REVIEW: ‘Once Upon A Katamari’ Is A Positively Memorable New Entry in The Series

Once Upon a Katamari is the highly requested latest mainline title in the cult classic, fan-favorite, wacky Katamari series from Bandai Namco. As the newest entry in 14 years, the game successfully infuses classic, nostalgic Katamari elements while making it more approachable for newcomers. And while several elements are less-than-optimal, the game still provides a stellar, incredibly memorable experience.

Once Upon A Katamari once again follows the goofy royal family of the cosmos and sees The King of All Cosmos, who, after messing around with a scroll, accidentally destroys the Earth and stars. It’s now up to the series’ protagonist, The Prince, to roll their katamari across space and time, fixing things by visiting many eras of Earth, collecting objects, and cleaning up messes in the process.

Like in other games, there’s not much of a detailed overarching narrative, but the game features several immaculately designed animated cutscenes that introduce each era and stage the player visits. For example, the first era sees the Edo Japan era, introduced with a themed humorous cutscene featuring The King.

Each era has these scenes and sees The Prince helping people solve various issues. What the game lacks in a full narrative or storytelling, it more than makes up for it with its humor, wacky side characters, and the King himself, who’s always entertaining whenever he’s on screen.

Once Upon a Katamari is as chaotic and entertaining as ever.

Gameplay-wise, Once Upon A Katamari is as chaotic and entertaining as ever. Like other games in the series, it is a puzzle-adventure game that sees players roll up a sticky ball known as a Katamari that attaches itself to everything imaginable. Your goal is to roll up the biggest ball possible as quickly as possible, while completing each stage’s objective.

The concept is simple, and the gameplay is relatively straightforward, with the two-stick controls for movement being the only thing that may take a little time to get used to. However, the difficulty lies in the time constraints most levels have and the increasing number of specific items you’ll be asked to roll up.

Rolling up several random and wacky items that have no business being littered around, from random animals to industrial tools and various types of alcohol, is incredibly fun and often funny. Being able to move anyway you want, get a speed boost, instantly turn around at any point, and having multiple vision angles help tremendously, especially with the chaotic nature of the gameplay.

New hidden items help make your rolls easier.

Each level also hides several types of items that make rolling and gathering easier, providing more excitement, variety, and strategy. These include a speed boost, a stopwatch to pause the timer, a magnet to pull items toward you, and many more.

That said, the game also has some aspects that make it, at times, unnecessarily tedious. The most annoying element is the camera, which can often be daunting to control and adds an unnatural layer of difficulty, especially as your ball gets bigger and obscures your vision. Considering each level is already filled with junk that gets in the way, also struggling with the camera ruins some levels that would otherwise be more fun.

Additionally, having The King pop up in the center of the screen to talk to The Prince whenever he picks up anything important—or to warn him about something—is quite distracting. It’s also annoying to deal with when you already have enough chaos to keep track of.

The King of All Sounds Edition makes the game’s already amazing music even better.

All that said, the game provides a mostly positive experience throughout, especially with its production quality. Once Upon a Katamari sports amazing visuals and an attractive aesthetic. It retains the same great aesthetic that has transcended the franchise’s age and still looks amazing.

It has impeccable character designs, a fantastic art style, and a simple yet vibrant and attention-grabbing art direction. Players can also either play as The Prince or as his numerous cousins and customize them in various creative and funny ways.

Despite this, the soundtrack is what makes the game truly memorable. The game’s music is its best part, hands down, especially if you have the King of All Sounds Edition, which includes the best songs from other games in the series.

Once Upon a Katamari is a fantastic new entry in the series.

Combine this with Once Upon A Katamari’s own great soundtrack, and you get to listen to some of the best songs in the medium. It’s worth noting that many of the people and musicians involved in the series’ soundtracks are also involved in this game’s soundtrack, which is likely why it’s excellent.

All in all, Once Upon a Katamari is a fantastic new entry in the series and provides an incredibly entertaining experience in all the right ways, despite its tedious parts. While many of the original developers, including the creator, aren’t involved with this title, it still manages to include all the elements that make the series great.

Once Upon a Katamari launches on October 24 for PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam.