The only game series that can make incinerating people (via launching them into space) look cute.
We’ve had three years to try to understand the appeal to Namco-Bandai’s game. But the appeal there is undeniable, lying somewhere beneath square-legged children and a prince who wears an armrest as a fashion accessory. Let’s face it, when Katamari Damacy was first released on the PS2 back in 2004 it brought a refreshing twist to last generation’s gaming library: Bright colors replaced the grayscale palette of guns and body armor and instead of shooting at aliens or the denizens of San Andreas, your rolled-up victims faced a much more horrific fate as they were launched into space to become the various planets of the Milky Way Galaxy. The characters were quirky, the music even more so, and with the game priced at a mere twenty bucks, plenty of puzzle gamers and Japanophiles alike rushed out to get their sweaty hands on the title for the holiday season. And when looking at the game’s various features as a whole package, it seemed difficult not to be intrigued by Katamari Damacy - after all, who doesn’t love a drunken king whose idea of a crazy night includes the destruction of an entire galaxy?
And in those three years between the release of Katamari Damacy and today, three sequels have hit store shelves. Not a whole lot has changed in these more recent incarnations; the developers added a multiplayer feature and made slight changes to whatever location you’re rolling your katamari through. They have also raised the price so that you’re paying twice as much for the 360 version of a game that was essentially released three years prior. Bottom line is, Beautiful Katamari doesn’t do much for the series beyond provide some additional income for Namco-Bandai Games. The galaxy is once again destroyed (this time from a black hole ripped into space), the King of All Cosmos is to blame, and he recruits his pea-sized Prince to rectify the mistake, offering nonsensical advice and tough love in the process. He sends you down to earth to make replacements of all the intergalactic objects he smashed, and you, the green antenna-headed midget, silently oblige. And yes, if you’re wondering if this sounds strangely like the game you have sitting on your shelf already, your suspicions would be correct. It’s the same plot we’ve heard in Me & My Katamari, We Love Katamari, and the original game. It’s probably the same plot we’ll be hearing in any upcoming games, where the King belches all the planets away, or throws a bowling ball into space, or… well, you get the picture.
But no one really buys any of the Katamari games for the story, anyway. The gameplay remains the same as in previous installments: You and your ball begin in an indoor setting and are hell-bent on rolling up other peoples’ messes. And believe me, there’s quite a bit of mess strewn about. If the game gives you any insight into what life in the Land of the Rising Sun is like, it would definitely lead players to believe that you can’t walk ten steps without stepping on a bottle of soy sauce, or a stereo, fish, lion, or sumo wrestler who just happens to be walking around the little island your ball sucks up as it rolls by. You essentially begin your missions in one of two locations - in a traditional Japanese candy shop or on an upscale Western estate - and move out from there, taking in famous landmarks and elemental gods as your katamari grows in size. By the time you’re assigned to create Schloss Kosmos, you’ve left the planet and are busy rolling up the stars to create one colossal ball of crap.
One of the major selling points of the game is the fact that so much stuff is hidden in every area, lending to a high replay factor. Each level has a few presents and cousins (little ethereal beings related to the Prince) that you can collect and use, and the game catalogues each thing you roll up in your katamari, from different types of policemen to the various “cute” objects that are now floating in space. Like in the original game, Beautiful Katamari asks that you roll up specific objects to create the different planets. However, unlike the original game, some of the requests the King of All Cosmos throws out there now are a little less clear-cut. Let’s look at an example: In the first game, the King asks that you recreate the more famous constellations, beaming you down to Earth to collect crabs for Cancer and women for Virgo - a fairly straightforward request that doesn’t leave much room for a gray area. Does the entity have six legs and two claws? Then it’s a crab. Does it wear a dress? Then it’s probably a woman. But in Beautiful Katamari the requests are more vague, like rolling up Japanese things for a comet and objects that produce energy for the Sun. Is a 360 controller considered a cold thing? Is a welcome mat a hot object? Because I swore the game counted it as such when it became stuck to my katamari and I don’t know why.
The controls are almost the same as they had been in previous installments, but the 360 controller, with the analog sticks placed in asymmetrical locations, can make for some awkward gaming moments. However, Beautiful Katamari still adheres to a formula that provides for simple gameplay: Move both your sticks in whatever direction you desire to roll your katamari that way, alternate the movement of them to dash forward, and press both analog sticks in to flip over the katamari and happily roll over some elephants, oxen, or trailer homes that were sprinkled around behind you. The environments are enormous and allow you to pick up everything in your path, granted that your ball is big enough, and because the objects are all interactive, the quality of your captured dogs, cats, and schoolchildren will leave something to be desired.
That’s putting it mildly. Now no one was expecting graphics as technically-impressive as, say Gears of War, but the objects in this game are flat and blocky, and some people complained about them when they were used on the PS2 back in the day. This fact may come as a turn-off to some people. No technical progression was made for this installment, save that now you can look at the King of All Cosmos in all his high-definition glory, and with the loading screens taking up so much of your gameplay minutes, you’ll be spending more time watching his face bounce around on the screen than your katamari picking up things. Which is what the whole point of the game is. Or was.
Other parts of the game feel rehashed and uninspired. The King of All Cosmos still sounds off before every level, though his oddball humor feels forced at times, especially whenever you snap up one of your various cousins. Yes, I get it: My cousin is supposed to be at somersault camp/covering wormholes/off fighting injustice, or whatever, and the joke gets old long before you find relative number forty. Sounds consist of the record scratching that occurs when the King talks, the “blip“ of your katamari rolling over something else, and a wind chime tinkle sounding whenever your ball grows in size. The music is still an odd and amusing infusion of J-Pop, jazz, and electronic elements, so anyone who snapped up the OST to a previous Katamari installment will soon be humming the melodies to this game’s tracks.
And that’s the final line for the entire game: If you liked the previous Katamari games, you’ll like Beautiful Katamari. But the game will do nothing for people who aren’t already into the series and actually might disappoint some veteran players who were looking for something original in this installment. The game treads no new territory, and with original designer Keita Takahashi moving on from the series, it may be only a matter of time before we do the same.
Pros:
- Game continues to be quirky and fun to play, with a small learning curve so that anyone can pick it up and play.
- Huge environment with plenty of humorous elements scattered about each location.
- Music is still entertaining and catchy to listen to.
- Replay is high, with time attack, co-op, and versus modes to dive into, as well as a few dozen cousins and presents to roll up and use.
- Game will still appeal to fans of the series.
Cons:
- Game is fairly short, and even after you complete all the different modes, you’re still looking at a title that has about ten hours of gameplay to offer.
- Graphics, although colorful, haven’t evolved since the PS2; they’re still blocky and flat, which might not appeal to some gamers.
- Controls can be a little more awkward than on the PS2 since the analog sticks are not symmetrically placed on the 360.
- Long load times and drops in the frame rate add to players’ frustration.
- Requests can be a little bit vague at times, such as when the King asks for you to roll up “risky” or “dangerous” objects.
- Game doesn’t have anything new to offer that hasn’t already been presented in previous installments.