| Taiko: Drum Master | |
| Developer: | Namco |
| Series: | Taiko no Tatsujin |
| Released: | PlayStation 2 |
| Genre: | Rhythm |
| Modes: | Single-player, multiplayer |
| Platforms: | PlayStation 2 |
Taiko: Drum Master, also known as Taiko no Tatsujin: Taiko Drum Master (太鼓の達人 TAIKO DRUM MASTER) in Japan, is a rhythm game developed and published by Namco for the Sony PlayStation 2 as part of the popular Japanese video game franchise Taiko no Tatsujin. It was released in North America in 2004, and Japan in 2005.
The game was notable for being the only Taiko no Tatsujin title to release in North America, until the releases of and Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum Session! in 2018. The songs featured in Taiko: Drum Master were all in English and mostly taken from various Western artists, even in the Japanese release.
Notes that move horizontally along a timeline show what to hit and when; a red note indicates hitting the center of the drum, while a blue note indicates hitting the rim. A drum simulating the taiko is played in time with music.
Successful play builds up a "spirit gauge", which indicates how many notes have been hit. If the meter is past a certain point by the end of the song, the song is passed.
In the Japanese version, subtitles under the symbols give the pronunciation of the sounds (e.g. "do don do don") using a traditional system called kuchi shoga (口唱歌).
Despite the game's appearance, players may find the game challenging to master. Players need to accomplish at least a 65% clearance of a song, which is determined by the spirit gauge, to pass, and songs can become challenging on harder difficulties as players progress.
The PlayStation 2 version of Taiko: Drum Master received "generally favorable reviews" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.