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Sunday, December 24, 2017

Song of the Week! 24 December 2017


Oh no, I almost forgot to write for the weekly column, when Lokamp is not too available to do so this week! I don't write much of this format other than those times talking about underrated (difficulty-wise) songs like a few Christmases ago, and my online time is also occupied with PuyoQuest and their many events and collabs, like last month when they suddenly collabed with He-...

That's it! That thing is in Taiko no Tatsujin too! I can talk about that!
(Disclaimer: This feature does not have anything to do with PuyoQuest. If you want one that does (marginally), check out this one from last year.)

Hello Kitty (ハローキティ)
Version
Allx1 (48)x3 (83)x3 (105)x4 (200)
 Taiko PS4
121.8
 none
???


For the two-digit-number of people who do not know, Hello Kitty is one of Sanrio's major flagship character franchises, with roots beginning in mid 1970s. Featuring the main character Kitty White (no, "Hello Kitty" was not her official name) that is canonically a girl and not a cat, she and her animal-themed friends are featured in a wide array of merchandise and multimedia products including anime/cartoons, video games and more. Her popularity spreads across the world, which also netted her titles including several times UNICEF's Junior Ambassador, and sightseeing ambassador to China and Hong Kong since 2008.

Although only freshly included in PS4's Session de Dodon ga Don/Drum Session in 2017 despite the franchise's long history, this "Hello Kitty" song is not Avril Lavigne's 2013 song of the same name, but the official character main theme for Kitty. The lyrics are written by Yuuko Yasaka (八坂裕子), the composition by Hiroshi Miyagawa (宮川泰) and the arrangement by Toshihiko Sahashi (佐橋俊彦). The earliest incarnation of the song appeared in 1977 in a single produced in the name of Kitty herself, and the version on Taiko no Tatsujin is a more recent cover by Megumi Hayashibara (林原めぐみ), the character's voice actor since 1990. One place that you can hear this song in action now are Hello Kitty-themed popcorn machines still in opeartion in some shopping malls and arcade centers in Japan.

Being part of a tie-in with Sanrio, Hello Kitty is one of the first songs to support Guest Sessions, where unlike previous titles' custom dancer set, Kitty herself can play with you in a session with specially recorded exclamations and messages. When she reaches the clearing mark, she comes to center-stage accompanied by her friends for a grand finale. If you are a big Kitty fan, completing the Mission Bingo sheets can net you a title for you to show to your friends and Taiko Ranked Match opponent, proclaiming your love for the song and the character.

Once again back to massively underrated territory on this column, the Oni ★4 rating is deemed pretty much underrated by Donders, especially if you are speaking of Full Combos. Being charted to the full extent of the melody, not 50 combos in and you have already been hit with multiple 24th kkkk's and a 24-note long mixed stream (which will appear once more by the end), both of which were almost non-existent until Oni ★7~8 levels before.

Wait, 24? 24 is goroawase for Puyo... and today is December 24? arrrrrgggh stop it, I said this feature was not going to involve Puyo...