Quick Katamari Kudos
It’s just a quick filler blog today, folks. As you might remember, I just got a PS3 recently. A few days ago, I finished playing through the PS3 exclusive Katamari Forever, and it put me in the mood for a tribute blog on one of my favorite series.
Katamari Damacy (PS2)
I first read about this game in an import section of a gaming magazine thinking it would never come out over here. So imagine my surprise when I saw it tucked away in a corner of Namco’s booth at E3 one year. Just one demo station where nobody could see it. When I asked the Namco rep near the station if it was coming to the US, he said he couldn’t say. But he also hinted that it would by saying, “Why else would we show it in English at E3?”
I don’t really want to explain the gameplay of Katamari Damacy, but I’m surprised at how many people still don’t know what it is, so I guess I’ll have to. You play as a tiny little green guy named “The Prince.” In the game, the giant King of All Cosmos usually destroys all the stars in space by accident, and it’s up to the Prince to collect items from Earth together in a big clump to make new stars.
The Prince rolls around a special sticky ball called a Katamari. As you roll around, things smaller than your Katamari will stick to it. First it’ll be tiny things like bits of trash and candy. But just like how a snowball gets bigger as you roll it with snow, the more stuff that sticks to your Katamari, the bigger it gets, and you’ll be able to roll up larger things, too. Furniture, then people, cars, buildings, continents, even the world! It gets pretty crazy!
I think the reason why I like Katamari games so much is they’re a lot like Pac-Man. Think about it. The items you can roll up are the dots. Your environment is the maze. Bigger things that can bump you around are like the ghosts. And the power pellets are like when you get bigger and can roll up the things that gave you trouble before.
One last thing about the first game. I named it my Game of the Year for 2004. The cool thing is that the head guy at GamerDad.com, Andrew Bub, also named it his Game of the Year as well. That was pretty special to me because usually, NOBODY picks the same as me for my favorite game.
We Love Katamari (PS2)
This sequel ran into some harsh (and justified) criticism since the first game was so creative, and this one was just more of the same. And it came out so quickly after the original; Namco was suspect of turning an innovative gem into a cash cow franchise. Plus, the first game was only 20 bucks, whereas they were selling this one for full price.
Personally, I think the sequel’s saving grace was the new and original environments you got to roll around in. A gingerbread house, underwater, on a race track, etc. Most other Katamari games didn’t have as many varied levels. I kind of wish the sequels would’ve explored other possible crazy places for you to roll around in, other than a Japanese city and landscape.
Me and My Katamari (PSP)
I was impressed that the first portable Katamari game was able to pack as much from the big versions into s small package. And while I think it wasn’t AS BAD as most others made it out to be, the game did suffer a bit without the dual analog controls. I did like the story a little better in this one. The King and his family are on vacation, but the King accidentally makes a big splash and floods the homes of all the wildlife. So the Prince has to roll up Katamari balls to make new homes for the animals.
But the highlight of the PSP Katamari game comes after you beat it. During the credits, you can play an 8-bit 2-D Katamari rolling platformer. It’s like a mix of Super Mario Bros. and Katamari gameplay. It has multiple levels and everything. Really fun.
Beautiful Katamari (360)
Aside from being the first Katamari game in HD, and Xbox LIVE online multiplayer, there wasn’t much difference in this 360 version. Not only did it catch flak for being yet another rehash, people frowned upon the DLC, which was actually within the game all along. So you were just paying extra to unlock what was already there. I love ya, Namco, but that wasn’t very cool.
The 8-bit mini-game at the end of this one was like a vertically scrolling 2-D shooter, but you could roll your Katamari over anything smaller than you as well as shoot stuff out of your Katamari to break up bigger things so you could roll over them, too!
Katamari Forever (PS3)
When I first got my PS3 recently, there were already a few games I wanted to track down. Some were easy to find, but others were not. Katamari Forever was not easy to find! I think Namco must’ve had it be a limited release or something. I had to go a little out of my way to get it!
In Japan, they call it Katamari Tribute, and that’s a pretty good name for it. It’s pretty much a collection of past Katamari levels. The story goes that the King of All Cosmos has lost his memory, so the Prince and his cousins build a robot King as a replacement while they try to roll up Katamaris to refresh the real King’s memory. Or something like that.
There are a few new levels and features, however. One makes your Katamari like a water sprinkler, and you have to roll over as much desert as you can to make it grow plants. Roll your Katamari in a pool to refill your supply. Also, you can change the graphics and textures. When you play a King stage, it starts out all black and white, and as you roll over things, color is added to the world. Finally, for the first time you can make your Katamari jump by flicking the motion-controlled Sixaxis. Too bad the motion controls suck and it hardly ever works right!
The 8-bit mini-game at the end of this one is like a Katamari version of pinball or pachinko. I hear you can unlock the 8-bit games from the other Katamari titles, but it sounds really hard!
And that’s all the main Katamari Damacy games! I hear there’s also one on the iPhone, but since I don’t have an iPhone, I haven’t ever tried it so I don’t know if it’s any different from the others. Also, there is a Katamari Damacy puzzle game you can download on DSiWare in Japan. From what I’ve seen, it looks like a reworking of another Namco puzzler called Pac-Attack (which in turn, was a reworking of an even earlier one called Cosmo Gang: The Puzzle). I still wouldn’t mind it if Namco would bring it to the US, though. I’d still like to try it.
And that’s all the Katamari games I know of. As much as I love them, I do wish Namco would give the Katamari series a little bit of a break. And I also don’t want a DS or Wii Katamari game. I think the controls would really suck. I don’t think touch screen would be accurate and motion controls rarely impress me anymore.
Katamari Kameos
As Namco likes to do, there are a few other games that have Katamari Damacy cameos in them. One is the Mario Kart clone Pac-Man World Rally, a racing game starring Pac-Man and other classic Namco characters. The Prince was one of the racers, and he even had his own race track!
Noby Noby Boy was a PSN downloadable ‘game’ made by the same guy who created the original Katamari Damacy. Unfortunately, Noby Noby Boy wasn’t near as good. But the Prince does show up in one of the levels, and you can even get a trophy for giving him a ride on Boy’s back.
And finally, you can play the Katamari theme song on Namco’s popular (in Japan, anyway) music game series Taiko Drum Master. Speaking of which, I just imported the newest Taiko game on the DS, and one of the outfits you can unlock for your drum’s body looks like the Prince’s head! Oh yeah, We Ski and its sequel would sometimes play Katamari music in the background, too!
Products
I love collecting classic Namco toys and such, and there are a few Katamari items I have (and want). I have a Katamari keychain from Japan. I hear they also gave out Prince puppets at a game convention one year. I wish I had one of those. I did get a mouse pad at E3 one year, though. When I preordered Me and My Katamari on the PSP, I was SUPPOSED to get a PSP case shaped like the Prince’s head. But when I went to pick it up, the employees claimed to not know anything about it. But it was GameStop, so that’s almost expected. I was still pretty pissed, though. Anyone know of any other Katamari products, swag, or toys?
Favorite Katamari Songs
One of the things Katamari games are known for is the music. Lots of eclectic, very unique, yet catchy songs. I thought I’d list my favorites here. I would provide links to the tunes on YouTube, but I don’t know if that infringes any copyrights so I won’t do it. But I’m sure you can do a search there and find them if you want to listen. Anyway, here are my favorite songs:
Lonely Rolling Star (Katamari Damacy)
Everlasting Love (We Love Katamari)
Guru Guru Gravity (Beautiful Katamari)
Into the Sky (Beautiful Katamari)
Katamari Forever’s music is remixed tunes from past games, but some are pretty slick remixes. I especially like the song that combines Everlasting Love with You Are Smart (with English lyrics), and there is another song that uses a lot of classic Namco arcade sound effects from Pac-Man, Galaga, and Dig Dug!
Katamari Konclusions
And that’s all I feel like talking about all things Katamari today! In the comments section, let me know which Katamari games and songs are YOUR favorites!
July 31st, 2010 at 3:29 pm
Hi dad!
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Love you!
Have fun at your grown up party!
I’ll miss you while Im at Kathryn’s house!
Your number 1!
Hey next on your website can you do or write something on your website!
You rock!
July 31st, 2010 at 3:29 pm