Two classic Katamari Damacy games that were originally released for Japanese feature phones have been recently discovered and saved, as shared by RockmanCosmo on Twitter. These games, Katamari Damacy-Kun and its sequel Oi Katamari Damacy-Kun, were available on NTT DoCoMo’s i-Mode service and other Japanese feature phone platforms in the mid-to-late 2000s. Players take on the role of the prince from the main series, collecting various items in auto-scrolling stages to achieve high scores. Previously exclusive to Japan and never ported to other devices, these games could only be played by acquiring a feature phone from Japan.

However, a group of feature phone enthusiasts have managed to obtain and digitally preserve the i-Mode versions, making it possible for a new generation to enjoy them through emulation. To play these games, users are advised to use the DoJa 5.1 SDK emulator, with detailed instructions available in a Google Doc. Setting up Oi Katamari Damacy-Kun may be a bit more complex due to its specific launcher app and three “stage application” packs, requiring users to arrange the folders in a specific manner before launching the game, as highlighted by RockmanCosmo on Twitter.

Two previously-lost Katamari games have been preserved! Katamari Damacy-Kun and Oi Katamari Damacy-Kun were released for Japanese feature phones in the early 2000s. They're based off of the credits minigame from Me & My Katamari, with Oi Katamari having original stages... (1/2) pic.twitter.com/ZExHbZqA2N

— RockmanCosmo (@RockmanCosmo) June 3, 2024