In 2005, the undersigned was still in high school, he had a vague hope for the future, he firmly believed that twenty years later cars would surely travel suspended just a few centimeters above the ground. Above all, Italy still only had three World Cups under its belt, the Lakers were not doing so well and in the video game industry even the most established publishers were not afraid to experiment and propose extravagant products. Like We Love Katamari, the second daughter of a saga born just a year earlier, which was not only based on unusual gameplay, but also immersed the game mechanics in an extremely strange and eccentric context.
Those who were lucky enough to enjoy it at the time, reading these introductory lines, will sigh with nostalgia not only remembering the thick hair or the toned physique of that time lost forever. She will be prey to pleasant memories of the time spent in the company of the tireless Prince and the histrionic King of the Cosmos.
The duo, absolute protagonists of the Bandai Namco series, after being protagonists again in 2018 with the remastering of the first chapter, also return in We Love Katamari Reroll + Royal Reverie, a product halfway between the HD reproduction and the ( false) redo.
Won't this leap into the past be too much for newbies? Will early fans still find it fun to roll a ball up and down the levels? In this We Love Katamari Reroll + Royal Reverie Review We explain why, despite everything, today it is still natural to love Katamari.
Love the Cosmos, your father.
We Love Katamari Reroll + Royal Reverie, like all other chapters in the series, is based on a extremely simple concept. Pushing a ball with supernatural sticky abilities, you will have to enlarge the sphere until it reaches a certain diameter, dragging with you everything that appears in your path. It is not an operation without risks or obstacles. The Katamari, in fact, can only attract to itself that which has dimensions smaller than the prodigious device itself. This means that if you can initially overwhelm small desktop objects, crumbs and tiny animals, during the same level, and more generally in the main campaign, you will find yourself gluing cars, trees and entire buildings to the sphere.
A certainly unusual idea, supported, as we said, in a narrative context equally impressive. The King of the Cosmos, breaking the fourth wall and launching a clearly metanarrative speech, surprised by the success and love shown towards his Katamari, in reference to the relative success achieved by the founder of the saga, decided to send his firstborn back to Earth. . The Prince's task is to listen to the wishes of his subjects, thus creating other stars with which to constellate the firmament that, for those who do not remember, had been partially rebuilt thanks to the power of the Katamari in the prequel.
He too graphic style He's obviously curious. By deliberately choosing to save on polygons, a game world emerges that is as grotesque in the cutscenes as it is extremely colorful, animated and minimalist in the game phases. Peculiar and timeless, the aesthetic sector of We Love Katamari Reroll + Royal Reverie convinces today like yesterday, thanks to the excellent adaptation work done by the developers. In high definition, the scenarios continue to surprise and, thanks also to an impeccable frame-rate, there are no technical problems of any kind. Years and years of indies have accustomed even younger audiences to quirky art designs and it certainly won't be Bandai Namco's production that will surprise them.
The sentence can also be extended to colonna sonora. The songs range from off-key fanfares to orchestrated pieces, and they all have one thing in common: they'll stick in your head, and before you know it, you'll find yourself humming and whistling them at the bus stop or when you're lost. in thought. Even in this area, the timelessness of the game directed by Keita Takahashi is revealed in all its brilliant splendor.
Roll through the glory of the firmament
A simple and easily assimilated idea, however, does not always rhyme with a game capable of entertaining. Especially if we're talking about an experiment that dates back to 2005. Will it still be fascinating to veterans? Will newcomers appreciate the over-the-top formula of We Love Katamari Reroll + Royal Reverie? Are we talking, in short, about a game still worthy of our time?
Rolling a sticky ball through environments filled with objects evidently provides influence Ancestral instincts inherent to our species., awakening as if by magic a pleasure, a satisfaction, an inexplicable fun. The specific weight of emotions, and amazement, generated by any game with this game is immutable, deaf to the passage of time. This is not a feeling that can be universally attributed to the entire gaming audience, because the gameplay consciously suffers from a lack of depth that will repel the most pretentious players, but it is undeniable that we are looking at a production capable of exciting. a joy as fleeting as it is dazzling.
Obviously, not all credit goes to the game's formula. He level design plays a fundamental role from this point of view. The stages feature a mix of large arenas and hidden areas filled with objects capable of drastically increasing the diameter of the Katamari. Finding them helps greatly in achieving scores worthy of the praise of the King of Cosmos. However, the replayability is poor as it doesn't take long to explore each level. However, this won't stop you from trying the same mission over and over again, even if it's just for the simple pleasure of rolling the ball around the stage.
Furthermore, compared to the prequel, the original introduced some objectives Interiors in each level capable of making the adventure even more challenging. To completely complete each scenario, in fact, always respecting the imposed time limit, you will not only have to increase the Katamari, being very careful not to collide with objects that are too large, an eventuality that will cost you precious seconds. From time to time you will be asked to find specific items, collect only a certain type of animal, etc.
We Love Katamari Reroll + Royal Reverie also brings back the much-loved local cooperative mode, a true source of addiction with the right partner and prone to this type of experiences. As if that were not enough, a reason that makes this revival something more than a simple remastering, a handful of new levels. Nothing particularly shocking in the overall longevity of the adventure, which unfolds around the dozens of hours, but these are pleasant additions, which testify to the ability of the adaptation developers to capture the spirit, style and design of the original and propose them again, perfectly preserved, in these settings from scratch. Scenarios that, among other things, shed light on the turbulent past of the King of the Cosmos through ad hoc videos, a pleasant narrative interlude that embellishes the unique universe of the game.
Conclusions
Tested version PlayStation 5 digital delivery Steam, playstation store, Xbox Store, Nintendo eShop Price 29.99 € Holygamerz.com 7.5 Readers (7) 8.2 your voteYears pass, but not love for Katamari. We Love Katamari Reroll + Royal Reverie is an excellent remaster that also offers new content in the form of new levels. Exactly as in the past, we are faced with a game that does not make depth and variety its reason for being. Also and above all for this reason it cannot be considered a game capable of speaking to a wide and varied audience. As in 2005, we are faced with a strange and eccentric experiment that, however, given to those who are inclined to a certain type of experience, will bring joy in abundance. Newbies will fall in love with the strange epic of the Prince too thanks to a timeless art sector, some pretty brilliant level design, and a generous co-op of moments with a high level of madness, if experienced with the right friend. Veterans, meanwhile, will find the same game they loved in 2005, enhanced with high definition and enriched with a handful of new levels. Resisting the temptation to make a second purchase, even with only two extra hours of adventure at most, will be really difficult.
PRO
- Plot, soundtrack and artistic design, now in HD, continue to surprise
- Rolling the Katamari provides everlasting or everlasting fun
- new levels
AGAINST
- The lack of depth of gameplay makes it a title with an atypical flavor
- The new levels guarantee a maximum of two extra hours of fun
