You're A Lonely Rolling Star
Katamari Forever proves that one man's simple little concept can be as timeless and amazing five years after it first debuted.
Published: October 9, 2009
The one big change that I did absolutely welcome was the addition of a power-up from the Robo-King that would draw in objects, either with a few-second, light tug of rollable objects or a one-time massive vaccum that could instantly double the size of the katamari payload. This fundamentally changes how you can go about some levels, as you'll often be saddled with what seems like an impossible time limit, only to find you can roll up a bunch of stuff and then touch these power-ups at the last second to soar past the size or object requirements. It really does add to the feeling of growing in power and size that the normal process of rolling stuff up more slowly does in piecemeal fashion.
That's probably the biggest reason why the series is still so engaging. There's just something about the feeling you get when you start off smaller than a mouse and by the end you're rolling up entire continents, then weather formations, then the batpoop insane fighting robots and stomping monsters that only seem to appear when you're the size of a dozen Africas. Somewhere along the way, you'll roll back over that small little nook where you were and get an awesome sense of just how far you've come. I doubt a dozen games could diminish that feeling, and it's why I do still love this series.
The game's visuals -- particularly during the local-only head-to-head modes -- aren't doing the series any favors, though. Yes, you've got online leaderboards and at least local multiplayer, but the screen divide kills the peripheral view necessary to see where you're going and what's around you to grab by rolling sideways, and though it probably would have been just as problematic as the 360 version, the removal of an online component is a bummer.
That the game still manages to have framerate and pop-in problems despite the simple look of things (I do realize it's quite a bit more packed with stuff to roll up or break apart as you're doing so) doesn't help the impression that this is a re-skinning of old content. Luckily, it's not a game-breaker, and the visual style really does look a lot nicer in HD.
Aurally, the game is right on par with the rest of the series, which is to say it's not exactly blowing out my surround system, but it is at the very least bumping some great tunes -- and remixes of those tunes, no less. The cutscenes are now eseentially wordless (no more, "oh, I feel it! I feel the cosmos!" here), but the effects work is still just as weird and giggle-worthy as ever.
In the end, the recycling of old levels isn't as damning as it may first seem. The "story" (such as it is) does a good job of at least explaining why you're back in those old levels, and adopting a more varied approach to what and why you're rolling up stuff in those old levels manages to keep it all feeling as new as We Love Katamari did, which is a serious bonus. I'm still never going to re-play those damn "keep the katamari lit" levels again once I finish 'em, though. With a smattering of presents, cousins and the like to find, there's also plenty of replay value.
No, Katamari Forever isn't an entirely new game, but it's easily the best looking PlayStation iteration of things and retains most of the addictive charm of the originals. Whether that's worth the $50 asking price (remember, the original was $20 new) is up to you, but for fans of the series like me, it's at least one more roll.
