It is once again final exam time for me, however I have this one odd ritual that I seem to do every exam block…. owing to the excuse I told my parents earlier this year to warrant me purchasing this title “It is a good game to relax to and that it is sort of like a puzzle game”, I have now made it a habit that I play this game at least twice during each exam block I have. So, I have just completed my two gaming sessions on it and thought, why not write a review on this *Looks at the textbook that needs reviewing*…. well I have some time. This game was released by Namco in September last year on the Playstation 3 (XBox360 got the exclusive Beautiful Kamamari previously) and is the latest installment in the game series, offering both brand new levels, and for those who have played the classics, some of the best levels of the previous games.
For those who have not played Katamari games before, essentially the mission is to make stars, planets, stations et cetera through picking up items, ranging from trash to, once you increase in size, food, pets, people, homes mountains and the list goes on! You might think it sounds like fun, you might think it does not, so the question is… is it worth a play? Read on to find out what I think of this rather unique game. 
Bright and cheery colourful main interface? Sorry if you were expecting a game on world domination.
The storyline is extremely loose in this game and besides one or two levels in total, does not play any role within the main gameplay of Katamari Forever. However, for those that are interested why you are suddenly trying to roll up the world, feel free to read an extract of the storyline from the games instruction manual that has been shortened by me.
The King (of the Cosmos) was watching as the prince was in the middle of his jump training. Unable to hold himself back, the King executed a perfect model jump. As would be expected, being extremely tall, he burst through the atmosphere and shout out into space. A big black star came rummmmbling towards him and smashed directly onto the King’s head! The King’s memory was suddenly completely lost….
OMG! This is terrible, the king won’t open his eyes! The troubled prince and his buddies decided to build a robotic king, dubbed RoboKing, however upon completion it went on a huge rampage destroying every star and planet in the entire Cosmos. All the while the king continued to sleep, leaving the Prince and his friends to rebuild the planet, with a big katamari ball and some innocent victims.
The character development is also not important to this game at all, you originally start off with the Prince however upon starting the levels, you will unlock “cousins” that you can play with once picking them up in a level. There is no backstory for any of the characters and no difference with what cousin you play is besides their name appearing occasionally being spoken by Roboking or the King.
From the most microscopic thumbtack to the entire planet, the game presents itself in a cheerful mass of colour!
For those who are expecting the best graphics a game can offer on the PS3, just don’t get the game, since this game would be utterly terrible with those kinds of graphics. In replacement, I would consider the graphic quality average at best, maybe high end PS2 adapted for the PS3 console, and guess what, that is what makes it great! First of all, the environment designs represent normal Japanese towns and homes, as the game did originate from Japan and everything appears block-like (People, buildings) or like anime styled objects (Watermelons, Fireworks etc) and these work well, up to the point of scaling the entire planet earth. All the environments are bright and cheerful, unless you are at a certain level where originally you are given a different colour schematic where you must complete the level to unlock the other colour settings. The other colour options are nice and offer variety to the same levels.
The playable cousins on the other hand also have the colourful appeal to them and come in a whole variety of shapes and sizes that can be customised by presents you find in each of the levels. Personally, I use a cousin named Sherman who is shaped like a Snowman, coresponding to one of the levels where you must collect snow and build the head of a giant snowman whilst picking up innocent skiers.
For those of you who may not experienced games like this before, it may come as a bit of a shock to start the game with an opening like this. Simply put, most of the music in this game would raise a few eyebrows if produced by a western studio, as this is definitely something that I would only expect from a Japanese studio. The music goes well with the actual gameplay and offers the variety that complements each level well so you don’t have to listen to the song over and over again…. and yes, this song is played in a level of the game (In several variations). That being said, the animation of the opening is very funfilled and is something you may find yourself watching again and again trying to pick things from it.
For those who have no idea how the game runs, this trailer will provide a more indepth explanation of the general gameplay mechanics. Otherwise, it is simply roll –> roll –> roll –> STAR!
The gameplay follows the same gameplay mechanics as other games, you must roll until a certain criteria has been met, such as picking up a specific item, running out of time, making a katamari of a certain height, reaching a specific location with a certain size katamari or fulfilling a specific condition such as a certain temperature. There is enough variation to make the game last without feeling like the same game, and as the game continues, it can get harder and harder to meet the requirements, forcing you to replay the level again and modify the pathway you took to ensure success.
One of the weirder levels in the game…. Katamari Karts
The level designs are occasionally used more then once and even in that case, are often used in different sizes or in certain cases, with different obstacles. For example, the image posted above is of a level used occasionally during the game however this time you are placed on a track with karts bigger then you, going at high speeds and can easily knock you off the track. Therefore, you must pick up items whilst going around the track until you can pick up the karts and then roll up the rest of the island within a given time period.
Little do those naive humans know, they shall be rolled up!
Whilst there are a lot of stages in the game, they are split up into two sections, the first being original games developed for this game exclusively whilst the other half of the levels are classic levels that come from previous titles. For me, having not played any other Katamari game prior, I was not bothered at all, however for those who have played other versions, may be annoyed at this. This is justified as this game was known as Katamari Damacy Tribute in Japan. However, for those who play through the game once and unlock the credits, there are three other game modes to play through.
- Katamari Forever: Original Mode, normal speeds.
- Katamari Drive: Play at an increased speed with a decreased time frame.
- Eternal: Katamari Forever speeds with no time limit.
- Classic Katamari: Katamari Forever Speeds however there is no jump or bonus hearts.
Each of these add some replayability and in terms of Eternal mode, is very fun in the last level where you can literally pick everything up!
In terms of replayability, I have had this game for a fair while and I still go back and play it occasionally, so it is well worth the money in my opinion, especially when I was able to get it for $30 AUD at the beginning of the year, which is an exceptionally good price. I would still pay the original higher price for this game however.
Overall Score
Storyline: 8 (Taking into account this game is gameplay driven)
Characters: 7 (Taking into account this game is gameplay driven)
Graphics: 9
Music: 10
Gameplay: 9
Replayability: 9
Personal Opinion: 9
Total Score: 9
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