To those unfamiliar with the series, it plays very similarly to almost every other rhythm game out there. Beats scroll across the screen in time (for the most part) with the music, requiring the player to hit the correct part of the drum noted by the colour of the beat. At the end of the song a percentage is displayed to show the number of beats hit compared to the total beats in the song. If the minimum percentage has been achieved the player is rewarded with a silver medal and if the coveted one hundred percent accuracy has been achieved then a gold medal is awarded. Players can choose to either use a button configuration to hit the drums or use the supplied drum-stick shaped styli to beat away on the touch screen, which houses an image of a drum. The core game-play of Taiko no Tatsujin is so straightforward that all one needs to do is jump straight to the song select screen and get drumming.

From just the initial movement through the menus, it is clear that Taiko no Tatsujin is going to be full of fun. The assigned Taiko mascot bubbles with enthusiasm as the start button is pressed, and then proceeds to jump around excitably as menu choices are made. The colour scheme is suitably bright and it is clear that this is a game designed for short sharp bursts of amusement.

Whilst the notes are speeding across the screen, it should also be noted that there are animations, both of the Taiko above the beat line and of random characters related to the song being played below. Quite how the developers expected people to look at these whilst playing the harder difficulties is a mystery, but it is nice to have the screen filled with action, rather than just seeing the notes as in some rhythm games.

The selection of songs is very diverse and thus allows it to get away with the simple game mechanics on pure variety alone. Alongside your rhythm game mainstays such as ever so catchy J-Pop and famous Anime themes, Taiko no Tatsujin also includes classical, ethnic-fusion and video game music to drum along to. There is a world of difference between playing a slow paced ethnic-fusion track and one of the up-tempo classical songs, both in pace and in drum placement, giving the game greater replay value than if it had stuck to a more linear selection of songs.

The real gem in the song selection can be found in the Video Game Theme section. If the category ‘Most Recognisable Video Game Theme’ was ever to be included on Family Fortunes then an answer of Super Mario Brothers would surely bring on the whirring buzzer and the accompanying flashing response on the scoreboard. Everything from World 1-1 and 1-2, both musically, and sound effect wise, is included for optimum playing pleasure, and it truly is a joy to play.

Although not bursting with modes, Taiko no Tatsujin has enough to keep most busy for a good few weeks. The gameplay choice consists of either single song play or a Dojo mode, where tasks have to be completed in order to unlock additional songs and gameplay variations. Single play has four different difficulties (three available from the outset) for each song, which can be tackled in any order of preference by the player. Occasionally challenges pop up in your in-game inbox, which require songs to be completed in different speeds or with a certain amount of points, but the lack of a story-type mode - as found in Ouendan or Elite Beat Agents - is a little disappointing.

Multiplayer options are catered for, with up to four players able to square off against each other via link or download play. This introduces special items such as water balloons and bombs, designed to distract those you are competing against, which add an extra competitive edge to proceedings.

As silver or gold medals are achieved, extra costumes are unlocked to dress up the Taiko mascot as the player sees fit. These range from jackets, to sheep or dog costumes, and probably most bizarrely: the ability to have a smaller Taiko sit on their back whilst playing. This is all purely cosmetic, but does definitely add to the cuteness factor.

The game starts to veer away from uncomplicated, well-designed fun once the harder difficulty levels are reached. On Easy and Medium, the drum patterns bear a direct resemblance to the song selected and a good rhythm is beneficial to completing the songs successfully. This is also the case for the easier songs on Hard mode, but once the harder songs are reached, or the player cranks the difficulty up to Oni mode, then the game moves away from being a rhythm-action game and becomes more of a reaction game. The song playing in the background becomes immaterial and it is just a case of responding to the patterns as quickly as possible as they appear on the screen. This spoils an enjoyable experience and limits the replay value of the game quite significantly.

Taiko no Tatsujin is a delight to play for the large majority of its game-time and should be commended as such. Unfortunately, the off-time beat-age on the harder difficulty levels and the lack of a story mode greatly reduce the long term value of the game. If you enjoyed Ouendan then this title is definitely worth a look; just don’t expect the fully rounded experience offered by Nintendo’s own rhythm-action game.