The Katamari games always hit the right mix of fun, chill, and weird for me. I’ve played all of them so far, and each one adds a bit of goofy fun to the mix. Once Upon a Katamari may not reinvent the wheel, but it has enough new elements to make things fresh and fun.

While playing with a special scroll, the King of Cosmos accidentally crushes the Earth, Moon, and various celestial bodies. As a result, The Prince (and his unlockable cousins) have to use the SS Prince, a time ship, to travel to various eras of time to re-create the cosmos through (you guessed it!) rolling and picking up items to make planets!

Once Upon a Katamari’s levels aren’t anything really new. You’ve got timed levels to reach a certain size, roll up a certain type of item, etc. You also have non-timed levels to roll up a certain number of objects to reach values or criteria. There are a few variations on this idea, but if you have played a Katamari game, you know what you’re getting into.

With that said, there are new elements, such as new power-ups like the magnet, which attracts items to your Katamari as you go by, letting you grow faster. The new hub levels, based around different eras such as the American Frontier or Edo Japan, offer a lot of colorful, interesting spaces to roll around in. I’d love more levels that didn’t have a timer associated with them, but that’s a personal gripe more than anything.

The development team also provided a wide array of customization options for The Prince and his 68 collectible cousins. As you roll, you can find presents, which are usually customization elements to allow you to make your own Prince. It is well done and really adds a fun collect-a-thon element. I spent a lot of time trying to find all the costume elements in each level.

The art style, as always, is immaculate, but the soundtrack is even better this time around. You can also get soundtracks from previous games, which just adds to the bangers that you can play while rolling things up.

Overall, if you’re a fan of Katamari games, then Once Upon a Katamari is more of the good stuff you’re accustomed to. The package here is full of great content, even if I wish the time limit options were either adjustable or toggleable. With the new power-ups, customization options, and fun levels, there’s a lot to love here with Once Upon a Katamari.

This is also a great entry point for new players in the franchise, so if you want to get someone into the series, there are multiplayer options too. Once Upon a Katamari is a great evolution for the series, and I’m excited to see where it goes from here.

A PC Review copy of Once Upon a Katamari was provided by Bandai Namco Entertainment for the purposes of this review.

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Once Upon a Katamari

$39.99

9

Score

9.0/10

Pros

• Multiple Control Options
• Fun Time-bending story
• Tons of things to do
• Lots of customization
• Power-ups are interesting

Cons

• Needs fewer levels with time-limits