Once Upon a Katamari Switch Review

Once Upon a Katamari Switch Review
Version Reviewed: Nintendo Switch

I’ve heard about the Katamari game series for years, but Once Upon a Katamari is the first time I’ve actually rolled one. The series has always had a reputation for being bizarre, joyful, and unmistakably Japanese in its humour and presentation. Even going in with that expectation, I wasn’t quite prepared for just how odd and imaginative this world can be, and I was curious whether the offbeat charm that longtime fans love would click for someone new. What’s it like? Let’s travel through time, clean up the place, and, in the wise words of Fred Durst, keep rollin’, rollin’, rollin’ as we review Once Upon a Katamari for Nintendo Switch.

Once Upon a Katamari frames its chaotic gameplay as a storybook adventure, narrated by the ever-unpredictable King of All Cosmos. I had no idea what to expect going in, and what I found was all sorts of ridiculous. The King sends you, the Prince, on missions to roll up objects and restore the stars, and the game leans fully into its absurdity. One moment you are rolling up beverages in the wild west, the next you are rolling dinosaurs into the biggest ball possible, all while the King offers commentary that is equal parts cryptic and hilarious. For someone new to the series, the story does not need to make perfect sense. Its charm comes from the way it embraces nonsense and whimsy, turning the simplest objectives into a surreal adventure. The offbeat humour is a highlight for fans of the series, but it can also be off-putting for newcomers. Some moments left me scratching my head, wondering if I had missed a joke or a reference.I feel if you enjoy games that lean into the ridiculous with confidence, Once Upon a Katamari will most likely appeal to you.

At its core, Once Upon a Katamari is a charming little puzzler. You start by rolling up smaller items, building momentum until your katamari grows large enough to pick up bigger objects. The game encourages experimentation, as finding the right path and the right sequence of objects can make all the difference. There are also fun power-ups that shake things up. Rocket boosters let you speed through tricky sections, while my personal favourite, the magnet, draws nearby objects straight to your katamari, letting you rack up progress quickly. The satisfaction of finally rolling up a table, a cat, or even a human feels surprisingly great, and the game leans into this quirky joy with confidence. The levels themselves are a playful tour through history and imagination. You start in Edo Japan, which the narrative leans on heavily as you revisit it throughout the game. From there, you move through wildly different time periods, including the prehistoric era, complete with cavemen and dinosaurs, and the Wild West, with saloons, cowboys, and even a mission focused entirely on rolling up tumbleweeds. Each stage is a ridiculous caricature of the stereotypes we might imagine from those times. The game treats these caricatures with a light, playful touch rather than anything offensive, giving each level its own unique charm and encouraging you to explore creatively while enjoying the absurdity.

Once Upon a Katamari also offers a multiplayer mode that adds a competitive twist to the rolling chaos. You can start by playing against bots, which serves as a gentle introduction to the mode, letting you learn how to outroll opponents and use the environment to your advantage. The objective is simple but satisfying: grow your katamari larger than your opponents within the allotted time. If you manage it, you can even roll up your enemies to claim extra points, turning the game into a delightful mix of strategy and chaotic fun. It is not smooth rolling the whole way, however, as there are a few speed bumps in the game. The controls can feel fiddly at times, even with two different schemes to choose from, and the camera often struggles to keep up with your Katamari, which can make navigating tight areas frustrating. The UI is cluttered, and the King’s dialogue boxes appear in the centre of the screen, blocking your view right when you most need it. These issues can interrupt the otherwise fun flow of rolling and growing, but they never fully derail the experience; they cause only minor frustrations.

Graphically, the game leans fully into its ridiculous charm with a low-poly art style and quirky, exaggerated animations. NPCs flop around in panic, dinosaurs run like they are in a Lego animation, and the environments are bright, colourful, and full of personality. Each time period feels distinct and fun, and the pacing keeps things moving so you are constantly wondering what you will see next. You can also create your own “cousin” if you prefer not to play as the Prince, adding a personal touch to the experience. The King of All Cosmos is flamboyant and over-the-top, and his presence injects a lot of character into an already colourful cast. The visuals are perfectly complemented by an earworm-inducing soundtrack that will have you bopping along long after you finish the game. While the visuals, animations and soundtrack are full of colour and personality, the game does stutter on the original Switch during heavier scenes. Frame‑rate dips and a couple of mid‑level loading pauses remind you this is the older hardware playing host. It is still very playable but momentarily shows its age.

For my rollers looking into accessibility, outside of the 2 controller schemes, there aren’t any options to speak of, so as always, I recommend further research into seeing if Once Upon a Katamari suits your needs. At just under $55 AUD, Once Upon a Katamari offers roughly 10 hours of puzzling chaos. Fans of the series will enjoy the challenge mode and the multiplayer, which manages to retain the game’s quirky charm, while casual players can still have a ball rolling through the ages. The humour was a bit lost on me at times, but the gameplay was consistently fun, and I found myself smiling at the sheer ridiculousness of it all. It made my flight home from Japan feel much quicker and more enjoyable. Once upon a Katamari is quirky, over the top, and a heck of a lot of fun.

So What’s It Like? Once Upon a Katamari is like… well, it’s like… You know what? It’s kind of its own thing.

In the interest of full disclosure, a review copy was provided by Bandai Namco, but this doesn’t influence my score.

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