Katamari

A katamari is a sticky ball used through the Katamari series, usually rolled by The Prince and his cousins. They usually take the shape of a bumpy ball with many colors, but change in special levels, by changing to things like candy, sumo wrestlers, and even The King himself in one case.

Rolling and its Purpose
When a katamari rolls over something small than an object, that object sticks to the katamari and makes it bigger. This can effect the way the Katamari rolls in certain cases, as if the Katamari rolls up a long object, it will make the Katamari roll lopsided. When an object moves closer to your Katamari, a small alarm will go off with the words "Look Out!" in the lower left corner of the screen, to notify you to get out of the way. Some living or moving things will take notice of the Katamari's presence, and may either run away or, in rare cases, come after it. Rolling the Katamari almost always has a specific point. The King of All Cosmos tells the cousin rolling the Katamari to do something with it, such as reach a certain size or collect certain objects within a certain time. In special cases, the player may be told to reach a goal as fast as possible, or in Eternal Mode, will have no time limit at all. In Katamari Damacy, the Katamaris are used to replace the stars that the King of All Cosmos destroyed. Their purpose changes from game to game. In We Love Katamari, the Katamaris are still used to make "stars" (This time at the request of fans.) but the stars are obviously different things, such as planets, big bangs, and nebulas. In Me and My Katamari, the Katamaris are used to make islands for animals who lost their islands thanks to The King. In Beautiful Katamari, the Katamaris have gone back to making stars, this time replacing the stars taken out by the Black Hole The King made. In Katamari Forever, The Robo King and The King himself use the katamaris to replace the stars taken out by the Robo King, and they are also made in order to wake The King up.

Rolling Abilities
In addition to rolling in each direction, you can do other things with the Katamari.

Roll Up and Over Things
By rolling straight into things, you can gradually roll up and over them, if the Katamari is big enough. If the katamari is not big enough, the Katamari will fall down, or be knocked back and have object knocked off.

Crashing into Objects
In some cases, crashing into objects will cause things to happen. You might crash into something and objects will fall off of it, or in Beautiful Katamari and Katamari Forever, be knocked off and away. By crashing into some living/moving things that you are just barely big enough to roll up, you might knock them around. If the object is spinning around on the ground, the roller should try to roll it up as soon as possible, because it will eventually get up and run away.

Activate Doors and Special Areas
Sometimes, a door or gate will be openable, and will open when the Katamari gets near. If the Katamari is too small, however, the door/gate may not open. This can sometimes let the Katamari get into special areas, such as a building or another room.

Rev Roll
By quickly moving the analogue sticks forward or backward alternately, you can make the Katamari Rev Roll, which makes it roll very fast in one direction. In multiplayer stages, this can also be used to knock objects off of your openent(s)' Katamari.

Quick Turn
By pressing the analogue sticks down, you can make the cousin rolling the Katamari jump over the Katamari, and switch rolling directions.

Prince Look
By pressing the L1/R1/Select button, you can see what the cousin rolling the Katamari would see if they were standing on top of the Katamari. This view is used when taking pictures in Camera Mode.

Royal Look
By pressing L1/R1/Square+Right, you can make the cousin fly up high and view the Katamari from a birds-eye-view.

Royal Jump
(Only available in Katamari Forever) By flicking the controller upwards, you can make the cousin jump, bringing the Katamari up with it. Good for getting on top of high ledges.

Royal Vacuum
(Only available in Katamari Forever) By rolling up the King's/Robo King's broken heart, you can suck nearby objects in. This can happen either in one short burst, or in some cases, cousins will flash across the screen and objects will be sucked in for a long period of time.