I missed that preview. Thanks for the link. As for the bongos, I remember a lot of E3 2004 previews mentioning it, but did anyone actually play the game with bongos? I believe it was claimed that it would 'rally the troops', possibly the enemy troops. Not a necessary feature at all. I guess with the release of the microphone they thought it would provide more control options, and it seems like they've integrated it pretty well.
And I'd like to take a brief paragraph to commend NOA for leaving the Japanese voices in and subbing instead. It's cheap and it does a better job of conveying the ancient Japanese theme than some receptionist could. 'Oww, burny!' Does the fire hurt? Have a rice ball. ;]