Tell me if they somewhere translated the lyrics to the awesome, awesome soundtrack. If not, I’ll translate it for you. “Now, Kitsune, that’s a nice enough offer, but its not really necessary,” you say? Trust me, knowing what they’re talking about (well besides Charlie Kosei’s song, which is mostly in English) will bring up your level of appreciation for this fantastic game another 10 or 20%, as its got some deviously clever writing.
Those of you who are worried that the game will be too short and shallow don’t be.
The main quest won’t take you very long granted, but this is not only a game where you can be inspired to go through and improve your scores, but a game with elegant level design and tweaking that you can think of many different ways to approach the levels. Because the katamari’s physics are so tightly tuned to whatever you stick to it and there’s so much stuff you get on it, you really get a sense of creatings your own unique balls. Plus, the order in which you stack things matters as well and the reactions of things (and people!) when you put them on the ball are similarly fun. Sometimes the game will throw out specific challenges for you to pass and these will inspire to make up your fun the game is so much fun. Plus, every single item you pick up has amusing, RPG-like descriptions of it and finding them all will take you a while. There’s some good “everything but the kitchen sink” unlockables as well.
Think of it as a modern-day Pacman, except with many of the things we’ve learned about game design since then.
On top of that, unless you have an incredible aversion to the Japanese language or can’t stand any singing in a language not your native one, the soundtrack will blow your socks off. Think of it as either paying $20 for a kick-ass game and getting a free bonus soundtrack than can hang tough with any of the music industry’s best releases, or vice versa, a $20 music CD with an awesome game attached to it.
Though really I think its worth $50. Everyone here had to pay about that much for it and no one balked, saying it wasn’t worth a money, I haven’t heard from the hardcore whiners that it wasn’t worth the money. This is not one of those short experience games you play once and pack away forever. The sheer enthusiasm, inspiration, glee and total abandon to the ways of fun shines through in every single pixel.
Besides, haven’t you always wanted to somehow cause havoc in society by being a green alien rolling people, cars and telephone poles into a huge snowball? (I have! I have!) Isn’t that on everyone’s “must do before I do I die” list? Katamari makes you feel like you are Godzilla, and at the same time it brings back the feeling of such titles like the Dreamcast Toy Commander (wasn’t some part of that development team helmed by the people who did the great Twinsen adventure games?)
Also, it sucks that Culdcept is considered unique over there. :/ Not that Culdcept is bad, but I wish more of those types of games got translated.
-Kitsune
