Drum Master
One of the most popular arcade games in Japan at the moment is Drum Master by Taito. It can be played with one or two players (or on Playstation 2), and the idea is to hit the drum or drum edge at the right time. Little smily faces fly across the screen to indicate when you hit the drum, Dance Dance Revolution style.
One of the nice things about this game is that there’s a rotating playlist of songs that you can drum along to. They are usually top 40 songs but three’s also a selection of anime themes. There’s also varying levels of difficulty. You can play for 2 rounds with 1 credit. The price of 1 game will vary in every arcade.
In Akihabara, there’s an arcade that opens out to the street, with a Drum Master machine literally on the pavement. Some people practice the game until they can show off to a large audience in Akiba on a Sunday afternoon. The audience is usually as intriguing as the person who’s memorised the game. Once I had to squeeze past two maids, a decorer, and this guy dressed up as Winnie The Pooh who were watching someone showing off their skills at the game.
This video was found via Kotaku, and it’s standard fare on a Sunday arvo in Akihabara.
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