Our Verdict
We Love Katamari Reroll + Royal Reverie is a colorful romp through wacky and challenging levels, with writing that’ll have you rolling on the floor laughing.
Naaaa na na na na na na naaa na Katamari Damacy! These lyrics are the culmination of all of my Katamari Damacy knowledge prior to playing We Love Katamari Reroll + Royal Reverie. This is probably thanks to my early gaming career being pretty solidly handheld-focused and our family PS2 belonging to my dad rather than me and my sister. Still, loads of people told me that the Katamari franchise would be perfect for me, and boy were they right.
We Love Katamari Reroll + Royal Reverie (phew, what a mouthful!) is a remastered version of 2005’s We Love Katamari Damacy, the sequel to Katamari Damacy. Even though it follows directly from the first game’s story, it’s really easy to dive into the franchise with this release, especially as the title recaps everything at the beginning. You play as the Prince, rolling up all kinds of objects with your katamari (basically a ball) to create new stars and planets to fill the sky after the King of All Cosmos accidentally destroyed them all.
In the first game you restore the sky around Earth, gaining the King a crowd of dedicated followers despite the fact he did practically nothing. We Love Katamari sees you continue your quest to refill the sky based on the requests of the King’s fans. The gameplay loop is pretty simple, but somehow endlessly fun. You’re just a little guy rolling a ball around all sorts of different environments, from classrooms to campsites, and even underwater.
It’s taken a little while for me to really get to grips with the controls for this game, especially as I wasn’t expecting it to use both joysticks to pilot the katamari. Driving games that don’t use motion controls aren’t exactly my strong suit, and that’s essentially what this is. Despite this, I’m having such a good time playing We Love Katamari. I was expecting to enjoy it, but I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it quite this much.
Usually, if I’m struggling with a game’s controls, I get really easily frustrated and find myself not wanting to play more. I’ve not felt that way playing this game once. Even when I do poorly on a level, I still have fun and want to improve on my next go. Or, if a particular level is really giving me trouble, I can just try another one. I love games that give me non-linear progression options so I can still make progress without slamming my head against the wall of one particular level.
I’ve ended up finding a solution to the controls issue as well. If you have access to a pro controller or similar, the movement immediately improves. Weirdly, I have fewer issues with the Joy-Con controls when playing handheld. We Love Katamari plays really smoothly both docked and in handheld mode, which makes me super happy. Given the flexibility of the Switch, I’m often disappointed when games only really work docked. The reason I personally have a Switch and not a Switch Lite is that I want the option of playing my favorite games on my TV or on the go, and I’m glad this game ticks the box.
I have a feeling that the core gameplay loop would be significantly more boring if it wasn’t for the incredible writing and general wackiness of everything else. There’s something endlessly hilarious about the King of All Cosmos referring to himself using the royal ‘we’, and making the same 180 opinion flip every time a fan compliments him.
This game is also wonderful if you love collectibles. Finding whichever member of the Prince’s extended family is roaming each level fills me with endless joy, and I’ve been playing as Cousin Ichigo or Cousin L’Amour practically the whole time. The sticker collection mechanic can be a little difficult to use, especially if you’re on a time limit, but it’s a nice addition nonetheless.
We Love Katamari Reroll + Royal Reverie’s ridiculously long title is partially due to the inclusion of ‘Royal Reverie’, a side story following the King of All Cosmos’ childhood and relationship with his father. Let me tell you, this is a classic example of the sins of the father. The King’s dad is possibly even worse than him, calling his son all kinds of names at every opportunity. This side plot made me empathize with the King, which I didn’t think anything was capable of doing. He’s still a narcissistic drama queen, though.
Overall, I’m having an absolute blast playing We Love Katamari Reroll + Royal Reverie, and I can see myself hopping in every so often to roll up more ramen, raincoats, and other random objects when I’m feeling down. Although the controls might be a bit clunky, and the graphics still have their original polygonal charm, this title is a great place for newcomers to the franchise to jump in. I can’t speak for long-time fans of the series, but there’s not much to dislike!
While you’re here, why not check out our piece about the Nintendo Switch 2, or grab yourself some free stuff with our lists of Honkai Star Rail codes, Genshin Impact codes, and Coin Master free spins?