Katamari Forever
Main game
4.08 average rating based on 206 ratings
- Developers
- Genki
- Publishers
- Namco Bandai Games
- Series
- Katamari Damacy
- Event
- Sony E3 2009 Press Conference
- Platforms
- PlayStation 3
- Genres
- Adventure, Puzzle
- Themes
- Action, Comedy
Release Dates
User Stats
How Long Is Katamari Forever?
tylerisrandom's review of Katamari Forever
This review is for the PlayStation 3 version
I almost bought the recent remaster of We Love Katamari in a Spring Sale, but then I remembered I'd never finished Katamari Forever... despite starting it in 2009! 😳 Whoops!! 🙈
So I finally started it up again and had a good time! It's definitely not my favorite entry: It has noticeable performance issues, and I prefer the original's vibrant color palette to the sketchy-ness and desaturation employed here. It also feels oddly paced: I remember a couple of difficulty spikes in the original, but I had to look up some videos to figure out why I was failing so hard at some of these courses.
But overall, Katamari on an off day is still pretty dang fun. Worth picking up if you have a PS3 and see a copy in the wild.
Nah-nah-nah-nah-nah-nah-nah...
This review is for the PlayStation 3 version
If you've played any other Katamari game, you know what to expect - you're going to roll up everything around you in a ball and the bigger the ball gets the bigger things stick to it. No big surprises here, but the creative, hilariously ridiculous, and extremely fun to play concept at the core of the series' gameplay is there. Katamari Forever is probably the longest game in the series. Some levels are challenging, some are even frustrating, but most of them are just pure fun and joy to play. Also, the visuals are beautiful and stylish (cel-shaded graphics, I think? + color vs. black and white). Not everyone seems to like the soundtrack, but I did - both the pop-songs and the electronic beats and remixes. And for sure there's nothing else like rolling a katamari while a remarkably dull Japanese pop song is playing.
More and Prettier Katamari... worse music
This review is for the PlayStation 3 version
The final levels really brought a smile to my face and were extremely rewarding. Other than that… this game is more, and prettier Katamari. It is a fairly significant downgrade in the soundtrack department… which is a real hindrance. If the game had as good a soundtrack as the original, I'd say it would be the Katamari to play.
As it is in this form, it is good for the HD visuals and a few inventive ideas about rolling things up but other than that, not really a must play unless you are a devotee of Katamari Damacy.
agersant's review of Katamari Forever
- Very creative concept
- Enjoyable and varied soundtrack
- Artificial difficulty, failure feels unfair
- Good replay value
Katamari Damacy, a game I consider to be one of the few "perfect" games, released for the PS2 in 2004 and did well enough that Namco decided to make a bunch of sequels for it the following few years. Katamari Forever, a PS3 release in 2009, is a sort of "best of" compilation of levels from various entries, with some new features and a bunch of remixed music tracks. My experience with the Katamari series has only been the first title and the Vita one (released in 2011), so most of the content in Forever is new to me.
Long story short, it's Katamari -- which means it's great. I love rolling the katamari around and picking up stuff. There is perhaps nothing more fun you can do in a video game. And everything with the Prince, the King of the Cosmos, and new character RoboKing is a hoot. Just a fun, amusing, and delightful game, and there is a nice variety to the challenges you can complete, should you want to do something other than just roll up the biggest katamari you can.
There are a couple small quibbles I have with this entry. I didn't care as much …
Katamari Damacy, a game I consider to be one of the few "perfect" games, released for the PS2 in 2004 and did well enough that Namco decided to make a bunch of sequels for it the following few years. Katamari Forever, a PS3 release in 2009, is a sort of "best of" compilation of levels from various entries, with some new features and a bunch of remixed music tracks. My experience with the Katamari series has only been the first title and the Vita one (released in 2011), so most of the content in Forever is new to me.
Long story short, it's Katamari -- which means it's great. I love rolling the katamari around and picking up stuff. There is perhaps nothing more fun you can do in a video game. And everything with the Prince, the King of the Cosmos, and new character RoboKing is a hoot. Just a fun, amusing, and delightful game, and there is a nice variety to the challenges you can complete, should you want to do something other than just roll up the biggest katamari you can.
There are a couple small quibbles I have with this entry. I didn't care as much for the graphics style of this one (kind of like a sketch drawing, not as vibrant?), or the way many levels are in black and white (until you roll up enough stuff, restoring color to the world). The new jump move is finicky. Remixed songs can be hit-or-miss, and some of the oddball challenges are too gimmicky for their own good. Still though, for the most part I had a great time and recommend this to any Katamari fans out there.
Halfway through the game, loving every second. Just one issue: the game is terribly optimized. And for an exclusive, that's inexcusable. The frame rate can go from comfortably playable to "Oh, so I'm watching a powerpoint now." It's not even that the game is graphically intensive. There's just so much **** on screen that the PS3 is slogging along. And with a game that quickly involves rolling up skyscrapers and land masses, this is quite inconvenient. Again, love the game, but I'd prefer Beautiful Katamari on 360. At least that has a better chance at maintaining a stable framerate.