I was replaying this again recently and it really struck me how well the scoring system is tied into the main gameplay. you can get extra shots by scoring highly, and your score multiplier increases as you clear orange pegs, so you engage with the score mechanics naturally as you play. do you want to prioritize orange pegs to move towards beating the level and increasing your multiplier, or improve your chances of a free ball by targeting the roaming purple peg? what about the master ability that's available currently, should it be used early in the level to help clear pegs or later on to gain extra shots from a high score? is it worth it to avoid clearing a section of normal pegs until your multiplier is higher?

the score system changes the importance of the different peg types over the course of a level, which adds a lot of decision making and increases the skill ceiling, allowing levels to be difficult without feeling unfair or too RNG heavy. naturally having a higher multiplier later on makes later shots feel more important, which helps keep the game exciting. I don't replay most games frequently but I'm always coming back to peggle because it's so consistently fun and replayable, and I think that's because it's actually really well designed! rest in peace old PopCap, they don't make em like they used to...

can be a nice way to play some levels from some great games! as long as you don't mind worse performance and worse object pop-in and worse balance due to new mechanics and worse writing. there's some pros here like a new game+ "go really fast" mode and like 2 new levels, but hardly anything essential even if you're a fan of the series. the remixed soundtrack has some highlights but feels less consistent to me compared to the PS2 entries in the series.

it's also a little off-putting to me that it doesn't really seem to advertise that it's more of a level remix/repack than a full new game? maybe I'm being unfair or maybe I'm missing something but nothing on the game's case really indicates that fact. when I picked this up at a retro gaming store I was under the impression that it was brand new stuff like the xbox 360 one, so it was a bit disappointing to figure out that wasn't the case.

well it's still katamari anyways, so it's still fun. not much of a point in seeking this out now that the modern HD ports exist. maybe listen to the soundtrack on youtube?

This has several qualities of "roguelike stink" like endless incremental unlocks, lootbox gameplay, and chase items. However it also has a good set of base mechanics, engaging amounts of decision making, and interesting twists that can make runs feel varried. I understand the complaints about this being designed in a way that's addictive, but as a game that you buy once I can't really imagine equating it to gambling/gacha/microtransactions/etc. Not even close to the worst this genre has to offer (vampire survivors) but also nowhere near the best (binding of Isaac)

Currently using it as a time travel device as I'm stuck in my room waiting out covid. Engaging enough to not get bored of it easy, not so fast paced that I get overwhelmed. Sometimes games find you at the perfect time