Katamari Damacy Series - Video Game Review
Quirky and Innovative Japanese Game Made by Namco
In 2004, video game director, Keita Takahashi, dropped a creative bombshell onto the video game world with the creation of Katamari Damacy. The game was released onto Sony's Playstation 2 console in 2004 where it rapidly spawned a cult following.
A year later, the highly anticipated sequel, We Love Katamari was released for the Playstation 2 and was met with the same fervor and praise as its predecessor. We Love Katamari, however, would be the last game in the series to involve its creator, Keita Takahashi.
Pushing forward without Takahashi's input, the Katamari Damacy franchise would spread to the Playstation Portable (PSP) with Me & My Katamari, to Microsoft's Xbox with Beautiful Katamari, and even to Apple's iphone with I Love Katamari. The latest incarnation, Katamari Forever, was released in 2009 for Sony's Playstation 3 console.
Gameplay
All the games in the Katamari Damacy series follow the same basic formula. For one reason or another, the King of All Cosmos, a bold and flamboyant entity, has wiped out all the stars and planets in the universe so he sends his son, the Prince, to earth to gather material to rebuild the cosmos.
The player plays as the Prince. He goes around a setting, rolling a katamari, a magical ball onto which anything can stick, to gather material to make into new stars and planets. As the katamari grows the player is able to pick up larger objects, eventually being able to roll up things like houses and mountains.
An Original, Innovative, and Simple Video Game
The Katamari games are truly unique. Conceptually, it is touted as being one of the strangest and most creative games ever made. Katamari Damacy seems absurd and sounds more like a drug-induced dream than a game, but the full joy of the game comes from experiencing it hands-on.
In an article for Game Developer Magazine Keita Takahashi spoke about his the simplicity and uniqueness of his game. He felt the need to distance himself from cinematic and realistic games, which he saw as too complicated and lacking originality, and wanted to “appeal to people who have become disillusioned with recent games and rekindle their passion”.
Katamari Soundtrack and Visual Style
An ever-present highlight of the games has been the eclectic soundtrack which ranges from minimal rhythmic humming to frantic pop pieces. The range from fast and upbeat to subdued and relaxing fits the simple yet crazy feel of the games themselves.
The visual presentation reflects the flow of surrealism in the game. The color schemes are vibrant and kaleidoscopic with a preference for rainbows. The graphics are not the greatest, but the settings are highly details and curiously arranged for convenient rolling up.
Criticisms - Short and Repetitive
Despite all the praise and ranting, Katamari Damacy and its offspring are not perfect. The glaring flaw in the games is their repetitiveness. You spend each game rolling up items and that is pretty much all there is to it. If you’ve played Katamari game, you’ve essentially played them all.
Furthermore, the games are short. It can easily take less than a day, probably less than ten hours, to finish any of the Katamari games.
The lack of improvement over the course of the series is by far the biggest weakness of the Katamari franchise. Some of the problems that hindered the first game - bad camera angles and clunky controls - are still present even in the latest versions of the game.
Strangely Addictive Despite Its Redundancy
The Katamari Damacy series is undeniably quirky and fun to play. Despite its repetitive nature, the games have a high replay value that keeps the game fun regardless of how many times one plays it. The Katamari games are unlike anything else on the video game market and deserve all the hype it has been given over the years.
Sketch of Rolling a Katamari
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Katamari Damacy Game Image
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Katamari Forever - King of All Cosmos and Prince
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