"Me and My Katamari is an excellent purchase for any PSP owner"

Me and My Katamari (Boku no Watashi no Katamari Damacy in Japan) tells the continuing saga of the Prince of All Cosmos, who routinely has to clean up whatever mess his father, the King of All Cosmos, creates. This time, the King finds himself swimming in the ocean, causing all manner of tidal waves. Islands inhabited by various animals are wiped out, and of course the King is very sad about it. For whatever reason, the King once again makes his son go and clean the mess up. Unlike We Love Katamari, which acknowledges the existence of the player, Me and My Katamari once again paints the world of Katamari Damacy as unique. There's a number of innovative and quite ingenious new things to be discovered, and the game is chock full of extras and secrets.

Graphics

The game looks practically identical to the PS2 iterations, save for a very small amount of popup. Amazingly, though, it seems like the game occasionally finds itself running at 60 frames per second and it looks VERY smooth. Because Me and My Katamari takes place on an island instead of outer space, the colors are far more tropical and bright. Overall, the game is impressive to look at and certainly makes the argument that the PSP is one heck of a capable 3D device.

Sound

Almost all of the tracks from the first game are here, as well as some totally unique tracks (like Katamari on the Funk, which is quite catchy). You probably won't be too impressed with some of the entirely new tracks (they usually don't even have voices), but they're all still WAY above average for a handheld game. The sound effects are once again hilariously disturbing (hearing hundreds of people cry out in fear as you roll over them with a Katamari is something that won't be readily forgotten).

The soundtrack is excellent and many times you'll be glad the old Katamari Damacy soundtrack came back, because they're such great songs.

Gameplay

You know the drill: The Prince of All Cosmos must roll his ball (Katamari) over objects, causing the ball to get bigger. The bigger the Katamari, the larger the stuff you can roll over. Eventually it creates a domino effect of your Katamari getting exponentially larger and you start ripping out buildings, islands, and even clouds.

The PSP version mixes a few new things into the fray. First of all, levels are now divided in to sub-levels, depending on the size of the Katamari. Don't worry, it's not a cop-out to let the PSP display less polygons... it's more like once your Katamari is far too big for a given area (which was a problem in the original Katamari Damacy) you'll be transported to a much larger area with larger objects. It's actually quite ingenious and improves the gameplay considerably.

Also, the developers FINALLY introduce "eternal" mode when you replay levels. Yes, you can finally play a level for as long as you like (and keep the items!). It's not all that useful, but it's something fans have been demanding since the beginning.

Probably the biggest question on everyone's mind is how the controls fare. Put your mind at ease, because Me and My Katamari uses pretty much a carbon-copy of the PS2 control scheme. The only difference is that instead of using analog sticks you use the D-Pad and iconic buttons. It actually feels eerily identical to the original games and you might be surprised at just how much actual control you have by using digital instead of analog. Hats off to NAMCO for keeping the game as close as possible to the PS2 versions.

Overall

There's a million hidden things in the game (like all your cousins) and it would take nearly an eternity to unlock them all. Overall, it's my favorite Katamari game and any PSP owner worth his or her salt should give it a shot.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/01/06