Me & My Katamari

By Tom Bramwell Published 24 January, 2006

My my my.

There are those who regard my import shopping habits with suspicion. They've probably got a point; I'm pretty excitable. For every Phoenix Wright or Ouendan there's a Lunar Genesis. I buy Ridge Racer games even when they're obviously rubbish. Sometimes I buy Japanese RPGs and can't even get off level one. I'd probably buy magic beans from you if they came in a DS box.

HAHA though, I thought, because Me & My Katamari was a dead-cert. Even when Namco tried to foul up We Love Katamari, it was rescued, and wound up even better in a lot of ways than Katamari Damacy, which was so brilliant in the first place that we've stopped bothering to describe the basics even though half of you have never played it. Me & My Katamari is out on PSP in Japan now, and it comes with a PSP pouch in the shape of the prince's head.

But what's this? The pouch is a sort of plastic pencil case thing that looks like it cost 99p? Hrm. Oh well, at least you can pop your PSP inside the original spongy slipcase and put that inside. But what's this? Me & My Katamari is lazy, repetitive and slightly tedious port that completely ignores most of WLK's best ideas? WHY DOES THIS ALWAYS HAPPEN TO ME.

To be fair, I'm not totally convinced it's bad. It's clearly got the same sense of humour: the intro movie's lovely, and when you set off to make a new katamari you stand on top of a hill and then ride a slingshot past the King's crotch. Also, you can wear a giraffe's head again. But actually, that's kind of the problem. It's nice to be back with the King and the Prince and all the silly squeaking creatures of the world (this time you're creating islands to drop in the sea, rather than planets), but the music's mostly the same, the objects you roll up are mostly the same, the rewards are mostly the same, and the fundamental objective is mostly the same: make a big ball.

'Me & My Katamari' Screenshot objectives

A few levels do involve specific objectives. But most don't, sadly.

We used to like making balls. We'd roll around picking up paperclips and crabs and jazz (sometimes actual jazz) and it'd all make funny noises, stick to our ball and change its movement characteristics, and scream and yelp as we rolled it down a hill. But We Love Katamari's shifted our expectations. We liked rolling up sumos, zooming around a racetrack, picking our way through pond-life. We don't just want it to continue in this vein; we want it to be even more diverse and imaginative.

The most imaginative thing about the PSP game is its solution to the problem of requisite dual analogue control. Here the d-pad and face button quad stand in for analogue sticks; the tank-tracks style of game control remains, allowing you to push forward by holding up and triangle together, and so on. Moves like the charge roll, overhead camera and camera flip are done through particular combinations, and L and R rotate the camera. Adjusting to the control scheme takes time, but soon the only danger is that you'll blister your thumbs.

'Me & My Katamari' Screenshot graphics

Graphically it makes good use of the PSP, but the load screens rather go against the spirit of the thing.

Even including the 2D retro stages, which are admittedly cool, there are scarcely more than a handful of objectives more diverse than "collect stuff until you're this big". Over and over, you'll roll through the environment getting stuff to stick to you until you hit a certain size, and then the King will pop up with a loading screen while the PSP refreshes the level contents to a larger scale, removing the smaller clutter. As you get to levels further on, it'll let you get bigger, then load stuff in again; even bigger, load more stuff in. That sense of being able to go inside a building and then roll it up from the outside later was one of the game's key selling points; with loading screens, it doesn't really feel like you're doing that. WLK may have done this, but the effect here is much more pronounced. This here is a retrograde step.

Particularly since, for the most part, you'll be going into and then rolling up the same buildings anyway. The game is set in a few key environments, as ever, but feels very small by comparison, often just using different seasons or times of day for different ball sizes to change the level set up. And when you hit the larger sizes, you really start to appreciate the boundaries. You felt like you had a whole world to gather on the PS2; here you feel more like you're paddling around a rock-pool. There's a proper big one, true, but that's the last. Annoying considering We Love Katamari improved on the environment variety massively.

'Me & My Katamari' Screenshot she

She will be mine.

What's most peculiar is that it's still very engaging. I want the presents dotted around each level, I want to collect all of the Prince's cousins, I want to take photographs and put them in my album. It's still fun to pluck flying saucers out of the air, and listen out for funny noises when you roll over something you can't identify; it's still gratifying when you pass some imperceptible threshold and that stupid cat that's been annoying you meows its way into the collective.

And yet something's missing. You don't find your eyes probing the scenery for funny little sight gags, you don't look forward to the next level's music because you've probably heard it already, you don't laugh at Ultraman or the drunken salarymen. It's a bit old hat now. Like the pencil case PSP pouch, you've placed too much faith in the pictures and the reality is that you already have something that does the job fine.

Which is all a bit harsh when you consider it's still one of the best games on the PSP, even with all that said, or when you consider that, as I said, half of you probably haven't played any Katamari at all yet. And hey, you definitely should. But make it We Love Katamari, alright? This might pick up something in translation, but it's probably best to wait and see how it does when we get hold of the US version in March.

Me & My Katamari is due out in Europe later this year, with EA handling distribution.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (39) Latest comment 6 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Tomo #1 6 years ago

    Hmm. This would have probably been my introduction to the series. I'll just buy We Love Katamari when that's released then.

  • Hicksy #2 6 years ago

    FFS! The PSP is really going down the pan software-wise isn't it : (

    /looks at psp unused for 3 months : (

  • Ceatlan #3 6 years ago

    This was also going to be my introduction to the series since I don't have and have no plans to get a PS2. This has kind of put me off now.

    Oh Well, now I'll never know what all the fuss was about. C'est La Vie.

  • melw #4 6 years ago

    i tried this one briefly yesterday for couple of stages. otherwise it looked like the same old katamari damacy, but i just couln't really grip the controls. it might be you need to get used to digital controls (compared to ps2 analog sticks they feel horrid at first), but there was also something about it that felt "wrong". perhaps i'd need to play it just more but after a 30 minutes of quick session the frustration to controls was too big constraint for me personally to continue playing.

  • Psi #5 6 years ago

    hope this is good its the first step to be buying a psp, however the ds is getting loads of use atm.

    oh playing on the donkey kong bongo's last night, f-ing fantastic

  • Salaman #6 6 years ago

    Alright, so that's the view for someone who's playing this as the third installment in the series.

    How would this work for people who don't have a PS2 though, or haven't modified their PS2 and didn't play any of these games sofar?

    Surely if the first one was Ace and the second also, this game will be equally great for all who now get to experience the rolling stuff up in a ball for the first time.
    If you somehow expect this a repetitive game, then surely the first 2 must be repetetive games as well as it sounds like it's a sort of remake of those.

  • SeesThroughAll #7 6 years ago

    It will be my first Katamari game. Looking forward.

  • Daikon #8 6 years ago

    Blisters? I want a Katamari which I can roll around with my DS stylus...

    katamaru katamaru.... yo!

  • NoCodeNed2 #9 6 years ago

    Totally agree with Salaman and SeesThroughAll

    Not what I'd call a balanced article.

  • Teeth #10 6 years ago

    Another triumph for the PSP

    It really is PS2 port city isn't it?

  • Furbs #11 6 years ago

    Yes. Thats why its called a "Playstation Portable".

  • Bitkari #12 6 years ago

    oi, namco. ds version s'il vous plait.

  • myiagros #13 6 years ago

    yes it is similar to the other Katamari games, but this is not a bad thing. This seems to be a truley fantastic game.

    And playing Katamari on the bus or in a plane can not be beaten!!

    This is still brilliant even if it is slightly less good than its two big brothers.

  • Teeth #14 6 years ago

    Most people who are interested in this will ahve already played KD on their PS2.

  • optimusprym8 #15 6 years ago

    This game is fan-bloody-tastic! Yes OK it's essentially the same as KD1 with more such-and-such-a-size in so-and-so-time without the KD2 changes but I lost patience with KD2 since it was all in Japanese with no English options like the first one so when I had to roll up a specific thing or do something else other than get to such-and-such-a-size in so-and-so-time, I generally couldn't.

    It's a shame that all the levels are such-and-such-a-size in so-and-so-time and there's not even one pick up the largest whatever item in the alloted time but I guess with the reduced screen size and controls, this wasn't possible...

    The controls do take a little getting used to but it soon becomes as natural as the PS2 version with thumbs firmly on up on both sides with a bit of banana fingers to roll over left or right and tweak it with the shoulder buttons, works fine!

    For anyone with a PSP and who hasn't played KD1 -or- KD2 on the PS2, I would say ignore this review and go get it anyway. Anyone who has played the other two, well maybe then hold off unless you are like me and suck up anything KD related.

    This, a white PSP and the limited edition pre-order only carry case = l33t! :p

    OK the carry case could have been a bit less cheap and bit more designed... at least they could have made the Prince's aerial into a popper that holds the top shut, if it opened like a pitta bread, rather than the shitty zip that stops you from being able to use the PSP with headphones etc... doh!

    Oh and this game, along with Mercury, is proof that the built-in tilt sensor that was originally planned would_have_been_a_great_idea
    Edited by 1 at 24/01/06 @ 10:58

  • Zuiyo #16 6 years ago

    What's all this Katamari about? Keep hearing Katamari, Katamari, Katamari.

  • JonFE #17 6 years ago

    From the little I can gather on the Katamari series (don't have a PS2/PSP, so my info is based on reviews only), wouldn't this be better off on the DS, using the touch screen to control ?

  • myiagros #18 6 years ago

    is it just me or do you think Katamari would be to easy on the DS, due to the dual input controls being one of the things that make the game what it is?

  • Teeth #19 6 years ago

    I don't believe the DS has the power to do Katamari Damacy, but I'll be happy to be corrected on the matter.

  • Hicksy #20 6 years ago

    I've got a DS :D

    10x better than the PSP IMO and half the price! :(

  • Hicksy #21 6 years ago

    or should that be :D ?

  • tengu #22 6 years ago

    omg psp sux ds ftw lolrofl!!!11!1!11!(Repeat to fade)

  • optimusprym8 #23 6 years ago

    yeah but no but the DS only plays games.

    I use my PSP for watching episodes of Family Guy/Futurama on the train to work and to listen to music whilst walking the rest of the way to work and then to play games on whilst I'm having a Rodan Moment at work. So, worth the extra £75 in my opinion.

  • myiagros #24 6 years ago

    i hope they try it on the DS at least would be interested to see whether it could handle it and how they would use the top screen.
    Maybe they could do what sega are doing with monkey ball, cell shade it?

    oh well here's to hopeing.

  • Xerx3s #25 6 years ago

    Wait! Wasnt this already released on another platform? In a better version? -_-

  • SeesThroughAll #26 6 years ago

    I find it amusing that so many DS users actually want many PSP games to show up on the DS. I thought that PSP games were supposed to be crap?

    Anyway,

    optimusprym8 said: "Oh and this game, along with Mercury, is proof that the built-in tilt sensor that was originally planned would_have_been_a_great_idea".
    Maybe it's considered to be issued in the future as an add-on (like the Talkman thing). One can always hope.

  • evilcoffee #27 6 years ago

    I'm confused - where in your review do you mention what it's like to have this type game in a portable device? Is it better in short bursts? What's it like when you fancy fifteen minutes of fun? Have the apparently small "rock pool" levels been created for that kind of gameplay or do they fail? What's it like if you've never actually imported any of the PS2 versions and are new to the concept?

  • Daikon #28 6 years ago

    Yes I want to roll up my DS into a big katamari!
    But really, it's not going to happen, it's just not powerful enough...

    I do hope Namco has a PS3 version in the works!

  • Teeth #29 6 years ago

    @evilcoffee: It's first impressions, not a review... but those are good questions that deserve answers!
    Edited by 1 at 24/01/06 @ 15:46

  • YourMessageHere #30 6 years ago

    I am sick of people basing their entire impressions on a comparison with a similar game on a totally different platform. I do not own a PS2, nor do I want to, I own a PSP and I want to know what THIS game is like, not how it's not like another game. Surely the whole point of a review/preview/first impression/opinion piece is to give people impressions as to what the game in question is like in as objective a manner as possible. Relating it briefly to other games is OK, but basing your entire article on something not being as good as something else, a thing that you claim very few people have experienced anyway, is verging on talking to yourself.

  • tonynibbles #31 6 years ago

    I have this. I have the limited edition case too and frankly, I am loving it, loving it, loving like that. Or this. Whatever, wish I hadn't written that now...

    Its great. Harsh review guys.

  • Zero_ #32 6 years ago

    "You gotta hand it to the artists on Katamari, nice n'fresh visuals. The 1st image showing the grey faced man, surreal."

    I guess you haven't played any Katamari games huh? Just wait 'till you see his pants.

  • Carrybagma #33 6 years ago

    WarioWare touched must have sounded like solid gold when it was announced for the DS, but turned up as 'more of the same' if this site's review was honest. Perhaps Katamari is the same.

  • Daikon #34 6 years ago

    @YourMessageHere

    The point Tom makes is that the game is not new, it's not a "similar game", it's a rehash of the PS2 version of Katamari Damacy. So yeah, of course he's going to compare it to that.
    It's a rehash, and yeah, that's a good thing. Just wished it had the sumo wrestler level in this version. Or does it?

  • optimusprym8 #35 6 years ago

    no

  • optimusprym8 #36 6 years ago

    but one of the bonus levels sees you super sizing fruit

  • mrsquare #37 6 years ago

    "The point Tom makes is that the game is not new, it's not a "similar game", it's a rehash of the PS2 version of Katamari Damacy. So yeah, of course he's going to compare it to that. "


    No, its not. Its an entirely separate game to either Katamari or We Love.... New story, new levels.

  • Daikon #38 6 years ago

    Me & My Katamari is lazy, repetitive and slightly tedious port that completely ignores most of WLK's best ideas?

    ... the music's mostly the same, the objects you roll up are mostly the same, the rewards are mostly the same, and the fundamental objective is mostly the same: make a big ball...

    Sounds like a rehash to me. Still, it's become very tempting to get a PSP.

  • dk_rare #39 6 years ago

    Any chance of a DS version? Or a Revolution version (Thinks KD with Rev controller, then drools)