We Love Katamari Reroll + Royal Reverie evaluation for Nintendo Change

System: Change
Launch date: June 2, 2023
Developer: Bandai Namco / Monkey Craft
Writer: Bandai Namco

Typically, the most important problem we face as reviewers is in describing easy ideas – take Katamari, as an example. You play as a tiny inexperienced man known as the Prince, and also you’re tasked with rolling round a comically giant and sticky ball. You navigate contained ranges with the purpose of rolling stuff up into that ball, and rising bigger because of this. It sounds nearer to a cheese-dream than a compelling gameplay loop, doesn’t it? Regardless of the outlandish premise, Bandai Namco’s Katamari collection has garnered a large fanbase during the last twenty years. Whereas us super-fans collectively pine for a model new entry within the collection, a re-release of the franchise’s phenomenal second outing We Love Katamari has discovered its approach into our lives courtesy of developer Monkey Craft. Out of the entire base expectations you’ll be able to have for a remake or a remaster, matching or exceeding the unique title in each metric is paramount. On the subject of We Love Katamari Reroll + Royal Reverie, we get a few hits, and an entire bunch of misses.

To kick issues off with a constructive slant, this launch brings throughout each little bit of content material from the unique model of the sport, with no tonally awkward cuts made to account for “trendy audiences”. With a collection like Katamari, this can be a important step in sustaining the spirit of the franchise – as its madcap writing and distinctively Japanese humor underpin your entire expertise. Every degree begins with an in-universe fan of the Katamari collection requesting that you just roll up a Katamari centered round a selected theme like costly gadgets, scrumptious meals, or zoo animals. You then stand in your father’s toe (he’s the King of all Cosmos, and can be very very huge), the place he waxes lyrical in regards to the upcoming problem earlier than dropping you into the extent – be it a front room, a faculty classroom, or the underside of a lake. The range on supply inside every stage simply out-paces this sport’s predecessor Katamari Damacy, which acquired its personal remaster for Change again in 2018.

The place We Love Katamari actually improves upon its precursor is in its pacing – and this proves to be the sport’s secret sauce. Originally of every stage, you’ll be too small to roll up a lot of the objects round you. A number of the bigger entities on this planet (like folks, animals and automobiles) will actively pose a risk as you initially discover the stage – knocking gadgets off of your Katamari when you take a bump. This transforms the sport into a fragile puzzle platformer – you’ll bob and weave by the extent selecting out objects you’re feeling your Katamari can deal with, that’s, till you start to develop. See, you’ll all the time have simply sufficient time in every stage to essentially make a dent on this planet round you. As soon as the in-game timer dips beneath 30 seconds or so, you’ll sometimes be on the stage the place you’re starting to steamroll by objects that might have dwarfed you in dimension in the beginning of the extent. This leads to a mad sprint as you maniacally vacuum up a whole city’s price of objects throughout your last few valuable moments in every stage. This particular gameplay loop is the place about 90% of Katamari’s lasting enchantment could be discovered – It’s obsessive and compulsive in the very best approach. I can’t let you know what number of instances I restarted a stage with a minute left on the clock, considering to myself “I can do higher” – by no means out of frustration, however out of an eagerness to succeed.

The whole lot I’ve simply mentioned applies wholly to the unique launch of We Love Katamari, however sadly can’t be absolutely attributed to this re-release. Sadly, the sport suffers a number of technical shortcomings that basically dampen the enchantment – a curious state of affairs, contemplating how impeccably put collectively Katamari Damacy’s new model was 5 years in the past. The primary drawback you’ll face is poor efficiency, particularly as soon as your Katamari has grown in dimension. Panning your digicam throughout a number of the bigger ranges within the sport completely tanks the frame-rate, a problem that by no means occurred within the authentic sport. As a lot because the collection depends on cautious coordination and speedy execution, you might possibly excuse this drawback – that’s, if the sport didn’t even have an inferior draw distance to the unique model too. Some phases depend on you avoiding sure objects while rolling up others, and the diminutive draw distance implies that hazards typically gained’t seem till it’s a lot too late. Moreover, sure objects have their animation frame-rate in the reduction of significantly the additional away they’re from the sport’s digicam. This solely applies to sure objects within the scene, however it’s painfully apparent and massively distracting. We Love Katamari’s irresistible gameplay loop continues to be there, nestled in place – however it has actually been obfuscated by an absence of polish.

That’s to not say that developer Monkey Craft hasn’t made an effort right here, as they’ve added a number of options to the bottom sport that I’d describe as admirable, if a bit misguided. On the plus aspect quite a few visible aids have been added to make it simpler to determine the place to go with the intention to roll extra stuff up, and to search out new missions within the sport’s serene overworld. This can be a good addition, even when on one event the UI made to help me to find new followers solely blocked out the individual I wanted to find – oops! Different, smaller inclusions embody a brand new photo-mode and secret stickers yow will discover in every degree. These really feel like arbitrary inclusions which might be barely at odds with the centered nature of Katamari’s gameplay – I for one actually wouldn’t need to waste a single second in any of the sport’s ranges if it may be averted, and these options really feel like they nudge you into doing simply that.

Out of all of the modifications made to We Love Katamari, the 2 most egregious ones are the “new” ranges, and a subjectively horrible visible overhaul. To handle the sport’s newly added phases, they’re actually nothing to jot down residence about – some are novel, however they principally exist as subtly re-skinned variants of the bottom sport’s ranges. The visible modifications are a much bigger blunder in my eyes – I discover it very troublesome to get on board with the sport’s new look. Forgoing the pastel coloured heat of the unique model, the builders have opted for a cheesy, garish renovation that pumps up the saturation, and injects a brand new lighting mannequin into the sport – full with fancy dynamic shadows. I might have a lot most well-liked a studious recreation of the unique sport’s look – as we noticed in Katamari Damacy’s re-release – however I don’t hate Monkey Craft for attempting to breathe new life right into a 20 yr outdated sport. The largest flaw with this transformation is that it simply hasn’t been applied very nicely. Far too typically I seen shadows and lighting results popping out and in of view in ways in which didn’t appear intentional, together with an entire host of different pop-in associated gaffes. Fortunately you’ll be able to change the sport again to wanting extra like its outdated self over in Settings, nevertheless it doesn’t restore the unique look solely – as a substitute, it simply turns off the extra flagrant lighting results and mutes the colour palette somewhat bit.

Regardless of the myriad defects, the more-ish gameplay loop baked into Katamari’s foundations can nonetheless be loved in We Love Katamari Reroll + Royal Reverie. Certain, it’s rougher across the edges than virtually each different sport within the franchise, however it manages to ship despite its shortcomings. With that mentioned, this remake doesn’t match or surpass the unique sport the place it issues, and for that, I really feel an obligation to replicate that in my verdict. Whereas Katamari Damacy Reroll managed to dethrone its forebear and develop into the definitive model of that sport, the identical can’t be mentioned this time round. When it comes time for me to replay this seminal sport, I’ll possible be reaching for my PS2 copy regardless of the comfort of this sport’s presence on Change.

We Love Katamari Reroll + Royal Reverie copy offered by the writer for the needs of this evaluation.