You would be shocked to learn that not all games have a ton of trivia to find about them. I think the hardest time I have had is with one of my favorite games ala Katamari Damacy! I found the best bits so we could both learn more…
1. Yuu Miyake, who was the composer for the Katamari series of games, used to wander around the halls while working at Namco, humming and singing into a small handheld recorder in order to not lose inspiration if he wasn’t at his office. One of those original recordings can be heard in the beginning of Katamari Damacy. Na-nana-na-na.. okay, I’ll stop.
2. Katamari Damacy was seen as a sleeper hit and because of not expecting it to have such critical success, retailers didn’t purchase enough copies to meet with the demand that went hand-in-hand with its sudden popularity. Once it was listed as one of the best games of 2004 by Time Magazine, orders were flying in which had many video game retailers scrambling to purchase more.
3. Keita Takahashi, the artist and creator of Katamari Damacy, wanted to walk away after the first title but had been convinced by Namco to continue at least for We Love Katamari. In a hilarious and, somewhat cheeky, move – Takahashi wrote the game about the Cosmic Royalty needing to pander to people based on what they wanted the Cosmos to be comprised of. This little nose tweak resulted in a pretty funny story for the game and allowed Takahashi to move forward afterwards.
(Namco Games)
4. It took 10 people only a year and a half to come up with the first Katamari Damacy. A lot of concessions were needed in order to keep the budget and work load down, which is part of why the game has such a unique look and sound.
5. It took 14 whole years for Europe to get a Katamari Damacy game. Katamari Damacy: ReRoll, which came out this year, is the first taste that region got of the King of Cosmos and his wacky family.
6. The transliteration of Katamari Damacy is Katamari Tamashii. Katamari = Lump or Mass. Tamashii = Spirit or Soul. I mean, say what you will, but Lumpy Soul would’ve been such a fun title.
(Namco Games)
7. Players wouldn’t have the ability to let The Prince and, subsequently the Katamari, jump until Katamari Forever. Players had been complaining that not having quick turns was slowing down their experience and angering them, thus the implementation of jumping.
8. Allegedly, Takahashi’s first prototypes of Katamari Damacy were done with sculpting clay on poster board in order to show investors and designers how the Katamari would roll up and absorb any item that it encountered.
