Katamari Damacy
Attempted Review!
Katamari Damacy - Namco 2004.
I’ll begin at the end. Buy this game.
Forget all the reviews and commentary on “those quirky Japanese”. This game has the qualities that make any game great. And it’s refreshing to see someone with the testicular fortitude to actually release one onto an unsuspecting U.S. market eager for YAFPS or Tale of Death Killer 43. I like sequels as much as the next guy, but how about something unique?
The premise is simple: roll everything you can into a ball. That’s where the simplicity ends. There is a level of nuance in this game that even the most seasoned politician could not begin to articulate. See, as you roll stuff up into your Katamari, it gets bigger, allowing you to pick up bigger things. Plus, there’s a time limit in each level, as well as a size or item count goal.
And that’s when it hits you: this game is not like anything you have ever played before. This game, like so few others, is why I love video games. No long-winded story lines, no item you needed to pick up three missions ago to complete the current objective. No repeated battles that do nothing for you except collect “experience”. One goal, that’s all. Simplicity.
And no attempt (other than the text) to “Americanize” the experience. They left the Japanese music in the game. I applaud any effort to keep the artist’s intentions intact, and I hope this trend catches on. The music was quite obviously written for the game, and even though I can’t understand a word of it, it is absolutely perfect. I promise you, the music will be stuck in your head for days on end after playing this game for even a few hours.
The graphics are crisp, but the artwork is intentionally blocky. The only character that shows any real animation is yours. Everyone else moves like a little wooden toy. Which is, of course, perfect.
The control scheme is unique - using only the two analog sticks to roll the ball around, and a couple shoulder buttons to control the camera. After a few minutes of playing, you honestly can’t imagine any other way to roll a Katamari.
The sound effects are also spot on. Roll into a cat and you get a “meow”. Bounce off of a wall, and you hear (and feel) a “thud”.
This game is to the current stagnant video game industry what Pac-Man (another Namco game, by the way) was to the Yet Another Space Shooter industry in 1980. A short, sharp, kick to the head that spawned a new age of possibility for video games. Let’s hope that the rest of the industry is paying attention this time.