I have every entry in the Katamari Damacy series. The fact that it has become an entire series with no sign of slowing down makes me very happy. As I flipped through the new mobile games I see it. “A new Katamari game?!” “On my cell phone?!” “Hell’s yeah!!” So how does this stack up to it’s platform siblings? Only one way to find out.

First off, there’s a lot here. You’ve got over thirty levels and five game modes: Roll a Star, Roll a Color, Rock n Rolling Racing, Don’t Touch, and Roll an Object. You’ve got the cousins to roll up, presents and an achievements section, and a soundtrack that is admittedly tinny – but still well done and certainly worthy of a Katamari game.  On top of all that there are extra downloadable levels to keep things going. Impressive to say the least. A new 3/4 perspective takes some getting used to, but once you do, you’re all set. And there is still the pure joy that is rolling the giant behemoth Katamari around the earth with nothing to stop you. Gaming bliss if you ask me.

Unfortunately all the options and material cannot save the poor controls and blistering difficulty. The setup is fixed so you’re stuck with what they think is the best choice. In my case with my LG Lotus, the controls are a small cluster represented within the blue-buttoned area. Now, I wouldn’t say that my thumbs are huge -  but they’re not tiny either. Half the time I felt like I was thumb wrestling with myself – which I’ve done and it’s not as amusing as it sounds (however watching can be fun depending on how trashed you are). Anyways. Considering that this game is designed to be hectic due to time constraints fumbling around your button setup is annoying. Like super ninja-pirate annoying. ‘Shoot me’ annoying. Add the insane difficulty and you have one of the most infuriating applications ever. I’ve wrecked all other entries and it took me two-and-a-half friggin days to get past the first level. I’ve stopped playing at this point – except in the bathroom. Wow, that sounds bad.

This is a tough one to rate. If I had a different phone I may very well had a different experience. But I have the phone that I have – and a pretty good one at that. This game really should have come with a button assignment. That would have made a massive difference. But it doesn’t. And that sucks.