Music of the Katamari Damacy series
Encyclopedia
is a third-person puzzle-action video game that was published and developed by Namco
for the PlayStation 2
video game console
. The success of the game led to the release of five sequels in Japan and other territories: We Love Katamari, Me & My Katamari
, Beautiful Katamari
, Katamari Damacy Mobile
, I Love Katamari
, and Katamari Forever
. It also inspired a spin-off game, a Tetris
-like Korogashi Puzzle Katamari Damacy
. The music of the Katamari Damacy series refers to the soundtracks to all of these games, five of which have been released as albums. Katamari Fortissimo Damacy, a soundtrack album for the original game, was released by Columbia Music Entertainment
in 2004, Katamari wa Damacy was released as a soundtrack album for We Love Katamari by Columbia Music Entertainment in 2005, and Katamari Original Soundtrack Damacy was released in 2006 as a soundtrack album for Me & My Katamari by the same publisher and also included tracks from We Love that were not included in its album. Katamari Suteki Damacy was released by Columbia Music Entertainment in 2007 as a soundtrack album for Beautiful Katamari, and the latest album, Katamari Damacy Tribute Original Soundtrack: Katamari Takeshi, was released in 2009 by Columbia Music Entertainment as the soundtrack album for Katamari Forever. The soundtracks to the other Katamari games have been composed of tracks from previous games in the series, and have not had separate album releases.
Both the soundtracks and their associated albums have been warmly received by reviewers, who have cited the "catchiness" and "quirkiness" of the music as their most notable features. The soundtrack to Katamari Damacy won both IGN
's and GameSpot
's "Soundtrack of the Year 2004" awards, while the theme song to We Love Katamari was awarded Best Original Vocal/Pop Song at the 4th Annual Game Audio Network Guild awards in 2006. None of the other soundtracks have been nominated for any awards. They were still well received by reviewers, with the music of the PlayStation Portable
game Me & My Katamari receiving the weakest reviews due to its extensive reuse of songs from previous games in the series.
is a third-person puzzle-action video game that was published and developed by Namco
for the PlayStation 2
in 2004. The music in the game was widely hailed as imaginative and original, and was considered one of its top selling points. Its eclectic composition featured elements of traditional electronic video game music, as well as heavy jazz
and samba
influences. The tracks were composed by multiple composers, with Yū Miyake
composing the most at seven and acting as the sound director; other composers for the game were Asuka Sakai, Akitaka Tohyama, Yoshihito Yano, Yuri Misumi, and Hideki Tobeta. Many of the tracks feature vocals from popular J-pop
singers such as Yui Asaka
and anime
voice actors such as Nobue Matsubara and Ado Mizumori. Yū Miyake has stated that they chose the artists by looking for "Japanese singers who were well-known in Japan but nobody had heard from in awhile for whatever reason". Miyake wanted to use vocal songs because he felt that they were necessary "to make music that only Katamari Damacy could do, really fun music". He has said that game director Keita Takahashi
did not give detailed directions on the sound design of the game, allowing Miyake and his team to instead create whatever they felt would fit best.
The artists were chosen after the lyrics were written, and were selected based on how well Miyake and Takahashi felt they would "gel with the world of Katamari Damacy and the content of the song lyrics". They were also chosen to create a "pretty silly, goofy selection of singers" that would appeal to "a broad spectrum of people from different generations". Once the lyrics and singers had been chosen, the music was written specifically for each artist with the intention of creating songs that were "familiar" but not "trendy" so that they would not seem dated in the future. The "humming" in the opening song, described by Miyake as "na-na-na-na-na-na-na-Katamari", was included as an experiment by Miyake to try to create a "memorable" theme associated with the game, in response to criticisms that modern game music was not as memorable as that of older games. Miyake says that "Cherry Tree Times" is his favorite piece from the series.
is the soundtrack album to the game. It includes all of the tracks featured in the game, as well as an additional track, "Katamari March Damacy", a bonus song that was not included in the game. The album has 21 tracks that span a duration of 1:15:13. It was released on May 19, 2004 by Columbia Music Entertainment with the catalog number COCX-32760.
The soundtrack to Katamari Damacy won both IGN
's and GameSpot
's "Soundtrack of the Year 2004" awards. It was also nominated for "Outstanding Achievement in Original Musical Composition" at the 8th annual Interactive Achievement Awards in February 2005. In Gamespot's review of the game, they described the soundtrack as based around a "singular, extremely catchy theme" that appeared as pop, jazz, and humming throughout the "insidiously infectious" music. IGN's review of the game said that "not since Mario created its everlasting tune have we heard tracks so catchy and so genuine". The soundtrack album was praised in a review by Square Enix
Music Online, who said that in addition to the music being "outside the box", the soundtrack "fits with the graphics and game play in every way possible", is "extremely pleasing to the ears", and "could very well be a great album with no game attached". He described the music as "fun", "catchy", and "quirky" and highly recommended the album. The album reached #191 on the Japanese Oricon
charts.
, Illreme, Arisa
, KIRINJI
, YOU, Karie Kahimi
, Maki Nomiya
and Shigeru Matsuzaki. The music has been described as covering styles ranging from swing and techno to J-pop and "other kooky sounds". Sound director Yū Miyake has stated that he wanted to use only non-Japanese musicians in contrast to the first game using only Japanese artists, but was unable to due to a "lack of foreign friends and ability to negotiate". He has stated that his goal for the soundtrack was to take what his team had done for the first game and raise the quality, creating a "more grown-up feeling". He originally wanted to additionally take the music "far beyond imagination" and fans' expectations, but was stymied by a lack of resources.
is the official soundtrack album for the game. It does not include all the music from the game, omitting many of the instrumental
tracks heard throughout the game. These omissions were later added on the second disc of the soundtrack album of Me & My Katamari
. The album was published by Columbia Music Entertainment on July 20, 2005 with the catalog number COCX-33273; its 18 tracks span a duration of 1:19:53.
We Love Katamari was nominated for the "best audio" award at the 2005 British Academy of Film and Television Arts
awards. While the soundtrack as a whole did not win any awards like its predecessor, "Katamari on the Swing" won the award for Best Original Vocal/Pop Song at the 4th Annual Game Audio Network Guild awards in 2006. The album reached #100 on the Japanese Oricon
charts. GameSpot
's review of the game termed the music "utterly avant-garde" and a "completely off-the-wall soundtrack that has the same key themes as the first game", though "decidedly less focused on catchiness" than that of the first game and more "experimental". Square Enix Music Online, in their review of the soundtrack album, said that it "pretty much lives up to the original's reputation" and is full of "lots of great original compositions that fit with the concept". While they said that the soundtrack has "more flaws and it's a bit less memorable" than the soundtrack to Katamari Damacy, it was still "just as fun and as quirky as the last".
by Namco in 2005. Its soundtrack was primarily composed of tracks from the previous two games, and has been described as "ranging from smoky lounge music to bleepy Japanese pop songs". The new tracks were composed by Yū Miyake, Yuri Misawa, Hideki Tobeta, Yoshihito Yano, Akitaka Tohyama, and Naoki Toyama; Misawa and Toyama were new composers to the series, while Miyake reprised his role from the previous two games as sound director.
is the soundtrack album for the game. In addition to the new tracks, it includes previously unreleased tracks from We Love Katamari as tracks 10-17 on the first disc. Its second disc is made up of orchestral arrangements of previous tracks, tracks from other Namco games, three ambient noise tracks, two taiko
drum tracks, and one a cappella
track. The album was released by Columbia Music Entertainment on December 26, 2005 with the catalog numbers COCX-33517~8. Its 37 tracks have a total length of 1:48:55.
In their review of the game, GameSpot called the music "catchy and eclectic", though they disapproved of the amount of reused tracks from previous Katamari games. IGN
was more ambivalent, saying that while they had no complaints about the music, they also saw "nothing to really praise either". Square Enix Music Online, in their review of the album, said that the album's "lack of humorous vocal tracks and high quality experimental instrumentals" meant that it did not match up to the previous soundtracks in the series. They additionally felt that the second disc did not add much to the album, and that on the whole the new Me & My Katamari tracks were not strong or numerous enough to make the purchase worthwhile. Unlike the previous two soundtracks in the series, the soundtrack to Me & My Katamari did not win any awards.
Tracklist
for the Xbox 360
in 2007. Like previous games in the series, its music was composed by a large number of composers: Yuri Misumi, Yū Miyake, Hiroto Sasaki, Akitaka Tohyama, and Yoshito Yano returned as previous composers for the series, and were joined by Rio Hamamoto, Yuji Masubuchi, Keiichi Okabe, Hiroto Sasaki, Tetsuya Uchida, and Ryo Watanabe
. Yū Miyake did not reprise his role as sound director for the game; this role was instead filled by Tetsuya Uchida. The music for Beautiful Katamari has been described as "the same sort of mix of J-pop, techno-infused jazz, and ambient electro" as that of the original game. Unlike Me & My Katamari, the majority of the music for the game was original, though a few tracks from earlier in the series were remix
ed.
is the soundtrack album for the game. The album has 17 tracks and has a length of 1:10:04; it was published by Columbia Music Entertainment
on November 21, 2007 with the catalog number COCX-34602.
GameSpot, in their review of the game, termed the music "one of the quirkiest and most oddly listenable soundtracks in gaming", and said that it fit the mood of the game as well as the soundtrack to the first two games. Square Enix Music Online, in their review of the soundtrack album, said that while it had "a lot of original worth", that it was not any better than the first two soundtrack albums of the series and instead came across as more of the same. They termed the album overall as a "bit underwhelming" and marred by a few "dud" tracks. The album reached #253 on the Japanese Oricon
charts.
in 2009 by Namco Bandai. The music for the game includes a number of remix
ed tracks from previous iterations of the series, using a combination of "electric" and "organic" sounds according to the sound director Yū Miyake. Miyake employed the help of over 20 other Japanese artists and remixers to help the soundtrack, which was designed to act as part of a "musical trilogy" with the soundtrack to Katamari Damacy and We Love Katamari. This was accomplished by choosing tracks from those games that were either fan or staff favorites and having them remixed by both Japanese and non-Japanese artists, though Miyake notes that the majority of the artists were Japanese as he did not know many non-Japanese musicians, the same problem that kept non-Japanese artists out of the first two soundtracks of the "trilogy". Miyake has stated that focusing so much on using music from earlier in the series made it very challenging to still allow each artist to explore their creativity, and does not intend to repeat this strategy if a new game is ever made.
is the soundtrack album for the game. It was released on August 19, 2009 by Columbia Music Entertainment with the catalog numbers COCX-35745~6. Its 36 tracks on two discs span a duration of 2:38:21. The musical styles used in the soundtrack have been described as an "eclectic mix of sunny J-pop, throbbing dance music, jolly jazz, and more".
Gamespot, in their review of the game, said that Katamari Forever "carries on the series' tradition of wildly catchy soundtracks" and said that the remixes of the older songs "sound terrific". PALGN
concurred, calling it a "great soundtrack". The album was received warmly by reviewers such as Square Enix Music Online, who said that it was full of "fresh, diverse, and often downright weird remixes". Describing it as much more of a spiritual successor to the original game's soundtrack than the prior sequels, they said that it kept the "upbeat, humorous, and sentimental feel" of the songs in the original while taking them in new directions. The album reached #158 on the Japanese Oricon
charts.
Namco
is a Japanese corporation best known as a former video game developer and publisher. Following a merger with Bandai in September 2005, the two companies' game production assets were spun off into Namco Bandai Games on March 31, 2006. Namco Ltd. was re-established to continue domestic operation of...
for the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
video game console
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
. The success of the game led to the release of five sequels in Japan and other territories: We Love Katamari, Me & My Katamari
Me & My Katamari
is a video game on the PSP platform. It is the third game in the Katamari Damacy series, the first game on a portable system and the first game produced without the involvement of series creator Keita Takahashi.-Story:...
, Beautiful Katamari
Beautiful Katamari
Beautiful Katamari, released in Japan as , is a video game by Namco Bandai for the Xbox 360. Beautiful Katamari is the fourth game in the Katamari series of games following Katamari Damacy, We Love Katamari and Me & My Katamari....
, Katamari Damacy Mobile
Katamari Damacy Mobile
is a video game developed by Namco Bandai for the Mitsubishi P904i series of mobile phones for NTT DoCoMo. It was released in June 2007 in Japan. It is a spin-off of the Katamari Damacy series, the second game on a portable system and the third game produced without the involvement of series...
, I Love Katamari
I Love Katamari
is a third-person puzzle-action video game published by Namco for the iOS. It is a continuation of the Katamari Damacy series of games. It was released worldwide in the App Store on . In 2010 Namco announced a Windows Phone 7 version of the game...
, and Katamari Forever
Katamari Forever
Katamari Forever, known in Japan as , is a video game in the Katamari series. The game was released for the PlayStation 3 console in Japan on July 23, 2009, on September 22, 2009 in North America, and September 18, 2009 in Europe...
. It also inspired a spin-off game, a Tetris
Tetris
Tetris is a puzzle video game originally designed and programmed by Alexey Pajitnov in the Soviet Union. It was released on June 6, 1984, while he was working for the Dorodnicyn Computing Centre of the Academy of Science of the USSR in Moscow, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic...
-like Korogashi Puzzle Katamari Damacy
Korogashi Puzzle Katamari Damacy
is a falling block puzzle video game released by Namco Bandai for the Nintendo DSi's DSiWare digital download service. It is a spin-off of the Katamari series. However, it bears little resemblance to the series, resembling Tetris more so...
. The music of the Katamari Damacy series refers to the soundtracks to all of these games, five of which have been released as albums. Katamari Fortissimo Damacy, a soundtrack album for the original game, was released by Columbia Music Entertainment
Columbia Music Entertainment
is a Japanese record label founded in 1910 as . It affiliated itself with the Columbia Graphophone Company of the United Kingdom and adopted the standard UK Columbia trademarks in 1931. The company changed its name to Nippon Columbia Co., Ltd. in 1946. It used the Nippon Columbia name until...
in 2004, Katamari wa Damacy was released as a soundtrack album for We Love Katamari by Columbia Music Entertainment in 2005, and Katamari Original Soundtrack Damacy was released in 2006 as a soundtrack album for Me & My Katamari by the same publisher and also included tracks from We Love that were not included in its album. Katamari Suteki Damacy was released by Columbia Music Entertainment in 2007 as a soundtrack album for Beautiful Katamari, and the latest album, Katamari Damacy Tribute Original Soundtrack: Katamari Takeshi, was released in 2009 by Columbia Music Entertainment as the soundtrack album for Katamari Forever. The soundtracks to the other Katamari games have been composed of tracks from previous games in the series, and have not had separate album releases.
Both the soundtracks and their associated albums have been warmly received by reviewers, who have cited the "catchiness" and "quirkiness" of the music as their most notable features. The soundtrack to Katamari Damacy won both IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
's and GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
's "Soundtrack of the Year 2004" awards, while the theme song to We Love Katamari was awarded Best Original Vocal/Pop Song at the 4th Annual Game Audio Network Guild awards in 2006. None of the other soundtracks have been nominated for any awards. They were still well received by reviewers, with the music of the PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
game Me & My Katamari receiving the weakest reviews due to its extensive reuse of songs from previous games in the series.
Katamari Damacy
Katamari DamacyKatamari Damacy
Katamari Damacy is a third-person puzzle-action video game that is published and developed by Namco for the PlayStation 2 video game console. It was first released in Japan, and then later in South Korea and North America...
is a third-person puzzle-action video game that was published and developed by Namco
Namco
is a Japanese corporation best known as a former video game developer and publisher. Following a merger with Bandai in September 2005, the two companies' game production assets were spun off into Namco Bandai Games on March 31, 2006. Namco Ltd. was re-established to continue domestic operation of...
for the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
in 2004. The music in the game was widely hailed as imaginative and original, and was considered one of its top selling points. Its eclectic composition featured elements of traditional electronic video game music, as well as heavy jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and samba
Samba
Samba is a Brazilian dance and musical genre originating in Bahia and with its roots in Brazil and Africa via the West African slave trade and African religious traditions. It is recognized around the world as a symbol of Brazil and the Brazilian Carnival...
influences. The tracks were composed by multiple composers, with Yū Miyake
Yu Miyake
is a composer and sound engineer for the Namco video game company. One of his most memorable works surfaced with Katamari Damacy soundtracks, on which he served as a sound director. Other works include the Tekken series and Ridge Racer series.Before joining Namco, Miyake was a university student...
composing the most at seven and acting as the sound director; other composers for the game were Asuka Sakai, Akitaka Tohyama, Yoshihito Yano, Yuri Misumi, and Hideki Tobeta. Many of the tracks feature vocals from popular J-pop
J-pop
, an abbreviation for Japanese pop, is a musical genre that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. Modern J-pop has its roots in 1960s music, such as The Beatles, and replaced kayōkyoku in the Japanese music scene...
singers such as Yui Asaka
Yui Asaka
is a Japanese actress, a J-Pop singer, and an idol who came to fame in the 1980s.- Biography :Yui was born in Miyazaki, Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan, and later attended Nakano High School. In 1984, she was the Grand Prix Winner for a Young Girls Comics Magazine. Yui was featured as the main character...
and anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
voice actors such as Nobue Matsubara and Ado Mizumori. Yū Miyake has stated that they chose the artists by looking for "Japanese singers who were well-known in Japan but nobody had heard from in awhile for whatever reason". Miyake wanted to use vocal songs because he felt that they were necessary "to make music that only Katamari Damacy could do, really fun music". He has said that game director Keita Takahashi
Keita Takahashi
is a game director, his most notable titles being Katamari Damacy and its sequel, We Love Katamari. The original Katamari game was a surprise hit and was praised for its quirkiness, originality, and charm...
did not give detailed directions on the sound design of the game, allowing Miyake and his team to instead create whatever they felt would fit best.
The artists were chosen after the lyrics were written, and were selected based on how well Miyake and Takahashi felt they would "gel with the world of Katamari Damacy and the content of the song lyrics". They were also chosen to create a "pretty silly, goofy selection of singers" that would appeal to "a broad spectrum of people from different generations". Once the lyrics and singers had been chosen, the music was written specifically for each artist with the intention of creating songs that were "familiar" but not "trendy" so that they would not seem dated in the future. The "humming" in the opening song, described by Miyake as "na-na-na-na-na-na-na-Katamari", was included as an experiment by Miyake to try to create a "memorable" theme associated with the game, in response to criticisms that modern game music was not as memorable as that of older games. Miyake says that "Cherry Tree Times" is his favorite piece from the series.
is the soundtrack album to the game. It includes all of the tracks featured in the game, as well as an additional track, "Katamari March Damacy", a bonus song that was not included in the game. The album has 21 tracks that span a duration of 1:15:13. It was released on May 19, 2004 by Columbia Music Entertainment with the catalog number COCX-32760.
The soundtrack to Katamari Damacy won both IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
's and GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
's "Soundtrack of the Year 2004" awards. It was also nominated for "Outstanding Achievement in Original Musical Composition" at the 8th annual Interactive Achievement Awards in February 2005. In Gamespot's review of the game, they described the soundtrack as based around a "singular, extremely catchy theme" that appeared as pop, jazz, and humming throughout the "insidiously infectious" music. IGN's review of the game said that "not since Mario created its everlasting tune have we heard tracks so catchy and so genuine". The soundtrack album was praised in a review by Square Enix
Square Enix
is a Japanese video game and publishing company best known for its console role-playing game franchises, which include the Final Fantasy series, the Dragon Quest series, and the action-RPG Kingdom Hearts series...
Music Online, who said that in addition to the music being "outside the box", the soundtrack "fits with the graphics and game play in every way possible", is "extremely pleasing to the ears", and "could very well be a great album with no game attached". He described the music as "fun", "catchy", and "quirky" and highly recommended the album. The album reached #191 on the Japanese Oricon
Oricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...
charts.
We Love Katamari
, is the sequel to Katamari Damacy published by Namco for the PlayStation 2 in 2005. It features music from Namco composers Yū Miyake, Akitaka Tohyama, Asuka Sakai, Hideki Tobeta, and Katsuro Tajima, all of whom except for Tajima had composed for the previous soundtrack. Like the previous soundtrack, it also features a plethora of Japanese artists, including DOKAKADokaka
Dokaka is a Japanese beatboxer who performs music solely by multitracking his own voice, generally with one instrument per track. He has distributed his recordings primarily as free downloads from his website; these include...
, Illreme, Arisa
Alisa Durbrow
is a Japanese model, actress, and singer from Saitama Prefecture. She is most famous for her role as Mio Kuroki in the Sailor Moon live action show Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon. Her mother is of Japanese descent, while her father is an American of English descent. She is fluent in both English and...
, KIRINJI
Kirinji (band)
is a Japanese pop band from Sakado, Saitama formed of brothers Takaki and Yasuyuki Horigome. The group was formed in October 1996. They have released seven original albums and sixteen singles to date and are still active. The two are also pursuing their own solo efforts.-Members: born May 2, 1972....
, YOU, Karie Kahimi
Kahimi Karie
Kahimi sings in English, French, and Japanese with whisper-like vocals.-Albums:* 1997 - Larme de crocodile * July 15, 1998 - K.K.K.K.K. * May 24, 2000 - Tilt...
, Maki Nomiya
Maki Nomiya
is a Japanese singer and musician. She released her first solo album in 1981, and worked through the 1980s as the lead vocalist of the New Wave band Portable Rock. In 1991 she became the lead singer of the band Pizzicato Five. When the group disbanded in 2001 she embarked on a solo career...
and Shigeru Matsuzaki. The music has been described as covering styles ranging from swing and techno to J-pop and "other kooky sounds". Sound director Yū Miyake has stated that he wanted to use only non-Japanese musicians in contrast to the first game using only Japanese artists, but was unable to due to a "lack of foreign friends and ability to negotiate". He has stated that his goal for the soundtrack was to take what his team had done for the first game and raise the quality, creating a "more grown-up feeling". He originally wanted to additionally take the music "far beyond imagination" and fans' expectations, but was stymied by a lack of resources.
is the official soundtrack album for the game. It does not include all the music from the game, omitting many of the instrumental
Instrumental
An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
tracks heard throughout the game. These omissions were later added on the second disc of the soundtrack album of Me & My Katamari
Me & My Katamari
is a video game on the PSP platform. It is the third game in the Katamari Damacy series, the first game on a portable system and the first game produced without the involvement of series creator Keita Takahashi.-Story:...
. The album was published by Columbia Music Entertainment on July 20, 2005 with the catalog number COCX-33273; its 18 tracks span a duration of 1:19:53.
We Love Katamari was nominated for the "best audio" award at the 2005 British Academy of Film and Television Arts
British Academy of Film and Television Arts
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.-Introduction:...
awards. While the soundtrack as a whole did not win any awards like its predecessor, "Katamari on the Swing" won the award for Best Original Vocal/Pop Song at the 4th Annual Game Audio Network Guild awards in 2006. The album reached #100 on the Japanese Oricon
Oricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...
charts. GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
's review of the game termed the music "utterly avant-garde" and a "completely off-the-wall soundtrack that has the same key themes as the first game", though "decidedly less focused on catchiness" than that of the first game and more "experimental". Square Enix Music Online, in their review of the soundtrack album, said that it "pretty much lives up to the original's reputation" and is full of "lots of great original compositions that fit with the concept". While they said that the soundtrack has "more flaws and it's a bit less memorable" than the soundtrack to Katamari Damacy, it was still "just as fun and as quirky as the last".
Me & My Katamari
is the third game in the series, and was released on the PlayStation PortablePlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
by Namco in 2005. Its soundtrack was primarily composed of tracks from the previous two games, and has been described as "ranging from smoky lounge music to bleepy Japanese pop songs". The new tracks were composed by Yū Miyake, Yuri Misawa, Hideki Tobeta, Yoshihito Yano, Akitaka Tohyama, and Naoki Toyama; Misawa and Toyama were new composers to the series, while Miyake reprised his role from the previous two games as sound director.
is the soundtrack album for the game. In addition to the new tracks, it includes previously unreleased tracks from We Love Katamari as tracks 10-17 on the first disc. Its second disc is made up of orchestral arrangements of previous tracks, tracks from other Namco games, three ambient noise tracks, two taiko
Taiko
means "drum" in Japanese . Outside Japan, the word is often used to refer to any of the various Japanese drums and to the relatively recent art-form of ensemble taiko drumming...
drum tracks, and one a cappella
A cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
track. The album was released by Columbia Music Entertainment on December 26, 2005 with the catalog numbers COCX-33517~8. Its 37 tracks have a total length of 1:48:55.
In their review of the game, GameSpot called the music "catchy and eclectic", though they disapproved of the amount of reused tracks from previous Katamari games. IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
was more ambivalent, saying that while they had no complaints about the music, they also saw "nothing to really praise either". Square Enix Music Online, in their review of the album, said that the album's "lack of humorous vocal tracks and high quality experimental instrumentals" meant that it did not match up to the previous soundtracks in the series. They additionally felt that the second disc did not add much to the album, and that on the whole the new Me & My Katamari tracks were not strong or numerous enough to make the purchase worthwhile. Unlike the previous two soundtracks in the series, the soundtrack to Me & My Katamari did not win any awards.
Tracklist
Beautiful Katamari
, is a video game produced by Namco BandaiNamco Bandai Games
is an arcade, mobile and home video game developer and publisher based in Japan which is the product of a merger between the video game development divisions of Bandai and Namco. Namco Bandai Games is a wholly owned subsidiary of Namco Bandai Holdings and specializes in production and sales of...
for the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
in 2007. Like previous games in the series, its music was composed by a large number of composers: Yuri Misumi, Yū Miyake, Hiroto Sasaki, Akitaka Tohyama, and Yoshito Yano returned as previous composers for the series, and were joined by Rio Hamamoto, Yuji Masubuchi, Keiichi Okabe, Hiroto Sasaki, Tetsuya Uchida, and Ryo Watanabe
Ryo Watanabe
is a Nippon Professional Baseball pitcher for the Hanshin Tigers in Japan's Central League.-External links:...
. Yū Miyake did not reprise his role as sound director for the game; this role was instead filled by Tetsuya Uchida. The music for Beautiful Katamari has been described as "the same sort of mix of J-pop, techno-infused jazz, and ambient electro" as that of the original game. Unlike Me & My Katamari, the majority of the music for the game was original, though a few tracks from earlier in the series were remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
ed.
is the soundtrack album for the game. The album has 17 tracks and has a length of 1:10:04; it was published by Columbia Music Entertainment
Columbia Music Entertainment
is a Japanese record label founded in 1910 as . It affiliated itself with the Columbia Graphophone Company of the United Kingdom and adopted the standard UK Columbia trademarks in 1931. The company changed its name to Nippon Columbia Co., Ltd. in 1946. It used the Nippon Columbia name until...
on November 21, 2007 with the catalog number COCX-34602.
GameSpot, in their review of the game, termed the music "one of the quirkiest and most oddly listenable soundtracks in gaming", and said that it fit the mood of the game as well as the soundtrack to the first two games. Square Enix Music Online, in their review of the soundtrack album, said that while it had "a lot of original worth", that it was not any better than the first two soundtrack albums of the series and instead came across as more of the same. They termed the album overall as a "bit underwhelming" and marred by a few "dud" tracks. The album reached #253 on the Japanese Oricon
Oricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...
charts.
Katamari Forever
Katamari Forever, known in Japan as , is the most recent game in the series; it was released for the PlayStation 3PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
in 2009 by Namco Bandai. The music for the game includes a number of remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
ed tracks from previous iterations of the series, using a combination of "electric" and "organic" sounds according to the sound director Yū Miyake. Miyake employed the help of over 20 other Japanese artists and remixers to help the soundtrack, which was designed to act as part of a "musical trilogy" with the soundtrack to Katamari Damacy and We Love Katamari. This was accomplished by choosing tracks from those games that were either fan or staff favorites and having them remixed by both Japanese and non-Japanese artists, though Miyake notes that the majority of the artists were Japanese as he did not know many non-Japanese musicians, the same problem that kept non-Japanese artists out of the first two soundtracks of the "trilogy". Miyake has stated that focusing so much on using music from earlier in the series made it very challenging to still allow each artist to explore their creativity, and does not intend to repeat this strategy if a new game is ever made.
is the soundtrack album for the game. It was released on August 19, 2009 by Columbia Music Entertainment with the catalog numbers COCX-35745~6. Its 36 tracks on two discs span a duration of 2:38:21. The musical styles used in the soundtrack have been described as an "eclectic mix of sunny J-pop, throbbing dance music, jolly jazz, and more".
Gamespot, in their review of the game, said that Katamari Forever "carries on the series' tradition of wildly catchy soundtracks" and said that the remixes of the older songs "sound terrific". PALGN
PALGN
The PAL Gaming Network is an Australian based video game news and reviews website that focuses on the videogame industry and culture in PAL territories, particularly Australia and the UK. It was launched in 2003 by a group of PAL forum members on the IGN message boards who were disenfranchised by...
concurred, calling it a "great soundtrack". The album was received warmly by reviewers such as Square Enix Music Online, who said that it was full of "fresh, diverse, and often downright weird remixes". Describing it as much more of a spiritual successor to the original game's soundtrack than the prior sequels, they said that it kept the "upbeat, humorous, and sentimental feel" of the songs in the original while taking them in new directions. The album reached #158 on the Japanese Oricon
Oricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...
charts.