Katamari Damacy
Or, the destruction of fatherly pressure
As always, my reviews are spoiler-filled. Continue with care.
There are games that have staying power. Games that never quite get old.
I’m thinking about Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, Kirby Nightmare in Dream Land, Golden Sun 1+2, (and with save states and fast forward options) Final Fantasy 7, etc. etc.
Many of these games have become points of inspiration for the modern generation.
Shadow of the Colossus inspired the scale of God of War and the loneliness of the Dark Souls series
Final Fantasy 7 inspired almost every narrative RPG
These games are still great to visit decades later,
In recent years, it’s been a semi-hobby of mine to find old games that can still hang.
The game I want to talk about today isn’t just an older game that can still hang, it’s an older game that I’d be scared to ask to hang out with because it’s that cool.
Sisyphus & The Prince
Sisyphus is a Greek myth about a man who angers Zeus, cheats death, and is punished for eternity to roll a massive boulder up a hill only for it to roll back down every time he neared the top.
His action is considered futile. There’s no way for him to complete the task and yet he has to try over and over and over again.
This isn’t much different than Katamari Damacy.
The game opens with the King of All Cosmos teaching you (his son) how to roll a katamari, a candy-looking ball that can pick up anything as long as the katamari is bigger than it. After teaching you the controls of the game, the King of All Cosmos gets too excited and breaks all the stars. The rest of the game is about rebuilding the cosmos at the behest of the King of All Cosmos.
This looks like traveling to different locations across Earth and collecting as much stuff as possible within a given time-limit.
The Sisyphean comparison I found was the tension between the King and the Prince. It seems that no matter how well you build a star, the King is never happy with the result.
A Horrible Dad and A Stressed-Out Son
This game had been explained to me as an unexplainable, abstract experience. Just a game about relaxing and rolling up everything you can.
However, I was surprised that Katamari Damacy actually has something profound to say.
Katamari Damacy is about trying to meet the expectations of an overbearing father, and how that task causes immense pain in the world.
You see this in so many places:
The Reason You’re Rebuilding the Cosmos
The King of All Cosmos messed up and instead of owning up to his mistake, he puts pressure on his son to clean up his mess.
This is similar to the pressure many fathers put on their sons to live the life they wish they had. See Troy from High School Musical.
The King’s Reactions
At the end of every level, the King evaluates your Katamari. I never once got a response that didn’t have some kind of backhanded statement.
“It’s a katamari, but kind of soft.”
“It’ll work, but I would have made it bigger.”
“It may not be small, but it’s actually not big either.”
No matter what you do, this guy is not satisfied.
The King’s Dismissive Care
Before going to Earth to make a star, the King of All Cosmos gives a little spiel. He talks about the vacations he’s gone on and mentions that he has a gift for the prince, but… he forgot to get it or misplaced it somehow. You can collect these “gifts” by finding them in the level.
Not only that, but the only reason there’s a time limit is because the King will get bored after a while.
The Effects of Negative Fatherly Pressure on The World
Bottom line, the King of All Cosmos is not a good dad, and the pressure he puts on the Prince has real-world ramifications.
I believe the destruction you cause in Katamari Damacy is meant to be evocative of how this kind of father-son dynamic can wreak havoc on the world.
If fathers put pressure on their children to:
live the life they always wanted
demand bigger and better results
make up for their sins
Then a Sisyphian cycle will perpetuate. Sons rolling their boulder up the mountain at the behest of their forceful fathers, only for the boulder to fall back down. And when it comes time for those children to have children, they will become the overburdening father who tasks their children to roll a boulder up the mountain only for it to fall back down.
And the world will be destroyed.
But What About the Game?
hm? Sorry? What?
I think I blacked out there.
The game plays great! It takes some time to get the controls down, but once you do, it’s a real joy. Rolling the Katamari around, looking for things to pick up and add to your ever-growing pile of things, can be a very relaxing and chill experience (if you’re on track to complete The King’s demands)
And the Art Direction?
The art direction here is second to none. It features bright colors, beautifully painted characters, and a fun polygonal style that makes the world feel whimsical and full of charm.
The entire game happens on a single map, but you wouldn’t notice at first. Most of the first levels take place in a smaller courtyard, but eventually you break free and enter into a bigger and bigger world.
On one level, you might notice a landmark, and a couple of levels later, you’re eating it up into your Katamari. It gives the game a fun sense of space and makes the scale feel tangible and real.
What About The Music?
Goodness gracious, the music in this game is incredible. Every level has a fun track that’s a mix between funky techno sounds, jazzy swing, and J-pop.
I loved entering a new level to hear what track would play next. Every track is a banger that I would listen to in the car, and I found myself forgetting about the game just so I could tune into the music for a little bit.
Anything You Didn’t Like?
My only gripe with the game is the cops.
Every time you pick up something, and every time something runs away, it makes a little sound, which I don’t mind.
But these cops are so annoying. Anytime you got close to them, they’d start shooting at my Katamari, and it made me want to tear my ears out.
The End of All Things
Katamari Damacy is dripping with a carefree spirit. It doesn’t care if you like it or not, it’s not trying to keep you engaged or pander to your every wish because it’s too cool for you, and it will exist whether you like it or not.
Let me guess your next question:
“How can a game not care if I like it or not?”
There are a lot of games out there that try to be everything for everyone. Think about how many games have gotten their lunch eaten by Fortnite or Destiny. Consider Mindseye. They try to be the biggest new thing that will check everyone’s boxes, and for the most part, those kinds of games fall apart.
Katamari Damacy does one thing, and it does it amazingly. It’s concentrated, it doesn’t have an open world, it’s not concerned with the people who want specific game modes or replayability options.
It just is.