At a recent hands-on session with Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum ‘n’ Fun on Switch, we were all given the rather excellent and sturdy drum controller along with a pair of bachi sticks to beat away to the rhythm. While that would be the optimal way to play the cult arcade rhythm game, which will see its first official release in Europe and first U.S. release under its original Japanese title, I’ve also enjoyed trying it out using motion controls, buttons, and even the touchscreen. This is a rhythm game you can genuinely play however you like.
It’s an important point. Lately, the Switch’s ethos of letting you play anywhere in a variety of configurations has been struggling, most notably when it comes to Nintendo’s own first-party or published releases, from Super Mario Party only being playable with split Joy-Cons to The World Ends With You: Final Remix players being restricted to using the touchscreen in handheld mode or the awkward pointer controls when docked.
Admittedly, the Switch’s limitations have been an issue since launch. Look no further than the release of rhythm game Voez, a port of a mobile game, which could only be played on the touchscreen. While a patch has since included an option to play using the buttons in docked mode, it’s clearly an afterthought. The keyboard-like gameplay of coordinating your fingers with the falling notes becomes nothing more than literally just pressing any button for any note.
Multiple Ways to Bang the Drums
Taiko’s controls are arguably simpler, only requiring you to hit the drum’s surface or its rim, represented on the screen by the red “Don” and blue “Ka” respectively. They’re also split into left and right sides, as you’ll sometimes need to bang on both sides of the drum or perform a drumroll. But that’s ultimately just four buttons you’ll need, tops.
So if you’re not physically banging away on the rather pricey official drum controllers (depending on where you shop, they could end up being more expensive than the game itself) or using the Joy-Con’s motion controls, which has you hitting an imaginary drum, playing Taiko as if it was a button-based rhythm game like the Persona Dancing spin-offs or the excellent Hatsune Miku Project DIVA series is completely feasible. This also works perfectly well with just a single Joy-Con.
Meanwhile, in handheld mode, you have the option to either play with buttons or just the touchscreen, using your fingers as bachi sticks to hit the touch-drum at the bottom of the screen, tapping outside of it to simulate the ‘Ka’ notes. Given that Taiko games have been released on the DS and 3DS in Japan before, this way of playing the game has already been proven to work.
But my takeaway is that none of these configurations feel like a compromise. The real fun might lie in being able to recreate the wackiness of the proper Japanese arcade experience, but you’re neither being forced to pony up for expensive peripherals nor are you getting an inferior experience as a result.
And this is from Bandai Namco, which makes you wonder how a third-party publisher is managing to effortlessly embrace the Switch’s message, something even Nintendo manages to undermine with its most high-profile releases.
First-Party Exclusionary — Nintendo Doesn’t Always Get Us
Sometimes I can appreciate that there are reasons behind certain decisions. For instance, in Super Mario Party, the need for motion controls or to hold the Joy-Cons vertically or horizontally depending on the mini-game levels the playing field for everyone using split Joy-Cons. However, for my friend, it means not being able to use his two Pro controllers and splurging on another pair of Joy-Cons just so his wife and kids can all play together.
Motion controls have also been a divisive point. While I’ve always enjoyed using them, it’s a whole other problem when they’re implemented in a stubborn and restrictive way, such as how some of Super Mario Odyssey‘s optimal maneuvers can only be triggered by motion, which leaves handheld mode players at a disadvantage.
This has been a particular point of contention in the upcoming game Pokémon: Let’s Go, where motion controls are compulsory for catching Pokémon and cannot be turned off, meaning that simply holding the Switch for portable play isn’t feasible. In a statement to IGN, The Pokémon Company has since clarified that “the simulated throwing motion associated with the Joy-Con controllers or Poké Ball Plus are intended to enhance the gameplay experience, but are not required.”
This doesn’t ring very true when the alternative is to place your Switch on a flat surface and not move the device at all just so you can press a button to throw a Pokéball. This is, after all, a game inspired by Pokémon Go, where you can catch Pokémon by just flicking the touchscreen on your phone. So it’s mind-boggling that a simple solution isn’t available for players who, for whatever reason, are unable to use motion controls.
Yes, The Pokémon Company wants to simulate the feeling of catching Pokémon for real, and I’m excited about doing that myself. But to develop the game with the mindset that the ideal way to play is essentially the only way to play takes the belief that Nintendo knows what’s best for its players a step too far. As a game that’s intended to capture a wider audience coming in from Pokémon Go, Pokémon: Let’s Go ironically risks excluding certain players.
Do Better, Nintendo. Learn From ‘Taiko no Tatsujin.’
Compared to recent first-party Switch releases then, Taiko no Tatsujin has been illuminating. Sure, I’m going to make sure I have one of those drum controllers to play with, but the days of Rock Band and Guitar Hero, when a music game could only be played with an expensive plastic instrument in tow, are long over. Taiko no Tatsujin gives players plenty of satisfactory ways to play. If a niche drumming game is able to give its players these options, then surely Nintendo can afford to work harder on its own games to come up with creative configurations that don’t leave others behind.
And if you want to see just how well the different control methods work on Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum ‘n’ Fun, there’s even a free demo you can download on the Switch eShop right now.
