Do You Love Katamari? Try it for Free
posted February 18th, 2009 9:12 PM EST by arn in Free, iPhone games, iPod touch games
If you had any interest in this curious title, here's your chance to try it. Namco has released a free Lite version of I Love Katamari [App Store, Free].
The full version of the game [App Store, $7.99] was released back in December but had some notable performance issues. Two updates later, things seem better, but now you have a chance to try it yourself.
The game involves rolling a magical, highly adhesive ball called a katamari around various locations, collecting increasingly larger objects. The Lite version of the game contains a full level of Time Attack Mode where you make a katamari as large as possible within the time limit.
App Store Link: I Love Katamari Lite, Free, I Love Katamari, $7.99
Well, I've been screaming for some price drop love from Namco. This is second best. Thanks Im sure there goes my $7.99 after I try this lite version!
Tim Attack! Oh no! think of the children!
Let me just say, I LOVED the PS2 version of Katamari Damacy This portable version pales in comparison. I know it's just a mobile version… but what made the console version so good was the controls. Without two thumb sticks to roll the ball around and a decent frame rate to keep up with the frantic action, this is just a shell of the game that it is for the PS2. Great tech demo to show off the iPhone/iPod Touch's capabilities, but nothing really more than that.
Don't get me wrong, imma most likely buy the game now. What feels "wrong" is I don't think there's as many size transitions or maybe that is just the slower gameplay that makes it feel like there isn't as much.
Overall, from the lite version, I'll probably cave if there is no price drop or "sale" within a few days.
I downloaded the new free version, and all the text and conversations are in Japanese. Does anyone else see that or is it something weird w/ my phone?
If you've never tried Katamari in any of it's incarnations, TRY THIS. This game is unlike anything else out there, on any platform. I just love it and unlike some other posters, I think the iPod version is just fine. For me, this is one of those games where the gameplay is just so much fun that I don't care if I win or lose, I just want to play it again.
This is an utterly dismal version of Katamari. I could put up with the terrible, spluttering visuals if the game at least played the same. Sad thing is, it doesn't, as the interesting locations full of things to collect in other versions of Katamari have been replaced with lifeless, dull, virtually empty little rooms and corridors. It's dull in the extreme.
If you want Katamari on the go, the PSP version absolutely blows this rubbish away.
don't own a ps2 or any other sony system (ok i lied i've got a psx original!), and i've only played the "real" katamari maybe once
but i love this game on my ipod. one of the very first games i bought, never regretted my decision for a moment. highly recommended.
The updates made this an excellent game! Tons of play modes, awesome music and controls are 90% as good as the PS2 original.
Buy it!!!
i played it last night for first time, i found it dull. frustrating. complete waste of time, in a bad way
Never played katamari before, and I tried the Lite version. Seems pretty fun, but there definitely are some frame-rate hiccups. . . especially when you go from one "size" to the next, or whatever you call it when you are suddenly able to pick up larger items and there is a transition effect. Not as smooth as I'd like at those times, but for the most part plays fine.
Maybe it's not as good as the PSP version, but as I don't intend to drop however many hundreds of dollars a PSP is these days plus the cost of the Katamari game for that system, plus I am always carrying my phone anyway, I might just put up the $8 for this fun title.
I agree–it's worth something to have a game on the device you always carry. Sure, I often have my PS2 and a portable generator on my back, but what about the rest of the time?
Eh, I didn't really care for this game all that much.