doing here? If this game was unique, new, origional, etc. I could understand. But from the description, it sounds far from it. Let's review some possibly similar games:

• DDR 1/2/3/Disney/Whatever
• Frequency
• PaRappa The Rappa (1 and 2)
• UmJamma Lammy
• Am I leaving some out? Almost certainly

This game isn't origional. This isn't a review of the game (that I could understand). This isn't much more than an ad, IMHO. Keep paying attention tomarrow for new headlines including:

• I Gave My Dog A Bath
• New "Army Men" Game Released (this will now appear once a week, to coincide with releases)
• TV Networks: We're On TV
• New Study: Studies Study Stuff Studiously

--MBCook (going anon because I'm a karma whore today)

Rez...

[BitwizeGHC]

If you haven't played it yet, you must go out ands get your hands on a copy of Rez... easily the most innovative, mind-blowing game to come along in at least a decade. It was released in the United States, to a small, select but appreciative audience. Larger electronics stores (e.g., Best Buy, Fry's) will likely carry it.

It is a shooting game where your actions add to the beat of the techno music that's playing and to the surreal on-screen display. Learn to play in harmony with the game, and you will be rewarded with amazing sights and sounds.

I bought the game a couple of months ago, and it still continues to blow my mind.

these games are a stoner's paradise

[PissedOffGuy]

has anybody else noticed that the people who LOVE rez/frequency etc. are all potheads? and everybody else just sits and wonders "what the hell do they see in that game"?

I've Played It...

[spoonboy42]

When I was in Kyoto recently, I had a chance to try the arcade version of this game out. It was certainly entertaining and, as other posters pointed out, follows the DDR formula of hitting the right pads in time with the music. While this may seem a bit formulaic, it actually is rather fun once you get into it.

It should be noted that Japanese arcades are currently graced with several other games in this same vein, including Guitar Freaks (which is nothing like playing actual guitar, as it is button and switch based), another drum game featuring a western-style drumset, and my personal favorite, a game which uses several keypads and a mock-up vinyl to "simulate" DJing. Once again, this has little to do with actual DJing (just as guitar freaks has nothing to do with playing the guitar, and DDR doesn't very much resemble dancing). Just the same, one can't help but love simple music-based games. They're a refreshing alternative to the standard arcade fare, and the highly social aspects of competition have the potential to bring in crowds of players and spectators, the likes of which the United States hasn't seen since the height of the Pacman era.

Re:I've Played It...

[MuteflY]

I'll agree that not all DDR players look like they're dancing (me for instance) but have a look at some of the videos here and you'll see that any decent freestyler looks very much like they're dancing, mainly because they are.

Next Year's Most Popular Game

[DasBub]

Following in the grand tradition of "Taiko no Tatsujin" Japanese game developers are ready to flood the market with serious tests of hardware capability and user ingenuity.

The predicted hit of the gaming year is "Peanut Butter Toast". Gamers must attempt to evenly apply a series of different peanut butters onto a diverse selection of bread products. The genius of the game is apparently in the way that peanut butter boundaries are compared with the virtual toast layout. Gamers will lose points for having large wells of peanutty goodness as well as only slightly-browned toast edges.

Developers are hard at work on a sequel said to involve drinking a glass of juice. Early reports state that a GeForce 5 will be the minimum required video adapter.

Clicky clicky...

[ahaning]

Making links is not hard.

<href="http://url.goes.here/">This will become a link.</a>

I'm being sucked back into console gaming too.

[RyanFenton]

First, Suikoden III - a console-style CRPG featuring over 108 characters who can join your team... but each of them adds in ways you don't expect. It's not some Pokemon-flavored RPG series though - each one centers on how war destroys the lives of those involved, turns honest people into monsters, and brother against brother. The 108 characters in each game (mostly different who they are each game) are based on an old chinese story of 108 stars of destiny - so much of the lore and characters have a bit of a less arbitrary feel about them than most console RPG's. A great game to come back to over weeks, accomplishing little things at a time.

Then, in a little over a week, there will be Metroid Prime. The hype has been so negative for so long... and now all the positive hype - should be interesting. Perhaps I'll throw the old NES emulation disk into the dreamcast and have a go at the first game some night next week

No - it's not an insightful thing to say - I'll forget the +1 bonus on this one - but if the editors can proclaim their favorite recent games that drew them to console gaming recently, I figure I can at least let a few other people know what I've really enjoyed recently. :^)

Ryan Fenton

Shit

[TheOnlyCoolTim]

I thought when I turned off ANIME I wouldn't have to see any stories about stupid Japanese pop culture. Fuck me.

Tim

Re:thats cool

[Skidge]

I was just reading about the Rez Trance Vibrator. Chicks dig it.

Now here's an *interesting* japanese game

[RichardX]

Check this out.. it's called Boong-ga Boong-ga, and it must be the first game to come with a finger-and-arse controller. When's the home version coming out?

Here's some shots and info... ... a wired article.. and a Register article

Re:Improves Real Instrument Skills?

[AsnFkr]

im a drummer (as well as a guitarist and bassist) and ive played one of those drumming games that is set up as a "real kit" - and no...it does not help you at all. If you play technically correct along with the game, you loose. Its just like DDR, you hit each pad as the arrow lights up, and for the most part it doesn't correspond to the actual note being played at all. In my opinion it would prbably confuse a persons ability to play an instument more than anything.

Bet you aren't enjoying Rez as much as this chick

[bogie]

http://www.gamegirladvance.com/archives/2002/10/26 /sex_in_games_rezvibrator.html

Yet Another Rhythm Game?

[Rayonic]

And it's not like drums haven't been done before, even.

Don't get me wrong, I like rhythm games (along with every other genre of video game), but this is not groundbreaking in any sense of the word.

Re:Can we talk about something important ?

[Erik Hollensbe]

Well, while I agree with you the importance of those matters, you should probably think about this:

- In your preferences page, you can turn the preference to see 'games' articles off. That's why articles have different categories... For instance, I don't see articles written by Jon Katz. :)

- Those items are important, but slashdot is much more than just a techie's political activist haven. In fact, since chips and bits existed, it's been all about what CmdrTaco thinks is 'cool'. The concept of user-submitted articles makes it so that we DON'T get 100% anime and games and palm pilot crap.

- I'm going to assume that you don't give microsoft any money because you don't find their products useful or interesting. Why, exactly, does slashdot have to come under some double-standard when it comes to voting with your dollar? Remember guys, slashdot makes money off of ad impressions and views. If you don't like the site enough to take the time to write a 30 line diatribe about how you think the site should be run differently, well, get your own site and publish your own stuff, or alternately, don't visit the site. It's your choice.

(This is coming from a person who's written CmdrTaco email asking him to limit the selection of stuff several times - I just gave up and realized it's not my place to say)