Sometimes games can be a bit poe faced and serious, while others are more down to earth but fun, few are as insane as the Katamari series. The fifteen or so titles from 2004 onwards have seen the sticky series become a cult favourite. And now We Love Katamari REROLL+ Royal Reverie has just rolled on to the scene.
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We Love Katamari REROLL+ Royal Reverie a remaster of the second game in the series. The game follows on from the 2018’s Katamari Damacy Reroll itself – a remaster of the first game in the series, Katamari Damacy.
A True ReRoll
This new remaster brings the classic game to an new audience. But, with its cult following in mind, it also adds in a few new elements for the die-hard Katamari fans to enjoy.
We Love Katamari REROLL+ Royal Reverie picks up after the events of the first game. The King of the Cosmos once accidentally destroyed all the stars in the universe. So instead of fixing it himself he sent you, his son the Prince, to Earth. And there you are tasked with creating large Katamari (planets).
The Gravity It Deserves
You do such a good job at repopulating the night sky that The King wants even more. So, the Prince does what he knows best. Rolling the Katamari, aiming to make everyone’s dreams come true.
It’s a truly odd tale delivered in an odd way. But it has all the heart, soul and charm it needs to stick everything together. We Love Katamari REROLL+ Royal Reverie somehow makes you feel like all your of rolling has a purpose.
As you play through the tale you’ll also unlock levels which lets you see the King’s childhood, as well as his rise to rule the Cosmos. And this really does help flesh out the game’s weird world.
This remaster also brings a few new levels that give you even more background info on the King. Even if you’re not a lore fan, some extra Katamari levels are always a plus.
Sticking With It
We Love Katamari REROLL+ Royal Reverie sticks to its guns with its gameplay. Which is not a bad thing. Like the PS2 original, We Love Katamari REROLL+ Royal Reverie is easy to pick up but incredibly difficult to master. There is a lot of depth to the challenge born out of how you don’t directly control either the Katamari or the Prince.
You are more so juggling both, which is all handled through your sticks. At first, only the simplest moves and manoeuvres are in any way intuitive. But soon you’ll click with it, pulling off more advanced moves like spin dashing.
Rolling With It
You start each level as a small ball only able to pick up similar sized objects, but collect enough and you’ll grow to pick up bigger and bigger things and soon you’ll go from picking up pins and matches and you’ll end the level grabbing cats, bikes…and people.
It’s an extremely addictive gameplay loop as you are forever pushing to get bigger, though across its different levels there are a few challenges you’ll have to face before completing; beyond just hoovering up everything you see.
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Also odds are your first run on a level will see you fail, as you’re going in blind and don’t really know the best route to get your Katamari up in size, so level knowledge is a key feature of the game too.
Delightfully Deranged
We Love Katamari REROLL+ Royal Reverie is colourful and vibrant, but also bursting with style and symbolism. Objects in the game are recognisable at just a glance, but rendered in a striking and absurd fashion that were a joy just to behold.
This also bleeds into the sound of the game too with the soundtrack having some truly mind washing catchy songs that you will be humming days, weeks and months after you have played it – all extremely Japanese in the best way. As for the rest it’s all a bit ketch and retro, but in a way that makes you smile.
There is also local co-op mode of sorts that sees you and mates helping to roll the same Katamari which is instantly fun.
We Love Katamari REROLL+ Royal Reverie is filled with joy, tells a hilarious story inside of its compelling gameplay, catchy soundtrack and moreish presentation. Few games have made me smile so hard while baffling me this much
Bonus: If you are looking for a way to kill some time, if you Google We Love Katamari REROLL+ Royal Reverie and click on the Katamari on the right side of the screen, it will turn your browser into a mini game; where you can collect everything on screen like in the game.