We Love Katamari is yet another fantastic entry in the Katamari series, effortlessly bouncing off of its predecessor, my personal favorite game of all time, to bring you back to that childish innocence you seem to forget as you age.
Katamari simply cannot fail at what it aims to do. You’re meant to have fun with a goofy smile on your face for hours until you realize the time flew by and you’ve already beaten the game in one sitting. A series of games like this simply doesn’t exist anywhere else. There are video game franchises that bring joy to the average person, i.e. 3D Mario games; but there is only ONE game that erases everything happening in your environment that you perceive as negative, and that’s Katamari.
Despite its warmth, I do prefer the original to this one. The entire reason I praise Katamari Damacy is because of how simple it is. It’s very linear and straightforward in the goals of its gameplay. It’s nearly impossible to fail, and the OST is one of the best of all time. It’s just an enjoyable experience start to finish with zero hiccups. It seems like the sequel was aiming to be more of a “video game” rather than just a good time. There are times when the goal isn’t very clear, or the challenge at hand isn’t nearly as dumbed down as it was in the first game. I understand most people prefer to be faced with some sort of challenge in video games, but after playing Katamari Damacy, all I truly wanted was another game identical.
Fortunately, outside of the gameplay itself, it seems like Keita Takahashi really wanted to drive home the level design in this game. I don’t think the first game can hold a candle to the complexity of its sequel’s levels. Everything is so incredibly detailed and colorful, same as the first. Except it feels like it somehow doubled, if that’s even possible.
While I do think the first game in this series has an innocence in its energy that is unmatched, We Love Katamari is far from a “step down.” This is still leagues above most games in terms of what I’m looking for from the medium. 9/10.
Katamari simply cannot fail at what it aims to do. You’re meant to have fun with a goofy smile on your face for hours until you realize the time flew by and you’ve already beaten the game in one sitting. A series of games like this simply doesn’t exist anywhere else. There are video game franchises that bring joy to the average person, i.e. 3D Mario games; but there is only ONE game that erases everything happening in your environment that you perceive as negative, and that’s Katamari.
Despite its warmth, I do prefer the original to this one. The entire reason I praise Katamari Damacy is because of how simple it is. It’s very linear and straightforward in the goals of its gameplay. It’s nearly impossible to fail, and the OST is one of the best of all time. It’s just an enjoyable experience start to finish with zero hiccups. It seems like the sequel was aiming to be more of a “video game” rather than just a good time. There are times when the goal isn’t very clear, or the challenge at hand isn’t nearly as dumbed down as it was in the first game. I understand most people prefer to be faced with some sort of challenge in video games, but after playing Katamari Damacy, all I truly wanted was another game identical.
Fortunately, outside of the gameplay itself, it seems like Keita Takahashi really wanted to drive home the level design in this game. I don’t think the first game can hold a candle to the complexity of its sequel’s levels. Everything is so incredibly detailed and colorful, same as the first. Except it feels like it somehow doubled, if that’s even possible.
While I do think the first game in this series has an innocence in its energy that is unmatched, We Love Katamari is far from a “step down.” This is still leagues above most games in terms of what I’m looking for from the medium. 9/10.