After revisiting the original Katamari Damacy last week for the first time in years and enjoying it quite a bit, I had an itch to play the same sort of game on my morning commute.
I'd read the middling reviews for Touch My Katamari, most of which seemed focused on the game's lack of growth compared to the last few entries in the series. Having never played any other Katamari games aside from the original, I decided I'd probably be less sensitive to those criticisms, so I gave it a whirl.
My feelings are mixed.
On one hand, if you like Katamari Damacy, the core gameplay is here. It scratches that itch I mentioned earlier, so for that I can't really give it a negative review. I'd also say the storyline is more entertaining than the original... the animation style of Goru the Slacker reminded me of MTV's old Liquid Television series, and I enjoyed it a lot more than the space-faring cube children of the series' eponymous debut.
But every other addition feels pretty "meh." The levels don't match the scope of the original, so there's not quite as big of a "wow" factor, and none at all until the final level. In the original game, criticisms were delivered only by The King of the Cosmos, and it was funny. In this game, both the king and a bunch of random lapsed "fans" of his work berate you for anything less than a stellar performance, which is pretty brutal (and not really funny after a few levels, especially when the game's inconsistent frame rate starts substantially affecting the outcome). The interface can't decide if it wants to prefer touch or "classic" controls; I design interfaces for a living, yet I found myself clumsily bouncing around the UI, even entering levels I didn't intend to.
In contrast to the original, this game is clearly designed to be played and replayed. The main game is 2 or 3 hours long at most, but there's a greater emphasis on collectibles and earning "candies" to buy outfits for the king. It's an odd choice to make the king's outfits more easily attainable than the prince, since you only see the king between levels and when he incessantly interrupts your gameplay. I much preferred earning a scarf or a guitar for my prince in the first game.
If you're looking for some sort of Katamari game that doesn't completely suck and uses the classic control scheme you're used to, this game will suit that need just fine. If you're expecting any more than that, you'll probably be disappointed.
