Katamari Damacy never received a release in Europe unlike in the US or Japan in 2004. The first time Europeans would get a taste of rolling stuff up in the silliest possible way would be We Love Katamari in 2006, the second game in the series and the last to feature creator Keita Takahashi.
Now, Europe has a lot more Katamari in its life, but it’s still missing that first piece (2020 Ed note: Not anymore thanks to Katamari Damacy Reroll on Nintendo Switch and PC). Luckily, we can have Robin Hunicke – CEO of Funomena and producer on Journey (one of my top three games ever) – talk at length of the game as her favourite game.
Also discussed in tonight’s episode, the game’s legacy, how her fangirl nature for the series – and trust me when I say this, she comes across in this episode as a super super nerdy fangirl for the series (and I say that as the best possible and sweetest compliment) – is dealt by her now co-worker Takahashi, why the game is a metaphor for being small but getting bigger and why games should be just more than just revenge and competition.
I should disclose upfront that with Robin’s involvement on Journey, this was the first opportunity I had to talk with someone who worked on one of my favourite games on the show. It was super fun to talk Journey stuff with her and it was more or less the main crux as to why I wanted her on, but even without the Journey stuff, I’d still say this is one of the best episodes of My Favourite Game ever and easily the most fun I’ve had recording any episode of the show in its short history.
