The European launch of Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum ‘N’ Fun! on Nintendo Switch will include a physical version and Hori’s special drum controller in the region, Bandai Namco confirms. Neither the physical release nor the drum seem to be coming to North America, where they will remain digital-only. Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum Session! on PS4 will be digital-only in both North America and Europe.
All western versions of each game will share the same track list as their Japanese counterparts. The Drum ‘N’ Fun! track list includes many songs you may know from anime, Nintendo games, and other classic ditties. Pokemon Sun & Moon, Dragon Ball Z, and Evangelion represent some of the anime tracks (in Japanese lyrics), while Nintendo’s Splatoon 2, Super Mario Odyssey, and Kirby songs are retained in the gaming section.
Meanwhile on PS4, Drum Session! has the following tunes, largely separate from the Switch selection. Disney’s animated movies Frozen, Zootopia, and Moana have tracks representing, as do Hello Kitty, Tales of Bersaria, and YouTube phenom Piko Taro among others unique to this version.
Primarily a Japanese arcade phenomenon, it’s been 14 years since the last Taiko no Tatsujin launched in the west, when the PS2 got its own entry (and drum controller) back in 2004. If you’re itching for some early Taiko action, an English-language patch is now live via the Japanese release on both platforms. Both of 2018’s Taiko no Tatsujin games launch on Switch and PS4 in the west on November 2nd.
