Katamari Damacy showed up silently in game stores with almost no propaganda whatsoever and quickly became a cult hit through word of mouth alone. Darling of the online gaming forums, this $20 budget title has become a phenomenon the likes of which I have honestly never seen before. As soon as I heard of it, I went out in search of this wonderful little gem and, to my surprise, it was sold out everywhere I went. A few days later I found a copy, took it home, and became instantly addicted.

There’s something almost cathartic about rolling a sticky ball over anything and everything, trapping underpants, food, cats and even humans and buildings in an ever-growing ball of random junk, only to shoot it up into the sky to create a star. One of the things this game makes the most of is its eclectic and catchy soundtrack. From synth to scat, these mainly Japanese-language tracks will make your head bounce and even have you attempting to sing along. Most of the metropolitan Pittsburgh area has been unfortunate enough to hear me belting out song after song while driving through the city, window down and speakers blaring.

The main theme to the game, Katamari on the Rock, is an upbeat, percussion-driven track backed up with brass and vocals that beg to be translated into a karaoke version. Almost as good as karaoke, Namco’s American release of Taiko no Tatsujin (“Taiko Drum Master” here in the States) includes Katamari on the Rock to play on a realistic taiko controller. It’s the ONLY reason I bought the rhythm game, which is a gem of its own, and I come back to that song over and over again, beating my fake little drum and singing along painfully off key.

One of the few English tracks, Que Sera Sera, reminds me of long-gone Rat Pack lounge music. It’s smooth, mellow, and easy to sing along to. The scat track, A Crimson Rose and a Gin Tonic, is an excellent song to roll around and pick up junk to. Like all the other tracks, it’s catchy, keeps a clean, solid rhythm and works in harmony with the in-game sound effects. The Moon and The Prince has an almost hip-hop chant overtop percussion and piano coupled with a Japanese man speaking in the interim spots overtop a light, wordless chorus. Katamari Mambo ~Katamari Syndrome Mix is crazy dance track featuring a sultry female singer and what sounds like an insane man talking between verses. Cherry Blossom Color Season features young children singing in both chorus and solo. It’s almost irritatingly cute, and will keep your feet tapping.

The electronic tracks are where the game really stands out. Fugue #7777 is not featured during the stages of game play but rather the in-between sections where our tiny hero is confronted by his crazy, reckless celestial mammoth of a father, who tells the little prince of his worldly travels. It appears that while shirking duties and delegating clean up to his son, the king of the cosmos goes to Thailand for some boxing and dinner. Lonely Rolling Star is one of the first in-game tracks and sets the pace for the rest of the game, with a bubbly beat and futuristic effects overlaid by a young girl’s echoing voice. You Are Smart features a digital sound with vocals provided by your friendly neighborhood robot. It’s perfect for rolling down a crowded Japanese street, picking up cats and children in your ever-expanding ball o’junk along the way. Katamari Stars is a gentle song that mixes technology-friendly samples with traditional Asian flutes, and is featured outside of game play on the stage select screen, where the player can go to Earth to create stars, fly to the home planet (a tiny planet upon which sits a gigantic house) to save their data or coast over to the giant interplanetary Space Mushroom for two-player action.

A crazy, wonderful treasure of a game deserves a crazy, wonderful soundtrack, and Katamari Damacy’s game play and music are a marriage of audio and visual excellence. I only wish I knew what the lyrics actually mean. Anyone who is tired of saving princesses, blowing up monsters or shooting enemy soldiers should sit back, relax and give both this game and its sweet, varying soundtrack a shot. There’s something in here for just about everyone.