2008 Woodie Awards
Katamari Damacy: In a genre all its own
Matthew Lee
Issue date: 2/25/08 Section: Entertainment
While perusing the collection of games at the local Massena Game Stop, I came across a particularly bizarre game by the name of Katamari Damacy. Intrigued by the cover, I asked the clerk to tell me more about this game, to which she replied, "it's basically an acid trip." Released on September 2, 2004, Katamari Damacy is a third person action/puzzle game where the player controls a prince character charged with rebuilding the entire cosmos.
According to the plot line of the game, The King of All Cosmos, an enormous man who sports a very wide head and purple robe to match his garb, drank too much alcohol and accidentally destroyed all of the stars in the sky, along with the moon. Upon regaining his sobriety he commands his miniscule son to rebuild the universe, and sends him to earth. To do this he gives his son, "the prince," several katamari. These katamari are extremely adhesive balls that can pick up anything smaller than itself by rolling over it. As the prince rolls up more items the katamari grows, allowing it to collect larger items. After the katamari has enough things stuck to it, it reaches a pre-requested size and is released into the sky. After release these katamari become either stars, constellations, or the moon. Throughout the game you are required to make larger katamari. This task becomes more difficult as the amount of time you are given to do this does not increase by much from one level to the next.
While this description makes the game sound as if it is possibly the greatest waste of time you will ever experience, it is actually fun and entertaining. The sound track, released under the name "Katamari Fortissimo Damacy" is one of the most fun aspects of the game. When the prince converses with his father a loud organ is heard, when he travels to the planet that his "cousins" inhabit a staccato synthesizer comes in, and when he is rolling around earth alternative rock, acappella, and smooth jazz are played. Another fun aspect of Katamari Damacy is its puzzles. The correct sized objects must be collected within the allotted time while avoiding animals, objects and people that are larger than you. However, when your katamari grows you can pick up larger objects, including entire houses, towers, giant mecha-godzillas, and nations.
All things considered, Katamari Damacy is a good buy and an interesting adventure. While the entire game could be played in about six hours, this genre allows you to play the same level over and over without getting bored, much like the Grand Theft Auto series. So, if you are interested in a nonviolent, semi mindless, puzzle adventure game where you can roll up entire towns in a giant ball, people, animals, and all then Katamari Damacy is perfect for you. If you end up purchasing Katamari Damacy and wish for more adventures, Namco Bandai has released three sequels, including Me & My Katamari, We Love Katamari and Beautiful Katamari.
According to the plot line of the game, The King of All Cosmos, an enormous man who sports a very wide head and purple robe to match his garb, drank too much alcohol and accidentally destroyed all of the stars in the sky, along with the moon. Upon regaining his sobriety he commands his miniscule son to rebuild the universe, and sends him to earth. To do this he gives his son, "the prince," several katamari. These katamari are extremely adhesive balls that can pick up anything smaller than itself by rolling over it. As the prince rolls up more items the katamari grows, allowing it to collect larger items. After the katamari has enough things stuck to it, it reaches a pre-requested size and is released into the sky. After release these katamari become either stars, constellations, or the moon. Throughout the game you are required to make larger katamari. This task becomes more difficult as the amount of time you are given to do this does not increase by much from one level to the next.
While this description makes the game sound as if it is possibly the greatest waste of time you will ever experience, it is actually fun and entertaining. The sound track, released under the name "Katamari Fortissimo Damacy" is one of the most fun aspects of the game. When the prince converses with his father a loud organ is heard, when he travels to the planet that his "cousins" inhabit a staccato synthesizer comes in, and when he is rolling around earth alternative rock, acappella, and smooth jazz are played. Another fun aspect of Katamari Damacy is its puzzles. The correct sized objects must be collected within the allotted time while avoiding animals, objects and people that are larger than you. However, when your katamari grows you can pick up larger objects, including entire houses, towers, giant mecha-godzillas, and nations.
All things considered, Katamari Damacy is a good buy and an interesting adventure. While the entire game could be played in about six hours, this genre allows you to play the same level over and over without getting bored, much like the Grand Theft Auto series. So, if you are interested in a nonviolent, semi mindless, puzzle adventure game where you can roll up entire towns in a giant ball, people, animals, and all then Katamari Damacy is perfect for you. If you end up purchasing Katamari Damacy and wish for more adventures, Namco Bandai has released three sequels, including Me & My Katamari, We Love Katamari and Beautiful Katamari.
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