| Boku no Watashi no Katamari Damacy review |
|
The screen lights up and the gamer is assaulted with bright images of the King of All Cosmos and his royal family, his Queen and the beloved Prince against an upbeat tune that quickly becomes tattooed on the brains of anyone who hears it. A voiceover explains that, after the events of the previous games, the King of All Cosmos is in need of a break. So the royal family head for a well-earned holiday on Paradise Islands.
The King is exhausted after two games of watching his son roll up the world and is determined to enjoy himself. However, just as his drunken state led to the destruction of the stars in the original title, so his attempt at having fun has devastating consequences. Because of his gigantic size, the King’s afternoon swim causes a huge tsunami that destroys the islands and leaves their numerous animal inhabitants homeless.
Katamari Damacy rejuvenated the puzzle genre with its addictiveness and simplicity and now makes the leap to Sony’s handheld console. Boku no Watashi no Katamari Damacy (which translates as ‘Me and My Katamari Damacy’) is much more of a spiritual sequel than We Love Katamari but, rather than the Prince’s katamari becoming cosmic matter, they instead fall to the sea and become des res islands for various species of animal.
As with the original title, the main aim of the levels is to meet a certain size target within the all-too-short time limits by rolling up as much junk, people, pets and anything else in your path as you can. Be warned, these targets are challenging but in a way that ensures high replay value. Despite the reliance on kanji, BnWnKD is not that kind of game that will alienate non-Japanese speakers. Most dialogue is simple - the King of All Cosmos contemplating the nature of his cosmos, for example - and does not relate to the storyline so it’s simply a case of keep on rolling!
The one aspect of the game which concerned many fans of the series was the fact that the PS2 titles were played exclusively using the analogue sticks, a feature lacking in the PSP. Instead BnWnKD uses the D-pad and face buttons. In theory this should work just as well as the analogue sticks but somehow it seems incredibly easy to just roll sideways. Aside from this, some other minor changes have been made to the controls. If you want to do a quick turn, for example, it’s now a matter of pressing the Left and Circle buttons together in rapid succession. After two games, these changes aren’t impossible to get used to but it does feel like sullying the natural perfection of both Katamari Damacy and We Love Katamari.
Levels are initiated by a chat with the King of All Cosmos after some poor homeless animal has begged the Royal One’s aid. The King appears over the island and the young Prince is slingshot towards the next level, narrowly missing his father’s genitalia on the way! It’s impossible to get a ‘game over’ screen; the Prince merely quakes in his tiny green boots as his father berates his failure. Rather than the thunder of the first game and the lasers in the second, the King chastises his son by suspending him on a rope and using him as a miniscule punch bag to practise his boxing!
Despite being an original title, BnWnKD does sometimes feel like a port but always in a good way. The levels are familiar yet refreshing and the majority of the songs used in the previous games are reprised here, although – unfortunately – it’s not possible to choose which track to listen to. As with We Love Katamari Damacy, the levels are interrupted by a loading screen when you reach certain circumferences, giving the King a chance to monologue or direct the player to a new area of junk that needs collecting.
No Katamari Damacy title would be complete without the chance to roll up monuments and continents. One of the satisfying aspects of the game was starting small and watching a katamari grow and grow, at first only able to roll up screaming schoolgirls and yapping dogs, culminating in the joyous opportunity to collect Godzilla and at the same time rolling up Tokyo. However many of the larger items disappear from your katamari leaving it looking like half of your collection has been pulled off or you have just started the level, even if the circumference remains the same.
Rather than the multiple screens of the Select Meadow from the previous game, Boku no Watashi no Katamari’s main hub takes place on the surprisingly large Oujishima (Prince’s Island), which egotistical players can rename after themselves. As well as being able to load and save your game, players can also take a look at the Royal photo album and all the items they’ve collected, view the newly created islands from a hot air balloon or row boat or engage three friends in some rolling fun via the PSP’s wireless capabilities.
But, of course, BnWnKD wouldn't be a Katamari game without the bonus presents to find and cousins to roll up. As well as the staple camera, the Prince can also find various accessories to make him look even more cool and groovy. As for his disturbingly shaped cousins, they are scattered throughout the levels and – later in the game – will be lining up with requests a la We Love Katamari.
Overall BnWnKD is an excellent game and perfectly designed for long car or train journeys. It has comedy, insanity but also moments that generally make your heart go out to the poor homeless animal (such as one scene early in the game where a lone elephant can be seen clinging onto the wreckage of his home as the sun dips below the horizon behind him). From the first notes of the opening tune ‘Katamari on the Funk’ to the sight of the King of All Cosmos gyrating, it’s clear this is Katamari Damacy and all fans of the franchise are sure to enjoy its first portable outing, even if the controls are not as fluid as in the previous incarnations.
Fun stuff
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
System: Sony PlayStation Portable
Genre: Puzzle
Developer: Namco
Publisher: Namco
Players: 1-4
Version: Japan
Reviewed: Feb 2006
Writer: Lesley Smith
|
Pros:
- Excellent graphics and easy to pick up and play
- A side-scrolling 8-bit bonus level
- The King of All Cosmos!
|
Cons:
- Awkward controls
- The game itself is too short
- Larger items disappear from the katamari
|
|
|
Boku no Watashi no Katamari Damacy Video: 6.1MB
|
| |
|
|
|
