ARCADE WATCH
Keeping an eye on the coin-op gaming scene
Game Taiko No Tatsujin
Manufacturer Bandai Namco
While Bandai Namco’s Taiko No Tatsujin series has made its way from Japan to the west on multiple occasions since it debuted in 2001, it’s never officially done so outside of consumer iterations for console, mobile and PC, where it’s rebranded as Drum Master. Now, however, the company has created an Englishlanguage version of the coin-op for limited testing in the US, paving the way for its appearance on other shores in the future – if indeed the test version sucks up enough coins. The game’s simplicity should help to attract an audience: with just two drums to batter with big sticks, it’s a lot more family-friendly than most rhythm-action fare, although its ‘note’ variation does require striking both the centres of the instruments and their rims. Counting against it, perhaps, is its selection of music, with over 800 tunes on offer: big on anime and J-pop, the lineup could be a harder sell down at your local bowling alley.