Over the last few years the Taiko No Tatsujin franchise has seen a huge boom in releases in the west after being dormant for quite some time outside of arcade machines. Now we've gotten the third Taiko title exclusively for Switch in the form of Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythm Festival which felt like it has been truly aiming to be a big fill for Taiko fans and newcomers alike. Of course the staying power of any good Taiko title comes down to its iconic gameplay and available soundtrack in addition to new minigames added to the mix in order to really spice things up. So does Rhythm Festival hold up to series standards like those before it?

While most players are simply in it for the good beats, Taiko No Tatsujin: Rhythm Festival follows Don-chan on his journey into the city where he wants to perform and make it big. On his way there he meets Kumo-kyun who is there to lead Don-chan through the city while meeting up with new and familiar faces from the series. This is also where the progression comes into play as participating in most modes rewards points that can be used to level up, get more story and earn more unlockables along the way. Kumo-kyun can transform into a variety of different forms to help Don-chan train and become the best taiko master imaginable. The only downside of the way things unlock is there's a limit before the levels must be obtained which blocks addition progress until it's been completed. This isn't a huge inconvenience, but it can be annoying when just wanting to play songs and having to stop in order to keep gaining along the way.

The biggest draw to and Taiko No Tatsujin is, of course, the addictive play style of drumming. There are two main notes played during songs, a red Do note and a blue Ka note. Depending on the controller setting this either corresponds to specific buttons, waving motion controls in a set way or hitting the drum on the correct side. Like any other rhythm title these notes will flow across the screen to the beat and want to be pressed in time in order to earn the best score possible. Each song has four to five difficulty options which allows people of all skill levels to be able to enjoy each song to its fullest. The song selection ranges from Taiko originals to various Japanese pop music, anime soundtracks, game themes, classical arrangements and even Voicaloid songs featuring the likes of Hatsune Miku and her other friends for one of the most varied licensed lineups from any official rhythm title. Even for those who might not like all the songs offered, there's guaranteed to be a good amount in there for nearly everyone to enjoy.

Simply playing along to songs casually isn't the only thing that Rhythm Festival has to offer, as Don-chan is also able to participate in the Great Drum Toy War. This unique and wild mode has Don-chan building up an army of toys to fight an opponent in order to see who has the strongest army and skills as a taiko drummer. The goal is to drum and fill up the toy gauge by hitting notes, and once it's been filled summons a toy to help push back the opponent trying to do the same. Along the way there are special toy notes that when hit will use a random effect on the opponent based on the toys selected to fight. This could speed up notes, cause distracting fake notes or even block parts of the screen making it hard to play accurately. The back and fourth battle makes for a wild chaotic fight, but easily one of the best side-modes Taiko has ever included especially considering it can also be played locally or online with others. Building up an army mostly consists of playing through the short story mode and purchasing toys from the shop in order to build up an even stronger army. There's tons of strategies and it's a creative way to drum in a whole new way.

As Don-chan accumulates money throughout his drumming skills he can then exchange it for the likes of costumes, toys and even new lines of dialogue to be used in online combat. This can all be changed at any point to make Don-chan look and sound fantastic. When it comes to online, modern Taiko titles have had the great advantage of including online modes that allow people to play together without having to be in the same room, but Rhythm Festival leaves a bit to be desired. It's easy enough to set up a room, but the biggest flaw lines in the fact that players can't set up lobbies exclusively for friends or easily change the song being played. Players are likely to get randoms joining them when trying to lobby up with friends, and having to back out to start a new song feels tedious, making it even more of a shame there's no actual lobby setting where players can take turns picking songs. That said playing online is fun, although it will bug out into an infinite loading screen if both players don't own the same song, which means having to soft reset in order to continue playing instead of just telling players that song cannot be selected.

One of the big changes to this Taiko title is the inclusions of the music pass. This gives players access to a slew of more songs, over 500 in fact, for a subscription fee. Price is subjective depending on the player, but at $3.99 for 30 days and $9.99 for 90 days, it feels like a fair deal. Especially given the subscription, at least at 90 days, doesn't auto renew so players will be able to enjoy it as long as they want and then go about playing other titles until they feel like getting in the Taiko spirit and willing to pay to have the extra songs available again. It also feels a lot more friendly than simply outright buying all the DLC seen in previous titles. It's also worth noting that this Taiko title does still of course have other paid DLC which gives players permanent access to songs, but in both cases of payment all the songs are available to see before purchasing to see if it's worth the cost. It feels like a step in the right direction for long-time fans who know all too well the woes of paying double or often triple the price of the title itself in order to unlock all the music via DLC, so being able to access nearly all the music for a simple subscription that can be purchased any time they feel like playing is more of a dream come true for the wallet.

The art style of Taiko has always been simplistically charming and it almost goes without saying the soundtrack is wildly fantastic and amazing with a fair assortment of both original and licensed songs. That said it's not a perfect soundtrack if just due to the fact that there's a few songs from previous Taiko titles on Switch that are missing, but this isn't a huge surprise considering most if not all of them are licensed songs. The inclusions of the Great Drum Toy War is easily one of the most enjoyable side modes to date that offers a ton of variety and an actually enjoyable alternative to simply just playing the songs outright. It's also a chaotic battle against friends in particular, making for a good time. The only real major flaws in Rhythm Festival is the lack of a proper lobby system for online, as it would be nice to more easily play with friends to begin with. It's unlikely this will get fixed in this particular title, but hopefully future ones take it into consideration.

Closing Comments: 

Taiko is not only an enjoyable rhythm title, but easily one of the best and most well-put together ever created. Rhythm Festival in turn also feels like one of the best to date with a wide variety with tons to play and unlock. It's addictive and easy to get sucked into song after song trying to perfect mastery or just enjoy an absolute favorite. Fans of Taiko will likely be thrilled with this latest entry, and those looking to try out a new rhythm title should consider giving Taiko No Tatsujin: Rhythm Festival a shot because there's nothing else as gratifying as sitting down to play a song to the beat of a drum.