Friday 23 February, 2007

There's a certain charm to Katamari Damashii that simply doesn't exist in any other game I've played. It gets you excited with the feeling of power, but limits that feeling from going to absolute craze with subtle, enjoyable background music. The combination of consistently well designed visuals, a variety of quirky soundtracks, and an ingeniously intuitive control-scheme make this game one of the finest in game history.

For one, there's a very consistent style to Katamari. All objects in the universe seem appropriate amongst eachother, even if, given the context of the real world, they absolutely would not (why the fuck are there gorillas on the beach?). The game has entirely obscure levels and while it's horribly funny, the game has us come to accept the weirdness of the game as completely natural.

The sometimes absurd, but usually very beautiful and engaging soundtrack lends itself to the drive for this game. Have you ever tried playing Katamari without sound? It's really not enjoyable at all. The music keeps you rolling and that is half the game.

Katamari Damashii has the best use of two joysticks that I've ever seen. It works perfectly for the game mechanics in KD and is really all the player needs to control their Katamari. I've noticed that I've managed to get a lot of "non-gamers" into this game based just on the simplicity of the control scheme. The lack of any real need to use buttons makes it almost immediately accessible to anyone.

On a similar note, have you ever just listened to the music? It's an interesting soundtrack because you get the feeling that it doesn't quite work (for me) without the game. Of course, some of the tracks can still get you in a playful mood, but the effect is much better with the game going on at the same time.

Oh yeah, for a while my friends and I were obsessed with the soundtrack and played it a whole lot. It's got a nice groove to it and is fun for driving in the car... but yeah, nothing like actually playing the game with the music.