is a Japanese video game franchise created by Keita Takahashi and developed and published by Namco (and subsequently Bandai Namco Entertainment). The series puts players in control of a young character called The Prince (also referred to as Dashing Prince or the Prince of All Cosmos) as he assists his father, the King of All Cosmos, in the re-creation of stars and planets by using a ball called a katamari to roll up objects. The first title in the series was Katamari Damacy for the PlayStation 2, which became a cult classic and led to several sequels and spin-offs.
Concept
Keita Takahashi, the series creator, did not go into coding originally. He created "cheerfully bizzare" sculptures when he was a student at Musashino Art University. This inspired Takahashi to entertain audiences with his creations and decided to join Namco as a visual artist. He wanted to create a game where you can do something you can only do in a game and create something that is not formulaic.
Gameplay and Setting
In most Katamari games, players typically control the player character, The Prince, as he is ordered to do various tasks by his father, the King of All Cosmos.
In Katamari Damacy, The Prince is tasked with the job of rebuilding the stars and constellations that the King destroyed. To do this, the player combines as many objects into a singular ball, known as a katamari ball, that could become a star, constellations, or stardust. A katamari ball can roll up certain objects, depending on the Katamari's relative size to them.
Players typically control the katamari ball using two analog sticks; players move forward and backward by pushing the analog sticks in that direction simultaneously. They can turn the katamari by pushing only one stick in the desired direction or pushing the sticks in opposite directions to do so faster (often described as 'tank controls'). Players may also do a 180 degree turn that causes The Prince to jump on the other side of the Katamari typically by pressing the two sticks down into the controller. Players may cause the katamari to roll at high speeds typically by rapidly moving the two sticks in opposite directions back and forth. Players may also cause The Prince to jump and get a better look at the world by pressing L1. Introduced in Katamari Forever, players are given the ability called the "Prince Hop" to make the katamari ball hop.
Before each level, the King will often go on a nonsensical rant to The Prince, and refers to himself using royal we. In Make a Star levels, players are presented with a specific size that the katamari must be before the time limit runs out. As the player rolls up objects using the katamari, it becomes larger, as demonstrated by a size chart on its HUD. In early levels of the game, players are given a katamari similar to the Prince's size, which allows him to only roll up small objects such as tacks and ants. Later levels allow the katamari to grow much larger to the point where it can roll up buildings and clouds. As the katamari becomes larger, the katamari is then able to pick up larger objects. Living and non-living creatures will sometimes attack the katamari if it is smaller than them; once the katamari reaches a certain size, the creature may run away from the large katamari that could pick them up. If the katamari is only barely able to pick a creature up, the player along with the katamari will be knocked away; if the creature is not rolled up in time, the creature will run off and escape. If players are attacked or crash in to walls are large objects, the katamari will lose items. If players roll up a long, slender object such as a pencil, the object will sometimes poke outwards out of the katamari and cause the katamari to roll awkwardly until more objects are rolled up. In more recent games, players can hit a glowing pillar that causes all items close to the katamari that are small enough to be sucked into it.