Katamari Forever

Have you ever played a Katamari Damacy game? You know, the games where you roll a ball called a “Katamari” over things to make them stick to it so you can roll up bigger stuff, so you can roll up even bigger stuff, and so on? Well here’s more of that, but on your PS3 and therefore looking the sharpest it ever has, with some nice new art styles thrown in. This is a game that begs to be played in full HD.

There are a significant number of flourishes to this new outing. The whole menu structure in between levels is that of a beautiful pop-up book, where changing section turns the page.

It’s as endearing as ever to see the bizarre events unfold in the between-level animations. This time you get three types as well! The overarching story animations, those from playing the King’s levels and those from playing RoboKing’s levels.

The King’s levels are from previous games, whereas the RoboKing levels are the new ones. What the hell am I talking about? At the beginning of the game The King Of All Cosmos has an accident, so The Prince calls together an emergency meeting to build a robot King, a RoboKing, to perform the kingly duties while King recovers. As you do.

The music in the game is perhaps the best it’s ever been. Keeping true to it’s Japanese title of Katamari Tribute, the music is mostly comprised of remixes. Don’t worry though! These are the good kind that feel like the music was always written that way. RoboKing is also used to introduce more of a Chiptune vibe to Katamari Forever. This makes the music feel much more eclectic, deftly dancing between Pop, Ballads, Orchestral and Chiptune.

The game isn’t without it’s faults. It seems baffling as to why jump requires you jolt your controller upward given how many buttons aren’t used. It creates a dizziness inducing rage given how unreliable it can be at times, though it’s only really an issue in the trickier levels. That said, a level being too tough is usually a good indication that you’re going about it the wrong way. Still, jumping should be mapped to a button. There’s a strong feeling that the developer impishly envisaged you angrily bouncing on the couch, shaking your controller up and down to make your Katamari jump, and thought that this would be entertaining for any onlookers.

While we’re in complain mode, the game can start to feel a little sluggish towards the end where you’ll often have a time limit over 10 minutes. Presumably because you’ve started with a Katamari that can be run over by a mouse, yet you’re rolling up shooting stars before it’s done.

The only other criticism worth bringing up is that you might have seen a fair number of the levels before. However, the reason it’s worth bringing up is only to point out how churlish that criticism is. The game is called Katamari Tribute in Japan for a reason.

One of the smartest things is the number of different ways there are to play each level, doing so in such a way that you’re not made sick of it. From the relaxation-glee-bliss feedback loop of Eternal mode to the frantic super-fast mode unlocked from completing the game.

The events that lead up to End Credits in the game are pretty damn awesome and shouldn’t be spoiled here. The best thing about the end though is that it gives the game a second wind, showing that you’re not really finished and making you happy that’s the case.

If you’re the sort person that revels in oddness, you can and should (as in right now) get this game online for less than £20. If you’re not, then you need this more. As therapy.