My gamefly gaming marathon has reached a high note with my latest rental from the service. I'm here to deliver the good word on behalf of my latest rental, an under appreciated gem in the rough called "Katamari Damacy", one of the most unique games i've ever had the pleasure of playing through.
[Story]
The story for Katamari Damacy revolves around The King of the Cosmos, the ruler of everything. One night, The King goes out on a bender, allegedly, and destroys all the stars in the night sky. Realizing the error of his ways, The King sends his son, The Prince of the Cosmos, to find raw materials to create new stars to replace the ones his father destroyed. Apparently, Earth is the only planet that has a lot of stuff to collect. The King sends The Prince to earth with something called a "katamari". It is now The Prince's job to roll his katamari and collect as much stuff as he can so that The King can create new stars with this various stuff.
That is about all I could understand from the story. A lot of the dialog given by The King is weird and that is an understatement. I'm not even going to go into the story line that involves the children and their mother going to some island to see their father who is supposed to be going to the moon. All I can say about that is...
"Rich people sure are different"
[Sound]
The sound of Katamari Damacy is just one of the unique things that makes the game incredible. Katamari Damacy has one of the best soundtracks i've ever listened to. Trust me when I say that the opening theme will get stuck in your head forever...and you will love it forever. The songs played through all the levels are just as great as opening theme and you will definitely have a favorite song. Katamari Damacy is one of those games that you will want to purchase a soundtrack.
The King of the Cosmos doesn't really talk and neither does The Prince. The only characters who talk are the humans you'll encounter on your travels. The voice acting isn't exactly good or bad, it's just really weird. You will know what I mean when you hear lines like this...
"I feel it. I feel the cosmos."
[Presentation]
The graphics of Katamari Damacy are hit or miss. The art style is very block like and it shows in the design of everything. Not to say that Katamari Damacy isn't good looking for it's time, it's just different, which isn't really a bad thing. If you are a real stickler for graphics then you won't be amazed by Katamari Damacy.
There honestly isn't much to say about the graphics/art style of Katamari Damacy. You will just have to be the judge of things for yourselves.
One thing that Katamari Damacy does really well is it brings a sense of scale to the game. As you roll things up in your katamari, the world around you expands and you move from just moving around a room in a house to rolling around an entire city and even rolling around the entire world. The camera zooms out as you grow your katamari and that really lets you take in the level around you.
[Gameplay]
Katamari Damacy is truly unique when it comes to gameplay in that there isn't anything like it. The main goal of the game couldn't be simpler. You are put in a level and given the objective of getting your katamari to a certain size in a certain amount of time. You control the katamari with the analog sticks. Given directions on the sticks allow players to move the katamari around the stages. As you pick up more and more objects, the katamari grows bigger and bigger. With size comes the ability to pick up larger and larger objects. Get your katamari to the specified size and you beat the stage. If you can do that faster than the time limit permits then you are given extra time to pick up more and more stuff just for the hell of it.
That is all to the gameplay and it works so well. There isn't much in terms of variety when it comes to making the stars. Constellation making is very different in that The King will give you the direction to collect large amounts of one certain objects. In one stage you might be prompted to collect only crabs while others might have you collecting doves or even just a single bear (not a joke).
The gameplay of Katamari Damacy is so satisfying and sweet that you will savor every minute of it.
[The Opposite Side]
It may seem that I only have good things to say about Katamari Damacy, but I do have some bad things to say as well. And I do have quite a few negative things to say.
While the graphics may seem fine to me, not everyone will see the same. The graphics are very simple and don't offer too much. You will be rolling your katamari through very similar looking levels.
If there was a major let down of this game it would have to be the fact that Katamari Damacy is so damn short. Once you think the game is really just getting started, it ends. I was so happy playing through Katamari Damacy and then it was over just like that.
[Final Verdict]
Like I said at the beginning of the review, Katamari Damacy is one of the most unique games i've ever had the PLEASURE of playing through. It is just so damn satisfying rolling up people, animals, and random crap. I LOVED every second that Katamari Damacy had me rolling through the levels and I would play through it 50 times more. I dare you to not love this game!
I give Katamari Damacy a 9.5 out of 10. It is just that damn fun!
[Story]
The story for Katamari Damacy revolves around The King of the Cosmos, the ruler of everything. One night, The King goes out on a bender, allegedly, and destroys all the stars in the night sky. Realizing the error of his ways, The King sends his son, The Prince of the Cosmos, to find raw materials to create new stars to replace the ones his father destroyed. Apparently, Earth is the only planet that has a lot of stuff to collect. The King sends The Prince to earth with something called a "katamari". It is now The Prince's job to roll his katamari and collect as much stuff as he can so that The King can create new stars with this various stuff.
That is about all I could understand from the story. A lot of the dialog given by The King is weird and that is an understatement. I'm not even going to go into the story line that involves the children and their mother going to some island to see their father who is supposed to be going to the moon. All I can say about that is...
"Rich people sure are different"
[Sound]
The sound of Katamari Damacy is just one of the unique things that makes the game incredible. Katamari Damacy has one of the best soundtracks i've ever listened to. Trust me when I say that the opening theme will get stuck in your head forever...and you will love it forever. The songs played through all the levels are just as great as opening theme and you will definitely have a favorite song. Katamari Damacy is one of those games that you will want to purchase a soundtrack.
The King of the Cosmos doesn't really talk and neither does The Prince. The only characters who talk are the humans you'll encounter on your travels. The voice acting isn't exactly good or bad, it's just really weird. You will know what I mean when you hear lines like this...
"I feel it. I feel the cosmos."
[Presentation]
The graphics of Katamari Damacy are hit or miss. The art style is very block like and it shows in the design of everything. Not to say that Katamari Damacy isn't good looking for it's time, it's just different, which isn't really a bad thing. If you are a real stickler for graphics then you won't be amazed by Katamari Damacy.
There honestly isn't much to say about the graphics/art style of Katamari Damacy. You will just have to be the judge of things for yourselves.
One thing that Katamari Damacy does really well is it brings a sense of scale to the game. As you roll things up in your katamari, the world around you expands and you move from just moving around a room in a house to rolling around an entire city and even rolling around the entire world. The camera zooms out as you grow your katamari and that really lets you take in the level around you.
[Gameplay]
Katamari Damacy is truly unique when it comes to gameplay in that there isn't anything like it. The main goal of the game couldn't be simpler. You are put in a level and given the objective of getting your katamari to a certain size in a certain amount of time. You control the katamari with the analog sticks. Given directions on the sticks allow players to move the katamari around the stages. As you pick up more and more objects, the katamari grows bigger and bigger. With size comes the ability to pick up larger and larger objects. Get your katamari to the specified size and you beat the stage. If you can do that faster than the time limit permits then you are given extra time to pick up more and more stuff just for the hell of it.
That is all to the gameplay and it works so well. There isn't much in terms of variety when it comes to making the stars. Constellation making is very different in that The King will give you the direction to collect large amounts of one certain objects. In one stage you might be prompted to collect only crabs while others might have you collecting doves or even just a single bear (not a joke).
The gameplay of Katamari Damacy is so satisfying and sweet that you will savor every minute of it.
[The Opposite Side]
It may seem that I only have good things to say about Katamari Damacy, but I do have some bad things to say as well. And I do have quite a few negative things to say.
While the graphics may seem fine to me, not everyone will see the same. The graphics are very simple and don't offer too much. You will be rolling your katamari through very similar looking levels.
If there was a major let down of this game it would have to be the fact that Katamari Damacy is so damn short. Once you think the game is really just getting started, it ends. I was so happy playing through Katamari Damacy and then it was over just like that.
[Final Verdict]
Like I said at the beginning of the review, Katamari Damacy is one of the most unique games i've ever had the PLEASURE of playing through. It is just so damn satisfying rolling up people, animals, and random crap. I LOVED every second that Katamari Damacy had me rolling through the levels and I would play through it 50 times more. I dare you to not love this game!
I give Katamari Damacy a 9.5 out of 10. It is just that damn fun!
