We Love Katamari is quite possibly one of the vainest games I have ever laid my hands on; just reading the title alone says more than I ever could. Up until I played it, I was unaware games could be vain, but along comes We Love Katamari proving that they can be and then some. I’ve never seen a game pat itself on the back before, much less compliment a previous game in the series with such blunt intention, but a lot of the story, hence your reason for playing is based around this game’s love for itself. And that might be the start of a problem.
Narcissism is very unbecoming, and We Love Katamari has it in droves. In people, narcissism can make people blind to their own faults, and I’m worried that’s what might happen to the Katamari series if things keep going down this path. What was excusable in the first title is barely excusable here, and in a future sequel, will no longer be tolerable. One of the greatest things about Katamari Damacy was that it seemed to be oblivious to its own faults, increasing its charm. Because of this the original seemed more innocent; I unfortunately can’t say the same for the sequel.
"We Love Katamari is fun to play, it’s just not quite as fresh as its predecessor once was."
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I’m not saying that We Love Katamari is a bad game, in fact I would tell you quite the opposite- We Love Katamari is a great time, especially if you liked Katamari Damacy. The humor is almost as fresh, and the games mechanics are still in an original class of their own. The main problem is We Love Katamari is pretty much just more of the same, and in some cases a little bit less than its forerunner. Its loss of innocence is apparent, and it’s a trait this series will need to make up for.
Just Rolling Around
If you didn’t play Katamari Damacy, We Love Katamari will probably knock you sideways with how original the gameplay is. You roll a ball, or Katamari, around environments littered with objects. The ball starts out small -- five centimeters to be exact. As you roll around, you’ll be able to roll over objects smaller than you and have them stick to your Katamari, thus increasing the size. As the size increases, you’ll be able to pick up bigger items. While you’ll start rolling-up thumbtacks and crackers, you’ll soon move on to house cats, and bushes. Soon enough you’ll be picking up telephone polls and people, but you’ll get even bigger still; big enough to roll-up cars, houses, and eventually entire planets.
While it might have made sense to have the game control with just one analog stick, there wouldn’t be much challenge in that; the game would play like a whacked-out version of Super Monkey Ball if that were the case, and nobody wants that. Instead the control-scheme from the first title returns. Using both analog sticks at once, We Love Katamari can be described as controlling like a forklift. Pressing forward on both will make you go forward, while backwards on both takes you backwards. Push both of them right and, you guessed it: you go right. Pressing up on the right one and back on the left one will change the direction you’re pointing, and clicking both sticks in does a quick 180-degree turn. While rolling around is just as fun as it is in the first title, I wish the controls were slightly tweaked. Sometimes the turning radius feels a little too wide for tight corners, but other than that it controls like a strange Japanese-dream.
All Around the World
One of my main complaints about the first title was the lack of diversity in the environments, and it’s a flaw I’m happy to report was fixed. While you’re mainly in a building or a city of some design, you’ll repeat the same environments much less frequently than you did in the first game.
New environments were a given. Underwater stages? Oh, this game has them. Weird, acid-tripping flower stage? It’s here. Egyptian pyramids? Yeah, you can roll around there as well. While I got sick of seeing the same old places in the original, I can’t say I had the same complaint in We Love Katamari, and the game is better because of it.
Of course, with diverse environments comes more diversity in the items you pick up. You’ll chuckle at picking up ramen, you’ll laugh the first time you pick up a screeching-cat, and you’ll plain-old crack-up the first time you pick up an old lady. Hidden in all these stages are a presents (one per stage) from the King of Cosmos, and it’s up to you to find it. While not central, or even involved with the success of your missions, dressing up the Prince (the main character) can be an amusing time, and do give you reason to replay the stages if you don’t find them at first. But presents aren’t the only things hidden in the stages.
Family Matters: No Urkel?
Along with the presents, the Prince’s cousins are hidden in the stages, though in different places. Finding these cousins will allow you to play as a different character. While finding the cousins can be fun, and they’re all fairly amusing looking, they have no bearing on how the game plays, so some value in finding them is lost.
"I hope in the next sequel we see more content and game types in the multiplayer section."
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These cousins can be used to play the games multiplayer modes as well. The co-op mode, one of the games touted new features, is largely a bust, and while I’m sad it isn’t very much fun, I’m glad they tried. One player controls the right stick, and the other player controls the left stick. Given the complexity of the controls, this doesn’t make for a smooth experience, and it requires a lot of communication between the two players. Even with proper communication the ball seems to roll slower than usual, and it’s just an overall frustrating experience.
The vs. mode is far more fun, but doesn’t offer enough depth or variety to be fun for very long. It puts two players against each other in the same environment on a split-screen. They then must race around and collect the most of a certain item - be it pencils, or balloons... whatever the King desires. Who ever picks up the most of the item wins. With only three stages, it gets old rather quickly, and the stages don’t allow for too much growth, so for three minutes you roll around a fairly small stage, picking up fairly small items. I applaud the effort, and hope that in the next sequel we see even more content and game types in the multiplayer section.
A Joke That’s Almost as Funny a Second Time
As I mentioned in the beginning of the review, We Love Katamari is narcissistic, and that its vainness plays heavily into the story. I’m pretty torn on whether I like this concept or not, because it offers you reason to play, and games usually don’t have stories like this, but on the other hand it’s really not that good a concept.
The story follows as such: the game Katamari Damacy is such a hit on earth that the people rejoice. The King of Cosmos and the Prince actually come to the planet, and take requests from the humans on where and what to roll-up next, i.e. missions. As the Prince brings these requests to the King, more and more people show up with more requests. A lot of the story is told through the Monty Python-esque cut-scenes from the previous title, and a lot of it told through the King’s dialogue. He’s so full of himself in this title, I actually get sick of his zaniness, and I was sad to have that happen.
"The main problem is We Love Katamari is pretty much just more of the same, and in some cases a little bit less than its forerunner."
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The music is sadly not quite as good as it was in the first one either. Comprised mainly of quirky vocal work and lounge, it’s an awkward and amusing soundtrack. Maybe it’s because I expected it to sound this way, or maybe it’s because it’s mainly remixes from first title. It’s still fun to listen to, just not quite as fresh as it was originally.
Roll This One Up?
We Love Katamari is still fun to play, it’s just not quite as fresh as its predecessor once was. All it really offers is more of what the first title did. A couple of empty multiplayer modes don’t make a sequel, nor do more stages and character skins. If you haven’t played the first title, I suggest picking up that one first, but if you must have We Love Katamari, just "roll" them both up; they’re both budget priced, so they’ll cost the same amount as a new game together.
