Katamari Forever
Katamari Forever | |
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![]() North American box art | |
Developer(s) | Genki |
Publisher(s) | Namco Bandai Games |
Director(s) | Kenji Nakano |
Producer(s) | Kazuhito Udetsu |
Designer(s) |
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Programmer(s) | Yasuhiro Nomura |
Artist(s) | Taro Uozumi |
Platform(s) | PlayStation 3 |
Release | |
Genre(s) | Third person action puzzle |
Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer (offline)[4] |
Katamari Forever, known in Japan as Katamari Damacy Tribute (塊魂TRIBUTE Katamari Damashii TRIBUTE), is a video game in the Katamari series. The game was released for the PlayStation 3 console in Japan on July 23, 2009, on September 22, 2009 in North America, and September 18, 2009 in Europe. A demo of the game became available on the Japanese PlayStation Network on its Japanese release date,[5] and on the North American PlayStation Network on September 10, 2009.[6]
Story and gameplay
Katamari Forever contains 34 stages, with all but three of the stages being taken from previous titles in the series.[7] Half of the stages take place within the mind of the King of All Cosmos, who gets knocked in the head and suffers from amnesia. The levels are black-and-white in appearance, and the objective is to roll up junk to bring color back to the stages, restoring the King's memory. The other half of the stages take place in the present, where RoboKing, a robotic version of the King of All Cosmos created by the Prince and his cousins, goes on a rampage and destroys all the stars in the sky, which, unlike the King, he feels extremely remorseful for.
The objective of the new levels involves creating stars by rolling up junk as in previous Katamari Damacy games.[4] New additions to the gameplay include: the "Prince Hop", which allows the Prince to hop into the air by flicking the controller up or pressing a shoulder button; and the "King Shock", which sucks nearby objects onto the katamari like a magnet.[4]
Katamari Forever does not include online multiplayer as in Beautiful Katamari but instead features offline multiplayer and online leaderboards. The game utilizes a full high-definition video format.[8] In addition to graphics in the original style of Katamari Damacy, the game allows the players to select graphic filters such as cel-shaded, colored pencil, or wood grain graphics.[9]
Music
The music for the game includes a number of remixed tracks from previous iterations of the series, using a combination of "electric" and "organic" sounds according to the sound director Yuu Miyake. Miyake employed the help of artists and remixers to help the soundtrack. The soundtrack was released in Japan on August 19, 2009. It includes a total of 36 tracks spanning two discs.[10]
Reception
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Katamari Forever was met with positive to average reception upon release. GameRankings gave it a score of 77.80%,[11] while Metacritic gave it 74 out of 100.[12]
The game received a score of 33 out of 40 by Japanese gaming publication Famitsu.[16] It was the 6th best-selling game in Japan during the week of its release, selling 28,000 units.[24] In America, IGN awarded the game 7 out of 10, noting that the game still suffered from many of the issues that plagued past entries in the series.[22] GameSpot also gave it 7 out of 10, stating that, "Rolling a katamari is as charming as ever, but you may have rolled most of these katamaris before."[19] PixlBit awarded the game 4 of 5 stars recommending the game to both fans of the series and newcomers alike.[25]
References
- ↑ Spencer (May 4, 2009). "Katamari Forever And 100+ Cousins Come To The PS3 In July". SiliconEra. Retrieved 2009-05-13.
- ↑ Tom Bramwell. "Katamari Forever demo out in Japan". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2009-07-24.
- ↑ IGN Staff (April 29, 2009). "Katamari Forever Eyes-on". IGN. Retrieved 2014-03-28.
- 1 2 3 Spencer (April 30, 2009). "Katamari Forever Is A Blend Of Old And New". SiliconEra. Retrieved 2009-06-23.
- ↑ Spencer (July 23, 2009). "Katamari Forever Demo Rolls On To PlayStation Network". SiliconEra. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
- ↑ Grace Chen (September 10, 2009). "PlayStation Store Update 102". PlayStation Network. Retrieved 2009-07-10.
- ↑ http://s9.zetaboards.com/Katamari_Damacy/topic/7137270/1/
- ↑ Gifford, Kevin (March 25, 2009). "PS3 Struck By Giant Katamari". 1UP.com. Retrieved 2014-03-28.
- ↑ Spencer (2009-04-10). "Filters Give Katamari Damacy Tribute A New Visual Style". SiliconEra. Retrieved 2009-04-10.
- ↑ Famitsu staff (July 7, 2009). "『塊魂トリビュート』オリジナルサウンドトラックをプレゼント". Famitsu. Retrieved 2009-07-24.
- 1 2 "Katamari Forever for PlayStation 3". GameRankings. Retrieved 2014-03-27.
- 1 2 "Katamari Forever Critic Reviews for PlayStation 3". Metacritic. Retrieved 2014-03-27.
- ↑ Zimmerman, Conrad (September 28, 2009). "Review: Katamari Forever". Destructoid. Retrieved 2014-03-28.
- ↑ "Katamari Forever". Edge: 97. November 2009.
- ↑ Parkin, Simon (September 17, 2009). "Katamari Forever". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2014-03-28.
- 1 2 "The Magic Box: International Videogame News". The Magic Box. July 14, 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-24.
- ↑ Miller, Matt (November 2009). "Katamari Forever - Few Changes In Katamari's PS3 Premiere". Game Informer (199): 104. Archived from the original on 2009-09-28. Retrieved 2014-03-28.
- ↑ Herring, Will (September 22, 2009). "Katamari Forever". GamePro. Archived from the original on 2009-09-28. Retrieved 2014-03-28.
- 1 2 Petit, Carolyn (September 29, 2009). "Katamari Forever Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2014-03-27.
- ↑ Romano, Natalie (October 4, 2009). "Katamari Forever - PS3 - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on 2009-10-11. Retrieved 2014-03-28.
- ↑ Gerstmann, Jeff (October 2, 2009). "Katamari Forever Review". Giant Bomb. Retrieved 2014-03-28.
- 1 2 Roper, Chris (September 23, 2009). "Katamari Forever Review". IGN. Retrieved 2014-03-27.
- ↑ Wolinsky, David (September 28, 2009). "Katamari Forever". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on 2010-01-25. Retrieved 2014-03-28.
- ↑ Graft, Kris (July 30, 2009). "Japanese Charts: Dragon Quest IX Continues Reign". GamaSutra. Retrieved 2009-07-30.
- ↑ "PixlBit - Katamari Forever (USA) Review". PixlBit. September 29, 2009. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
External links
- Official website (in Japanese)
- Official Japanese trailer
- Katamari Forever at MobyGames