I've had an 11-year obsession with fake plastic drums, dating back to Rock Band in 2007. But I can trace the beginning of my love affair with rhythm-music games to the original Guitar Hero, and later to the delightfully weird Elite Beat Agents for Nintendo DS. So it was easy to get excited about Taiko Drum Master for the Switch, especially when seeing its newly revealed drum controller.
Because drums. That's the only reason I need. If you need another reason, publisher Bandai Namco has shown via Nintendo Life that it sports a dual-bottle drink holder.
The Switch version of Taiko Drum Master is a rhythm/party/music mashup that features 50+ songs running the gamut between Yo-kai Watch, Dragonball Z, Super Mario Odyssey and even Beethoven. Players can rock out as characters like Squid from Splatoon 2 or Kirby, and each brings different performance skills to the table.
While Joy-Cons can be used to simulate the drumsticks and emulate the arcade action, the Taiko Drum Controller (which seems similar to the PS4 version) will grant you a more immersive, physical experience. And of course hold a couple drinks to chug between sets. It's not remotely as realistic as Rock Band's Expert Mode with the Pro Cymbal expansion, but it's still a ton of silly fun.
As is sometimes the case with quirky games like this, Taiko Drum Master is currently slated for a Japanese release on July 19. No stateside release has been announced. Since games on the Switch aren't region locked, perhaps we can hold out hope for an English language option and import it?
By the way, I'll be waiting for video of Erik Kain fighting his way through Dark Souls Remastered using nothing but this drum controller.
