When I found out we had Katamari Damacy in Loot Wear this June, I completely freaked out. I’ve been obsessed with this bizarre little title since it came out on the PlayStation 2 back in 2004. For the people who haven’t heard of it, I thought I’d shed a little light on this peculiarly adorable gaming trinket and procure you some hype…
1. What is Katamari Damacy?
I’m glad you asked. How do I explain this in a way that does it even remote justice? From the trailer above, one may have absolutely no clue what this Japanese delight is all about. Imagine if your Dad was the King of all the Cosmos. It’s entirely possible he’s a bit of a clutz and has the tiniest hint of a binge drinking issue. One night, he got into some drama and wiped out pretty much every planet worth a pickle and now the galaxy is empty. Just… obliterated. Who has to fix it? You, the Prince. The tiny diminutive little Prince is given a Katamari, which is a mystical and magical ball that can magnetically stick anything that it comes in contact with. What is the point of this?
To make planets again, silly. I mean, Earth is kinda screwed during this because you’re sucking up every item in your path in order to build these planets but what else is Earth good for some days, you know? If the Prince finishes his task, the galaxy and all the celestial bodies of stars and constellations will be restored and the King can rest easy that his fluff-up was fixed. I mean, he’ll probably never be satisfied with it anyhow but at least you helped.
(Bandai Namco)
2. What about that family in the game?
The family that you see in a little side story situation is the Hoshino family. Dad is an astronaut that was pretty much displaced and out of work what with all the planets being destroyed. While the family is a bit out of sorts during this, the daughter can sense the Prince’s intentions as he restores the galaxy back to its rightful state. This doesn’t really help matters too much in the long-run as, well, the Prince kinda gathers up the family and everything they own and they become the Moon. Yeah. Sorry about that, fam.
(Bandai Namco)
3. Aren’t their other games? Does the King just keep messing things up?
Short answer: Yes. The King is kind of known for being a bit hot-tempered and obnoxious and he seems to think he’s just the most incredible thing to ever exist, so when he gets all up in his feelings – stuff tends to go wrong. Thankfully, he has a devoted son and an army of cousins to the Prince that will sort these problems out when they come their way.
(Bandai Namco)
The most wonderful part of Katamari Damacy is that it completely refuses to be logical or serious in any sort of way you could unravel and try to understand. It has a soundtrack that crawls into your brain and keeps you the happiest goal-oriented son to a wildly irresponsible King you could be. Once you start rolling that ball, a happy little ‘bink’ sound letting you know you’ve gathered up another material and even giving you facts about the size and circumference of your Katmari – you become entranced. The further you get in the game, the larger those planets become and whales, islands and clouds become a part of your whimsical ball of chaos.
