Taiko No Tatsujin DS was by far my favorite import I played last year, and I have been too busy beating at my DS with sticks to even daydream about a sequel. Luckily Japan is way ahead of me, and recently pictures started popping up from said sequel, causing caterwauls of rapturous ecstasy from yours truly.

While the source is in Japanese, what I was able to ascertain is that this title has RPG elements and it looks to be set in a school of some sort. There is a world map you can move your drum around and battle different opponents. We are shown four enemy characters in the screenshots, which are a cymbal and drums in varying sizes personified with arms and legs. The fifth is shown only as a silhouette, so you'll have to unveil him with your skills.

In addition, the game features Doreamon as a guest character (called "the expert of the drum") and allows 4 player wireless interaction. While the price is set at 5,040 Yen (roughly $47.18 US) the Japanese release date has not been announced, but judging from the screenshots shown the game is fairly far along. No plans to release this stateside as far as I can tell, so you'll have to import it.

I just made it through this entire post without losing my mind and babbling about how much I love this series, so if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go jump on the bed and scream until the police come.

[Source and pics Via GameWatch -- Thanks, Buster]