Here are a few random thoughts and observations about the Make a Star levels:

NOTE: Any or all of these may be well known already. I only just played KD for the first time in March 2007. I beat the game and just played around with it for a few weeks before moving on to other games. I started playing WLK near the end of March this year. I played it for about a month, but getting all the Super-Clears (which I now know are only the beginning of what is possible in WLK) inspired me to come back to KD. I've been playing it now for about a month exclusively. Keep all of this in mind (or don't).

MAS 2: In Silent Thunder's video, he achieved 38cm8mm. A Novelty Plate was left on top of the cabinet inside the room. This plate is reachable if you climb the face of the cabinet from the drawer. Charging isn't necessary to reach the drawer, either. I've found that at about 37cm8mm you can just roll up onto the drawer from the table. You have to be on the corner of the table or just a little bit to the right for best results. It's touchy for sure, and what you lose in items by crashing into the cabinet or in time spent doing this may be more trouble than it's worth. However, if someone who can achieve 38cm8mm (I'm at 38cm4mm) tries this at the end of the run when he already has 38cm8mm he might gain another 1mm. Not a huge deal, but just a way to push the record even higher.

MAS 5: Once in a blue moon you can pop back into the upper town when you're already 2m70cm or so. You have to hit the Short Fence at the top of the line of guardrails at just the right speed. I'm sure there's a trick to this. Anyway, you can get the people and fences and such in the upper town. If you're big enough you can climb up the face of a house into the main part of the town. You can pick up more people and things. The real problem is getting back out. I don't think it worked trying to climb back up the other side of the house I climbed to get in. I worked my way over to the left side (facing downhill) and popped myself over the wall once. The point is: If someone hit the goal really fast and got everything else in the stage fast enough and was about 2m85cm-ish (or more, having gotten everything but the guardrails), getting back into the upper town via the guardrails could break current records. If you managed to get back out and went down the hill on the side opposite the guardrails, and if you happened to be 2m96cm3mm (which would already smash the known record), you could get the Gardening Fence(s) and possibly even break 3m. (Good luck.)

MAS 9: When going for a fast comet, around 20m or so when you are about to head into the schoolyard, don't. I've found that you "bonk" too easily at that size if you try to go straight up the wall (remember you're much bigger at this point in MTM). So just head left into the upper town and drop in from the school's roof. I do it by side rolling; it's almost too small a thing to bother with turning/quick-turning. But I notice that when Silent Thunder got 4:52 on that comet, he bonked into the schoolyard. The other way might have shaved off a few seconds. I also notice that when you come back to clean up the level, you bonk trying to go from the upper town to the very highest part. Instead, come at it from the park area where you start the level. Since I clean up this area 2nd-to-last, I'm at least 50m when I get there so this method works for me.

This is my first real post on here (other than my scores), so please be kind.

Welcome to the board--and the game(s) :) I'm glad you're playing and that you found SilentThunder's videos. Don't get discouraged, but not everybody obsesses about katamari minutiae. (Though I do....) And many people have moved on to other games of course.

I was totally O.C.D. about KD for a while recently, but now I don't have much time to play. But maybe sometime this week I'll poke around in these levels and get back to you with my thoughts. SloBro isn't around as much as he used to be (if you write him, it may take a couple of weeks before he responds), but he would still be interested to know about any videos you're making, especially if you're discovering new things and breaking longstanding records. (If you need info on how to record yourself, there are some old posts around here.)

I've always been more interested in speed-runs, but the ALAP levels can be fun. Seems like that's more what you're into. BTW Congrats on your 1st place for KD Eternal 3 diameter on cyberscore! :applause

Thanks. I've become completely obsessed with Katamari games. I hope to someday play MMK or BK (don't have proper hardware), but for now I'm locked into KD. When I feel I can no longer push KD any further, I plan on returning to WLK. I've only scratched the surface there.

I wrote SloBro a short time ago (not about this, exactly), and he responded in a few days. I really would appreciate your thoughts, his thoughts, Silent Thunder's thoughts, and/or anybody else's thoughts on this (or anything else KD or WLK related). But like you said, most people have moved on to other games. I couldn't find anything on this site about how to make the videos, although I may not have looked hard enough/in the right place. The link about it on Cyberscore is a dead link. SloBro suggested a DVD recorder, but that may wind up being out of my price range. Any other ideas? What kind of still camera would you suggest? I'm a relative n00b at Katamari, but I'm a total beginner at all this video/screenshot stuff (though I am quite interested in it; I'd love to post my best runs on SloBro's site).

I can't decide whether I like speed runs or diameter runs better. Luckily, a decent speed run can be turned into a huge diameter run on every MAS level except 8 and Moon. Thanks for the encouragement on the Eternal 3 diameter run. That's one of a couple I've done where I completely blew my own mind. I was only playing Eternal 3 in the first place because my controller is sick (dying?) and I wanted to play something where time was of no consequence. Really, I was going for item count. I basically followed SloBro's strategy for Make the Moon from his 883m60cm-ish run on his site. I was as meticulous as possible in clearing each area before moving to the next, I ran all over the world picking up Gigantic Trees from islands large and small, I got both Marine Jumbomen, the other Jumbomen, Mogran (that big dinosaur guy near the mountain), all the Tsunami Islands, all the Anchor and Roe Islands, all the Small Icebergs, then everything else. The last things I got were: Whale Mountain, the Tornados, the Rainbow, and the Toll Bridge. I wound up with a personal best 2337 items, but I had no idea the size was the biggest on record. I only dreamed of breaking the top 5 or even 10. I'm sure my record will fall someday, because there are many more items I didn't get (probably because they disappeared as I grew). Ironically, I wind up with a worse score using this method on the non-Eternal MTM than I do by just finishing out the stage after a speed run to 300m. :shrug

Edit (May 25 2008, 08:55 PM): I can verify that the Tsunami Islands can still be picked up at around 200-225m. They are only tiny dots by then, and disappear soon after. Likewise with the Anchor and Roe Islands, which can still be picked up at around 500-550m. Also, it just occurred to me that if you are between 146m50cm3mm (the size to roll up Small Icebergs) and 294m95cm2mm (the size to roll up Pointy Icebergs, the next largest ones) you ought to be able to roll up all the Small Icebergs without picking up any others.

Edit (Jun 5 2008, 02:25 AM): That last idea won't work since the icebergs don't even appear until you reach the goal size of 300m.

as far as capturing runs goes, you can get a capture card for your pc and then you would plug the ps2 right into the capture card and then record it directly onto the pc and use the video editing software that usually comes with one to edit it. then use youtube, etc, to upload it.

Another method is to plug your PS2 into your VCR and make tapes. It's easy and cheap. Most of the videos you've already watched were made this way. Later you encode the runs you want. You can find more info about that at the Speed Demos Archive site.

Thanks all for the video recording advice. I'll check into those ideas ASAP.

Maybe this question deserves its own topic, but: What kind of controller do you guys use? As I'm sure you all know, Katamari games can be rough on controllers. I just finished taking apart both my ailing stock Dualshock 2s and cleaning them up a little on the inside. It served its purpose; right after reassembling them I rolled personal bests for completion time and diameter for MTM. Nonetheless, I don't ever plan on doing that again. I've done it once before, and I can report that getting my controllers back together is one of the most obnoxious things I can remember doing lately. :frusty Bite the bullet and just buy a new controller!

Some of the non-Sony controllers look like they have hard plastic thumb sticks instead of the Sony rubber ones. My theory is that as the textured rubber wears off, it drops down inside the controller and gums up the works.

Any thoughts?

i actually always use a dualshock, i don't think i've ever owned a 3rd party sony controller.

hmm, i've only ever used first party controllers. i've always been wary of third party ones.

This has come up before--someone even included a picture of the Dualshock dandruff, or whatever you want to call it :lol As far as the flaky stuff goes, I don't think it's the rubber, but actual bits of plastic from the stems of the thumb sticks. I could be wrong. All I know is that it happens, and that I have to blow it out occasionally. (The only time I've seen the inside of a controller is when I've lost my temper....)

Just last night I was playing a little, and the L3/R3 function failed me a few too many times in a row. So I retired the controller and opened up a new one. Ahhhh, so nice. I only use the Sony controllers, though for a long time I've wondered about programmable controllers and if you could program the CNR function. Hmm.

i even get that white stuff on the 360 controller. my theory is that it's part of the base of the controller wearing away but who knows.

Hey matthew69, congratulations on your new diameter record for MAS 9. :applause I was wondering when someone would break that one. I had hoped my moment would last two whole weeks, though. :crybaby But seriously, good job! There are really only two reasonable ways you got it that big. Either you found something I'm unaware of to pick up, or you picked up some smaller stuff that I missed due to disappearance on my run. If you don't mind, I'd be interested in sharing notes on that level.

About the original topic, have you worked any more on MAS 2 or 5? You mentioned having just opened a new controller, and this is especially important for getting back into the upper town on 5. You have to be fairly big (I don't know the exact size; 2m80cm+?) and be able to take the guardrails smoothly all the way to the top of the hill without stopping. I haven't been able to do this lately due to controller issues. All I'm saying is that now would be a good time to try that if you haven't already.

I was right about the MAS 9 diameter; it was the stuff I missed due to disappearance.

Hello? *echo* What's everyone been up to? I've been grinding my way through KD, of course. In the past week I finally started and finished two new games of KD, solving the problem I had before. This "problem" was one I had caused myself when I got carried away upon signing up to Cyberscore and dumped all my KD scores, no matter how low, onto the site. As you may know, you can't delete your scores once you submit them over there. This resulted in having to change the "objects" score when I got a better diameter score because, unlike many other games, the game doesn't save your best scores for each category. It doesn't save your best scores in any category. It only saves what you tell it to. Anyway, this resulted in having to upload lower "objects" scores in many cases (lame). I never submit a score I can't prove, so you see the problem. On the first save I have all my best MAS diameters, comets, a 10m North Star, my 100% constellations, and my fastest Kintaro-Bear and Holy Cow times. The second save has all my best "objects" scores, and the last save has all my best constellation diameters. It's awfully convoluted, but it works. By the way, be very careful when saving if you try to do this.

*BREAKING NEWS*

I finally got a new controller! :woot I just got it, and I haven't even opened it yet. It's a Dualshock 2, which is the only kind I've ever used. What's strange is that my old controller decided to work like a champ last night, and completely die on me today. :frusty I plan on opening it up tonight. I have some great new ideas about the MAS levels that could result in some monster scores. I'll try them myself and let you all know how it goes.

Will a new controller result in higher scores? Does anyone else still play this game? Is anyone reading this? Tune in next time for the thrilling conclusion!

i read it but i haven't played KD in quite some time. I should fire it up.

Thanks. Thanks also for this site and for your wonderful KD guide on GameFAQs. It really helped me out back when I was looking for items, cousins, presents, etc.

As for my controller, I finally opened it earlier tonight. I just have one thing to say: MAGANDANG TANGHALI PO! After playing MAS 2 for at least five (5) hours straight (yes, you read that right), I finally achieved what I was after. As the King put it, "39cm2mm!!!" :brucelee

I'd be happy to discuss strategies for this level (or any other, for that matter) later today, but I'm going to bed now.

*yawn*

awesome. i need a new ps3 controller, the anaglog sticks stick but they're so pricey.

"39cm3mm!!!" :woot

Well, I think I'm going to retire permanently from MAS 2 now. I played it for about four hours tonight, and that's enough. That last time I had 38cm7mm with a full minute to go, which is partially a function of having played the level so many times in the exact same way. The rest is luck, since all the things that had to go right did. Maybe given an infinite lifespan I could reach 39cm4mm using the same strategy, but we'll never know. I think 39cm5mm or even 39cm6mm may be possible under ideal circumstances, though. I may still play the level for a speedier comet, but I doubt it.

Anyway, go me! :D

damn, nice job indeed. :applause

i was never good at competing scores and whatnot. i just play katamari for fun knowing my scores will just be mediocre.

Competing for high scores on this (and probably any) game is sort of a love/hate thing. I can't really call playing the same level for nine hours total over the last two days "fun," but that one shining moment at the end made it all worthwhile. (Well, sort of.) I suppose the love/hate thing is a little bit like running, except I don't think playing KD qualifies as exercise. :heh

I played this game just for fun at first. Then I played WLK for fun. Then I found somebody's Super-Clear FAQ for WLK and achieved all of those. Then I found Cyberscore by accident, and then this site and slo_bro's video site. And there you go. It's really all about having something else to do to extend the replay value of your games. If I had enough money to buy an Xbox360, I might be playing BK right now.

once someone decided out of spite to challenge all of my scores on cyberscore for wlk, i never bothered with that site again. it's a great site but some of the people suck.

Here comes the big reveal about MAS 2. First of all, this strategy assumes you started the level directly on top of the Mosquito Coil and NOT on the rack under the TV or inside the Fruit Basket. It also assumes you know how to get to 38cm7mm on this level. Consult Silent Thunder's 38cm8mm video (on YouTube via slo_bro's site, We Want Katamari Videos!) if you need help on what to get. I could never get to 38cm7mm with my old controller, so make sure yours is in great shape before attempting this. In the very near future, I plan on posting a full guide for this level. I'll tell you not only how to get to 38cm7mm, but how to do it fast enough to get to the rest. It will be my first real guide, though, so give me a few days at least.

*drumroll*

As soon as you reach 38cm7mm, head back inside the living room and roll up the Video Game. That's right! The Video Game requires you to be 38cm7mm to roll it up. Once you do, you will probably be 38cm8mm or 38cm9mm (depending on whether you left key items behind and which ones; more on that later). Now, immediately go back outside and roll up the first Fruit Basket just to the left of the porch steps if you're on the porch facing the yard. You must be 38cm8mm to roll it up. Then go after the other Fruit Basket at the end of the big line of plants, just to the right of where the eggplants used to be. Then you can either go roll up ornaments off the tree (by knocking them off first), go behind the doghouse and roll up stuff, go after the Novelty Plate on top of the cabinet that I mentioned in my first post, or go get anything else you missed. If you're going for 39cm3mm+, I recommend rolling up the Novelty Plate on the way to 38cm7mm. It's excruciating, but necessary to avoid the heartbreak of smashing your giant 39cm+ katamari trying to get it later. In my strategy I always get the Novelty Plate on the way to 38cm7mm and get the ornaments, etc. at the end if I still have time left. If you got the Video Game and both Fruit Baskets, you should be at least 39cm2mm when your time is up.

Edit: If you're just trying to get the three biggest items, consider leaving the Novelty Plate alone. You'll still almost certainly need to get the Ring Box, though. Get enough ornaments off the tree to reach 38cm7mm and then go after the big stuff.

I discovered this when I began scanning the Size Chart in the Collection Menu (Very Small) for items you could roll up in MAS 2 if you were large enough. It so happens that I found those two, and there you go. Actually, I think I was working on MAS 7. I was trying to figure out what in the world matthew69 rolled up to get to 11m41cm4mm. I discovered the Clock Pedestal, reworked my strategy, and proceeded to roll a personal best 11m40cm(0mm). The point is that there are numerous goodies to be found in that Collection menu once you have all the items. One more example: In Make Cancer, there are two Frying Pans on the porch. Now, I don't have any idea how you get to 66cm1mm on that level (apparently there are at least a couple of people who do), but you can roll up those Frying Pans as soon as you get there.

Enjoy! :)

That MAS 2 diameter is amazing.

For Cancer diameter, watch my 65cm7mm video. Here is the obvious stuff I missed getting in that video: I didn't get all of the flag at the end. I didn't get all of the comics/newspaper stacks in the corner. I didn't get the sign on the wall in the back of the house. I also misses a buch of smaller stuff along the way, like red crabs and so forth. I also had a lot of stuff get knocked off during that run.

Getting all of that other stuff and having a good run in general will get you, at best, 66cm0mm.

So how do you get the extra mm? There are two more large items in the stage you can get, but they are not very obvious. It's possible to grab two more t-shirts, which are above where you get the first shirt with all the crabs attached to it. To get the other two, you need to climb up the doghouse, and from there climb up the ledge next to it. Then position yourself on the ledge and do a spindash off of it to hopefully grab two shirts. The fun thing with this is that because of the camera, you're kind of blind when you doing the spindash.

That gets the extra mm and you have to go through the stage pretty fast overall since getting the extra shirts eats up quite a bit of time.

Getting the pans at 66cm1mm sounds interesting. I might have a go at it.

Hey, Silent Thunder! Nice to see you on here! :)

Thanks. That MAS 2 diameter took everything I had.

About the Cancer diameter, I got a 65cm7mm a week or so ago by watching that video! I got the Hanging Scroll, which I believe is what you're talking about on the wall in the back. Even with that and most of the other big stuff (except the two other shirts), still 65cm7mm. That level seems pretty brutal to try for size on due to the time limit. Then again, getting 100% was no picnic either.

Do the rest of you KD players look down on letting the crabs hit you at the beginning? I admit it's a really cheap move, but I've gotten as many as eight crabs at the beginning by just doing nothing for several minutes. It's actually quite boring, but it works! I can't remember where I heard about that trick.

Yeah, those pans would be great to roll up. Since they're so big, they might even get you to 67cm+. Best of all, they're right next to each other!

Here's something strange about Cancer and MAS 2: When I first discovered the Fruit Baskets for MAS 2, I tried rolling up the one in Cancer when I was exactly 38cm8mm to see what size I would be afterwards. Of course, this is much easier than doing so in MAS 2. After I rolled it up, I was 39cm6mm. I made sure to get the red crab out from under it before rolling it up so as not to throw off the numbers. At that point, I became extremely excited about the possibilities for MAS 2. After all, if it was possible to get all three Fruit Baskets (never mind the Video Game) you could possibly wind up at 41cm2mm. This would be more than enough to start getting the bricks (40cm9mm) and then the little fences...or so I thought. I was quite surprised to find that math apparently works differently for each level. :shrug

I came out of retirement on MAS 2 the last two nights. :heh I played it for about two and a half hours each night. I knew the only thing worth doing at this point was to try starting the level inside the Fruit Basket. The problem with doing this, of course, is that you lose the Mosquito Coil as an item to roll up on the way to 38cm7mm. I added the stuff behind the doghouse to my strategy to try and make up for losing the Mosquito Coil. The most important item back there is the Spider, but it's not as big as the Mosquito Coil. I tried everything I could think of, but I couldn't beat my old score. I got the Video Game and all three Fruit Baskets a few times, but all I managed to get was 39cm3mm three more times. :frusty I still say 39cm4mm is possible, but that's about it.

I'm retiring from MAS 2 again. If nothing else, I've proven that even if 39cm4mm is possible, it'll take a superhuman effort to achieve.

2m93cm5mm on MAS 5! :brucelee

I missed a few of the 8th Steps and the Short Fence that you use as a ramp to get the present. That's about it. I didn't make it back into the upper town on that run, and I'm glad I didn't. In slo_bro's 2m92cm9mm video, he missed the Short Fence at the top of the guardrails, a girl running around the stage, the girl right next to the farm that hides in the corner, and a girl that fell off his katamari and ran away on the ramp. I'm pretty sure if he had rolled up and kept those girls he would have beaten my score. The only way I can see 2m94cm+ is to get back into the upper town. Doing so is even more annoying than the novelty plate in MAS 2, if that's possible.

7m88cm8mm on MAS 6! :brucelee

I did that one a few days ago. My strategy for that one was to get all the stuff I usually get but make sure to get all the people before leaving the schoolyard. I also got the 2 guys at the end of the beach before I got too big. After I got the swan boats I still had a little time so I went back to the beach and rolled up almost all the people. My new strategy is to leave something behind that I can easily get later, like those 4 trees next to the 2 women near the flagpole. That way I'm a little smaller when I go into the park, and I can get more of the garden plants in the corners.

I never could have done any of this on MAS 2, 5, or 6 with my old controller. I couldn't go up hills very well, I stopped while dashing without wanting to, etc. It was awful. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Buy a new controller!

My next post will be a full walkthrough of MAS 2. I thought it would be a terrible waste to spend as much time as I did on that level and not report absolutely everything I found out. Much of the information has already been presented here, but I thought it made sense to collect it all in one place.

First of all, I'm not going to capitalize the key items all the way through. There are two reasons I've done that in the past: 1) it makes them stand out, and 2) calling each item by the exact name the game does allows the reader to look it up in the Collection menu for a picture if he or she isn't sure what I'm talking about. Nonetheless, doing this all the way through a walkthrough would be a nuisance.

Second, I really recommend watching Silent Thunder's speed run and diameter videos on slo_bro's site, We Want Katamari Videos! These will give you a good idea of how to get started and familiarize you with what to get.

MAS 2 Diameter Walkthrough

Make sure you start inside the fruit basket. If you don't, restart the level until you do. You'll find an alternate strategy for starting on top of the mosquito coil in the notes at the end of this guide. Whatever you do, DON'T start on the rack under the TV. You won't be able to get what's under it later.

A good speed run to 20cm is essential. (If you already know how to do the speed run, skip the next 2 paragraphs.)

Aim slightly left of the brown containers, roll out of the basket, and dash just left of the video game. Roll right and dash again, getting gum and caramels on your way. Follow the caramels around the back of the boombox and cut between the snail and spinning cassette tapes. You must be 6cm to get the candy ahead. Get some nearby caramels, screws, or pachinko balls to reach 6cm and get all the candy. Roll right and dash forward, curving right toward the chair. Try to get the mandarin pieces and avoid the snails on your way. Roll up the ramp and get the 3 magnets. Fall off the edge onto the parsley and turn left to get some eyedrops and stacks of blocks. 10cm.

Turn right and roll up the pile of batteries and blocks. Quick turn and roll left for some more eyedrops. Dash around the back of the chair, curving left, and try to get the stack of 2 batteries and a magnet as you go. Roll over to where the 6cm candy was, avoiding the rolling mandarins. Aiming slightly left, dash through the 10cm barrier and off the porch. Roll up the line of magnets to the right of the tall plants. Being careful to avoid the scissors on your right, dash off the edge toward the red socks. You must be 11cm6mm to get the red socks and 12cm7mm for the blue ones. Get some nearby soap if needed and get a few red socks. Keep rolling in a counterclockwise circle until you have all the socks. Roll right for 3 mandarins and 3 fried shrimp. Quick turn and roll left and forward to the fruit basket full of tomatoes. You must be 16cm5mm to get them. Get some more soap if needed, roll up into the basket, and get all the tomatoes. Keep rolling forward and slightly right up the ramp for the scissors and indoor shoes. 20cm. I recommend practicing until you can get to 20cm in under 1:00.

At 20cm, roll forward to the post with the pipe attached to it. Quick turn, roll up the line of tomatoes, and fall off the edge. Turn right to get all the remaining soaps in a circle and the calculator in the middle. Quick turn and be on the lookout for: a rolling baseball, a bunch of magnets and fried chicken, and Santa on a blackboard eraser going around the level. Get all of that when it comes around. Roll forward to the slanted wall to get another calculator and any nearby snails. Turn left to get the forks, spoons, and teacup. Roll left for the calculator and roll forward up the slight incline. Get all the kitchen knives and dandelions, the coffee can, the calculator, and 2 pieces of fried chicken on a plate. Turn left, roll left and forward, and gently bump the post to get the kitchen knife stuck there. Turn left and roll forward to the left of the tomato plants. Roll up the sprayer, the 2 ketchups, and stop at the end for another sprayer. Quick turn and roll forward to get the tomatoes that were too high to reach before. Get the sprayer to your left, quick turn, and roll up the line of eggplants. The King usually says something here if you got them all. Get the scissors to your right, quick turn, and get the light bulb. Keep going forward toward the porch and to the right of the X'mas tree. Get the dandelions on your way to the porch, quick turn, and stop next to the tree for a few seconds to let the ornaments going around it stick to your katamari. Get the baseball and India ink next to the tree, the glasses and remaining dandelions in front of you, and any birds, Santas, or red boots hopping around in this immediate area. 30cm.

With the porch behind you, roll forward to the fenced-in area with the plants swaying back and forth. Get the peeler, number counter, and kaleidoscope. Roll right to the opening in the fence and push up the small step for the screwdriver and bird. Roll left for the milk carton, roll right, and back out the way you came in. Turn right to get all the indoor shoes along the fence. Turn left at the end, get the toy capsule, and roll right for the kaleidoscope. Roll forward and turn right to get all the houses along the wall. Turn right again to get the kaleidoscope and the line of lollipops ahead of you. Don't get the paint cans next to the doghouse yet. Roll to the right past the post. Turn left and roll through the opening between the post and the porch. Roll right and forward to get the paintbrush and superglues. Quick turn and roll forward to get the spider under the porch. Roll right and forward up the slight incline to leave this area the way you came in. Roll right, quick turn, and get the paint cans. Gently bump the front of the doghouse to get the dumpling nearest the entrance. Get the paintbrushes, newspapers, dandelions, and the orange juice with the mask. Get the shuriken stuck on the post next to the doghouse. Get all the number counters, superglues, forks, and spoons. Get the nail clipper, coffee can, and rice ball (white triangular object). There are some birds that land near the rice ball and fly away if you get close to them. If you stand in that spot, however, they'll eventually land on your katamari and stick to it. Don't wait for them, though. Once you see them fly away, get some nearby items. After 10-15 seconds they'll come back. Just be there when they do. The only other way to get these birds is to dash at them from fairly far away. There is a loop of golf balls that fall behind the golfer, roll over near the hole, and roll back where they started. Get the tomato, the yellow ornament, and most of the golf balls in this loop. Get the line of larger items left over. There are 2 scissors, a water pistol, 2 screwdrivers, and an alarm clock. Look around and make sure you haven't left behind any birds, Santas, or red boots in this area or near the X'mas tree, and don't leave the yard until you reach 35cm1mm.

Turn so the house is on your left and roll forward all the way to the slanted wall. Dash up it to get the sponges in a circle, marmalades, and 2 slotted spatulas. Back on the ground, turn left and roll toward the house along the wall. Get the plate in the corner, turn left, and get the glasses. Carefully roll up onto the porch. Get all the roaming Santas and most of the ping-pong balls, and turn right. Don't get the cubby just yet. Enter the room, turn right, and carefully roll forward along the wall behind the boombox. Enter the closet, getting the sticky tape and flashlight on the way in. Turn left and carefully roll forward until you can see the mousetraps. You'll be facing back and far to the left looking in from the room. Roll forward to the other end of the closet and carefully roll right to get the first mousetrap. If it knocks you around, reset yourself like before and get any large items that fell off. Carefully roll backward for the other 2 mousetraps and the other flashlight. Carefully roll back and right to leave the closet, and don't turn until you're out. Quick turn and roll forward behind the boombox.

Get the cassette tapes, pencil stands, and stack of erasers. Roll forward to get the mandarins and mandarin peel on the floor and the socks hanging off the ironing board. Roll back along the boxes on your left to get the envelope and arrows. There are mice rolling mandarins around the room. Get these if they're nearby. Roll forward and turn right for the math workbook next to the chair. Roll left, quick turn, and roll up the ramp onto the ironing board. Roll over the math workbook between the ironing board and the box, and keep rolling forward onto the box. If you get stuck in the corner, you'll lose items and size. Get the pencil sharpener and the books on your right. Roll left onto the floor, turn left, and roll up onto the table. There is an airplane made of blocks flying around the room. Get it if it's over the table while you're up there. Get the house of New Year's cards and anything hiding within it, the cards and envelope lying flat, the pencil stands and ruler in the middle, the sticky tape, paperweight, pink and blue bowls, 2 plates and their contents, and India ink next to the desk lamp. Drop to the floor near the lamp and turn so the chair is on your right. Get the plate and its contents next to the chair. Roll left and forward to get the archway made of blocks and the calculator next to it. Roll forward to where you started the level, roll right, and gently push up the small step to get the books. Don't push all the way up the step yet. Roll back and left, push all the way up the step, and roll left to get the heirlooms. Roll back, turn right, and roll up onto the table.

Turn left to face the cabinet and roll to the corner of the table. Push forward onto the drawer, getting the ruler on your way. At this point, the katamari may appear to hang in midair between the table and the drawer. If you make it onto the drawer, don't stop! Keep pushing forward to get the novelty plate on top of the cabinet. If you're on top of the cabinet after you get the novelty plate, roll right and drop back onto the ring box on the drawer. If you're on the drawer after you get the novelty plate, roll right to get the ring box. Roll back onto the floor and turn right. Roll outside again, getting the cubby on your way out. Turn right, roll up onto the seat cushion for a cell phone, and roll up onto the stack of cushions for another cell phone. Drop off to get the calendar, mandarins, and marmalades on the other side of the porch. Be careful not to fall off the porch. Quick turn and roll up onto the other stack of cushions for the last cell phone. Drop off to get the teacup, salmon, and square dish on the porch. Roll right onto the step to get the number counters and sandals. If you're not 38cm7mm yet, roll right to get ornaments off the X'mas tree. Knock them off first by bumping the tree, or just roll up the ones on the lowest part of the tree.

At 38cm7mm, head inside again. Roll up onto the table and roll off to the right for the video game next to the cabinet. Roll forward to get the fruit basket, quick turn, roll over the table, and head outside once again. Roll forward off the porch, turn left, and get the basket next to the step. If you have 10-15 seconds left, get X'mas tree ornaments until you have 5 seconds left and then get the last basket. Otherwise, turn right so the porch is behind you and roll forward to get the last basket. Quick turn and roll to the tree for any remaining ornaments. Roll around the level for small items if you have time left.

Notes:

- If you're having trouble getting to 38cm7mm, start on top of the mosquito coil instead of inside the fruit basket. Getting to 38cm7mm for the game and baskets is easier with the coil since you can get it on the way there. However, the basket makes a larger diameter possible since it's bigger than the coil. Changes to make with the coil start: 1) Dash off the coil at the start of the level instead of just rolling off of it. 2) To save time, the items behind the doghouse (spider, paintbrush, and superglues) can be safely ignored. When I first played this level, I used the coil start. I only added these items to the basket strategy to replace the coil on the way to 38cm7mm. Without the items behind the doghouse, you can safely leave the yard at 35cm instead of 35cm1mm. 3) Get the coil just after the books and heirlooms. 4) There won't be a basket near the video game at the end.

- You may need to spin in place to get newspapers and plates, roll behind the boombox, enter/exit the closet, etc. To spin in place, move the sticks back and forth just enough to get your katamari to spin without actually dashing. You'll find this skill useful throughout the game.

- If you stop on the porch during the speed run, turn left to see what you're doing, and drop into the fruit basket, you can get a bunch of golf balls and a nice early size boost. Even though you can't get them later, it may take more time than it's worth.

- There's another kitchen knife stuck on the post above the one I told you about. You can roll up the post to get it, but it may take more time than it's worth. Likewise, there's another shuriken above the one I told you about. It's reachable, but you have to be much larger (about 36cm) to get it. Again, it may take more time than it's worth.

- You can try to get the items behind the doghouse at any point after that recommended in this guide by falling off the porch. You probably won't be able to fit between the post and the porch to get in or out of the area, and you may not be able to get out at all. While writing this guide, I attempted to find an alternate way out of this area. I went behind the doghouse and tried climbing the side of it. I wound up inside the doghouse, got the dumplings inside, and left through the front door. Try this when you're too big and you get stuck in the doghouse with no way to get out.

- If you're having trouble getting in and out of the closet, consider leaving the items on the slanted wall until after you clear the room and the porch.

- The novelty plate can be challenging to get at all, but it's nearly impossible to get at any point after that recommended in this guide. Having large items like the cubby, calendar, etc. in your katamari makes getting it much more difficult. If you can't get it but still want the ring box, you can dash at it from the table if you can't roll onto the drawer.

- My best diameter is 39cm4mm. I got to 20cm in 0:55 and rolled up: the novelty plate, ring box, video game, all 3 fruit baskets, and most of the X'mas tree ornaments. Also, the mousetraps didn't knock me around at all.

Got 39cm3mm on Star 2. I used the basket start to do it. It's a bit harder to get to 38cm7mm that way, but once you do it's a lot easier to make it up to 39cm3mm with the three baskets instead of two. I also didn't bother with the novelty plate. My advice is to only use runs with three baskets for a chance at 39cm4mm since the mosquito coil adds so much less than the basket.

Nice job, Silent Thunder! :applause

I saw your post while I was writing this one. I agree about 39cm4mm and the 3 baskets. Did you get the spider on your run? Did you get most or all of the ornaments off the tree? 39cm3mm without the novelty plate is awesome. If you practice getting that plate I believe you might get 39cm4mm. If you do, don't be surprised if you stand alone at the top for a very long time. I gave that level 14 hours over 4 days, and there are other things I want to do in this game. Besides, there are a ton of other games I have yet to play and even *gasp* things that have nothing to do with games that I may need to tend to.

While we're on the subject of this game, though:

7m89cm2mm on MAS 6! :brucelee

Here's my basic strategy:

Forget what I said in an earlier post about leaving the trees or anything else behind. You won't have time later, and it doesn't do you that much good anyway. Get small/medium items next to walls as soon as you see them because they'll be difficult or impossible to get later. Be as thorough as possible without spending more than a few seconds trying for one item. Get almost everything you have to be 1m to get. Get everything you can in the town before going back to the park. After the park, get the two guys lying down together on the beach. Get the large rocks, all the stuff in and around the pond, and go back to the town. Get the truck and go around the house to the left. Go over the house with the guy on the roof to get the 3 vehicles. Get the telephone pole in the corner where the sumo guy was. Get the car and the stuff under and on top of the gas station roof. Go into the schoolyard to get everything possible. Leave and fall off to get the harvester, fences and flagpole. Get the truck and telephone pole, and the other pole next to the apartments. Get the tractor, harvester, and pole. Drop down for the boat flag. Get the trees, stall, and chair off the beach. Get the swan boat and ring of girls. Get the buoy and dash for the other 2 swan boats. Go back to the beach if you have time.

My next post will be a guide for MAS 6.

I may have more to say in the next few days about MAS 5 & 6, so stay tuned.

*UNDER CONSTRUCTION*

I got 7m89cm8mm since I last updated this guide. A future update that includes everything I rolled up on that run (and when to get it) is planned, but don't hold your breath about when.

MAS 6 Walkthrough

A good speed run to 3m is essential. I recommend practicing until you can get to 3m in 2 minutes or less. Also, I'm assuming your speed run strategy winds up at the wall after a line of garden plants.

At 3m, get the lamp post next to the wall, turn right, and roll up the hill to get 2 vending machines and some people. The vending machines will be tough to get later. Quick turn, come back down, and turn left to get the mailbox, washing machine, folding chairs, scale, and all the people on this section of road. Get the big sign on your left if you didn't get it during the speed run. Get all the squared shrubberies out of the little alcove on your left. Turn left so that the apartments are on your right and get the pink signs, recycling bins, and the sign above them off the wall to your left. Get any leftover tires on this section of road and the 2 squared shrubberies off the next building. Get the machines next to the pole on your right and the stack of rice bales further to your right. Get the man walking around, the bicycle, and the floating guy with the balloons between the buildings. Quick turn, turn right, and get the fences and the bicycle. Turn right again and go up the hill to get the sidewalk markers and 2 bicycles. Quick turn and go down the hill. Turn right, get any leftover tires, and keep rolling forward to get the traffic mirror and the guy standing there. Be on the lookout for and get any leftover people and vehicles going around the block. Turn left and roll left to get the propane tanks and some fences. Go behind the tower to get the fences there and roll up the guy on top of the car. Keep rolling forward to get the doghouse and the squared shrubberies next to it. Go back to get the rest of the fences around the tower, and turn around so there are 2 vehicles on your left and one on the right. Roll forward to get the phone booth, turn right, and get the park lamp posts and flower beds next to the apartments. Get the lamp post and head down to the farm to get the sunflowers. Roll right to get the farmer, back to get the umbrellas, and left to get the scarecrow. Quick turn, get the box and gardening fence, and roll past the apartments. Turn right to get 2 women, 2 bicycles, 4 trees, and a statue. Fall off into the water to get the guy, the safe next to him, and whatever's in the water in front of them. Roll along the edge of the water back toward the park, rolling up more people on the way. Go into the water and head for the pond.

Get the vending machine off the side and the line of chickens and sheep walking around. Get the 3 binoculars, roll back and right slightly to get some small items, and head for the park. Get the stack of briefcases and portfolios, the barrel, and any nearby people in front of the park. Get the sidewalk markers and enter the park. Back into the vending machines on your left just as you enter. Get the squared shrubberies, boxes, and guys hiding in the boxes around the entrance. They'll be tough to get later. Turn right and get the balloon shop signs off the building. Leave the garden plants nearest the entrance behind. If you try for the ones in the corner between the balloon shop and the huge tree, you'll get stuck. Get all the nearby park fences, the park lamp post, and the garden plants in the corner. Get the well pump and rabbit-man, turn left, and roll down the small step, getting the flower beds on your way. Get the ball toss basket with the guy on top and the park lamp post nearby. Roll forward to get the candy store sign and the garden plants. Roll left for the park lamp posts, rocking horses, wooden benches, and the guy in this area. Facing the totem pole, roll back into the park map and the squared shrubberies just above this area. Turn left for the garden plants and get the rabbit-man walking around the huge tree. Go around the tree to the left for the statue, florist fences, tiller, and the garden plants in the corner. Get the butcher shop sign off the right side of the building. Get any leftover park fences, the clown, and the park lamp post nearby. Get the ice cream freezer up against the tree and the girl behind it. Get the butcher shop sign to the left of the huge tree and the girl walking around. Get the wooden benches against the wall, being careful not to push over the wall. Leave the gardening fences in the corner for now. Get any leftover park lamp posts and doors near the entrance. Turn left and make a loop around the red path to get the panda ride, flower beds, small trees, piggybackers, and the boy. Drop down into the middle for the vending machine, clock hands, kiddie car, and wooden benches. Roll over to the left of the butcher shop. Get the gardening fences, the rabbit-man hiding behind them, and the garden plants in the corner. Push over the wall onto the beach.

Get the 2 guys lying down together on your right. Get the surfer and his board, the guy riding along the water's edge and his vehicle, and the 2 girls lying down together. Get the woman next to the street stall, the guy swinging the other around, and the boy walking around. Get the lifeguard chair, the barrel, and the takoyaki signs. Turn around so the park is on your left, and roll past it toward the forest. Get the folding chairs hidden between 2 trees on your right and any leftover people on your way. Get the falling rock and the guy walking in the woods if he's nearby. Keep going to get the rock next to the cave and the guy, folding chairs, and bears nearby. Turn right and aim to the left of the tree with a rock next to it. Roll forward around the tree, slightly right, and back into the rock. Roll forward to get the log fences and park lamp posts around the pond. Come back around for the plastic benches. Get the flag buoys, the lily pads, and the sign in front of the tree. Bump the tree for the dolls and get them all. Roll up into the town to get the truck. Quick turn, roll up the slight incline, and turn right. Roll over to the wall, turn right, and roll up the hill between the wall and the building. On my best run, I was over 6m27cm at this point. Roll forward to get the sumo wrestler and plants. Quick turn and roll back down the hill, stopping before the building on your left. Turn left to get the stack of safes with the guy on top. Roll up onto the house, getting the snowman and the guy up here. Fall off and turn left to get the 2 vehicles here, and back into the other one. Roll back up where the sumo wrestler was to get the telephone pole, then down by the gas station to get the car, the car wash, the gas pumps on the left side as you face the school, and the burglar and signs on the roof. Get the gas station sign behind you, the guys dangling from the roof, and any remaining gas pumps. Roll up the hill toward the schoolyard.

Get the guy swinging the other around and DON'T get the barriers yet. It's too easy to fall off the edge, and you won't have time to get back up and get everything else. Roll left to get the gate, quick turn, and carefully roll up onto the wall to get the school signs. Stop before you hit the tree, or you'll lose items. Turn right, make sure you have all the signs, and roll forward off the wall to get the statue and podium. Turn right to get the gym bars in the middle of the schoolyard and the other ones on the far side. Get all the people in this area. Leave the schoolyard by the gap where the gate was, turn left, get the barriers, and fall off the edge as gently as possible. Get the combine harvester, the log fences, and the flagpole. Back in the town, get the truck and the telephone pole, and turn left. On my best run, I was over 7m40cm at this point. Go between the apartments and the group of small buildings with a pole sticking out of the middle. This part is tricky: Turn right so the apartments are at your back. Your view will likely be obstructed, but push up onto the flat-roofed building in front of you on the right. Once on top, curve left to get the telephone pole before falling off and heading for the farm. It's tough to get the pole after you fall off. At the farm, get the tractor and the combine harvester. Another tricky part: Get the telephone pole by smoothly rolling into it from the left before falling off into the pond. This one is also tough to get after you fall off. Roll over near the boat to get the large flag sticking out of it. Go over to the beach to get the palm trees and the street stall. Get the swan boat next to the beach and roll in a circle without turning to get the ring of girls around it. Get the buoy to the right of the lighthouse from your location. Quick turn if needed and, with the beach on your left and the lighthouse on your right, dash out past the small islands for another swan boat. Turn slightly left and dash for the last swan boat. Go back to the beach, the pond, or in front of the park for leftover people and small items if you have time left.

Notes:

- You may need to spin in place to get items up against walls, garden plants in the corners of the park, plastic benches around the pond, etc. To spin in place, move the sticks back and forth just enough to get your katamari to spin without actually dashing. You'll find this skill useful throughout the game.

- At 7m81cm1mm, you can roll up long walls. The only one I'm sure you can get is next to the tower where the 2 vehicles were. Because they're up against the buildings, they're extremely difficult and time-consuming to get. Worse, they only add about 3mm to final size. I absolutely DON'T recommend getting them.

- On my best run, I got to 3m in 1:48 and rolled up: all the people, folding chairs, and squared shrubberies in the level, all the wooden benches in the park, and all the plastic benches around the pond.

I've been out of the country; plus I really haven't rolled a katamari in quite some time anyway. So I'm sorry I didn't respond to this post earlier when you mentioned me by name.

It's cool to see you making new discoveries with KD. Maybe I'll have some time to poke around with this stuff, or maybe not. I'm super-busy now, and can't afford to indulge my obsession :lol

Hey, matthew69! Nice to see you're back on here. I read in the summer plans topic about your trip to Europe. It sounded like fun.

Thanks for the encouragement on the new discoveries. Speaking of obsession, that's pretty much where I am now. My next goal is 3rd place overall in KD on Cyberscore. I should reach that goal by the weekend if all goes well. I'm replaying every level trying to better all my high scores since the ones from a week ago and earlier were done with my old controllers. I know I'm beating this to death, but it's impossible to overstate how much of a difference a new controller can make.

If you haven't read this whole topic (and who could blame you), I got the video game and fruit baskets in MAS 2 for 39cm3mm. Silent Thunder almost immediately matched that score once I told him how. I got 7m89cm2mm on MAS 6, and (this hasn't been talked about here, but) Silent Thunder got 11m42cm5mm on MAS 7. I've also achieved some other top 3 scores and gotten much better at speed runs.

My latest project is getting back into the upper town on MAS 5 after clearing the lower town.

By the way, I know how to beat my 58m76cm5mm on MAS 9.

MAS 6: 7m89cm3mm!!! :brucelee

I broke my own record by an astounding 1mm! :heh

Prepare yourself for the most painful video game story ever told. I was play-testing my own guide and I had 7m89cm3mm after the last swan boat! Do you have any idea how difficult that score is to achieve? But I had done it! Hurray! Then I got greedy and went for a plastic bench I had left by the pond. I crashed into a huge tree and lost items. When time ran out I had 7m89cm2mm. Again. :frusty Then I spent the next few hours getting to 7m89cm3mm all over again and just stopping after the last swan boat. The moral of the story is: Don't be greedy. When the score on your screen is already a personal best, quit while you're ahead. Oh, and watch out for huge trees!

Anyway, go me! :D

If you've been following this topic (What? You haven't? For shame!), you may have seen the following message in one of my posts: "I may have more to say in the next few days about MAS 5 & 6, so stay tuned." Well, now I have more to say. But first, I have a poem for you. Much like my name, it contains a Superman reference. Here it is:

It's a nerd!
With a plan!
It's Size Chart Man!

Did you like it? Anyway, the news about MAS 5 & 6 is...nothing.

MAS 5: According to the size chart (above average), you must be 2m93cm3mm to roll up the Duct. However, I don't think the items that look like ducts with the construction guys in them can be rolled up. (If it looks like a duct... :heh ) I'm pretty sure I went right over them without getting them when I was 2m93cm5mm. Oh well.

MAS 6: According to the size chart (large), you must be 7m81cm1mm to roll up the Wall (Long). However, I don't think that the items that look like long walls around the houses can be rolled up. As you may know, it's much easier to get to 7m81cm1mm on MAS 6 than it is to get to 2m93cm3mm on MAS 5. Anyway, I've tried getting the long walls when I was large enough. You can't seem to wedge yourself between the buildings and the ground to get them. Oh well.

Using the size chart can be a great way to discover new things to get in a particular stage. It's hit or miss, though. This time it missed. :shrug

*deleted*

MTM: 883m67cm8mm!!! :brucelee

I don't know what it is, but I wind up with a higher diameter the faster I get to 300m. My comet on that run was 7:23, my best ever. I've watched slo_bro's MTM video and read his comments on it. He breaks off the speed run at 80m or so and gets all the tsunami islands before they disappear. I always wind up with a much lower score that way. I made sure to get the jumbomen during the speed run. I got medium-sized buildings, anchor islands, and roe islands before they disappeared. I also made sure to get the dinosaur guy (not sure if he ever disappears).

MAS 5: 2:27!!! :brucelee

I did that one a few days ago. Once you can get out of the first area and make it to the sandbox before those green things knock you back, it gets much easier. I think I messed up here and there and lost a few seconds. My guess is that when matthew69 got 2:17, he didn't mess up.

MAS 3: 1m2cm1mm!!! :ninja

That's another one from a few days ago. Getting 1m2cm+ on this level is pretty tough. I don't even have a particular strategy besides "run around the stage trying to remember what you didn't get yet." I missed some of the big rocks in the first area and 2 of the briefs up against the wall under the milk box.

About MTM:

First, this level is so big and so long (25 minutes) that I wonder how many people have picked it apart, trying new strategies and so on. I really like it, though. Once you can do it fast enough to leave behind nothing but water, you can just relax and roll around with much less time pressure than other levels. Next, I have a few more details to add that may affect final size.

On the way to 300m, I dash through the groupings of netting cages near the 60m barrier and some more between the rainbow and the mountain. I should probably slow down to get them all. If the tsunami islands that slo_bro gets matter, then the netting cages matter since they're about the same size. The tsunami islands disappear soon after 200m.

After 300m, there's a building sticking out of the stadium near the far town's airport. Get the buildings and planes off the airports before you're big enough to get the airports. There are at least 4 planes flying around the inner part of the level. Don't let any buildings disappear. Try to back into them slowly without getting the islands under them. Don't let any bridges disappear. Get the small one in the first area near the fighting jumboman and the ones behind the 60m barrier. (You may need to get those before 300m.) Get the bridge to the airport in the far town and the one near the rocket.

After 500m, get the icebergs. If you decide to get the small ones first and come back later for the rest, make sure you don't miss the 2 in the middle surrounded by larger ones. Back about halfway into this group, just enough to get the 2 small icebergs. They'll disappear later. Also, don't get so caught up trying to avoid clouds that you let the thunder god above the clouds near the mountain disappear. I think he does at some point.

After 800m, I get the ring of mushrooms, islands, and clouds on the far outside of the level. I try not to get the huge bridge, rainbow, mountain, or tornados until the very end.

That's all I can think of right now. Enjoy! :)

*deleted*

"My next goal is 3rd place overall in KD on Cyberscore. I should reach that goal by the weekend if all goes well."

I said that a few days ago. I thought the rankings were based on points. It turns out they're based on medals.

I won't be 3rd place in medals this weekend, maybe not ever. We'll see.

I moved up to 3rd place in points, though! :D

First I thought the rankings were based on points. Then I thought it was medals. Now I have no idea. Anyway, now it says "Rank: 3rd" on my stats page. It still said 4th last night even though I was already 3rd in points then.

Whatever! :shrug

Hurray! 3rd place! Yippee! :woot

Okay, I'll stop now. :)

can't wait to see what you come up with!