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Once Upon A Katamari |OT| It's About Time

jshackles

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And yes, the OT title is a joke because it's the same one as Borderlands 4 and Hades 2 that both released recently with that same title
 
Thread soundtracks:









 
I well and truly thought we would never get a NEW Katamari game after all of these years.

I just went back and replayed EVERY game in the series. My body is beyond ready.

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Can't wait for this, I'll get the physical version November 20th!

Oddly getting a UK Xbox physical release, whereas the prior two remakes were USA only that I imported 😁
 
Sounds like more classic Katamari, the best possible outcome. I would typically get the Switch version, but I wonder if the PS5 one will end up being better? I prefer the symmetrical analog stick layout and I know performance will be better, but portability and a cart are a plus.

Hope this does well so we'll get more new entries in the future.
 
I loved this game on ps2, but I haven't play the sequels because I think they can't add new ways to play. Is there anything interesting about this one?
 
I loved this game on ps2, but I haven't play the sequels because I think they can't add new ways to play. Is there anything interesting about this one?
The recent ones on switch & PS4 ect were just remasters of the original 2 from PS2 era. This time it's a totally new game with new stages/songs.

These games are rare they don't exactly release often so I'll take any that appear it's nice to have the older ones on newer consoles and now a new one as well.

Annoyingly my copy has arrived but thousands of miles away in japan need to wait for all my other games to turn up before I can get them & katamari sent off.
 
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Hope it still has this masterpiece in it



This is fucking brilliant, thank you very much for posting it. I think I still have to finish some levels in WLK Reroll actually, maybe it was just for 100% completion though, hard to remember with these games (in a good way, I've realised). I can kind of remember hearing the song when I played, but not certain.

Outside observers might not see it, but these games are (mostly) so relaxing to me, I should try to remember them when I've fallen in a hole as they would probably be very helpful at those times, a silly fun distraction.
 
Got this, Tormented Souls 2 and Cronos. Not sure I will buy any more games coming out in 2025, but.. this has been a good year to splurge, comparing the last 5...
 
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Finished the tutorial and first mission. Love the music and the presentation is classic. Not sure about the powerups yet as they feel a bit like cheating.
 

Seems to run great on the SteamDeck. 60FPS. sure with a few dips, but I remember playing Beautiful Katamari on the 360 at terrible framerates in later levels 💀
 
This is fucking brilliant, thank you very much for posting it. I think I still have to finish some levels in WLK Reroll actually, maybe it was just for 100% completion though, hard to remember with these games (in a good way, I've realised). I can kind of remember hearing the song when I played, but not certain.

Outside observers might not see it, but these games are (mostly) so relaxing to me, I should try to remember them when I've fallen in a hole as they would probably be very helpful at those times, a silly fun distraction.
It plays during the "Roll up the sun" level on We Love Katamari :)
 
+Great Music
+Time travel gimmick
=Power-ups seem kind of eh
-KatamariBall is pretty dull (I do not want my rolled up ball to shrink)
-Progression tied to collecting crowns just feels like a way to force you to replay missions/challenges while severely limiting forward progress.
 
First Katamari still seems like the strongest one out of them all, however, this has been pretty fun, so far. Will be diving into it more, after I clear Cronos.
 


Katamari Damacy is back after 14 years with a brand new game - Once Upon A KATAMARI!

Featuring new songs by a variety of artists from familiar faces to new stars! Everyone is different and each one is wonderful!
 
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I'm so mad that there's no Switch 2 version. I refuse to play this at 30fps.

I want to play it so badly, though. But it's the perfect kind of game to play on the go… ugh.
 
Been enjoying this, but it definitely feels like "More Katamari Damacy". Which I'm okay with, but the aesthetic definitely hasn't changed much since the PS2 era original.
 
Played some more and my impressions improved with Voyage at Sea (pirate theme and has one of my favorite levels), but then came Greece and woof...I really don't like the levels/missions here. The game does itself a real disservice by having you revisit levels so early on and often. I continue to dislike the crown collecting and power-up system. Sort of feels like they made enough content for a usual Katamari experience and then tried to stretch out the runtime by two or three times what is normal.
 
Played some more and my impressions improved with Voyage at Sea (pirate theme and has one of my favorite levels), but then came Greece and woof...I really don't like the levels/missions here. The game does itself a real disservice by having you revisit levels so early on and often. I continue to dislike the crown collecting and power-up system. Sort of feels like they made enough content for a usual Katamari experience and then tried to stretch out the runtime by two or three times what is normal.
Been playing this a bit more and yeah I can echo basically everything you've said here. It almost feels like they just tried to artificially lengthen the game with the crown collecting, for seemingly no reason. It's lame that you can't spawn into a level and roll up a crown then quit, you have to finish out the timer or level requirements, adding a bit more tedium. It also kind of pisses me off that all the game's achievements revolve around collecting all the crowns in individual levels - meaning, if you're like me and don't care about 100%-ing every level, you can literally beat this game without unlocking a single achievement. Lame.

Still loving the music and level variety, but will probably put this on the back burner in a few days in favor of Dragon Quest.
 
Rolled credits tonight. While I certainly haven't seen everything the game has to offer, I'm pretty mixed on what I experienced. Beyond what I mentioned in my previous posts, the level design is really hit and miss as are the objective mission types (watering the desert being the highlight). I know it isn't exactly new and maybe a byproduct of the engine and supporting the Switch 1, but level loading times and having the objects stuck to your ball reset as you grow bigger is a bummer. There are also weird physics glitches like grabbing objects from on top of a table while rolling under it (without the magnet power up) and it does feel like the climb ability is really inconsistent and can leave you stuck. I'd recommend replaying the first two remasters over this unless you've done that recently and want new content to play. There are some great levels here and there, but there are just as many bad and middling levels.
 


Once Upon a Katamari isn't just another remaster or remake of an older title, but the first new console entry since 2011. The quirky arcade-puzzler returns with its signature ball rolling mayhem, now wrapped in a time-traveling premise.

It's up to the Prince to roll through different eras collecting objects, people, and whatever else gets in his way to put time back together. The era-hopping structure lets players roll across themed stages, from ancient civilizations to futuristic skylines, each packed with new objects and strange surprises to collect.

It's classic Katamari, just bigger and more varied than ever. Once Upon a Katamari is available now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Nintendo Switch for $39.99 and you're not going to want to miss it if you're a fan of the series.
 


The wacky world of Katamari Damacy has been gracing our screens since 2004 now, but what exactly is it? And why is it's first mainline release after 14 years so significant? This week, I want to talk to you about all things Once Upon a Katamari, and maybe we can keep rolling together.

0:00 - Introduction
01:23 - A brief history of Katamari
02:40 - Once Upon a Katamari
05:05 - Collect-a-thon
07:11 - Get rolling
 
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