Developed By: MONKEYCRAFT Co. Ltd.
Published By: Bandai Namco Entertainment
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 & 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC
Reviewed On: PS5
Review Code Provided By: Bandai Namco Entertainment
If you do like rolling snowballs from small size all the way to a point of gargantuan proportions, then you are in for a treat with Katamari Damacy. In this case, minus the snow, you are a tiny prince pushing a gummy ball sticks anything it rolls up on. Giving it a mesmerizing chain of sticking one object and another on top of it to grow a ball – turning it into an addictive snowball effect.
I know it’s a long title, but ‘We Love Katamari REROLL + Royal Reverie’ truly encapsulates the essence of the game, rolling together small words and turning it into a long title. Just kidding, as this remaster specifically focused on the past second installment, offering improved graphics and enhanced gameplay. Although my memories of playing this series are rather short, therefore the memories of it are either vague or hazy to recall any comparison. But confidently I’d say that this will certainly bring a smile level f enjoyment with its simple inventive gameplay of rolling things up, offbeat cinematic presentations, catchy jazzy tunes with a unique fun factor short experience.
In the past, I fondly remember playing unique titles such as Mr. Mosquito, Half-Minute Hero, and Incredible Crisis. However, Katamari Damacy definitely takes the cake as it rolls up simplicity gameplay to another level back then. The main question remains, do We Love Katamari REROLL + Royal Reverie withstand the test of time? My answer is a nuanced combination of both yes and no, and here’s my review of We Love Katamari REROLL + Royal Reverie, or just Katamari for short.
Storytelling – A Typical Tough Parenting Story
The King of Cosmos destroyed the stars, planets, and the moon, and it’s up to the prince to roll it all back up with litter around the streets, zoo, and the earth and put it all back, and throw it into the sky as a replacement. All are presented in sharper detail on both cinematics, hub, and in-game presentation.
If the king of the cosmos aka god wanted anything, it would be a long unrelenting pursuit to push their kids for excellence in everything. This includes sports, studies, military drills and even pushing the ball up to perfection in scores. As each stage completion unveils the cinematic of the player’s grandfather cosmos pushing his young tiny dad cosmos in a relentless pursuit of the said excellence, told in a cinematic of pastel expressive visuals (without voice or commentary), dynamic poses, and dramatic music, that later ends in a predictable heartwarming note. However, the main character’s aka prince story is largely neglected as a whole because the narrative mostly centered around the relationship between the dad Cosmos and grandpa cosmos as well as his interaction with the townspeople aka NPC’s. Demonstrating the god’s self-centredness and ego will always be at large. While there are a few extra stages showcasing dad cosmos struggle in gameplay set by grandpa cosmos, finishing it is but a dream as it doesn’t contribute much to the overall storytelling arc, character developments, and rewards, just a small glimpse into the dad cosmos past memories and the task he once undertook as a prince instead.
It is unfortunate that one of the most prominent figures of the game, the prince’s mother, could have been a much-needed wrap-up and anchor narrative in both the gameplay presentation and the hub, as she is mostly relegated to just the cinematic moments as a romantic interest. This a missed opportunity to showcase more about the significance she holds to the main character, especially a stage about cleaning up a student’s room where she could chip in more and push the prince to clean up faster. Because simply put, in the my mind – the level stages are packed with litter to roll things up, and at the back of my mind – my mum would have nag me to clean up after others- it would be a perfect synergy between both Dad Cosmos and Mum Cosmos getting in between in-game to complete the task.
Gameplay – Fun, Yet Bulky
From the ground up, the core task of gameplay mostly involved rolling the ball up, or as I like to call it, a gumball, from a minuscule size, progressively growing picking up erasers, and pencils to various larger objects and later on, NPC’s, animals, cars and towering buildings. All the way to continents and legendary creatures like Ultraman and Godzilla mostly either done in a limited amount of time or in specified objectives. These said objectives breathe a fun life into the game, with other unique preferences set by the NPC’s from collecting fires, and fireflies, to growing a sumo wrestler, and much more. These requests are presented by the NPCs in the game hub, initially met with hesitation by the King himself but eventually accepted once the NPC’s lines stroke the King Cosmos ego, acknowledging his greatness and praising the power of Katamari.
In each NPC’s stages, starting off in different settings of their rooms, streets, or various stages such as night camps or zoos, the level designs are varied and fun to look at. With added five new added stages set by the grandfather cosmos, they actually don’t bring a refreshing twist to the gameplay beyond avoiding ghost NPCs and collecting the required objects for the said objectives. In fact, it would be more fun to have each originally played stages include multiple objective or challenge modes to spice things up or to even race mode against an AI competitor and trap them in your gumball at the end or even an option to change with different types of gumballs that has different functions such as rolling faster.
Speaking of which, while rolling things up, the shape of the ball can be uneven, causing it to roll in an uneven bulging manner, especially when ascending uphill. There were instances of bulges rolling uphill or climbing can get excessive, leading to a crash to some lost collected items. Control-wise, it is smooth to move the gumball straight by pushing both analog sticks forward to move the ball straight or backward to move in reverse. But while navigating, pushing the left stick upwards and the right stick downwards (or vice versa), your prince will slowly move in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction to turn around the ball before moving forward. However, I wish this can be done a bit faster, especially when you are heading into a collision with an oncoming car or train that would crash into you.
On the other hand, the camera often does turn some big objects placed in front of you during gameplay with cut-through transparent designed themes to free your view during gameplay, however, there are certain objects not covered fully in that aspect, leading to moments where your view gets obstructed.
Despite some minor setback, Katamari still offers one of the most refreshingly simple and unique gameplay experiences compared to a lot of other games in the market.
Cinematic And Artstyle: Too Light And Bright
In terms of visuals alone, the character and NPCs in Katamari is adopting a charming blocky, simplistic cartoon, reminding me of blocky pop-up Lego figures coming to life. With skins, clothing and designedly adorned with soft pastel-like colors, adding an overall whimsical aesthetic. The same art style is also presented in cinematics, portraying the main character’s father and his nostalgic past as a young boy. This consistent use of light pastel colors throughout the game further enhances the enchanting visual experience on both hub and cinematics.
That being said, the in-game-level designs do not bode well with the bright light aesthetics. As the visuals often suffer from either being too overly bright or mixed with too many soft colors, resulting in a lack of depth needed on both objects and environment shadows to bring out the objects even more. This in turn also makes the scattered objects around the game world appear flat and even more so in bringing out the game’s outdated graphics. Although certain level designs, like the underwater stages, incorporate soft lighting that mitigates the intensity of brightness and offers a more visually pleasing experience…
Music – Lighthearted And Uplifting
Even without voice acting, the turntable of the DJ scratching to produce the King’s voice as well as object sound effects, or people getting rolled up pretty much sums up how fun and random the gameplay sounds are. As randomly as it gets, it also mirrors the same quirky randomness in the music as portrayed as vibrant and distinctive as its art style. Best described the songs list as upbeat, refreshing random, quirky, and with a catchy spin on it. The overall songs list for each stage will definitely catch you off-guard with its quirky charm, some of which is like turning a humming tune into a song that initially may not feel trendy but remains undeniably catchy – with a mix of song list that has pop songs soft uplifting beats, jazzy songs, techno soundtracks and even unexpected calm melodies, each of which for different stages that suit their themes. Overall, the music in the game delivers an uplifting and enjoyable listening experience that definitely stands the test of time.
Sample opening song as per below:
Source: DoctorThor98
What I Liked About We Love Katamari REROLL + Royal Reverie
- Gameplay – Simple fun gameplay with objective filled with the refreshing pace of gameplay
- Music – Quirky, refreshing yet catchy on its own.
- Sound effects – King’s voice as a scratch record and rolling up sounds of people and objects are uniquely mesmerizing.
- Cinematic and art – Paintbrush pastel-like style of artwork and blocky characters.
- Storytelling – Predictable but the presentation is pretty solid.
- Level Designs – Varies with multiple stage designs with fun themes.
What I Wished Was Better
- Controls – A Lil but bulgy with uneven objects and turning around can turn slow and bulky.
- Multiple objectives – Are needed on each NPC to keep things fresh and replayable. Changing ball types is great too. Without it, this makes the overall replayability is short.
- Predictable Story – Can be too self-centered on fully focusing on the king of the cosmos and his past. Should explore more on the main character and his mum to wrap up the storytelling.
- Camera – At times certain object blocks the view in front, so not all objects are covered with special themed designed transparency once the character is behind it during gameplay.
- Level design- Too bright, making level and objects appear too flat and dated.
- Lack of multiplayer aspects – While two player is available, I’ve yet to try it because I do not have a second PS5 controller but it is 2023; so multiplayer is a must to be rolled out.
Verdict – Just Roll With It
While I do point out a few minor aspects above that are deemed less enjoyable, just embrace it and roll with the experience to truly appreciate the fun Katamari offers. Besides the issues with lighting, no multiplayer, and short gameplay, other issues start to get smaller as you start picking up objects and the random energetic soundtrack kicks in, the overall gameplay does come to life and the addictive enjoyment is undeniable. It is still a short burst of delightful fun, with a simple distinct experience that set itself apart from the rest.
Hence, if you are a newcomer in search of something truly unique and distinct and have grown jaded to the similarity of other games, then you haven’t tried and experienced the joyful addictiveness of Katamari. As much as I personally find enjoyment in this game, I would objectively recommend it as a worthy purchase, especially when only it becomes available at a discounted price. So keep an eye out for a sale and seize the opportunity to embark on a whimsical rolling journey unlike any other.
