Taiko no Tatsujin turned 25 on February 21, 2026 — the rhythm game franchise launched in arcades back in 2001 — and Bandai Namco built a year-long slate of tie-ins around it: new songs, eight character redesigns, and a global song-submission contest judged by producers including Tatsh and t+pazolite.

The anniversary push is genuinely international: a Project SEKAI crossover launched February 25 across Japan and worldwide (outside mainland China), and the franchise's ranked "Dan-i Dojo 2026" challenge mode went live simultaneously worldwide on June 6.

If you're actually going to play the Switch version instead of just tapping face buttons, HORI's official drum controller is the difference-maker — full-size, built for the game specifically. CDJapan's listing is sold out direct, but it's available through their Proxy Shopping Service.