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a true original

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 13 / 14
Date: October 01, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Playful, inventive, joyously addictive... I'm not sure which adjectives can describe this game properly. It's like Monty Python and "Magical Mystery Tour"-era Beatles moved to Japan, got pregnant and did a lot of drugs. This is their love child.

As earlier previews noted, the object is to roll a "katamari" through the environment until it gets large enough for the approval of "The King Of All Cosmos" in the alloted time limit. His demands are low at first (10 cm) but with each level, the ball must get bigger. Also, what you can pick up depends on how big your katamari is. At first, just pushpins and stamps are added, but the objects available get bigger in a hurry. If you bump a larger object too hard, pieces of your katamari are dislodged. If the object is almost big enough to stick but not quite, it will wobble when you touch it.

Controls are easy. You use both analog sticks (like tank tracks) to steer the katamari. I have passed four levels and one bonus level now without using the "Jump" or "Look" features (L1 and R1 buttons). You'll also love the soundtrack, and the complete absurdity of the plot is a scream. This will be a cult classic very soon.

One of the very absolute best. This is gaming history.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 11
Date: December 29, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Katamari Damacy is like the alpha-male of the almost esoetric weird/original genre. The graphics are old-school and "blocky" in such a good way - it looks nostalgic without being messy like when things were blocky by accident. The story and gameplay elements are so kid friendly, so really anyone can play and enjoy this game, but it's not just for kids at all. I'm 21, my mother's 46, and we both love this game to death. The music is clever and catchy, the hilarious sound effects from rolled-up bystanders never get old, and you almost have to instantly fall in love with the King of All Cosmos character. The price is low and the replay is so insanely high, that there's really no reason you should be without this game at all. Unless, of course, you dislike fun... You don't dislike fun, do you?

How come no one thought of this sooner?...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 12 / 13
Date: October 23, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This game is absolutely insane! Everythign about it from the graphics and music to gameplay is off the wall absurd...

That being said, there have been few games that have ever grabbed me and pulled me in the way this one does. It's ultra addictive. Some people may dislike the graphics, but that's the charm of this game. They aren't bad, they are perfect for the atmosphere. The music is so catchy and strange you will be humming it to yourself all day. The use of two analog control sticks works brilliantly. Even when you complete the game, you will find yourself replaying the stages to find the secret presents and to unlock Eternity modes and shooting stars.

I have laughed so hard at this game, especially when you pick up the little kids riding the bikes... priceless :). When I saw this game was only 20$, I had heard very little about it, but the price was right. There is no reason not to give this game a go? Take some old, unplayed games to your local video game store, trade them in, and pick this one up. I've been playing video games for about 18 years now and this ranks up there with the most fun and creative ways to spend my gaming dollars.

Best Game of 2004

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 12 / 14
Date: July 24, 2005
Author: Amazon User

2004 was a horrible year for video games. I think the game that I was anticipating the most was Onimusha 3, which turned out to be little more than a dumbed-down samurai version of Devil May Cry. It got to the point where I lost my addiction to video games (yikes!) and didn't buy any games for months.

Two months ago, that all changed. One of my friends got me Katamari Damacy for my birthday. I had been interested in it ever since it came out, but I never got around to buying it. We started playing it at that very moment. The first thing we heard when we loaded the game up was what sounded like someone humming "naaaaaaaa na na na na na na na na" from inside a bathroom stall. It was weird and hilarious. We laughed our asses off. Next came the intro movie. Holy hell...it was one of the most awesome things I'd ever seen. It featured singing swans, balloons, giant mushrooms, marijuana leaves, pandas, and a groovy pink car. Much like the humming, it was weird and hilarious. We laughed our asses off again.

Infact, being weird and hilarious (as well as different from virtually every game ever made) is what makes Katamari Damacy so utterly brilliant. You play as the Prince, a little green alien. Your father, The (oh-so-badass) King Of All Cosmos accidently destroyed all the stars in the sky. He sends you to Earth to roll up objects to create new stars. You start off by rolling up little things like buttons and insects, then later progress to larger things like bushes, tables, and people. Eventually, you get big enough to roll up entire cities, and even landmasses. LANDMASSES!

Because this idea has never been seen before, everything in the game feels fresh and original, even things that we've seen a million times before like time limits, exploring new areas, and trying to collect 100% of all the items (which have really funny descriptions, by the way), Royal Presents, and names. The game exists in it's own strange little universe where absolutely nothing feels flawed out of place. It's simple, fun, and extremely addictive. Not to mention it only costs $20 and it has one of the best soundtracks of all time, outside of the Final Fantasy series.

That's really all there is to it. It's an astonishingly cool game that (like all niche games) went completely under the radar of most PS2 owners. Let's hope that changes soon. Forget about all those boring, lame, overhyped games that came out at the end of last year, such as Bland Theft Auto: San Andreas and Gaylo 2, and make way for Katamari Damacy: winner by a mile for "Game of the Year".

this game is the best thing i've ever seen

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 9
Date: November 24, 2004
Author: Amazon User

this is the best game i've ever played... ever... the intro movie alone is worth the $20. its playability is through the roof, replay value like you don't even know. in versus mode, you can pick up the other player if you're big enough. oh, and to top it all off: the best music ever composed specifically for a game.
it ranked #4 in time's 'best games of 2004', beating, among others, halo 2. give that a second to sink in, then click the "add to cart" button, and improve your life and the lives of those around you.

Puzzle game on drugs

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 9
Date: January 29, 2006
Author: Amazon User

If you watch anime, you might have some idea of what to expect from Katamari Damacy. Though even that won't fully prepare you.

A huge planet-sized dude with a rolled-up carpet for a head called the King of All Cosmos accidentally destroys all the stars. To fix things, he has you, his tiny son, roll up clumps of things on Earth and replaces the stars with these "katamari" (Japanese for "wad of stuff).

So, using the two analog sticks as if controlling a pair of tank treads, you roll a small sticky ball around the landscape, picking up anything and everything. The object of each level is to get your katamari to a set size within a set time. If you fail, never fear. You can try again as many times as you need to until you get it done.

The controls are quite intuitive. The two analog stick setup is easily mastered within a couple minutes at most, but it is also extremely versatile. Added to the routine are a couple uses of the R1 and L1 shoulder buttons, and X and triangle to make selections in the between-level menus. That's it. It is a very simple game.

But it is also very immersive. The physics of the game are mind-boggling if you take the time to think about it, but that is all kept in the background. All you need to know is that your katamari can pick up *anything*. *ANYTHING AT ALL*, provided your katamari is big enough. When you begin, you'll have a tiny 5 cm peanut rolling along table tops and the floor. You'll pick up thumb tacks, push pins, small candies, and coins, while you dodge the cat. Eventually you'll come across a pencil, which will be too big to pick up. Roll around some more, come back to the pencil a minute later, and suddenly, this time it sticks! And then you'll have a large oblong object poking off the side of your katamari that makes it roll in a funny, lopsided fashion.

So you keep rolling around the table and the floor, picking up more and more stuff and still dodging the cat. Pretty soon, you can teach kitty a lesson. Then you can pick up the TV, and the table itself, and the people sitting at the table (who will scream in terror as they're assimilated into your katamari) and then the whole house. Afterward, the clouds and the mountains will look like tempting targets.

Through it all, the composition of your katamari is constantly changing, forcing the game to keep track of the ever-changing physics of your wad of things. For example: if you can pick up a coat button, can you pick up a nine volt battery? How big does your katamari need to be to pick up an umbrella? How about that washing machine? How about that sidewalk food cart? How about the vendor working at that food cart? Perhaps you can pick up the sapling on the street corner, but the old oak tree in the park is quite a bit bigger. And so on.

Levels are all very large and have a huge variety of stuff to roll up. No matter how often you play, you'll always find new things to collect and new rooms to open up. As repetitive as the game actually is, it never feels that way.

The graphics are *extremely* blocky, but in such a way as to make the game even more entertaining. Everything has a very simple, almost fluorescent appearance, adding to the wacky atmosphere of the game. The only problem is that, while your katamari is still small, the camera tends to get stuck behind walls and items, obscuring your view. This is usually easy to fix, though, and stops being a problem later in the game.

The soundtrack is also incredibly addictive. Though it consists almost entirely of j-pop songs (Japanese pop, for those of you not up on anime lingo), the songs just refuse to leave your mind after you end the game session. Listening to a Japanese lady singing about the "katamari mamba" nearly made me die laughing. And the sound effects are just as good. Listening to people and animals scream in terror as I rolled them up sent me even closer to the brink than did the katamari mamba.

And when you've finally had enough of rolling up your katamari, you can retire to the menu and peruse the list of items you've rolled up. There are literally hundreds, perhaps thousands, of possible items to collect, broken up into a few different lists. There is a list based on type of object (e.g. "dangerous", "aquarium", "police", etc.), based on object size, or based on where you rolled them up. You can also see the list of special presents you've found, which the King of All Cosmos leaves one of hidden in each level. Or you can fly over to the giant space mushroom for some multiplayer action. (Mmmm. Giant mushroom. Appropriate for a drug trip like this game.)

Loading times are very fast, there's no graphical slowdown, the controls are intuitive and responsive, even the between-level story of two block-headed kids and their block-headed mom going for a trip doesn't detract from the experience, though there are one or two eye-rollers. What more could you ask for? Katamari Damacy is a great game. It is deceptively simple but so addictive that it will suck you in as surely as if you yourself were rolled into a giant katamari. And it's less than $20. So what are you waiting for? If you have a PS2, go get Katamari Damacy.

Summary:

Pros:

- Simple but versatile controls
- Easy but addictive game play
- Fabulous atmosphere
- Great graphics and sound
- Wacky stories
- Very fast load times

Cons:
- Camera can be a bit annoying early on
- One or two eye-rolling events

Final Score:
Five stars all around. No contest whatsoever.

One of the Most Underrated Games Ever!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 11
Date: September 28, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This game is outstanding! I first saw it on Cinematech (a show on G4TechTV) and was intrigued by the graphics. After reading praise for it from many magazines, I decided to pick it up.

You play the role of a prince whose father (King of the universe) "accidentally" knocked all of the stars out of the sky. It is your job to recreate stars (and some of the major constellations) to repopulate the sky.

Sounds pretty unique, but it is the gameplay that gets you. You push a "katamari" (Japanese for ball) around, and it picks up items that are smaller than it. You start by picking up thumbtacks and sticks of gum; eventually you can pick up people, animals, and houses!

Most stages are timed, making the manic nature of the game even more fun. This game has great music, decent graphics, and the kind of "old school" simple fun that is lacking in a lot of today's newer games.

Its $20 price tag makes it affordable, but its gameplay will keep you coming back for more!

If Mr. Sparkle made a game...this would be it!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 11
Date: September 30, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Simpsons fans will remember the episode where Homer discovered his image on a box of Japanese laundry detergent called "Mr. Sparkle" and viewed a bizarre commercial for the product with monkeys banging drums, beautiful girls turning into sumos, fish flying around and all kinds of crazy imagery.

If Mr. Sparkle ever made a videogame, it would be Katamari Damashi. As soon as you pop in the disc the weirdness begins, with ducks singing in Japanese, pandas doing acrobatics, a god-like king figure shooting rainbows out of his mouth, and once the game starts, it only gets better!

You roll a ball around various Japanese environments (including sushi tables and little gardens), collecting all manner of bizarre junk as you go. Everything from nail polish to a still flipping fish to a robot Santa Claus. Each item you collect actually adheres to the ball and becomes a part of it.

For example, if you pick up a pencil, the ends will actually protrude out the end of your ball, and you will even prop up onto its point as that side rolls underneath!

The scale changes dramatically during a single level and you'll soon move from the table top to the city streets, rolling up vending machines, furniture and even people who will wiggle and shreik as they join the ride.

There is no way to express the joy of turning the tables on objects that used to dwarf you but are now globbed onto your ball in the dozens!

The audio is like something from a sushi bar Karoake machine... a strange mix of lounge, jazz, big band, electronic...mostly all with Japanese lyrics. The graphics, while simplistic, are done with style. You might compare them to Parapa the Rappa, which also had overly simplistic graphics but used them to its advantage.

This is one of those games that you end up playing for hours more than you intended, just to get to see what surprises the next level has in store.

BUY BUY BUY this game!

Strange, But Addictive

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 11
Date: October 27, 2004
Author: Amazon User

First, the the opening and cut-aways are the strangest you are ever going to find. They are a mix of Monty Python-esque cinemas with a very Japanese style. They are so ridiculous, you can't help but enjoy them. The gameplay, however, is where the game truly shines. It is a simple concept, roll a sticky ball over everything, picking up the objects. What makes it interesting is that until the ball grows to a certain size, some objects are too big to pick up. Strategy dictates that you search for the smaller objects to grow the ball to be able to pick up even larger objects later. Each round has an objective for how big the ball must grow and how much time you have to do it. This isn't one of those games where you mash all the buttons on the controller or target countless enemies, or learn different manuveurs. I think that's one of the lures of the game, it is easy to learn and it is not frantic. It is one of those rare titles that allows you to relax and play. While the graphics might not be the eye-popping sharp style you are used to seeing lately, the developers poured a lot of time into the game physics. When you roll over an oddly shaped object, sticking it to the ball, the ball will roll oddly. This makes it more difficult to find other objects to stick to the ball as objects like pencils can lift the ball away from hitting them. At $20, how can you lose with this game? It is one of those titles you will go back to again and again, one of those timeless puzzle games that is pure game play!

One of a Kind Fun

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 8
Date: December 01, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This might be one of the strangest games on the PS2.In the case of Katamari,strange is a good thing,because this game is great.I read articles about this game before I bought it and read that the developers were worried this game would not sell well in North America.Boy,were they wrong!Seems many of us love these crazy Japanese games,and I say,send us more of this kind of stuff!I am hooked!
You play the Prince...of what country,I am not sure,but it doesn't really matter anyway.Your dad is the lunatic king,who talks to you in some kind of wierd haiku,ordering you to make bigger katamari.What is a katamari?it's a sticky ball,and you must roll it over everything from thumbtacks,candy,cookies,people,cows,skyscrapers and ferris wheels to make the biggest katamari you can roll in the time allotted.Seems your lunatic dad destroyed every star in the sky,and the katamari will replace the stars.I told you it was wierd.
Wierd is good!this game is entertaining and VERY addictive..I think I played it pretty much nonstop the first few weeks I owned it.I still play it whenever I can because I love it so.Buy this game,it is loads of fun.

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