Once Upon a KATAMARI

Once Upon A Katamari feels like a confident step back into the series after having a crack at some remasters, and feels like a game that perfectly follows up on what those remasters set out to do. Everything that we all love about Katamari is still here and absolutely kicking. Small reservations with the progression system do precious little to take away from what is - ultimately - one of the most pure and appealing game concepts ever put to players. An absolutely fantastic return to form for a legacy franchise.

Once Upon A KATAMARI may have taken a while to arrive, but it made up for the fans' wait with a great title. It maintained the good things that the remakes of the first two titles brought to current generations and enhanced them with excellent narrative elements and a charming soundtrack. The King of All Cosmos may have tried to interfere, in more than one way, but the Prince managed to deliver his katamari in the way we all expected.

Once Upon a Katamari doesn't stray an inch from the classic formula of the series; in fact, it plays almost exactly the same. But it enriches the experience with more challenges, more distinct objectives, crazy levels, and competitive multiplayer for 4 players (including online). And all of this is sprinkled with the brand's trademark absurd humor.

Once Upon A Katamari delivers an amazingly fun time. It may be derivative with its graphics and story, but the impressive level variety across nine eras and sheer wealth of content ensure fans and newcomers will be rolling until they're sick of smiling.

Katamari Damacy is back, and it's still the same: crazy, fun, and hypnotic. The first true new entry in the series in 14 years offers a remarkable amount of content, plenty of customization options, and gameplay accessible to everyone, though it requires a fair amount of practice to master. The camera system, always the series' blessing and curse, has been improved, but it will require a fair amount of patience, especially in the more complex levels.

While its colorful art direction, eccentric humor, and fantastic new soundtrack capture the charm of the original, Once Upon a Katamari feels stagnant, with outdated controls, low interactivity, and few meaningful innovations beyond its nostalgic core.

Once Upon a Katamari walks a fine line between offering players lots of fun things to do and getting in its own way through all of these add-ons, and I found myself thinking it landed on both sides of that line at various points, depending on my mood. Perhaps it’s because I’m such a fan of the series that I have the complaints I do about this one. I’m inevitably comparing Once Upon a Katamari to all of the fun I had with previous installments, and feeling this one falls short with its attempts to do too much. I just want to roll. And while I technically can in Once Upon a Katamari, I’m forced to think about five other things while doing it.

The game itself is great, it just doesn't reach the heights of We Love Katamari

Collecting crowns is too much of a hassle. You have to play the same stage over and over again just to get the crowns. It's like torture.