By Michael Gleason

Every so often, a game comes along that is so incredibly odd it must be seen to be believed. Katamari Damacy is that game; it’s weird, wacky, wild, and, most importantly, fun. The game is very offbeat, and is an utterly unique and original romp through an odd world.

The game begins as the King of All Cosmos goes on a bender and destroys every star in the sky. After realizing what he has done, he sends his son, the prince, to fix his mess and rebuild the stars, using matter from Earth. This matter is gathered by means of a Katamari. A Katamari is a ball that one rolls over objects to absorb these objects. The more objects the Katamari absorbs, the bigger it gets. As the Katamari gets bigger, it can absorb larger and larger objects. For instance, you start out absorbing thumbtacks and small coins, but, with enough patience, eventually cars, buildings and people can be added to the mass of your ball. Anything on the map can be picked up and added to your ball. To make things challenging, a time limit is added, forcing the player to reach a certain mass before the time runs out. As one can see, normalcy has been left very far behind.

The game’s look is infused with oddities. From the introductory cut-scene on, one can tell that this is not the run-of-the-mill game. The game has a very simplistic feel, and although the graphics are by no means cutting edge, they fit the feel of the story far more than ultra-realistic polygon-infused objects would. This was meant to be a cheery, upbeat game, and the graphics reflect that perfectly.

The music of the game also fits the mood, with goofy songs to accompany you in your matter-gathering quest. Unfortunately, during the long stages, the music gets extremely repetitive. The other sounds nicely go with game situations; as they are picked up, birds squawk, people screech and bears grumble, exactly the sounds that one would expect these objects to make if they were consumed by a large rolling Katamari. Therefore, one can conclude that the sounds are a mixed bag.

Controls take a little getting used to, but once picked up, do a wonderful job of guiding your Katamari. However, frustration can still set in, as hitting objects that one can’t yet pick up lead to making the ball smaller. Also, the ball can get trapped, forcing the player to end the level, and lose all progress that had been made. This is an extremely frustrating, but thankfully rare, occurrence.

The game’s storyline is somewhat confusing. Clearly, there was but a paltry effort to localize this game for the US, as mistranslations are abound. The secondary storyline of the game, involving a Japanese family, makes little to no sense, and does not have a conclusion. This game clearly would have benefited from a more comprehensive attempt to translate the game.

The game overall, however, is excellent. The infusion of trademark Japanese oddness makes for an innovative gameplay experience. Furthermore, the game is completely addictive, getting even those unaffected by normal videogames drawn in. The game reaches a level unmatched by most modern graphics-driven, derivative shooters. Truly, this game is to be recommended.

Final Grade: B+

Although the concept is a little odd, it´s easy to get sucked in to playing Katamari Damacy for hours on end. (Image courtesy amazon.com)