To compensate for a lack of analogue diagonal direction, you can use the shoulder triggers to bank slightly to the left or right. You’ll end up needing to do this because holding Up on the D-pad and Triangle at the same time – the combination to go dead straight – most times makes you veer to the left or right for some bizarre reason. Some of the other controls have been adapted to make use of the handheld too – to do a 180 degree turn you need to double-press Left and Circle, and camera changes use a similar input system. You can get used to it, but it’s really not as intuitive as the PlayStation 2 version.
As far as everything else goes, this title is just as crazy as the last, with wonderful simplistic graphics making you feel less guilty for swallowing up small children in your mass of matter. The worlds are varied but amount to the same kind of stages as its predecessor – gardens, towns, bedrooms, etc. The music is still as crazy, addictive and/or annoying as ever, and the overall presentation is just insane, even down to the King’s bizarre speeches before each stage and Prince being flung towards his next goal via slingshot. Put simply, this is everything We Love Katamari was, essentially, in a handheld, except with a four player mode.
It’s strange, because while we can talk to the moon about Katamari Damacy in general, and its awesome little quirks – just look at SPOnG’s last Katamari review – it seems everything that’s needed to be said has already been said. If you’ve played We Love Katamari, you’ll know what Me & My Katamari is all about, how it plays, and exactly what is expected of you. Unfortunately the awkward controls – which is the fault of the cramping positioning of the PSP buttons rather than the game itself – make turning the world into a rubber ball a bit of an exhausting chore on the hands rather than the sublime dual analogue precision on PS2.
SPOnG Score: C
Takahashi was right to let the series end before it all got too tedious – the fact that Me & My Katamari wears thin after playing a while is almost testament to this. Mind you, despite the thumb-crippling controls, this is a pretty good game to leave the series on. Not exactly the highest note, but certainly not a bum-note either. PSP owners without the PS2 version should at least check the portable version out, but otherwise rent or borrow if you can.
