Now, I'm no video games journalastic historianist, but I seem to remember that the very first Katamari Damacy game was something of a slow burn. In my own circle, it was the very definition of a word of mouth sensation. I had no idea what it was, but I had heard from a gradually growing number of people that it was awesome and amazing and weird and totally addictive and all those other things that it is. I think the thing that finally sold me was hearing about how "Japanese" it was. Well OK then, I guess I'll have to check it out, I said to my dog, who I don't think I had at the time and who I am now retconning into my narrative.
My dog and I found the game for a super low price and we instantly won over by the simple box art and design. Two seconds and it already looked like nothing we had seen before. A few minutes into playing it and we were both eternally lost to its bizarre charms. And by "we" and I mean me and my dog. Seriously, the thought of her playing a video game is so cute and is now distracting my thoughts.
I was personally drawn in more by the soundtrack than the game itself, and I don't think I'm alone there. To say it was a breath of fresh-air would be lazy and boring, so let's call it a bottle of absinthe to a chronic alcoholic with nothing left to live for. I couldn't get enough and I didn't want to hear about anything else until I had consumed it all. Every new installment of the series was a new fix. Sure, it may have never been quite as magical and deleterious as the first time, and I always needed a little more, and I went blind, but I still welcomed them all like an old friend returning with a new bottle of sweet, sweet poison.
Read the full review at Japanator!
