Uploaded August 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Katamari Damacy is an evergreen game experience that brings a sort of blissful childhood glee to all those who play it. Coming from the imagination of Keita Takahashi, Katamari can best be described as a game that hits on that sense of childhood imagination where as a kid, you may have asked, "what if I could roll up the whole world into a ball?" Not only is this game imaginative, it's simple concept makes for some incredibly addictive fun to boot.
Every now and again a game so zanny comes out of nowhere and carves it's own niche, Becoming both memorable, and profitable enough in the mainstream to warrant sequels. Katamari Damacy is a decidedly Japanese-style game that normally would never see the light of day in North America. Luckily for us, Namco decided to localize it anyway. It seems, however, Europe missed the original, but did get it's followup We Love Katamari.
I also missed picking up the first two on PS2 back in the day, but did win a free copy of Beautiful Katamari on the 360 from a Gamepro.com offshoot site, so while I wasn't completely Katamari-less in my day, seeing Katamari Damacy REROLL available on Steam for a $15 sale price finally netted me a copy of the original. I have also since gone back and picked up both PS2 Katamari games.
The concept of Katamari Damacy is simple, you roll things up with your Katamari to increase the size until you can roll up larger objects to increase the size to roll up larger objects, rinse and repeat until you reach the required size for the level within the time allowed. The growth-gameplay design makes it incredibly addictive with the time limits giving it a sense of urgency.
Eventually your Katamari grows big enough to roll up houses, skyscrapers, and even huge chunks of land in later levels. The game has a deep sense of humor, with a lighthearted atmosphere, and some addictive gameplay. The comical game concept mixed with the comical objects to roll means game definitely doesn't take itself too seriously, despite it's seriously fun gameplay. This game is a timeless classic that is fun in all generations.
The game is also available on the Switch, PS4, and Xbox One, and Series X, but having not bought a new console since the Wii I bought over a decade ago, Steam was the only option I had to play it. For the Steam version, you'll want to get a controller to play it.
REROLL makes some changes to the original. The visuals are the most obvious upgrade, adding a widescreen perspective to see more and higher resolutions. This is, however, a remaster, and not a remake, so not a whole lot has been changed graphically outside of higher resolutions. This is a good thing, because REROLL retains mostly the same unique art direction as the original, along with the cheerfully bright color pallet.
The brightness makes this a game you can tell is meant to be a happy experience. This is a game that has an uplifting air about it. The entire visual design is a throwback to the days when games didn't take themselves so serious.
My only disclaimer with this game comes with listening to Katamari on the Rocks, the main theme. Once you hear the theme, it attaches itself to your soul, and it will never leave you. At random you will find yourself La, la, lala, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, lala, la, laing it out for the rest of your life.
OK, I can't lie, I love the title theme in particular, and the rest of the songs, while not my usual taste in music is also fitting for the game. The sounds are well done, and some of the sound bytes are hilarious. REROLL also changes the story scenes back to Japanese voice over with English subtitles, whereas the PS2 was English dubbed.
The game controls great once you learn their idiosyncrasies, so long as you have a controller to use. There were supposedly some control changes according to the game's wiki page, but jumping from the PS2 version to REROLL, I can tell you I haven't really noticed any differences.
The Ba, ba ,ba ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, bottom Line: Katamari Damcy will always be fun, and always be engaging. This is a game that still stands out as one of the most imaginative, unique experiences in gaming history, and it's an uplifting ode to how bright the world can be in the imagination of a child. If you're having a bad day, play some Katamari. If you're feeling down, play some katamari. If you're having a great day, play some Katamari. If you've never played Katamari, just play this game. REROLL is available on every platform under the sun, or you can find it on the PS2. This is one of those forever fun games that every gamer should experience at least once.
#katamaridamacyreroll #steam #namcobandaigames
Katamari Damacy is an evergreen game experience that brings a sort of blissful childhood glee to all those who play it. Coming from the imagination of Keita Takahashi, Katamari can best be described as a game that hits on that sense of childhood imagination where as a kid, you may have asked, "what if I could roll up the whole world into a ball?" Not only is this game imaginative, it's simple concept makes for some incredibly addictive fun to boot.
Every now and again a game so zanny comes out of nowhere and carves it's own niche, Becoming both memorable, and profitable enough in the mainstream to warrant sequels. Katamari Damacy is a decidedly Japanese-style game that normally would never see the light of day in North America. Luckily for us, Namco decided to localize it anyway. It seems, however, Europe missed the original, but did get it's followup We Love Katamari.
I also missed picking up the first two on PS2 back in the day, but did win a free copy of Beautiful Katamari on the 360 from a Gamepro.com offshoot site, so while I wasn't completely Katamari-less in my day, seeing Katamari Damacy REROLL available on Steam for a $15 sale price finally netted me a copy of the original. I have also since gone back and picked up both PS2 Katamari games.
The concept of Katamari Damacy is simple, you roll things up with your Katamari to increase the size until you can roll up larger objects to increase the size to roll up larger objects, rinse and repeat until you reach the required size for the level within the time allowed. The growth-gameplay design makes it incredibly addictive with the time limits giving it a sense of urgency.
Eventually your Katamari grows big enough to roll up houses, skyscrapers, and even huge chunks of land in later levels. The game has a deep sense of humor, with a lighthearted atmosphere, and some addictive gameplay. The comical game concept mixed with the comical objects to roll means game definitely doesn't take itself too seriously, despite it's seriously fun gameplay. This game is a timeless classic that is fun in all generations.
The game is also available on the Switch, PS4, and Xbox One, and Series X, but having not bought a new console since the Wii I bought over a decade ago, Steam was the only option I had to play it. For the Steam version, you'll want to get a controller to play it.
REROLL makes some changes to the original. The visuals are the most obvious upgrade, adding a widescreen perspective to see more and higher resolutions. This is, however, a remaster, and not a remake, so not a whole lot has been changed graphically outside of higher resolutions. This is a good thing, because REROLL retains mostly the same unique art direction as the original, along with the cheerfully bright color pallet.
The brightness makes this a game you can tell is meant to be a happy experience. This is a game that has an uplifting air about it. The entire visual design is a throwback to the days when games didn't take themselves so serious.
My only disclaimer with this game comes with listening to Katamari on the Rocks, the main theme. Once you hear the theme, it attaches itself to your soul, and it will never leave you. At random you will find yourself La, la, lala, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, lala, la, laing it out for the rest of your life.
OK, I can't lie, I love the title theme in particular, and the rest of the songs, while not my usual taste in music is also fitting for the game. The sounds are well done, and some of the sound bytes are hilarious. REROLL also changes the story scenes back to Japanese voice over with English subtitles, whereas the PS2 was English dubbed.
The game controls great once you learn their idiosyncrasies, so long as you have a controller to use. There were supposedly some control changes according to the game's wiki page, but jumping from the PS2 version to REROLL, I can tell you I haven't really noticed any differences.
The Ba, ba ,ba ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, bottom Line: Katamari Damcy will always be fun, and always be engaging. This is a game that still stands out as one of the most imaginative, unique experiences in gaming history, and it's an uplifting ode to how bright the world can be in the imagination of a child. If you're having a bad day, play some Katamari. If you're feeling down, play some katamari. If you're having a great day, play some Katamari. If you've never played Katamari, just play this game. REROLL is available on every platform under the sun, or you can find it on the PS2. This is one of those forever fun games that every gamer should experience at least once.
#katamaridamacyreroll #steam #namcobandaigames
