Once Upon A KATAMARI

this is my new favorite game. BUT. i am giving it a bad review because they NEED TO ADD A LOADING SCREEN OR AN INFORMATIONAL THAT SAYS : dear veteran players, this Katamari game REQUIRES use of the " dash mechanic " more than our previous games that is all THIS GAME IS AMAZING

Definitely the best Katamari game in the series, which is one of the best series about whatever it is

So the music is really bad?? One of my favorite things about most katamari games is how funky and experimental their sound tracks are, with so many different dissonant styles. So far in this one it feels like it's all generic pop songs... They've got this whole theme with different settings and eras - why not write weird music to go with them all? I think when other reviews say it "lacks soul" this is the sort of thing that makes it feel that way.

she once upon my till i katamari

the love i feel for this game is only mirrored by unspoken rage of the prince cleaning up the king's goof ups 11/10 soundtrack love the new area selection challenges feel less "whoa when did this become an esports trial" and more like the game just got a little harder. cousin customization? with a dj outfit unlock? the prince can show off his questionable decisions in style? it feels like playing the og katamari for the first time

I started playing this game with the Switch release of KD Reroll, and PC Release of We Love Katamari Reroll on steam. KD Reroll I did not do much beyond the main levels, and then with We Love Katamari, I played for longer. With Once Upon a Katamari, I keep going back for more in 30 minute bursts to collect all the cousins, tokens, and gifts with more than 75% done as of now. Its fun, looks pretty, runs great. Its the same formula from the prior games, but feels as if I am fighting way less with the controls than the prior games. Music is cute. I'd overall recommend this game if you have had enjoyment with Katamari. One concern I did notice early on though is that certain levels can be trivialized by one solid magnet proc, which seems kinda counter-intuitive to what Katamari was about. I don't think it is that big of an issue, but it just seems a weird way to add some spice. I'd rather they maybe do a bit more with different kinds of levels instead of just adding power-ups in general, but again, minor issue.

Having only played the Katamari Damacy and We Love Katamari remakes, this one is the least favorite of the three for me, despite being a decent game. For a game that centers time travel in its level design and story, every era of time has minimal visual distinction to be truly unique. Like yeah, you could tell what each era is from iconic props and sets, but i still think the game does the bare minimum on that front. It relies heavily on the designs from the previous games, but i think this was played way too safe and the game suffered from that. The gameplay is as good as always, movement feels okay as far as Damacy goes, tough turns and the heavy feel of the Katamari does feel fustrating at times, but it pays off when you get big enough to be rolling everything in the way. I miss the way we dashed by wiggling the two joysticks back and forth, now you can simply press L2, way to simple. The camera is the most frustrating part, the walls and set pieces are almost always in the way blocking the screen, the levels are just too tight. Also, there are power ups now, i honestly was excited for them when i started, they were quite useful, but by the end i was reminiscing on the simpler Katamari times without them, i definitely could do without them. Now to the King, oh oh King... how annoying you are, The King talks too much! the dialogue has pauses between skips, have to press and hold the pause button more than once to skip all the dialogue to start playing, even if you already finished the level previously, and the King's face takes up most of the screen when he randomly pops up to comment on collected items and you have to skip manually through his text box to free up the screen!! so annoying. As for the story, it is quite a nothingburger, I'm not saying the previous games were pinnacles of story telling, but they were perfectly fine for what they were. This game however introduces many concepts and story elements and fails to do anything interesting with any of them. The S.S. Prince, the scroll of time, the King and Queen's adventures throughout the different eras of time, all just... nothing. The King stayed in the Edo period outfit the whole game, i know its the main area, but at least the Queen changed head pieces in each of her shorts. Oh yeah, there are short animated cutscenes every once in awhile, the Queen ones are fine and charming, but the King ones suck, the King is lame in this game, not unlike himself but come on don't be boring. Finally the scroll of time, i won't spoil anything... because there's nothing to spoil. One of the most boring final levels of any game i played. One of the worst things a game can do is be boring, and this game unfortunately was, despite being the longest out of the three i played. Overall, I'd recommend this game only if you played the first two and liked them and wanted some more Damacy, but otherwise it's not worth it. Definitely not a good introduction to the franchise. Good day gamers.