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And now the bit that pains me, the real flaw with the game and why it will eventually get relegated to curiosity status rather than stepping up to the lofty heights occupied by Gitaroo Man or Rez, or even the somewhat lower plateau of Space Channel 5, and that's the taiko controller itself. It just doesn't work anywhere near as well as it should, frequently missing beats unless it's hit at just the right spot. Many are the times I've heard the drumstick go bonk as it hits the drum in time to the music, only to see the note on the scrolling bar sail on by, breaking a perfect chain and my internal rhythm. A fair amount of experimentation has been done, putting the Taiko in different places, adjusting the way I hit it, checking the calibration in the options menu, and even getting a high score on a song that had been giving me trouble when I switched out the drum for a standard PS2 controller, blowing through it with barely a missed beat. I even did a few rounds of Donkey Konga to see if maybe my hands didn't know how to tap out a beat any more, but no joy. The culprit is the taiko drum.
Sadly, this hurts the game pretty badly. The interface between the player and the game should be as seamless as possible, and a controller that can't be bothered to do what you tell it, even if it's only two to three times a level, is just unacceptable. I love the good selection of classic and game music, I get a kick out of the cute character graphics partying away under the scrolling rhythm bar, and all the elements of a round of fun music gaming are there except that one little issue with the control. Unfortunately for the game, the taiko controller is a big part of what makes it fun and though it's possible to play the game with a standard PS2 controller it takes away a huge part of the charm. In the end Taiko Drum Master just misses the mark by having the potential to deliver a great night of music gaming while lacking the tools to actually deliver it.
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