The colorful and innovative Katamari Damacy was released on the PS2 in 2004. The game casts the player as the diminutive Prince, rolling a sticky ball around the landscape, collecting objects to become bigger and bigger. What seems like a simple concept captured the attention of gamers all around the world, and the series quickly became popular. Ed and returning VGMbassador Ben (aka The Diad) were huge fans of the game and the fun dynamic soundtracks they included. Today’s VGMbassy includes the history of the games, a wealth of information on the Japanese celebrities who produced and sung the amazing tracks, and a fair amount of nostalgic musings about the game. Let’s roll up some fun!
A huge thank you to Indira J (The Misadventures of Buddy and Friend, Sacrimony) for the amazing VGMbassy artwork and design, and to Trevin Hughes (aka chiptune composer Jredd) for the podcast theme song!
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The Tracklist:
1 – “Que Sera Sera” from Katamari Damacy (PS2, 2004) Composed by Charlie Kosei, Asuka Sakai, and Natsuki Isaki
2 – “Wanda Wanda” from Katamari Damacy (PS2, 2004) Composed by Yu Miyake
3 – “DISCO★PRINCE” from We Love Katamari (PS2, 2005) Composed by Kenji Ninuma, Hiroshi Okubo, and Yu Miyake
4 – “KuruKuru Rock” from We Love Katamari (PS2, 2005) Composed by Illreme and Kazumi Nikaido
5 – “Katamari on the Funk” from Me & My Katamari (PSP, 2005) Composed by Yu Miyake and Naoki Toyama, Vocals Performed by Katamari Soul Trains (Benny Diggs, John James, Lisa Fisher, Nick Richards, Kevin Owens and Paulette McWilliams)
6 – “Jesus Island” from Me & My Katamari (PSP, 2005) Composed by Yu Miyake
7 – “Bless My Stars” from Beautiful Katamari (Xbox360, 2007) Composed by Akitaka Tohyama and Lan Lan Suzuki
8 – “Katamari Dancing” from Beautiful Katamari (Xbox360, 2007) Composed by Yoshihito Yano and Kimio Yudate, Vocals by Takashi Utsunomiya featuring Hidemi Yamamoto and the Katamari Chorus Corps
9 – “Katamari On The Funk (Senor Coconut’s ‘Katamambo!’ remix)” from Katamari Forever (PS3, 2009) Remixed by atom™ (aka: Senor Coconut, aka Uwe Schmidt) and Norbert Kraemer, Composed by Naotaka Higashiyama and Yu Miyake
10 – “Everlasting Love + You” from Katamari Forever (PS3, 2009) Composed and Remixed by Akitaka Toyama, Lyrics by Akitaka and Juri Toyama, Vocals by Leah Dizon with additional Chorus by ASHLAY
11 – “Jupiter Dub No.404” from Touch My Katamari (Vita, 2011) Composed by Taku Inoue
12 – “Shabadoobie (Takeshi Nakatsuka Edit)” from Touch My Katamari (Vita, 2011) Originally Composed by Yoshihito Yano, Remixed by Takeshi Nakatsuka