I just picked up the import of the latest Katamari Damacy game, Boku no Watashi no Katamari Damacy (to be called Me and My Katamari for the US release) on the PSP. The game is basically the same as when I played it at the Tokyo Game Show but as I got one of the first batch I got it with a limited edition PSP case in the shape of the Prince’s head:

I doubt the US box art will be that cool either, considering the hack job they did with the We Love Katamari artwork.

The game itself is typical Katamari, this time with you having to create islands after the King wipes them out by accidentally causing a tsunami. It’s another excuse for another quirky little adventure as you roll balls of random objects, starting with coins and pins before moving up to skyscrapers and…uh…dinosaurs? Suffice it to say that it’s great fun.

The main hurdle for the PSP version is the controls, since the PS2 games used both analogue sticks to full effect. Here it uses the D-pad with the face buttons functioning as a second pad and the shoulder buttons used to aid turning. It’s not an ideal system but it’s definitely workable, even if my hands ached after a while. That could be down to the fact that they’ve become used to the Micro over the last few days, but we’ll see.

It should also be noted that although graphically it’s a faithful version of the PS2 games, the caveat is that it occasionally has framerate issues. Nothing that affects the game too much thankfully, but I saw it slow down on some complex levels and during some of the flashier effects.

A great little game then, and a possible collectible for the future since the cases only came with the first Japanese batch and are unlikely to turn up again anywhere else. Worth a look.