Still working away at several games at once, but I managed to finish the plot of this one the other day. That’s by no means the end of the game, of course, and I will still enjoy playing it for a while.
This one is unusual though, in that I’m not the only one in our household playing it often. Most of our games are primarily for me, except for the Lego games which we all enjoy. In this case, I bought this game with a few others using my tax return money. I was interested, as Katamari obviously is well known for innovative gameplay, and I hadn’t played a proper entry as yet. This particular game won me over, as it was touted as a sort of best-of of the series, containing many past stages and remixes. The Japanese name is even Katamari Damacy Tribute. Anyway, I expected to enjoy it, but what I didn’t expect was for my sister-in-law to enjoy it as much or even more.
The hugely wacky presentation was a factor, but I think it’s mostly the simple but deep gameplay that makes it addictive. It’s also so unusual among games, and just very satisfying. This game in particular just grabs you though right from the start. After the obligatory Playstation updates & installs (I don’t mind this as much as others seem to), the opening cutscene is just mind-blowing. Equal parts baffling and fabulous, full of bright colours, ducks, dancing pandas, it’s distinctly Japanese.
This theme carries through the game. While the text itself has been translated (except in one egregious example near the end), much of the aesthetic, environments, objects, signs and packets are all so Japanese. It helps that we are familiar with the culture, I feel that might be a roadblock for some people. But I find it very evocative, especially since I am such a fan of Studio Ghibli and pre-Ghibli Miyazaki and Takahata films. It makes me feel somewhat nostalgiac for a culture I am on the fringes of, but is so engrained in my chosen medium and so must know about. Some games bleed Japanese much more strongly than others, and once you’ve played Okami you start to recognise mythological and cultural references in many other games. But this one is very strongly flavoured, and I’ve had a lot of fun just reading descriptions of all the items I’ve rolled up, much like in Pikmin 2.
Anyway, it’s been fun playing this game but also fun watching. The last few years I lived at home I gradually dropped off being a PC gamer and toook to just watching my brother play games, and that was hugely fun. Gaming together is better than gaming alone, most of all on a large screen. So now my sister-in-law and I take turns, and we can give each other advice and get a better understanding of the game, but mostly it’s good because it’s something we can share. Finding common ground is a basic human joy, and it makes me glad I picked this game.
I said before I hadn’t played any main Katamari games. My first experiences in the genre were a few cheap knockoffs, but I knew they were copying and I had so much fun that I knew I had to play the real thing. So I bought the first Katamari game on iOS, I Love Katamari. This is before the second one came out. It was fun, but I had big problems with the controls which made it very hard. It also was a bit glitchy, the menus were poor and there were few levels. So a bit disappointing overall but the basic concept and presentation were good enough to warrant me forking over for an even more genuine experience a few years later. Don’t regret it at all, the console game is so much more polished and smooth and fun. Many more levels and modes keep it varied too, and more characters and costumes. Great music too, but it can get annoying when you have to repeat levels several times.
So a big feature of this game is apparently the graphical filters you can apply, but I haven’t figured out how to unlock them. This, coupled with the extremely condescending remarks of the King and Robo-King when you finish a level, make me feel that I’m always just scraping by, but hey I get to play the next level so screw you, King! I was stuck on the first proper level for a while, but I think that test honed my skills enough to get me through most of the game. The most troubling levels are of course the gimmicky ones, like rolling up flammable things to make a flaming Katamari or the “first bear or cow ends the level”. But like I said there’s lots of variety so if you get stuck there’s plenty of others to do.
Since I did the research, I have to finish this review with a general look at the extent of the series as a whole. Each new installment adds new cousins so they build on each other in a way. The first two games on the PS2 started the whole thing, and they weren’t intended for international consumption until people got interested and pressured Namco. I don’t think exporting them changed the series itself though, as I have indicated it’s Japanese to the core. The original creator, Keita Takahashi, has not been involved in the series since these two, but the caretakers at Namco have done a good job as far as I can tell keeping the formula but also putting some twists on it. There was the PSP one, then the next console one which after some confusion turned out to be 360 exclusive. They made up for that by making this a separate game, and now the Vita has a new one at launch. In between these 6 main titles, there have been a few Japan-only mobile phone games. But don’t worry, we’ve received most of them in one form or another. Katamari Damacy-kun was included as a minigame in the PSP version (actually, this came first, they spun it off into a mobile game). Katamari Damacy Mobile, for a strange Japanese cell phone with motion controls, was ported with improvements (especially in music) to iOS (and Android and Win Phone 7) as I Love Katamari. This has been followed up with the iOS-exclusive Katamari Amore, which adds a virtual thumbstick for more accurate control. Another mobile game, Rolling with Katamari, has been released in English. It’s an isometric take on the series, but don’t ask me how to get it, cell phone game distribution is weird. Speaking of which, in 2010 a Japanese cell phone service came out with two Namco-Hudson collaborations, Pacman X Bomberman and Takahashi Meijin X Katamari Damacy. This would take too long to explain. Suffice to say it’s a crappy cell phone game where a fat dude rolls bananas (from what I gather from two screenshots).
The Japanese DSi store got a tetris-style puzzle game with a Katamari skin. There has also been an official 2D flash game, and the obligatory Korean MMO version. There’s some nice Youtube videos of this, but don’t expect to ever play it.
And that’s the Katamari series. It has a very distinct and unique character, which along with the gameplay is the strongest characteristic of the series and the reason it has become so well-known. I don’t know how the games sell, but I think it at least has widespread recognition, if only on the Internet. I certainly knew about it without playing it, and now that I have, I love it. I’m happy with just the PS3 version, there’s certainly enough replay value for ages.
Having said that, there is a footnote worth mentioning. I mentioned Keita Takahashi not being involved since the second game. He’s apparently quite the eccentric guy, but Namco kept him around for his good ideas. He’s since left to work on indie games and designing playgrounds, but before he did he made one more game for them, Noby Noby Boy. It shares much of the strange atmosphere and strongly playful design of the Katamari series, with very different gameplay. I picked it up and it’s simple, crazy fun. Probably not as deep as Katamari but worth checking out. There’s also an iOS version that’s also different but contributes to the community goals of the main game.
I’ve been sick the last couple of days, and so have just been playing lots of Shantae (GBC) and Golden Sun: Dark Dawn (DS). But I haven’t finished them, and I generally like to review games I’ve finished. So I’ll talk about a game I finished a few weeks ago, one of the main reasons we got our PS3.
Journey has been talked up in a lot of places, but it was seeing the footage in ABC’s Good Game review that convinced us. Since then, John Siracusa has also been raving about it on his podcast Hypercritical, that me and my wife listen to together. The way he talks about it, you’d think it was the only game that ever mattered.
I don’t think that this game changes the face of the industry or anything, but it certainly is one that should go near the top of developers’ to play lists. I think that is why most people see it as important, because it represents a design philosophy inconsistent with major sections of the industry that are going astray. In other words, it’s really good and other people could learn something from it.
But how is it as an actual game? It’s a statement, certainly, and arty enough. Perhaps not as arty and more gamey than Flower, the previous game from these developers. Or is it? Maybe it’s the type of game that invites this kind of meta-analysis, or maybe that’s just been done so much that I can’t help but associate the game with these kinds of debates. I decided long ago that I don’t know much about art, but I know what I like. I don’t pretend to know that much either about what makes a good game, but I know when I like a game. This is one I like. (I don’t think it’s art, by the way, or at least not more than other games. Eh, maybe it is. Oh God now I’ve brought up whether games r art ABORT)
This is the sort of game that, well, my wife and I played through once each and haven’t touched it since. I think you don’t want to play it too often because that would dilute the experience. Related to this is: it’s short, and on my playthrough I was helped by a big pro with a white robe, who helped me find all the symbols so now we have a white robe if we want it. This is a game to be played multiple times, and we will. But not right away.
This is also the type of game that people go, “Ooh, I won’t say anything about it. It’ll spoil the experience.” Bugger that. Spoiler time! The pacing of the game is fantastic, it introduces elements one at a time while changing the environment. You can then identify these elements and environments (like the cloth birds, the underground tower etc.) in murals that you find or are shown in cutscenes between areas, which is cool and adds to the world-building. Getting to the snowy windy mountain and slowing down makes you feel vulnerable after you’ve been through the liberating tower, leading to the lowest point on the mountain. You collapse, but are then revived by the big white guys who are presumably the previous keepers of the magic you have inherited. You then become a superscarf flying magician in a huge expanse, it feels great and all very natural. Then you get to the end, and go back and start again. It’s not an unsatisfying ending; after all, the journey is the important thing I guess.
It’s important in this game to find a companion who will stick around for a bit and stay close to them. The limited interaction mechanisms forces you to be creative and playful with the other, and it’s fun jumping and singing with them. Co-op is generally good for me anyway, in fact I even considered playing TF2 again for the first time in ages because they just announced a new co-op mode.
Anyway Journey is really good. It’s short but beautiful. As long as you play it a few times it’s probably worth the cost, especially if you want to “see what everyone’s talking about” but not talking about cos they don’t want to spoil you or whatever. Sorry, I find it annoying if someone will venture zero reasons for the quality of an experience and insist you just do it. Please, try and articulate people. It’s a fun little runny jumpy explory story game, but quite subtle. Maybe wait for the retail disc, with their other two games.
Wife’s comment: It was fun! I think Flower will be more fun though, because some bits of Journey were a bit scary. And hard.
So it does engender an emotional connection, although some of the platforming was a bit challenging for the proverbial inexperienced gamer. Sorry felt like expanding that comment. Ta ta.
As discussed, I didn’t personally use the PS3 yesterday as I was out. However, it was brought to my attention after my last update that the fancy new machine was making an excruciating noise. After a couple hours in the same room as it, it became unbearable. Immediately after activation, there was a noticeable loud noise. We wrote it off at the time but we realised this was actually a problem, especially my wife who had been using it all day.
The noise was some kind of fan malfunction. Our microwave had a similar thing when we first got it, the fan was out of alignment and so was knocking against some part of the structure. This was quite loud and became worse after use.
So, once again we had to cart the thing back into town to get a replacement. The lady at Kmart told us at first that it would have to be sent off for repair and we had to wait. NOOOO we screamed in our heads. Luckily we convinced her to replace it. She wrote up a repair order without our names on it, then gave us store credit. Phew! But more horrors awaited us at the electronics section! They had sold out! Apparently discounting new PS3s by $100 in the school holidays causes them to sell. I bet that Dutch guy behind us on Sunday bought the last one. The guy there suggested we could cash in our store credit (good for one day only) on a Christmas layby, to pick up in November. NOOOOOO- are there any in other stores?! He went to ring up Tuggeranong, 30 minutes drive away.
They had one left! Quick! Hold it for us please! We walked home, storm clouds gathering on the horizon. Before we could drive off, we had to screw in new license plates, as we had just re-registered our car to our new address in the ACT. Then we were away. Luckily, I knew the way very well, as the Kmart is quite close to my place of work. We got there, picked it up and brought it home. Blessed quiet! The fans worked as intended. Now we are reinstalling and all that jazz. Incidentally, we now have quite the proficiency at setting up PS3s. We have it down to a fine art.
Soon all those tasty games will be being played, by us! At last!
Well, we gave up on the PS3. That is to say, we decided that EB Games was taking too long to bring in the other (original) PS3 we ordered. However, we were convinced now that they were cool and a good idea, and we found a new one for not too much more at Kmart. So we got a new one instead. It is essentially the same, apparently it runs a little cooler and is smaller. Plus we got it right away and everything worked fine. So yay!
It’s a fancy machine. Today my wife has used it for games, ABC iView, and a DVD. I haven’t used it cos I was at a conference. But now we have plenty of great games to look forward to: Journey for her, Ico and Shadow of the Colossus for me. We will also play Little Big Planet together when our second controller arrives, that one is borrowed from a friend. I also found Lost: The Video Game (also known by the less silly title Lost: Via Domus) in a pawn shop today real cheap. Excitement! Man I loved that show, I’d like to relive it in some form that isn’t as time and money consuming as buying the DVDs.
So yeah a lot to look forward to. But in the meantime, there’s a few other games I’d like to tell you about. Stay a while and listen!
Hm, probably should have done a background post, so the X1 review didn’t end up so long. Ah well, the blog is partially about me anyway so I think each review or whatever will have a bit of personal stuff for context. After all, we all are made by our experiences and who we are inextricably is linked to what we get out of a game.
Speaking of games, tenuous segue! This post is part excusing the inordinate length of previous post, part news post. And the news is, I am about to obtain many more games to play! I have a giant pile of things I’m currently playing on and off, and another pile of things I will start later. The latter pile is about to get bigger, as I am very close to getting a PS3 in my house.
First, some history. Our family bought a Super Nintendo when I was in about Year 3, I think. Most likely due to pressure from 3 boys who all had friends at school with consoles. I don’t remember pressure or what games captured my imagination at friends’ houses that much, but I do remember the ones we owned very well. Many hours spent in bliss. At that time, even my parents got into it. My dad played a car game and a cricket game with us a little bit, although it was my older brother who was mostly into the sports games. My folks’ big gaming passion was the seminal Tetris & Dr. Mario. Two of the best NES puzzlers (although I didn’t know it at the time) in one package. We got a lot of play out of that one. It wasn’t really my forte, I was more into the platformers, but that game really brought the family as a whole together. My brothers and I would love watching each other play through different things, and take turns, but the only real multiplayer experience we had at the time was Tetris & Dr. Mario. We did the watching and taking turns thing with this as well, but it also had a couple of multiplayer modes. It was also the only thing we could all play, albeit with me and my little brother on a handicap. I have a great memory of being scared of a thunderstorm at night, coming downstairs to find my parents taking turns going over level 20 in Dr. Mario, and watching them for a while. Funny how things stick with you.
Anyway this was originally going somewhere else, but I’ll just say that nowadays some of my favourite games are ones that I can enjoy with others. Others being my wife most of the time. So we have a lot of Lego games, because they have great co-op. And I like playing games that she likes to watch. So she really wanted to try Journey, which looks like a great thing to experience together. Also our Blu-Ray player is becoming more stupid, so we decided that a PS3 could replace it and have cool games, for about the same price we got the player.
Of course, the reason it’s cheap is because it’s pre-owned. The cheapest one is the lowest HD capacity (40G), second generation model. Second because the first had fancy expensive features like PS2 hardware chip and Super Audio CD support that they eliminated to make manufacturing cheaper after the first models. The great thing about PS3 though is the hard drive is user-replaceable, and unlike the Xbox you don’t need a weird proprietary drive, just any SATA drive will do. The thing can become a more expensive model by taking out some screws and replacing the HD with any old one you just happen to have lying around bigger than 40G.
So after two frustrating weeks, I went into the shop to check. My one hadn’t arrived, but someone else’s had that they’d changed their mind about. So I took that one and brought it home. After a lot of setting up, we found that the HDMI output was busted. So now we’re waiting for another one to come in we can trade it for, or even the one I originally ordered. I even borrowed Little Big Planet from my brother’s friend but can’t play it yet.
It seems anticlimactic to make the big decision to buy a PS3 (since I’m mostly a Nintendo fanboy), wait for it for two weeks, then it’s broken. Anticlimactic like this post, as I’ve run out of things to say and you probably ran out of patience long ago. Until next time, then.
