We Love Katamari

Computer Games Magazine

Quotation forthcoming. [Nov 2005]

Sydney Morning Herald

The way the scale changes seamlessly is incredibly cunning with areas becoming accessible and later off-limits again according to the size of your flotsam-encrusted orb.

netjak

"Katamari Damacy" is still on my short list of favorite games of all time. It's an incredible game, and I'm not giving up my copy for anyone. But We Love Katamari has managed to beat it, hands down, in almost every single way.

Deeko

Probably one of the best things about the original "Katamari Damacy" was its off-the-wall sense of humor and, for its part, We Love Katamari carries the torch like a champ.

Jolt Online Gaming UK

You just want to continue and roll up a one and half kilometre katamari, picking up the White House, the Sphinx and Big Ben in the process, and listen to the incredible soundtrack again and again and again.

BonusStage

Every bit as bizarre, hilarious, memorable and addictive as we all remember from last year’s originator, except this time around there’s far more content and variety to the mission goals and a greater attention to story presentation.

My Gamer

It's one of the best sequels to come down the pipe in a long time, leaving the good parts of the original well enough alone while adding just the right amount of new content to keep things fresh.

GameShark

Like all the classic games that are a moment to learn and long in the mastering, We Love Katamari will find itself spinning in many gamers’ PS2s and will be the center of attention at your parties long after other games are on the shelf collecting dust.

Gaming Age

There are very few games which are released that break up the monotony in the usual gaming genres, and the Katamari series does just that. It gives gamers that unique experience that can be taken in small or large doses.

Cincinnati Enquirer

A giant happy cosmic snowball of fun.

Gaming Target

WLK doesn't quite have the impact of the first game, and really should have had online play for competitive and cooperative play, but it's still a fun, addictive, and simple game that is almost like the anti-action game; it's just supposed to be easygoing and relaxing.

Game Chronicles

It’s every bit as lovable as "Katamari Damacy" was, and now you can bring a friend along for the entire ride.

RewiredMind

A wonderful puzzle game, a superbly frantic challenge and some ridiculously funny dialogue make up a package that you’d have to be a complete fool to miss.

Computer and Video Games

You'll be hard pressed not to play this with a cheesy grin on your face and your tongue sticking out (the controls are a little tricky to get to grips with). We Love Katamari - you'll love it just as much as we do. [PSW]

AceGamez

We Love Katamari reminds you of just why you fell in love with the pursuit of gaming. Enjoyment is at the very forefront of the Katamari ideology and it shines through with dazzling brilliance.

Gamestyle

Ingenious and designed with the sort of wild creative flair that most developers can only dream of possessing, Gamestyle loves Katamari.

Thunderbolt

Do you know why it’s such a great sequel? Because it gives the fans more of what they want, introducing plenty of new spins of the gameplay while still retaining is fundamental qualities.

DailyGame

Amazingly, Namco strikes gold again with the katamari.

Console Gameworld

A highly addictive game with a nice variety of environments and objectives, a hilarious storyline and truely bizarre characters. Get into it!

TotalPlayStation

What a treat we PS2 gamers get when titles like this come along. An experience as wholly unique and filled with personality as this needs to be cherished, and there's no more perfect way to spend your cash right now.

Yahoo! Games

Everything a fan could have hoped for. More stuff, more variation, and more satisfaction. Sure, it's essentially Katamari Damacy: The Remix, but this is one case where the alternate version equals and in many cases exceeds the original.

Official U.S. Playstation Magazine

This Katamari is delightulish. [Nov 2005, p.94]

Eurogamer

Consistently surprising and full of unexpected delights even for players who squeezed the last drops out of the first game; it takes the concept that we loved so much and asks "I wonder what else we can do with this" with a huge cheeky grin on its face and a pocket full of Class-A drugs, Party Rings and bathroom cleaning products. [JPN Import]

Cheat Code Central

As unique and brilliant as videogames get.

PSM Magazine

If this game doesn't put a smile on your face then maybe games just aren't for you. [Nov 2005, p.69]

Play Magazine

This is Katamari at its finest. [Oct 2005]

Gamer 2.0

It’s quadruple the gaming goodness for the price of a single game.

Pelit (Finland)

Psychedelic King of Cosmos makes stars out of stuff his heir, small and weird-looking prince, rolls up from the belongings of Earth residents. The strangest, most refreshing game in ages. [Jan 2006]

Play.tm

A diamond of a game that you really ought to snap up. Get it now and prove to the gaming big guns that we want games like this, that we won't just be fobbed off with sequel after sequel and lackluster movie tie-ins.

Worth Playing

The variety of mission types and the addition of multiplayer co-op mode definitely make this a worthy sequel to the original "Katamari Damacy."

TotalGames.net

Despite being essentially the same ride as before, the improvements make this as good - if not a little better - than the original.

GamingTrend

There's a ton of gameplay, it's simple, it's addictive and it's a heck of a lot of fun.

eToychest

Someday, a philosopher will write a dissertation on how rolling things up is as natural to humanity as being in a mother’s womb. All hail.

GameZone

Its unique and highly addictive gameplay will entertain you for hours.

Siliconera

Albeit shorter than an average game We Love Katamari is excellent all the way through. If you loved the first game there is no doubt that you’ll laud We Love Katamari.

PSX Extreme

It isn’t a sequel the true sense, but more of the full game that Katamari Damacy should’ve been.

Game Informer

It doesn't offer much in terms of gameplay deviation, but the wildly amusing levels will keep you in a state of awe. [Oct 2005, p.133]

1UP

Changes - not drastic. Gameplay - fantastic.

Armchair Empire

It's not really a better game than the original, as the controls are still a little bit wonky, but it is more creative, and you have to give props to the developers for giving us some humorous reasons to play the same (excellent) game again.

PALGN

Truly original games are hard to come by so when something this good comes along it should be grabbed with both hands. We Love Katamari, we really do.

GameSpot

It offers a beefier package of the same basic concepts that fans fell in love with the first time around. While it may not deliver on the same level of originality that made Katamari Damacy stand out so clearly, We Love Katamari still has that unmistakable charm.

Next Level Gaming

It's also extremely kid friendly, which is something parents will like to hear.

Game Revolution

Just as addictive as its crackhead father. Like any good drug, the entry fee has gone up (to $30, still fairly cheap), but you don’t get any significant gameplay additions for that. Instead, you get another mellow jaunt through one of the two weirdest and entertaining games released for the PS2.

Electronic Gaming Monthly

The only disappointment here, besides the frustrating new co-op mode (trying to coordinate movement just adds another layer and slows the game down), is how little has changed. [Nov 2005, p.144]

VGPub

The original was so innovative that playing something just like it doesn’t carry that "been there, done that" feel most games have these days.

IGN

A great game with personality, We Love Katamari will bring you a very familiar kind of joy, but it's just not any better than the first one and thus not quite as precious.

GameSpy

Combining a sequel with a backstory fill-in, it's still as weird as ever, but it's just what fans of this cult classic will be looking for.

Edge Magazine

Brimming with self-assuredness both in its characterisations and its functionality, and measures its pace and progression with an ever more aggressively beautiful interface and environment design, capturing even more galactic and universal scale than the original. [Sept 2005, p.88]

GamerFeed

I still like the original slightly better, but I'll gladly take a second helping.

GamePro

Combine the bizarre environments with the highly original, if a bit eclectic, soundtrack and a distinctly Japanese sense of humor and you have the makings of another classic.

DarkStation

After falling in love with the delightfully quirky original, this sequel proves to be just as fun and addictive. Just don't expect it to last too long.

Total Video Games

Everything about We Love Katamari oozes simplicity in the best possible way, from the concept to the execution, the control system to the level design; it's a game that's just fun, fun, fun to play.

G4 TV

It captures the essence of its predecessor's wackiness, scope, and addictive gameplay; yet it drops the ball as far as advancements and even takes a step back in the audio department.

Times Online

But what is most important about We Love Katamari is that it represents a move in which Electronic Arts, the world's biggest games publisher, has been prepared to release a title that is new, entertaining, and ultimately, original.

Boomtown

Its slick level design, excellent sound and the LEGO-look graphics do make We Love Katamari a worthy purchase, however, those who want an upgrade from the previous title will be disappointed as it is more of the same on different levels.

Loaded Inc

It’s hard to fault a game that's as bold and unpredictable as We Love Katamari.

Official Playstation 2 Magazine UK

A genius piece of eccentric gaming that's a hair's breath from being indespensible. Utterly entertaining from start to finish. [Feb 2006, p.100]

GameCritics

We Love Katamari is a loving, faithful rendition of Katamari Damacy—right down to its camera, which still wedges itself in places and sputters like an old lawnmower.

WHAM! Gaming

For fans of the previous game, there’s not much new here beyond a co-operative multiplayer mode where two people are tasked with steering around one katamari. Unless you and your co-player are psychic, though, it’s a tough, frustrating task.

Detroit Free Press

The new game is very much like the old, or I would give We Love Katamari four stars.

Stuff

The sequel features even more happy, shiny, Hello Kitty!—style idiocy. But peel away the idiocy, and you'll find the same dull, creatively bankrupt ball-rolling mini-game as the original.