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Saturday, September 29, 2012

Song of the Week! 29 September 2012


Hello again! The featured song this time has a Ura mode, but it's been seen before on a song series and taken out because we felt that it did not match the series anymore. Know which song it is?

There's another one too, so that makes two songs this week.

Rumble Ranbu (らんぶる乱舞)
Version
Taiko 12 to 14, Taiko PSP DX, Taiko Wii 2x5 (222)x7 (333) x8 (481)x8 (625)
Taiko 0, Taiko Wii U 2, Taiko +x4 (222)x7 (333) x8 (481)x8 (625)
Taiko 12 to 14, Taiko 0, Taiko PSP DX, Taiko Wii 2, Taiko Wii U 2, Taiko +, CD Full Combo
160
none
 sweep2


Rumble Ranbu was composed by Ayako Sasou (佐宗綾子, also known as Sampling Masters AYA), known for being the composer of many Ridge Racer songs. It was released first on Taiko no Tatsujin 12 as a timed unlockable song without its accompanying Ura, which would be introduced soon after that.

The music is traditional Japanese with lots of shouting sounds everywhere. AYA designed this song imagining a dance that rumbles the earth. The notechart is filled with 1/16 clusters, but those are not what make Rumble Ranbu difficult to perfect; it's the 1/24 clusters at the beginning and end of the chart that are the combobreakers.

It was one of the songs used in the national Taiko no Tatsujin tournament, in the preliminary round. This song was used in the first boss battle of Taiko PSP DX's storyline, against the Guts Cannon.

Rumble Ranbu (らんぶる乱舞)
Version
Taiko 12.5 to 14


x9 (765)
Taiko 0 onwards


x8 (765)
All consolex7 (324,280,222)x7 (473,397,333) x8 (723,591,481)x8 (765)
Taiko 12.5 to 14, Taiko 0, Taiko PSP DX, Taiko Wii 2
160
none
 exswp2


Rumble Ranbu received a Ura difficulty on Taiko 12.5 and outside of the Kikyoku series and full version songs, is one of the easiest Ura songs to pass (hence the difficulty reduction going into Taiko 0). It does have a few tricky bits, especially with the 1/24 notes, but it's nothing too difficult if you are already accustomed to Oni 9*.

Now for something that is not a repeat!

Inu no Omawarisan (いぬのおまわりさん)
Version
Taiko PS2 3x1 (98)x1 (137)x4 (220)x8 (328)
Taiko 6 x1 (98)x1 (137)x2 (220)x8 (328)
Taiko 7x1 (98)x1 (137) x2 (220)x7 (328)
Taiko 8, 9x1 (82)x1 (104) x4 (220)x7 (328)
Taiko 10-14x1 (82)x1 (104) x4 (220)x6 (328)
Taiko DS1x1 (80)x1 (97) x3 (211)x6 (328)
Taiko 0x1 (82)x2 (104) x4 (220)x6 (328)
Taiko 0.5x1 (82)x2 (104) x4 (220)x7 (328)
Taiko PS2 3 (2P)
x4 (220/220) (video)
Taiko 6 to 14, Taiko 0, Taiko PS2 3, Taiko DS1
112
none
 inu



Inu no Omawarisan (lit. The Policeman Dog) had humble beginnings in a vinyl recording, given out together with the October 1960 issue of Child Book (チャイルドブック) which as its name implies, is a monthly magazine for kids and features stories and sometimes music to go with it as well. The story in which Inu no Omawarisan acts as supplementary music for involves a kid who plays around when he gets lost, and this was arranged by Nakao Sho (中尾 彰), a children's book illustrator. The original lyrics were arranged by Sato Yoshimi (さとうよしみ) and the song composed by Oonaka Megumi (大中恩). The vocalist? Well, it has been sung by so many different people it's really difficult to keep track!

The song was made popular by the kids TV show Uta no Ehon by NHK, on October 1961 (while Omocha no Chachacha came into the show in 1962). It then became a staple song for another kids show, Okaasan to Issho (おかあさんといっしょ, lit 'Together with Mom'). The typical stage play enacted by this song involves a anthropomorphic dog dressed as a policeman helping a little kitten find his way home.

The chart in Taiko no Tatsujin may seem like it has not changed as the notecounts remain fairly constant throughout its tenure, but there is a lot of change going on inside the 328 notes of the Oni difficulty. If you notice, the video shows the song from its debut game, Taiko PS2 Sandaime. The first half is at double speed and the second is slowed down, and there is a 5-note cluster which ends in a large Don note, which is not standard practice when making note patterns. This large note was promptly turned into a small one and the double speed scroll remains for the arcade version. As for the DS? Here's the DS1 chart which is the same as its counterparts but with the double scrolling speed removed (note: the dancers will always be Wada-Inu while playing this song). Inu no Omawarisan maintains its position in the arcade's now-static Children/Folk genre, and has not seen a console release since DS1.