Geek-Skull's Top Ten Katamari Cousins

Of all the vidya games I've played in the last 10 years or so, those in the Katamari series are among the strongest in overall presentation and sheer fun factor. The gameplay is addicting, the sense of humor is beautifully quirky, and the music and sound design is highly memorable. I can confidently say that the Katamari games will always stick with me.

One of my favorite aspects of the games is collecting the Cousins of our protagonist, "The Prince." I particularly enjoyed doing so in Katamari Forever given the sheer number of them. While each Cousin has at least one smile-inducing trait, I couldn't help myself from becoming especially attached to a select few. For those interested, here is my personal "Top Ten" Katamari Cousins:

#10 is none other than Lucha, the professional wrestler-inspired Cousin whose name derives from "luchador." I'd love to see what kind of sweet moves he might have upon jumping from the top rope of the Cosmos.

#9 is Opeo, a perpetually banged up Cousin. Poor thing. Unfortunately, I'd like him a bit more if they'd just decided to make him a mummy.

#8 is Foomin, a female Cousin whose brain is unfortunately divided between the two halves of her magnetic head.

#7 is Jungle, the chameleon-like Cousin who blends into the environment. The concept alone earned his spot on the list.

#6 is Beyond, a large vegetarian Cousin with a particularly odd body-type. Beyond certainly has an interesting design, but it's his voice that makes me love him so much. Seriously, it's pretty much adorable.

#5 is Ryu, an elusive ninja-like Cousin. When I first found him in Katamari Forever, I had to swap over to him right away.

#4 is the fashion-loving Marcy. She's far too fabulous for anything less than the top five. Marcy has been a favorite of mine ever since the original game.

#3 is Mag. She has a freakin' LCD screen for a face, and it even displays the likes of Pacman graphics! Too awesome.

#2 is Kuro, a heroic Cousin who would be right at home in a Tokusatsu series. It's very easy to get distracted by his dynamic poses during gameplay.

Finally, I had to give the #1 spot to Dipp, who may as well be some sort of mutated sentient disco ball. Like Marcy, I've been fond of Dipp since Katamari Damacy. No still image can do him justice. In-game, the pattern on Dipp's body sparkles, dazzles, and shines, giving your playthrough a welcome dosage of funk.

Awesome, right? And even this only barely illustrates the pure awesomeness!

So there you have it, my "Top Ten" Katamari Cousins. Of course, the list is merely my own opinion. Deciding why one is better than the next can be difficult for me with any list, but this was still quite fun to compile. If you have a favorite Cousin that you feel I was absolutely crazy to leave off, let me know in the comment section below! Whether it's Nickle, June, or Signolo, there are plenty more Cousins to be found and I'd love to hear which ones you may have preferred.

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