Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum ‘n’ Fun! isn’t all about the main rhythm game mode – in fact, one of the main advertised modes is the Party Game mode, which consists of fun little distractions that remind me very much of Rhythm Heaven mini games.
The party games mode actually dates back to the PS2 days of Taiko no Tatsujin games, but the Nintendo Switch is perfect for this mode, considering that these games only need one button, and thus are perfect for split Joy-Con play.
There are 20 different types of games total, and each of them features a harder variation. These games are split into three types – versus games, team games, and co-op. Personally, I found the versus games to be very fun in both local multiplayer and solo, while team games just aren’t as fun with a partner, and that co-op games are the perfect solo games.
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— Some numbers guy (@s07195) August 24, 2018
When I say that the party games play like Rhythm Heaven, I mean that rather than having Taiko no Tatsujin characters play through an assortment of standard minigames, every party game is instead based on rhythm. In one game, we were asked to follow certain patterns in order to order the right pieces of sushi, while in the above party game, you need to follow the tune’s beats and fire off the amount of fireworks accordingly.
On one hand, this means it’s easy for everyone to get into the groove and enjoy the party games, but one downside I found was that if every player is good enough, everyone can get full points anyways, meaning that the whole versus element is rendered moot.
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— Some numbers guy (@s07195) August 24, 2018
Meanwhile, you have Team games, where players compete in teams of two against each other. These include races up to the top of a cake tower, and games where you need to alternate between each player taking turns to mash mochi paste. This obviously creates a small bit of chaos when one of the players invariably messes up, and is actually really fun once you get the timing down as well.
Finally, you have co-op games, where players work together to achieve a certain score. This takes the form of games such as jump-rope, or a bon odori dance along to the beat of the song. I find it’s a pretty good palate cleanser after several rounds of versus and team games, but the games are a bit boring without any competitiveness to them. The bon odori dance in particular reminds me of ‘Micro-Row’ from Rhythm Heaven Fever.
Overall, in my opinion the party games are nowhere near being The Golden Saucer of Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum ‘n’ Fun!. You’ll still be mainly playing the main rhythm game, and maybe playing a few of these on the side when your friends are up for it. While fun on the spur, it’s easy to tire of them as they all rely on rhythm, meaning that in time it all blends together despite the varying scenarios. With all this in mind, I’ll end by reminding that this mode only exists in Drum ‘n’ Fun! on Nintendo Switch, and not Drum Session! on PlayStation 4.
