it's peak....

I recently bought a CRT and I wanted a game to test it on, and since this game is so short, I may as well replay it. long and short is that katamari feels like a game that's happy not in spite of everything but because of everything.

CRT tv was cool too, i like my scanlines

Kinda just got bored tbh. I think if you were in 2002 and wanted a way to play SOTN on the go then this would've been amazing, but I cant help but feel like this game is spoiled by later, more original entries that this game just ends up coming across as somewhat bland.

I think what this game really excels at is just being weird tbh. this is like the most scrimblo game ive played in a while with how much "uh ok i guess" stuff is in this game. like how theres a room dedicated to furniture you find through the game. Or how like there's a room where a merchant can just show up if your level ends in an odd number. or honestly just how fucking visually bright everything is gives the game a really weird aesthetic. you have what would be muddy dark environments but every colour is just so overly saturated that it feels odd. not bad, just odd.

this games gameplay is whats inside my head when I listen to high octane boss battle music

the main meat and potatoes gameplay here is fantastic, but the overall aesthetic and plot feels very derivative. I know hotline miami is an easy comparison to make, but the plot just kinda felt like a hodgepodge of the stories of the last indie darlings of the last 10 or so years. Doesn't really leave much of an impression on me, but ill probably return to this as just like an ADHD toy cuz slashing dudes and goin' fast is fun as fuck.

why do i feel like all the bespoke queer games ive seen that came out in the last 10 years have been just so saccharine? this isn't really a knock against the game itself, and I don't really fault anyone who enjoys these types of games, its just I really want more games about being gay/trans that isnt just like "I'm a girl and I can kiss girls!!!!!!" I want a game thats bespokely queer, but through the lens of someone whos gotten past the initial euphoria of figuring out your queer identity, like a story thats about people's real world struggles and how they intertwine with their queerness to where its the focus? they speak from the abyss seems to fit that bill from what I've seen, maybe something like that? this is a genuine question btw. and hey maybe if this game eventually does become what im describing then i'll give it another go! i really just wasn't feelin it chief.

i think id rather stick my dick through a cheerio than play as megaman in this game

replaying this game as megaman i still enjoyed my time with this game, its just a lot of the cracks in the level design rear their ugly head more. i dont think i would really recommend this game to anyone besides me, i just think playing as bass is super fun. i really think this should've just been a bass game, i think if they made a game purely tailored around his toolset wouldve made a way more fun game. also, I still like the fact that this is one of the few classic megaman games where all of the special weapons are useful to some degree.

what the fuck happened here? in theory this should be the best game in the trilogy. you have decreased knockback which means less cheap deaths, and you can finally see what the candles contain now, but what the fuck? the jp version is braindead easy, but from what i gather the US version is just stupidly hard. The gameplay overall feels slower, ryus jump physics are way floatier and less tight than previous entries. theres never a real 'flow' state like in ninja gaiden 1 and 2, less running like hell and slashing, more "what if mario had a sword?"

the graphics and music are nice at least