Too Small

Lore & Background

The game's plot concerns a diminutive prince on a mission to rebuild stars, constellations, and the Moon, which were inadvertently destroyed by his father, the King of All Cosmos. This is achieved by rolling a magical, highly adhesive ball called a katamari around various locations, collecting increasingly larger objects, ranging from thumbtacks to human beings to mountains, until the ball has grown large enough to become a star. The story, settings and characters are highly stylized and surreal, often both celebrating and satirizing facets of Japanese culture.

Reader's Guide

The player controls the Prince as he rolls the katamari around houses, gardens, and towns to meet parameters set by the King of All Cosmos. The player uses the two analog sticks on the DualShock controller to control the direction the katamari rolls. Objects smaller than the katamari stick to it; larger objects are hurdles. The game uses size, weight, and surface area to determine if an object will stick. The typical mission is 'Make a Star' mode, where the player must grow the katamari to a specific size within a time limit. Other missions have specific collecting rules. A score attack mode and eternal mode are available. Each level features two secret items: a royal present containing a wearable object, and one includes a camera for screenshots. Two-player mode allows players to compete in a split-screen arena.

Did You Know?

• Designer Keita Takahashi struggled to pitch the game to Namco's superiors, eventually seeking student aid from the Namco Digital Hollywood Game Laboratory to develop the project for less than 1 million.
• Katamari Damacy received critical acclaim, becoming a surprise hit and winning several awards. Its success led to the creation of the greater Katamari franchise.
• A high-definition remaster was released by Bandai Namco Entertainment for Windows and Nintendo Switch in December 2018, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in November 2020, and Google Stadia in September 2021.
• The game's soundtrack is Shibuya-kei.