Release: Katamari Damacy TGS 2003 Demo (SLPM-60213)
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Hey there!
I know it’s been about a year since this blog last got updated with any new drops. You know how these sorts of things go. Hopefully to make up for it, I’ve got some good news: I finally got my hands on one last Japanese demo disc for Katamari Damacy, the one that Namco gave to the public during TGS 2003, and it’s up for you to check out right now!
For those of you not already in the know, that makes this the third such demo for Katamari Damacy I’ve uploaded to this blog. Previously, I’ve dumped a demo that was released through Japanese game magazine Dengeki Playstation, as well as one that was distributed only to Japanese retailers. Chronologically speaking, this is, to my knowledge, the earliest publicly available demo for Katamari Damacy by several months compared to the other two demos, so if you’re one for documenting the series’ history, in terms of playable content you can get without breaking into Namco, this is probably as early as you’re going to get.
Here’s a brief breakdown of the actual demo contents compared to the other two discs:
Contrary to what I had previously thought, this demo doesn’t contain a wholly unique level per se. The level used in this disc was later reused for the magazine demo. Still, it is a level that was made specifically for demo purposes and can’t be played in the final retail game. (As a reminder, the retail demo has its own entirely unique level that’s wholly different from this demo and the magazine demo that’s also well worth checking out if you’re a fan.)
In terms of structure, this TGS demo and the magazine demo are very similar. The King of All Cosmos does have lines of dialogue that are different to varying degrees, but the actual flow of events is otherwise more or less the same. The ending to this demo is unique in that the King of All Cosmos invites you to listen to a music track for five straight minutes. If you don’t press any buttons, the music will indeed continue for about that long before the demo resets, which is behavior that’s not present in the magazine demo.
That said, as an earlier version of the game than the previous two demos, there are some minor visual differences that you can pick out compared to them, such as a different-looking UI and katamari. I believe there might be some very minor differences with respect to the actual level when it comes to object placement compared to the later magazine demo, but that’s probably best determined by someone with better analytical skills than me.
The music used in the actual demo level is, I believe, an older, rougher cut of music found in the final game. It was also used in at least the later magazine demo, but I bring it up because the retailer demo proved to be a treasure trove for unused and rough draft music, so, as the oldest available demo of the bunch, this might well prove to have some goodies of its own.
That’s about it for the actual demo. This archive also includes a bonus set of scans produced by yours truly of the packaging and instructions included with the demo, the design of which is as charming as ever. They’ve been scanned at 600 DPI, but no cleanup work has been done to them whatever, so if they look a little “raw,” that’s why. People are absolutely welcome to clean it up themselves if they like, but if you do choose to repost the scans elsewhere, please include a source link back to this post! It took me three years and a decent chunk of money to finally acquire this demo and provide what are easily the highest fidelity scans of the slip cover art online, so a little recognition of that work when sharing this content is greatly appreciated.
Have fun!
-Pepsi