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Thursday, September 19, 2013

Namco Taiko Blog (19 September 2013): Want to hear more? Notecharter Interview 2

Followed the first one a month ago? Today we'll cover two more Notechart Ninjas and see how they work!

The first notecharter is Kijikiji (キジキジ), one of the oldest members of the team.

Profile
Joined Taiko Team: 2003 (during Taiko no Tatsujin 5), and is the director for the production of Taiko 12, 12 Zoryoban, 13, Taiko DS2, PSP DX and 3DS.
Number of charts made: 120
Skill level: Clears 8* Oni

Notechart specialty-Handles Oni 8* and other charts around that difficulty level
-Makes tricky charts by alternating don and kat notes
-Patterns made project the feelings of people who love that song

Sample notecharts created
Soul Calibur II (ソウルキャリバーII): Thought long and hard about this one, to create a challenging chart matching the song's powerful rhythm.

Inu no Omawarisan (犬のおまわりさん): An effort to appeal to expert players who love children songs. Feel the true power of the police dog!

Ichirin no Hana (一輪の花): Very mild vocals with instruments powering the whole song, and the chart is focused on stamina.

Riburu to Raburu no Magical Fantasy (リブルとラブルのマジカルファンタジー): Loads of --- clusters creates a samba-like rhythm. The difficulty of the chart was controlled to 8* so it was not an all-out thing, but it turned out well enough.

CAPTAIN NEO: The Darius boss warning BGM was in the middle, so why not use successive balloon notes to recreate it? It was perfect.

Shin Garyoutensei (真・画竜点睛): There were six different notecharts for this one (Oni 1P for 3 paths, and 2P for 3 paths), and six different people worked on this to make a fresh, energetic concept. Kijikiji made the 1P Normal notes chart. Which one do you like?

Zenryaku, Michi no Ueyori (前略、道の上より): Spent a whole night thinking about how to deal with the repeated cries of 'Soiya!' in the song, and settled for repeated clusters. A simple chart with no tricks, and perfect for all-rounded practice.

Takkyu de Dakkyu (卓球de脱臼): Upon listening to this for the first time, Kijikiji immediately concluded that it should have a tricky, forked-path chart. It's difficult to stay in Master notes (the path changes every beat) so a lot of focus is needed (much like in a real game of table tennis).

Naked Glow: Repetitive patterns that keep growing more complex without inherently changing is the highlight of this.

BLUE TOPAZ: One of Kijikiji's favorite charts. The song stanzas are filled with repeating patterns that intoxicate and make you want to play again and again.

POP STAR: The highlight here are the strategically-placed 5-note clusters, especially on the Master route. His favorite part is the cluster in melody A.

MAGICAL SOUND SHOWER: Kijikiji loves this song and considers himself lucky to get the job making this chart. It has a difficult rhythm and quite a hard chart to match.

Bakuchi Dancer (バクチ・ダンサー): A pretty straightforward chart with lots of pattern changes, except for the successions in melody B.

Bokura Tokyo sa Iguda (俺ら東京さ行ぐだ): This is the true essence of Japanese rap! The end of the iconic line 'sooomashou-ka (そーーしましょかっ)' ends with a note, naturally.

Ryoumaden (龍馬伝): Kijikiji requested to be in charge of this one. The Taiko parts in the song were easy enough to make, and the vocal section was filled with long drumrolls and balloon notes.

And then a long list of other charts he's made:

Tamashii Revolution (タマシイレボリューション)
Katamari On The Wings (塊オンザウィングス)
Dramatic (ドラマチック)
LIFE
Garasu no Shounen (硝子の少年)
Karui Zawameki (軽いざわめき)
Thunder Ceptor Medley (サンダーセプターメドレー)
Super Mario Brothers (スーパーマリオブラザーズ)
XEVIOUS
CHA-LA HEAD-CHA-LA
Tentai Kansoku (天体観測)
Wataru Seken wa Onibakari Theme (渡る世間は鬼ばかり テーマ)
Danba Danba Din Dan (ダンバ・ダンバ・ディン・ダン)
TAKIO'S SOHRAN 2

And now, the second charter, simple known as Yami Zokusei (闇属性). Along with Etou and a few select others, this guy is responsible for many of the difficult and memorable charts in Taiko.

Profile
Joined Taiko Team: 2005 (during Taiko no Tatsujin 7)
Number of charts made: 90
Skill level: Inconsistently clears 10* on buttons, 9* on drumsticks

Notechart specialty- Handles Oni 6* to 10*
-Creates harmony in songs with no vocals
-If he finds it fun, players will find it even more fun!
-Finish charting -> check if it matches the melody -> change any parts that sound off. That's how he does it.

Sample charts made
Kurenai (紅): The first song with 999 combo! It would have gone over 1000 easily but cut down due to system limitations at the time. Even Yoshiki of X-Japan said that it was a great chart!

Yawaraka Sensha (Ura) (やわらか戦車(裏譜面) ): The first gimmick chart ever made? The long continuous stream of notes don't match the song. Yami recently noticed a kid successfully FCing this on the arcade!

Angel Halo: One of the most difficult charts Yami's ever made! It was meant to be a boss song to Taiko Wii 5. A cool-sounding song deserves a cool chart!

Wasabi Body Blow: A difficult battle to clear. Etou and Kaan both praised the notechart for being really interesting. The middle part was made up as he went along with no planning, but it created a varied and creative chart.

Hakuchou no Mizuumi ~still a duckling~ (normal and Ura) (白鳥の湖~still a duckling~(表、裏譜面)): 'The famous Swan Lake song....as a moe song?!' was his first impression. Since the tempo was so fast, making a simple chart was sufficient to make it difficult. The Ura felt like a 'cute' version of Angel Halo, and around the same level of punishing difficulty too.

Hikari no Kanata e (ヒカリノカナタへ): The flagship boss song for Taiko Wii 2's story mode, and appropriately difficult. Together with the dialogue in the background, the chart had to be dramatic!

Flight of the Bumblebee (熊蜂の飛行): Yami contemplates his own unique style of charting; this is similar to Kurenai and Yawaraka Sensha Ura and Hikari no Kanata e.

Age Age Every Knight (アゲ♂アゲ♂EVERY☆騎士): Energetic song, punctuated by lots of big notes.

DANCE2 feat. Soy Sauce (DANCE2 feat.ソイソース): Positive energy flows in both the chart and the song.

Kumo Made Todoke! (くもまでとどけ!): Taiko Portable 2's theme song. With a bouncy skip rhythm, this song is fun to play along. Can you master its beat?

Kibun Joujou (気分上々↑↑): Many 4-note clusters here make for a technical, hard to master 7* chart. It's a slow song though, so it's good for practicing tricky bits like this.

Tell Your World: Built for accessibility, so the majority of those who could clear its Muzukashii can transition to its Oni easily. For new players, this might be used as a stepping stone to higher Oni challenges.

And that is it for today's feature! Man, that was long. Wonder which charter will be featured in the spotlight next?

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