This review is based on the 1.0 version of the game, written on December 14.

I can't believe this! I read 40 to 50 sites per day including many about gaming in general and a few about iPhone gaming specifically. I never even knew this was in development! Imagine my surprise when I fired up the feed reader this morning to find that Katamari Damacy had been released for my new mobile gaming platform of choice! Suffice it to say, I couldn't get out my credit card fast enough.

I was hesitant to purchasing the game, but I took the risk and bought it. I love it. Not perfect, but it's a start.

Let's be honest, it would be very hard to bring the true Katamari experience to the iPhone, the hardware just isn't there. The game plays a little slow and the frame rate sinks into low single digits when transitioning between sizes and when your katamari picks up something that continues to move like a cat, dog, or person. However, it still is Katamari, on my iPhone, in my pocket. It still has the same quirky humor -- the King of All Cosmos is still jerk, and he still makes royal rainbows. You're still rolling up everything in sight. That makes this a pretty good experience on the iPhone, and certainly was worth the price compared to many of the other games. If you're used to the PS2 or 360 versions of the game, using the tilt sensor takes some getting used to, but it quickly becomes second nature and one of the better games on the iPhone. The fact they could get it this far on the iPhone is impressive. I'm holding out the last star in hopes that they can fix the framerate in a future version.

I've played through every Katamari game, so I'm definitely not a noob. However, I couldn't even get past the first level beause the gameplay broke down to the point where I could barely move in one direction or have the controls respond in a predictable manner.

Rebooted between tests- Frame rates dip after 2nd half of the first level. This destroys the control; it stops detecting even constant forward movement. It makes it difficult to move even in a straight line; or turn. I'm a big fan of Katamari, and took a gamble with the mixed framerate and control reviews. Sadly, I definitely have run into these problems.

awful.

Katamari Damacy is without a doubt my favorite game released this decade, due in very large part to the unique design and highly pick up and play nature. I love the game so much that when I started learning iPhone programming, a simple Katamari clone was my very first project. Needless to say, when it was released a few days ago, I was absolutely thrilled! However, unbridled joy turned to sadness when I discovered how poorly the game was ported. This version of Katamari feels like it is a direct, unmodified port of one of the PS2 versions' engines. It is obvious that the game needs more optimization to perform adequately, and by that I don't mean 'faster code'. My advice to the update team (assuming there will be one) would be to focus on object culling. The game drops to unplayable framerates as the ball gets bigger, so why does it try to display so many attached objects? I would suggest culling objects older than 32 pickups old - keep them in the collection list, but don't draw them or do any physics ok them. Beyond that, yes, part of the joy of the Playststion versions is the sheer quantity of things to pick up, but I would be fine with smaller levels with fewer things to pick up, if it meant the game was actually playable. Finally, the loading transition is ungodly. I'm sure the majority of the framerate drop is due to I/O and not the animation itself, but a loading animation should hide delays, not exacerbate them! Switch to something less choppy that hides the loading better - even a now loading screen would be preferable! Look at the scenes where the king talks during loading in WLK for inspiration. Despite my complaints, this ISa good start, but it needs another month in the oven, and I would be ashamed to release a game with this level of unplayability, especially to an audience that expects so much better. I will be awaiting an update that scales the game better to meet the hardware's capabilities. Also 10 bucks says this was rushed for Christmas, SHAME on the executive producer.

I love this game! This is in the top tier of the iPhone apps. The controls are a little strange at first, but plays great! It's so funny too! If you are tired of cheap "moble" games, get this!

Great game, but the framerate is awful.

Game is quite amazing and a great port. With that said, my only issues are the bland graphics (texture) and lack of levels. Compared to other Katamari games, the palate seems quite boring. I need more color!! That is where a lot of the character of this game comes from! And there are only 5 levels!? I beat the story mode in about an hour. I understand that there are some additional modes thrown in, but an extra couple levels (even on another planet) would be MUCH appreciated!

I've been a huge fan of the Katamari series up to this point. This game just seems 1/2 finished. It is infuriating to play. The framerate gets amazingly slow, especially when scaling up to a larger Katamari. The controls become sluggish after the first 30 seconds of playing, and like some other reviewers have mentioned, by the end of a level, they seem to invert themselves or stop responding all together. After 2 or 3 minutes, I find that I'm almost pointing the iPhone away from me trying to get the The Prince to move and turn. This puts a huge strain on my neck, trying to see the screen. I feel like Namco owes me a massage in addition to the patch that this game so badly needs.

This is a darn-near perfect port of Katamari. The game itself is all there. Save for calibration issues, the controls are easy to play with and make for an acceptable way to play the game. The framerate issues can easily be fixed with updates.

Classic Katamari gameplay, but it definitely needs a patch for the framerate and controls.

I've been waiting for this for some time, however, there are a few performance issues that need to get fixed before this becomes totally playable. It lags a lot, and sometimes the accelerometer gets miscalibrated somehow and you have to tilt it nearly facing away from you to move forward. It also gets really slow when you "level up". But the music and fun is there, so with a few fixes it's on it's way.

They've done it again with i Love Katamari. It gives you the same unique sense of joy that all Katamari games seem to bring. A great first release, and while their are some issues with frame rate, and the general performance, it is nothing another update for the game couldn't fix. Press yes if you agree!!

I picked this game up post-update, so the issues such as framerate were resolved (it seems), though I can't comment personally on what it was like before. But now, it seems pretty good. Yes the katamari slows when it gets bigger, but it only lasts a few seconds, then it's back to smooth. It also goes a little choppy when you've been hit by a car, or cat, or whatever crazy thing they decided to throw in the game, and becomes kind of annoying, but those are my only complaints in regards to the implementation of the game on the iPhone/Touch.

The game looks great, but the slow speed makes it practically unplayable. Not worth $8 unless the performance is improved.

.... But I hate to sound like a broken record because the other reviews are saying the same thing but the gameplay is no fun with the speed and responiveness of the controls. I will rate 4 stars once I can move at a reasonable speed

After reading that the frame rate was slow, I decided to still buy it because I hope an update will fix it soon.

The game only starts to freeze when your katamari grows bigger and they have to adjust the camera so it might be loading. Not a big deal

It's Katamari, complete with the King of All Cosmos and the music and everything. There aren't cousins flying around that I've seen, but that's the largest deviation from the console games thus far (besides the controls).

Overall, the gameplay is fun, and the game is a good port. However, the controls are annoying. It seems like the tilt required to move forward increases as the level progresses. Additionally, movement feels slow. Even with its flaws, this game is worth buying.

Katamari is one of my favorite games. It is so fun to roll up everything and make your ball grow bigger and bigger. The controls are very easy! If you like Money Ball, then you MUST buy this game. The graphics are really good and the game play is fun. This is one of the best games on iPhone.

Im a HUGE fan of Katamari but this release is broken. It has POOR controls that has you tilting the screen to the point where you cant even see what your doing. The controls also seem to stop working alot, and the game becomes unresponsive. The slowdown is UNACCEPTABLE. It gets so bad that the game becomes unplayable. Fix the controls and the slowdown and you have a great game here. The music is perfect, the graphics are acceptable for a mobile device. I love the series, but Namco should be sued for taking money from people for something this broken.

Words cannot describe awesome this game is. Out of all the game apps I bought before (Bugdom2, Ferrari GT, BIA, LightBike, Rolando, etc.) I have to say that this is one of the greatest games on the iTouch. The graphics are solid, and the gameplay is the most intruiging and addictive thing I've ever seen. Five large and colorful levels (Although they tend to get smaller as you play), four fun and diverse game modes (And I must also add that each game mode rearranges objects to make things different), Rich and catchy music, oh and of coarse, THE KING OF ALL COSMOS.

I don't know what people are complaining about...the controls work well for me. I'd like to see an update to improve the framerate during size changes, but it's not too hard to just wait a moment, and the frame rate is great the rest of the time. The game is just as fun as all the 塊魂 games I've played in the past. Worth the $8!

At first the game was fun but it only offers five levels which can be beat in a day. If it's this much money they should of had much more levels. Also the controls are a bit frustrating at times.