Katamari Damacy

[classic_gamer]

This game is awesome! It is a prime example of why you should not judge a game by its title. When I first saw discussions on another forum I assumed it was some Japanese RPG or fighting game (not my type of game).

Then I saw the Gamespy list of top party games and Katamari Damacy made the list. I looked into the game and found it looked very interesting. On the way home from school one night I stopped by EBGames and they had a new copy in stock. $19.99 for a new release!! I heard prices were coming down for PS2 games but I didn't realize how much. For that price I recommend anyone who likes games with different styles of gameplay pick up a copy.

Judging from the opening movie there must have been some type of chemical enhancement on the designers part.

[paulwc]

In this era of me-too games, I had a hard time tellling a friend what Katamari Damacy's gameplay was about. It's not like anything you may have played before.

It's also very addicting - that's always a plus.

[Shane R. Monroe]

Ummm... try this ...

"Super Monkey Ball where crap sticks to you as you roll over it."

I didn't get the draw ... I'm a slut for Marble Madness and 'roller' games in general - and I dunno ... just didn't work out for me. I posted more about this in another post.

[classic_gamer]

I guess I found it interesting because of the wide variety of things you can pick up (thumb tacks, plates, toothbrushes, small pets, people, etc.). Watching the trailer apparently you can even pick up entire buildings as you get big enough. For $20 brand new I would judge this as one of my better purchases recently.

[Shane R. Monroe]

I do applaud the CONCEPT - and sometimes the "WTF" concept works out well (see Cactus Bruce and the Corporate Monkees), and sometimes it doesn't. Its like free speech - you don't have to like what people have to say; you just have respect it.

$20 is definitely a good deal in the $40-$50 game days.

[splash_fx]

I played a little "Spyro: A Hero's Tale" last weekend and it has an mini-game where the dragon is placed in a ball and can roll around knocking over the bad guys in an invincable mode. Nothing amazing but a nice little addition and possibly a hat-tip to classic marble games of the past.

That said, nothing has been the "cherry high" that I experienced the first time I played Marble Madness and achieved a high score - hearing the cool electric guitar music at the end was beyond cool. The Amiga version was first rate in almost every aspect, but the one thing it was missing was the excellent high score music.

[kittendaddy]

Ummm... try this ...

"Super Monkey Ball where crap sticks to you as you roll over it."

I didn't get the draw ... I'm a slut for Marble Madness and 'roller' games in general - and I dunno ... just didn't work out for me. I posted more about this in another post.

I haven't played Super Monkey Ball, so I can't say for sure, but there were a couple of gameplay elements I thought were really well done in Katamari Damacy that I hadn't seen before (ignoring the "wtf" presentation).

One was the sense of progress.. early on, you're grabbing food off of the plate, then the plate itself, and later still, the whole table. This whole constant positive feedback loop, in a game full of little victories, was unique in my experience, and a lot of fun.

The other was a sense of scale. I love the way you start out getting kicked around by snails and later in the same level you can barely see them as you roll over them.

And back to the "wtf" - it's not a gameplay feature but the spectacle of wreaking havoc in the town once you get to a certain size is just a riot to watch. It's also very non-gamer friendly, so it's a good choice for a party game. We showed our handiman the game (NOT a gamer) and he was laughing out loud once we started rolling up animals and people midway through one level. It's also trivial to pick up and play.

So take it for what it is - it may not be completely unique (Namco hoped it would have a PacMan-like appeal), but it's definitely an example of gameplay over graphics in the modern day.

[Shane R. Monroe]

Maybe I need to give it another look ...

[patman]

Sounds kinda interesting... I wonder if my local Blockbuster has it...

[Flare]

That said, nothing has been the "cherry high" that I experienced the first time I played Marble Madness and achieved a high score

I think what we are all waiting for is for that guy to finally let go of those Marble Madness 2 roms so we can all enjoy it in MAME.

[paulwc]

I suppose using the word "originality" in my post had gone a bit too far.

As Shane pointed out, there's been a lot of 'roller' games in gaming history.

But in today's market, where a lot of games are the new year's update to a sports game, or a driving game with more realistic physics, or a FPS with more more slicker graphics, Katamari Damacy is a nice change.