PS2 Beloved Franchise Returns After 15 Year Hiatus

A daily dose of nostalgia is good for the soul, and I’ve got just the thing for those of us who fondly look back upon the PlayStation 2 era.

As pointed out by ComicBook, one beloved PS2 era franchise has made a grand return after a nearly 15-year hiatus.

In case you missed it, the Katamari series has made an almighty comeback.

It was all the way back in 2004 that the franchise first debuted with the PS2 title Katamari Damacy.

Plenty of sequels and spin-offs followed, spanning multiple console platforms and generations.

We Love Katamari, Beautiful Katamari, and Touch My Katamari are amongst some of the titles you might have played.

The latter was the last original title in the franchise, landing on the PlayStation Vita in 2011.

Since then, Bandai Namco has concerned itself with remastering classic titles … until now.

Once Upon A Katamari is the first new entry in many, many years - and it’s available now on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

If you’re not familiar with the concept, you essentially have to roll a sticky ball, a Katamari, over objects so that the Katamari grows in size.

Once Upon A Katamari, Credit / Bandai Namco

In this instalment, The King of All Cosmos has destroyed the earth and stars.

The player, The Prince, is tasked with using the Katamari to restore all that is broken.

It’s a slightly weird concept, I’ll admit, but the gameplay loop is simple, easy to pick up, and (most importantly) fun.

The response to the new entry is very positive

Over on Metacritic, Once Upon A Katamari has secured a very respectable Metascore of 78 on PlayStation 5 and 82 on PC.

Awarding the game a score of nine, DualShockers wrote, “Bandai Namco really hit a home run with this latest entry in the Katamari Damacy series. It's calming, cozy, and whimsical—in other words, everything you expect from a Katamari game.”

They continued, “Once Upon A KATAMARI is now my favorite entry in the series, setting new standards and introducing mechanics that I hope will become franchise staples. This is a perfect introduction to the series for newcomers, while also making veterans very happy.”

A User Score is not yet available on Metacritic, but the game currently sits at 4.77 according to users on the PlayStation Store.

That’s high praise.

So if you fancy enjoying a blast from the past or finally want to see what all of the fuss is about, this is a game worth your time.