Taiko 3DS 3 Speedrun FAQ

Taiko no Tatsujin: Dokodon! Mystery Adventure for Nintendo 3DS

(the 3rd Taiko game for the console, I will call it "Taiko 3DS3" for short)

Speedrun FAQ

 

The main focus of the speedrun in Taiko 3DS 3 is a mode called Mystery Adventure. It is primarily an RPG which does have a beginning and an ending. MA plays a LOT like a typical RPG. There is an overworld you walk around on, there are towns, shops, NPCs, random battles, boss fights, equipment, companions, leveling system... everything a RPG usually has. There are actually a lot of rhythm games with a mode similar to this for unlocking songs, like a few other Taiko games and some Pop'n Music games, but MA has one VERY IMPORTANT THING that most of these do not have: You can end the song early.

 

Ending the songs early is done by reducing the enemy HP to 0 before the song ends. Your companions will attack after a certain amount of combo which resets after every attack. This number is different for each companion depending on their speed value. Accuracy doesn't seem to matter in terms of attacking, but it does if you want to stay alive. Getting "Good"s will keep your combo however it will allow the enemy to build up their "combo" to attack you (same with Misses or bomb hits but you drop your combo). Hitting nothing but "Great"s will prevent the enemy from attacking at all.

 

Here are the differences between a New Game and New game+ categories in terms of speedrunning:

New Game: Starts time after confirming the name on a brand new save slot. No QR codes or DLC costumes / companions are permitted as they count as obtaining costumes / companions before you even start the Story Mode (New Game needs to be completely fresh).

New Game+: Starts time after deleting Story Mode data in the options (because a save file already has been made). QR codes and DLC costumes / companions are allowed. You are allowed to get any costumes from playing the Main Game mode or previous playthroughs of the Story Mode (they save even if you delete the Story Mode data).

 

 

 

######## Progression: ########

Progression through MA is fairly easy. Is it mainly traversing the overworld, triggering certain events to progress, fighting bosses, and avoiding enemies on the overworld. The largest amount of time loss will come from poor overworld maneuvering, missing RNG crits on boss battles, accidentally getting into an overworld encounter, or losing party members in the middle of a fight due to poor gameplay. There is no level grinding needed at all in this run, all the EXP I need are given by the bosses.

 

 

 

######## Equipment: ########

For the most part, the equipment gives HP+ / Attack+, but a lot of these have very unique attributes. Equipment is obtained through buying them from the vendors, beating challenges in story mode, playing certain songs in normal play, QR codes, or DLC.

 

For the speedrun, I will be using Medusa (メデューサ) and Dream Castle (ゆめのおしろ). Dream Castle increases movement speed by about 25% (I'm not sure on the exact amount). Medusa prevents enemies from moving on the overworld, making them more tolerable to avoid since they can appear anywhere. Getting into an overworld encounter is a reset. I could replace this with Brave Don-Chan (勇者どんちゃん) helmet for 10% damage boost, however it takes too long in the menus to swap out to Brave Don-Chan before EVERY boss encounter, so I either need it on from the start or just keep Medusa equipped.

 

 

 

######## Companions: ########

As you play, you can recruit companions to fight for you. You can put up to 9 companions in your party, however each companion has a "cost" to equip. The maximum cost you can allocate is 16. Each companion has a different HP / Attack / Speed / Type. Companions are obtained through either the story, through beating them in battle (random chance of recruitment), or through QR Codes.

 

Examples of types are:

melee (only good in front column)

medium range (only good in middle column)

long range (only good in back column)

tank (takes all the damage, has high HP)

healer (heals a column in front)

magic (can be placed anywhere with no consequence)

 

There are 4 companions I will be using through the run, all of which are available from the start.

 

English Japanese Cost Speed Type Obtained Ability

Apsalas アプサラス 4 Normal Medium Range QR Code None

Penguin parent and child ペンギンおやこ 4 Normal Long Range QR Code None

Hinokagutsuchi ヒノカグツチ 4 Fast Melee QR Code None

Black Knight ブラックナイト 4 Slow Magic QR Code None

 

In Chapter 3, I grab 4 "Damage Up Book"s and apply them to everyone on the team, which saves about 35-40 seconds over the course of the run. In Chapter 7, I give Black Knight a "Devil's Contract Book", which doubles its damage, however its HP is set to 1. It will be my hardest hitter so if it gets hit once, I lose a huge amount of damage output and might as well stop the run (which shouldn't be a problem because I only use it for 3 bosses which are easy).

 

 

 

 

More to be added, ask me a question.