Katamari Damacy is an evergreen game experience that brings a sort of blissful childhood glee to all those who play it. Coming from the imagination of Keita Takahashi, Katamari can best be described as a game that hits on that sense of childhood imagination where as a kid, you may have said, hey what if I could roll up the whole world into a ball. Not only is this game imaginative, it's simple concept makes for some incredibly addictive fun to boot.
Every now and again a game so zanny comes out of nowhere and carves it's own niche, Becoming both memorable, and profitable enough in the mainstream to warrant sequels. Katamari Damacy is a decidedly Japanese-style game that normally would never see the light of day in North America. Luckily for us, Namco decided to localize it anyway. It seems, however, Europe missed the original, but did get it's followup We Love Katamari.
I also missed picking up the first two on PS2 back in the day, but did win a free copy of Beautiful Katamari on the 360 from a Gamepro.com offshoot site, so while I wasn't completely Katamari-less in my day, seeing Katamari Damacy REROLL available on Steam for a $15 sale price finally netted me a copy of the original. And since I've had most of this footage on my external hard drive since may of last year when I was planning on reviewing this game, I have also since gone back and picked up both PS2 Katamari games which were more reasonably priced than I expected them to be.
When the king of the Kosmos accidentally destroys all the stars in the sky, he orders his pint-sized Princely son to help him restore the cosmos by rolling anything and everything into clumps he will then use to turn back into the stars and constellations in the sky.
The concept of Katamari Damacy is simple, you roll things up with your Katamari to increase the size until you can roll up larger objects to increase the size to roll up larger objects, rinse and repeat until you reach the required size for the level within the time allowed. The growth-gameplay design makes it incredibly addictive with the time limits giving it a sense of urgency.
On top of the growth-gameplay, the zany, eclectic list of items and areas you are rolling up are the star of the show. A strange collection of childhood toys, cards, to even a Sega SG 1000 Mark II lead to eventually rolling up, dogs, cats, and humans themselves who's comical screams and reactions to being rolled up always put a big smile on my face.
That is a very basic, maybe even poor description of the items you collect in this game. There are so many wacky yet humorous sights to see in the game, like why is a guy riding a panda, and why are sumo wrestlers twirling each other around. In fact, the best part of the game is that nothing makes sense, yet it still makes sense in the strange childhood imagination world presented in Katamari.
Eventually your Katamari grows big enough to roll up houses, skyscrapers, and even huge chunks of land in later levels. The game has a deep sense of humor, with a lighthearted atmosphere, and some addictive gameplay. The comical game concept mixed with the comical objects to roll means game definitely doesn't take itself too seriously, despite it's seriously fun gameplay. This game is a timeless classic that is fun in all generations.
When I first booted Reroll on my PC, it was, strangely, windowed, and while there is a way to play it with keyboard and mouse, I decided to pick up an Xbox One controller I found on clearance at my local Walmart, because the way the game controls using both analog sticks to move, turn, and even dash doesn't translate well on the PC without a controller.
The game is also available on the Switch, PS4, and Xbox One, and Series X, but having not bought a new console since the Wii I bought over a decade ago, Steam was the only option I had to play it. For the Steam version, you'll want to get a controller to play it.
REROLL makes some changes to the original. For example extra time has been added to some of the constellation levels, making ReRoll a little easier than the PS2 original. However, the visuals are the most obvious upgrade, adding a widescreen perspective to see more, and higher resolutions. This is, however, a remaster, and not a remake, so not a whole lot has been changed graphically outside of higher resolutions, and some of the character art. This is a good thing, because REROLL retains mostly the same unique art direction as the original, along with the cheerfully bright color pallet.
Not just the interesting art direction, but also the brightness makes this a game you can tell is meant to be a happy experience. This is a game that has an uplifting air about it. The entire visual design from the Flamboyant King of the Kosmos, the story cutscenes featuring a family that bear witness to the goings on, to the art direction and the uplifting, bright look of the game are a throwback to the days when games didn't take themselves so freaking serious. Having a bad day, play some Katamari for a happy place.
The tracks that play in certain levels in the game have also been shuffled a little in REROLL, and there are some other minute changes, but playing almost entirely through the PS2 version while writing this review, and then also playing REROLLalong side it, it turns out, I was too busy just playing the game to notice any changes. Look, I'm not addicted. I can quit at any time, I swear. I don't really need it, I just don't wanna quit.
My only disclaimer with this game comes with listening to Katamari on the Rocks, the main theme. Once you hear the theme, it attaches itself to your soul, and it will never leave you. At random you will find yourself La, la, lala, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, lala, la, laing it out for the rest of your life.
OK, I can't lie, I love the title theme in particular, and the rest of the songs, while not my usual taste in music is also fitting for the game. The sounds are well done, and some of the sound bytes, like the screams of people when you roll them in are hilarious. REROLL also changes the story scenes back to Japanese voice over with English subtitles, whereas the PS2 was English dubbed.
The game controls great once you learn their idiosyncrasies, so long as you have a controller to use. There were supposedly some control changes according to the game's wiki page, but jumping from the PS2 version to REROLL, I can tell you I haven't really noticed much difference. Again, I was too absorbed in the gameplay to notice.
If I have any complaints with Katamari, it's that the game is rather short. I completely beat it in about 5 hours on my first try. That being said, I obviously found replay value in coming back to the game every now and again, but your mileage may vary. My only other complaint I could think of has to do with the constellation levels where instead of rolling up as much stuff as you can, you have to roll up a bunch of one type of thing to create a constellation, or other similar type objectives.
I did these missions just to complete the game, but never found them to be as enjoyable to the main levels. I understand they were added for variety sake, but honestly, this is one of those games where the main concept is so fun, that any side missions distract more than improve.
Beautiful Katamari on the Xbox 360 would later add these kinds of objectives to the main level objectives. Though I still enjoy that game, the straight simplicity of the original just makes for a more fun experience without further unneeded convolution to the formula. Adding further, pointless objective on top of the formula, focussing on DLC, and online play are also probably why Beautiful Katamari is one of the least favorite games in the series. That and Keita Takahashi's not being involved in the development. I still think it's a fun game, but, yes, not the best in the series now that I have played the first two. Still worth a look, and it is backwards compatible to the One, and Series X.
The Ba, ba ,ba ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, bottom Line: Katamari Damcy will always be fun, and always be engaging. This is a game that still stands out as one of the most imaginative, unique experiences in gaming history, and it's an uplifting ode to how bright the world can be in the imagination of a child. If you're having a bad day, play some Katamari. If you're feeling down, play some katamari. If you're having a great day, play some Katamari. If you've never played Katamari, just play this game. REROLL is available on every platform under the sun, or you can find it on the PS2. This is one of those forever fun games that every gamer should experience at least once.
And if you are a Wii owner who likes the growth gameplay deisgn of Katamari, look into Elibits, and Namco's own The Munchables for similar experiences. Just don't play The Munchables on an empty stomach.
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