The Switch is reviving a golden age of Japanese games
Typical, isn't it? You wait an age for some sugar-soaked drum-based rhythm action games to come to the Switch, and then two land on the very same day. Well, actually I couldn't really wait - I've had Bandai Namco's Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum n' Fun on import since it came out in Japan a few months back, complete with the drum kit that brings this arcade classic alive, while I've spent the past week with Gal Metal, the extreeeeeme rhythm action title that's been ushered into existence by Tak Fuji, star of E3 2010.
They're fascinating, flawed games, both. First up there's Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum n' Fun, which is a straightforward port of a modern classic that's seen over two dozen entries in the arcade since its debut at the turn of the century, and the very first game in the series to make it eastward. Not that it needs to do much by way of explanation; there's a drum and you hit it energetically in time to a series of tunes in one of the most straightforward - and one of the more lively - rhythm action games around.
It's something you'll be familiar with if you've ever visited a Japanese arcade; near the entrance of any establishment worth its salt you'll find a well-loved Taiko no Tatsujin machine, the drumheads visibly thinned by years of loving abuse. There's nothing really sophisticated about this particular game - it's just straight-up noisy, colourful fun, the kind of thing that's absolutely perfect for people stumbling by.
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