Better than Forever and Damacy, We Love Katamari is still the peak, but this one is super good too.
Beautiful Katamari is a pretty decent game that is brought down by a short run time, locking a significant amount of content behind a pay wall, and a lack of new and compelling ideas that push the series forward in any meaningful or significant way leaving this feeling shallow and barren when compared to the brazen orginality, creativity and thoughtful design of katamari damacy and we love katamari. Much of what this game offers is owed to these two games making for a game I can understand people really loving especially as a entry point to the series but for me this had a couple of interesting levels such as the temperature one, an awesome ending that fullfills the orginal vision for the last level in the orginal katamari, and another fantastic soundtrack that is trapped in a fun but flawed expirence. Also this game has a horrible unstable framerate, sometimes its silcky smooth and other times its slogging along at a really low framerate showing that this was probably rushed out the door.
I love Katamari :)
doesn't bring a lot of new ideas but its still katamari and the last two levels are great
a lot of the best levels are dlc, but these are only a dollar each and can still be purchased as of 2024 AD
a lot of the best levels are dlc, but these are only a dollar each and can still be purchased as of 2024 AD
Ansió por jugar el tercer juego de la saga aaah!!!!
It’s a lot of fun and most levels are great. The graphics are beautiful and hold up as good as the Reroll games. It also has a larger sense of scope than the previous games, with a lot more objects and explorable areas on the maps.
It is almost my favorite in the series, but there are 7 stages locked behind (granted, cheap) DLC. These DLC levels are also the ones that switch up the formula.. without them, the game has little variety and is probably more like 3 stars. A couple of levels are also stinkers (Uranus and Sun, I’m looking at you). If everything was on disc I’d probably score it a bit higher.. if it ever got a Reroll, I would probably give it 5 stars. This is also probably a hot take, but I think it has the best music in the series. The Lonely Rolling Star remix here is a banger. At the very least, look up the OST.
A must-play for Katamari fans, and a good buy for platformer fans.
Note: The game has a bit of slowdown, but I played it on an Xbox One X. It is probably a safe bet that it’s not there on the Series X.
It is almost my favorite in the series, but there are 7 stages locked behind (granted, cheap) DLC. These DLC levels are also the ones that switch up the formula.. without them, the game has little variety and is probably more like 3 stars. A couple of levels are also stinkers (Uranus and Sun, I’m looking at you). If everything was on disc I’d probably score it a bit higher.. if it ever got a Reroll, I would probably give it 5 stars. This is also probably a hot take, but I think it has the best music in the series. The Lonely Rolling Star remix here is a banger. At the very least, look up the OST.
A must-play for Katamari fans, and a good buy for platformer fans.
Note: The game has a bit of slowdown, but I played it on an Xbox One X. It is probably a safe bet that it’s not there on the Series X.
Noticeable step down from we love katamari but still a good time
Metajoker at the end
Good:
Gameplay is easier with more objects, but as a result way more fun. Better map design. Higher resolution and 60fps was a good decision.
Not Good:
Close to being the least replayable katamari game-- way too few maps.
Verdict:
Mastered the game-feel but needs the variety of We Love.
8 / 10
Gameplay is easier with more objects, but as a result way more fun. Better map design. Higher resolution and 60fps was a good decision.
Not Good:
Close to being the least replayable katamari game-- way too few maps.
Verdict:
Mastered the game-feel but needs the variety of We Love.
8 / 10
This game is pure bliss. So much fun.
Way better than I was expecting it to be. Despite being on the shorter side, it still manages to beat everything else in the series minus we love and maybe forever as I havent played that yet. Solid gameplay, level design, and an actual original soundtrack. PEAK.
Gameplay is fun like the first two games so I enjoyed my time with it, but is a step down from those other two games. It lacks all the mission variety of We Love Katamari which I really missed, and there are only 13 missions so it is a lot shorter as well. Music and gameplay are a vibe as always, just wish it brought more to the table. Being "beautiful" in HD was probably cool at the time but having played the first two in HD remake form it obviously isn't a factor for me.
Another great Katamari game but like short really short in comparison to the first 2
"Wow, I wonder what this Katamari game will bring to the series?"
>is a katamari game
>idontknowwhatiexpected.jpg
I think this game's big shtick is that the power of the Xbox 360 enables at least a thousand items to be onscreen at any given time. It's impressive on a technical level, but I feel like having this much shit going on at any given moment makes the game feel really busy, and detracts from the level design pretty hard. We're still working with Me and my Katamari's new scoring system, judging you based on size and a specific "type" of items rolled up. When there's so much to roll up, it really makes trying to focus on a specific type feel like a fool's errand.
It's not hard to feel Keita Takahashi's departure from the series in this one, the King's dialogue is very cookie-cutter, and the game is generally just going through the motions. I remember this game catching flack for being one of the earlier offenders for on-disc DLC, which really hurts it in the long run. All of the unique "gimmick" stages are locked behind paywalls, $1 for each. The game really needed this content to be free from the start. I beat this in an hour and a half, a single sitting.
That all said, I'm still shocked that this game has a decent leg up on the PS3's Katamari Forever. Beautiful Katamari runs at 60 FPS, has online multiplayer, and even an iDOLM@STER song. That sure is something.
>is a katamari game
>idontknowwhatiexpected.jpg
I think this game's big shtick is that the power of the Xbox 360 enables at least a thousand items to be onscreen at any given time. It's impressive on a technical level, but I feel like having this much shit going on at any given moment makes the game feel really busy, and detracts from the level design pretty hard. We're still working with Me and my Katamari's new scoring system, judging you based on size and a specific "type" of items rolled up. When there's so much to roll up, it really makes trying to focus on a specific type feel like a fool's errand.
It's not hard to feel Keita Takahashi's departure from the series in this one, the King's dialogue is very cookie-cutter, and the game is generally just going through the motions. I remember this game catching flack for being one of the earlier offenders for on-disc DLC, which really hurts it in the long run. All of the unique "gimmick" stages are locked behind paywalls, $1 for each. The game really needed this content to be free from the start. I beat this in an hour and a half, a single sitting.
That all said, I'm still shocked that this game has a decent leg up on the PS3's Katamari Forever. Beautiful Katamari runs at 60 FPS, has online multiplayer, and even an iDOLM@STER song. That sure is something.
This review will probably be shorter than my past few, mostly because it's Katamari! If you don't know what it is, then it's really easy to describe, and if you do know what it is, then you probably already have an opinion on it, so it's not really that worth dribbling on about here. I'd already loved the first two games, especially the second one, and this game reaffirmed that well-deserved love. The only part that made me sad was to learn that this was really the last real Katamari game on a console, with the PS3 one just being a compilation and not so much a new game of its own ;A;
It's Katamari Damacy: You use both joysticks as tank controls to roll around a big ball that sticks to anything smaller than it that you roll into. It's wacky, it's Japanese, and it's very very fun. The King of the Cosmos is his usual campy, cocky self, spitting tons of weird lines of both praise (of himself) and of demeaning (you, his son). The art style is more or less the same as the PS2 games, which I'm inclined to forgive not only because this was a fairly early 360 title, but also because it means the game has a really good frame-rate that rarely dips, and was immediately noticeable for me. Only in the very final levels when you get SO big that you can see most of the map at once does the game start to chug at all, and even then it certainly doesn't harm gameplay.
In comparison to the first game, it blows it out of the water. The first game had a bit more personality in the writing and had more, better music, but this game just has SO much better levels. There are fewer of them, yes, but gone are the totally wank "collect the biggest X in this area," or "collect only X as much as you can" stages that plagued that game. Now in addition to the missions where you gotta roll a Katamari to X-size, you also need to focus somewhat on the theme of that level (be it toys, cold things, powerful things, energy things, etc.) but that usually isn't too hard.
In comparison to the second game, though it has been a while since I played it, I do recall that game having more levels. I could be remembering it wrong though. Beautiful Katamari I would say is at least on the level of that game, though perhaps not quite as good because that game's writing was very self-referential and sillier, and it had more stages. This game keeps that game's local co-op mode though, so that's nice. The 360 version does have a level full of 360 controllers and consoles though, which made me giggle quite a bit X3. This game is also HARD like the past couple games. Especially the last 3 or 4 stages, you really gotta work to get the Katamari big enough for the goal-size.
Verdict: Highly recommended. It's Katamari! It's silly, it's wacky, and it's above all: fun. Even if you suck at it (like I kinda do, though I like to think not too badly), you'll have fun with the cool environments, neat art style, and fantastic music. I can also speak from experience to the fact that the co-op mode is a fantasticly fun thing to do with someone who doesn't play video games too often, or even with one who does. I will admit, this is really just a slightly lesser version of We Love Katamari but on a 360. However, if you can get past that, then it's a fantastic game that's still a boat-load of fun.
It's Katamari Damacy: You use both joysticks as tank controls to roll around a big ball that sticks to anything smaller than it that you roll into. It's wacky, it's Japanese, and it's very very fun. The King of the Cosmos is his usual campy, cocky self, spitting tons of weird lines of both praise (of himself) and of demeaning (you, his son). The art style is more or less the same as the PS2 games, which I'm inclined to forgive not only because this was a fairly early 360 title, but also because it means the game has a really good frame-rate that rarely dips, and was immediately noticeable for me. Only in the very final levels when you get SO big that you can see most of the map at once does the game start to chug at all, and even then it certainly doesn't harm gameplay.
In comparison to the first game, it blows it out of the water. The first game had a bit more personality in the writing and had more, better music, but this game just has SO much better levels. There are fewer of them, yes, but gone are the totally wank "collect the biggest X in this area," or "collect only X as much as you can" stages that plagued that game. Now in addition to the missions where you gotta roll a Katamari to X-size, you also need to focus somewhat on the theme of that level (be it toys, cold things, powerful things, energy things, etc.) but that usually isn't too hard.
In comparison to the second game, though it has been a while since I played it, I do recall that game having more levels. I could be remembering it wrong though. Beautiful Katamari I would say is at least on the level of that game, though perhaps not quite as good because that game's writing was very self-referential and sillier, and it had more stages. This game keeps that game's local co-op mode though, so that's nice. The 360 version does have a level full of 360 controllers and consoles though, which made me giggle quite a bit X3. This game is also HARD like the past couple games. Especially the last 3 or 4 stages, you really gotta work to get the Katamari big enough for the goal-size.
Verdict: Highly recommended. It's Katamari! It's silly, it's wacky, and it's above all: fun. Even if you suck at it (like I kinda do, though I like to think not too badly), you'll have fun with the cool environments, neat art style, and fantastic music. I can also speak from experience to the fact that the co-op mode is a fantasticly fun thing to do with someone who doesn't play video games too often, or even with one who does. I will admit, this is really just a slightly lesser version of We Love Katamari but on a 360. However, if you can get past that, then it's a fantastic game that's still a boat-load of fun.
what a beautiful game
ngl i like it better than we love katamari. i know, i know, but before you get your pitchforks ready, the vibes in this one are immaculate. completely replicates the vibe of katamari damacy, from the zany ost to the comedy to even the great credits sequence. my biggest complaints with we love katamari were how it just didnt have the same vibes, and whilst ive learned to love it in spite of that during my october replay, it still holds it back from being a 10 in my eyes. the story is meta commentary and its just not as memorable as damacy's. accessing levels through talking to random people never sat right with me either. and the credits, something i adore damacy for, for having one of the best credit sequences in gaming, are complete ass compared to wlk's. dont get me wrong i love wlk, but theres tons of micro criticisms i have.
so before my wlk replay i went through me and my katamari and touch my katamari. while those ranged from alright to pretty good, they still didnt touch the first two in my eyes. the katamari itch came back over the past month as i was finishing cs2(which is done, btw) so decided id get through beautiful after i finish. this shit blew me away. like i stated in the first paragraph, the vibes from damacy are here in full force. the story feels a bit redundant and like a retread of damacy, but its still better than the meta commentary of wlk. in fact, id say the epilogue level which sees The King yap about shit from his youth is a better way of telling the story that WLK ended up telling anyway. the silent cutscenes were alright, but it's another thing to just hear The King talk about his childhood in his hilariously narcissistic tone. also fantastic use of the song the royal academy of katamari for the level. this was initially the credits theme for wlk and it just didnt do anything for me, but here it works perfectly and fits the tone.
i havent mentioned it in any of my prior reviews, but i think the biggest boon this series ever had after takahashi left was keeping the same composer. no katamari ost has ever been bad from what ive played, but this definitely has some of his finest work for the series. it's also not entirely shibuya kei, which was an interesting but welcome choice. granted katamari osts have never been entirely in the shibuya kei genre, but at least for damacy a lot of songs were. some of my favs include bless my stars, katamari dancing, sayonara rolling star(the goat) and ofc, colorful heart the credits song.
we need to talk about that credits sequence. oh ye gods, its so good. katamari of love in damacy is one of my favorites for a reason, the rock ballad + the minigame of rolling everyone up was such a breath of fresh air, so imagine my surprise(when most of the other credit sequences afterwards have been ass or unmemorable) when there's a) a fun minigame and b) an insanely good credits song. just left me so fucking satisfied and glad i played this game.
i also checked out the dlc, and for taking me a total of just under 1 hour, its definitely a scam to not include it in the base game. being that i played this through means of dubious legality, i didnt have to pay, but it's also a scam that each level costs 1 dollar. 5 bucks for every dlc, including all the extra cousins and shit (which are apparently 2.5 dollars??? more than the levels what the actual fuck who bought this) i could get behind, but in it's current state, since each dlc level took me 5 mins or less, its totally a scam lol. being i dont interact with the xbox ecosystem at all idk if theyd ever go on sale but if theyre like half off definitely check em out. all of em are fun jaunts that feel right at home with the rest of the game. i hope if this one ever gets rerolled theyre bundled into the base game.
it feels weird saying this, but i think beautiful katamari feels like the true sequel, like for me im praising it as much as people praise wlk, so it feels like im in an alt timeline where wlk is the one that takahashi was not involved in. BK was an extremely well rounded experience, and if damacy didnt have the "did it first" bonus, im struggling to say if id choose damacy over this one as #1 in the series. it just feels right sitting at a 10. very underrated game in the katamari series, definitely check it out if you love katamari(and i mean, who doesn't)
#breakfreebeautifulkatamari
ngl i like it better than we love katamari. i know, i know, but before you get your pitchforks ready, the vibes in this one are immaculate. completely replicates the vibe of katamari damacy, from the zany ost to the comedy to even the great credits sequence. my biggest complaints with we love katamari were how it just didnt have the same vibes, and whilst ive learned to love it in spite of that during my october replay, it still holds it back from being a 10 in my eyes. the story is meta commentary and its just not as memorable as damacy's. accessing levels through talking to random people never sat right with me either. and the credits, something i adore damacy for, for having one of the best credit sequences in gaming, are complete ass compared to wlk's. dont get me wrong i love wlk, but theres tons of micro criticisms i have.
so before my wlk replay i went through me and my katamari and touch my katamari. while those ranged from alright to pretty good, they still didnt touch the first two in my eyes. the katamari itch came back over the past month as i was finishing cs2(which is done, btw) so decided id get through beautiful after i finish. this shit blew me away. like i stated in the first paragraph, the vibes from damacy are here in full force. the story feels a bit redundant and like a retread of damacy, but its still better than the meta commentary of wlk. in fact, id say the epilogue level which sees The King yap about shit from his youth is a better way of telling the story that WLK ended up telling anyway. the silent cutscenes were alright, but it's another thing to just hear The King talk about his childhood in his hilariously narcissistic tone. also fantastic use of the song the royal academy of katamari for the level. this was initially the credits theme for wlk and it just didnt do anything for me, but here it works perfectly and fits the tone.
i havent mentioned it in any of my prior reviews, but i think the biggest boon this series ever had after takahashi left was keeping the same composer. no katamari ost has ever been bad from what ive played, but this definitely has some of his finest work for the series. it's also not entirely shibuya kei, which was an interesting but welcome choice. granted katamari osts have never been entirely in the shibuya kei genre, but at least for damacy a lot of songs were. some of my favs include bless my stars, katamari dancing, sayonara rolling star(the goat) and ofc, colorful heart the credits song.
we need to talk about that credits sequence. oh ye gods, its so good. katamari of love in damacy is one of my favorites for a reason, the rock ballad + the minigame of rolling everyone up was such a breath of fresh air, so imagine my surprise(when most of the other credit sequences afterwards have been ass or unmemorable) when there's a) a fun minigame and b) an insanely good credits song. just left me so fucking satisfied and glad i played this game.
i also checked out the dlc, and for taking me a total of just under 1 hour, its definitely a scam to not include it in the base game. being that i played this through means of dubious legality, i didnt have to pay, but it's also a scam that each level costs 1 dollar. 5 bucks for every dlc, including all the extra cousins and shit (which are apparently 2.5 dollars??? more than the levels what the actual fuck who bought this) i could get behind, but in it's current state, since each dlc level took me 5 mins or less, its totally a scam lol. being i dont interact with the xbox ecosystem at all idk if theyd ever go on sale but if theyre like half off definitely check em out. all of em are fun jaunts that feel right at home with the rest of the game. i hope if this one ever gets rerolled theyre bundled into the base game.
it feels weird saying this, but i think beautiful katamari feels like the true sequel, like for me im praising it as much as people praise wlk, so it feels like im in an alt timeline where wlk is the one that takahashi was not involved in. BK was an extremely well rounded experience, and if damacy didnt have the "did it first" bonus, im struggling to say if id choose damacy over this one as #1 in the series. it just feels right sitting at a 10. very underrated game in the katamari series, definitely check it out if you love katamari(and i mean, who doesn't)
#breakfreebeautifulkatamari