The upcoming Nintendo Switch version of Taiko Drum Master will include Kirby and Splatoon avatars as Nintendo-friendly exclusives. Better known as Performance Characters, these avatars have performance-altering skills, as with the Splatoon Squid’s ability to help you clear songs easier. The Kirby avatar will aid with consistent combos and accuracy. The full game will also have a playable Kirby song, “Kirby Medley” from Kirby’s Return to Dream Land, along with a Splatoon 2 meledy.
Coinciding with this Nintendo Performance Character news, more details on Taiko Drum Master: Nintendo Switch Version! were confirmed. Multiple modes will be included besides pure rhythm music action, including the baseball-like “Home Run Batter”, and the pattern-matching “Everyone Bon Odori” mode. 33 additional songs were also revealed, adding to the 21 previously announced tunes.
- Pop “Mita koto mo nai Keshiki” by Au Santarou Soccer Ouen CM Song
- Pop “Sugar Song to Bitter Step”
- Pop “Memeshikute” by Golden Bomber
- Pop “Train-Train”
- Pop “One Night Carnival”
- Pop “Silent Jealousy”
- Anime “Lupinranger vs. Patranger”
- Anime “Pop Team Epic” from the opening theme of the TV anime Pop Theme Epic
- Anime “Yo-Kai Taisou Dai’ichi” from Yo-kai Watch
- Anime “We Are” from One Piece
- Anime “Odoru Ponpokorin” from Chibi Maruko-chan
- Anime “Sanpo” from My Neighbor Totoro
- Anime “Kimi ni 100 Percent” from Crayon Shin-chan
- Anime “Anpanman no March”
- Vocaloid “Juumensou Colorful Ver.” by YM
- Vocaloid “Onigiri ha Doko Kashira” by Yomii
- Variety “Jounetsu Tairiku”
- Variety “Bad Apple!! feat. Nomico” by Touhou Project Arrange Alstroemeria Records
- Variety “Iro ha Nio he Dochiri Nuru wo” by Touhou Project Arrange Ryuuhei Satellite
- Variety “ABC no Uta”
- Variety “Omae Butamen” by Oyatsu Company & The Puh
- Classic “Kumabachi no Hikou” by Rimsky-Korsakov
- Classic “Toruko Koushinkyoku” by Beethoven
- Game Music “Kirby Medley” from Kirby’s Return to Dream Land
- Game Music “Pac Toy-Box” from Pac-Man Championship Edition 2
- Game Music “Anzu no Uta” from The Idolmaster: Cinderella Girls
Finally, to facilitate the Taiko Drum Master experience on Switch, a special drum controller will launch around the game courtesy of Hori. Connecting through USB, the Switch can support two drums at once for two players, and they can be weighted down through two 500 ml water bottles (the new Hori controller already weighs 860 grams on its own). The accessory will retail for 6,980 yen, and both the new Taiko Drum Master and the Hori drum will release in Japan on July 19th.
