Katamari

Keita Takahashi, the series creator, did not go into coding originally. He created "cheerfully bizzare" sculptures when he was a student at Musashino Art University. This inspired Takahashi to entertain audiences with his creations and decided to join Namco as a visual artist. He wanted to create a game where you can do something you can only do in a game and create something that is not formulaic. [1]

In most Katamari games, players typically control the player character, The Prince, as he is ordered to do various tasks by his father, the King of All Cosmos.

In Katamari Damacy, The Prince is tasked with the job of rebuilding the stars and constellations that the King destroyed. To do this, the player combines as many objects into a singular ball, known as a katamari ball, that could become a star, constellations, or stardust. A katamari ball can roll up certain objects, depending on the Katamari's relative size to them. [2]

Players typically control the katamari ball using two analog sticks; players move forward and backward by pushing the analog sticks in that direction simultaneously. They can turn the katamari by pushing only one stick in the desired direction or pushing the sticks in opposite directions to do so faster (often described as 'tank controls'). Players may also do a 180 degree turn that causes The Prince to jump on the other side of the Katamari typically by pressing the two sticks down into the controller. Players may cause the katamari to roll at high speeds typically by rapidly moving the two sticks in opposite directions back and forth. Players may also cause The Prince to jump and get a better look at the world by pressing L1. Introduced in Katamari Forever, players are given the ability called the "Prince Hop" to make the katamari ball hop.

Before each level, the King will often go on a nonsensical rant to The Prince, and refers to himself using royal we. In Make a Star levels, players are presented with a specific size that the katamari must be before the time limit runs out. As the player rolls up objects using the katamari, it becomes larger, as demonstrated by a size chart on its HUD. In early levels of the game, players are given a katamari similar to the Prince's size, which allows him to only roll up small objects such as tacks and ants. Later levels allow the katamari to grow much larger to the point where it can roll up buildings and clouds. As the katamari becomes larger, the katamari is then able to pick up larger objects. Living and non-living creatures will sometimes attack the katamari if it is smaller than them; once the katamari reaches a certain size, the creature may run away from the large katamari that could pick them up. If the katamari is only barely able to pick a creature up, the player along with the katamari will be knocked away; if the creature is not rolled up in time, the creature will run off and escape. If players are attacked or crash in to walls are large objects, the katamari will lose items. If players roll up a long, slender object such as a pencil, the object will sometimes poke outwards out of the katamari and cause the katamari to roll awkwardly until more objects are rolled up. In more recent games, players can hit a glowing pillar that causes all items close to the katamari that are small enough to be sucked into it.

As players reach certain size milestones, the King will appear in the middle of the screen and speak to players. In some levels, this will precede a cutscene alerting players that a new area has opened up. If players fail to reach this size in the time allotted, they are scolded and punished by the King. If players are able to reach the required size before the time limit runs out, they may continue making it bigger. At the end of the stage, players are judged on their size as well as the time it took to reach the required size; if they only barely exceeded the required size, the king criticizes the player and tells them to do better; if they manage to exceed it by a significant enough margin, the king praises the player. If it is the players' first completion of the level, the King will automatically transform it into a star; if it is not, they are asked if they would like to turn it into a star or into stardust. Additionally, if they reach the size fast enough, a shooting star will be unlocked for the star. As an additional reward found in some of the games, players may be allowed to play a specific level without a time limit which allows them to play indefinitely.

Not all levels follow this format; for example, some do not have a timer, and instead require players to do a certain task, such as rolling a snowball to a certain size and putting it on a snowman. Some levels also require players to pick up a specific item, such as in the cow or bear levels where players are tasked with rolling up the largest of that specific animal. Each level is presented on a stage select screen, and can be replayed multiple times after being completed. Each level also typically has two specific objects in them: one of The Prince's many cousins whom, after obtaining, can be used either in multi-player only or in multi-player and single-player, depending on the game. The other is a "Royal Present", which, after obtaining, may be used as an accessory for The Prince or cousins. The games keep record of every item rolled up, and players may view them in a book, which shows specific categories of items and the percentage showing how complete the catalog for each category. Two players may play cooperatively or competitively together; in the cooperative mode, players are tasked with sharing control of the Katamari together with one player controlling one half of controlling the Katamari while another player controls the other in stages that resemble the single-player mode. The competitive mode puts two players against each other as they compete in an arena-like setting to get the largest sized Katamari; if one grows large enough, it can roll up the other player's katamari. Both modes are played with a timer.

The first video game released in the series was Katamari Damacy, which was released for the PlayStation 2 on March 18, 2004 in Japan. Due to the critical and commercial reception that it received, Namco Bandai followed it up with a 2005 sequel also for the PlayStation 2, titled We Love Katamari. It followed closely in the style of its predecessor, but with new environments and slightly improved physics.

A sequel was made in 2006 for the PlayStation Portable titled Me & My Katamari, which used a different scenario and different gameplay which required players to utilize the d-pad or analog nub and the face buttons in absence of the dual analog sticks used in most Katamari games.

In 2007, the first mobile version of Katamari was released, Katamari Damacy Mobile. The phone game utilizes both tilt controls as well as more traditional controls.

Another sequel, Beautiful Katamari, marked the first major Katamari title to be released for a non-PlayStation console, as well as the first to support high-definition television resolutions of 720p, 1080i, and 1080p. While initially planned for both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, the former version was canceled.

PlayStation 3 gamers had to wait until 2009 for a Katamari game. Katamari Forever was mostly a compilation of levels from previous games, with a new story and a few new levels.

Touch My Katamari was released in 2012 exclusively for the PlayStation Vita. Tap My Katamari, a version for mobile devices with iOS or Android, was released in January 2016.[27]

Katamari Damacy Reroll is a remake of Katamari Damacy for the Nintendo Switch and PC, released on December 7, 2018,[28] and for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on November 20th, 2020.[29]

We Love Katamari Reroll+ Royal Reverie is a remake of We Love Katamari for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series and PC, released on June 2, 2023.

• Official website

Media related to Katamari at Wikimedia Commons