The King of All Cosmos
by Kim McFarland
Negaduck9@aol.com
February 2006

*****

"Bold yet sensitive, and rugged to boot, tolerant and compassionate, with a heart deeper than the oceans.  Such is the Great Cosmos, and the King that rules over it is marvelous to behold.  Except for the one time that he destroyed all the stars in the Universe. No big deal really."

Thus is the King of All Cosmos, star of "Katamari Damacy," "We Love Katamari," and "Me & My Katamari" introduced at the beginning of "We Love Katamari."  Both destroyer and creator of stars, he may in fact may be a god of the night sky. Or maybe he's just a three-kilometer-tall dude who wears tights, shoots lasers out of his eyes, and has a sledgehammer for a head.  The Prince, the little green guy in the corner of the screen, is the actual workhorse of the games.  The King is kind enough to grant all who come to him the stars they wish for, but it's his son who actually has to do the dirty work of creating them.

The game is wonderfully whimsical and goofy, features catchy music and hilarious gameplay, and is, simply put, one of the most unique games to come out in the last few years.  The King of All Cosmos in particular has a following - and, come on, look at him, of *course* he has his fans!  During the first game I found him to be amusing but basically a plot device.  The second game fleshed out his character and gave him a backstory, making him infinitely more appealing.  I wanted to do a KiSS doll that would push me, artistically speaking, and I nearly always draw lithe, big-eyed, female characters, so this was a perfect challenge.

The doll is based on a picture of the King from the Japanese "Boku no Watashi no Katamari Damacy" website.  It took more than a simple trace job, however, to convert the image, as it was a fully-rounded JPG. Ye gods, the time I spent trying to get his shading just right, especially since I had to move the light source so the shading on his clothes would be consistent!  But the King of All Cosmos is worth the effort, yes.  If you doubt this, just ask him.

FKiss Info:
You can turn the snapto on and off, and you can play music, using the katamari in the bottom left of the screens.  That top button has a function too, sort of...
Click on the King's hammer to change its look. (They're all gaudy.)
The King comments on the gifts from his fans that appear from time to time. There's one per screen, and to open them give them to the Prince.  Some of the gifts are not immediately obvious, but at least you don't have to climb mountains and spin-dash onto birds to get them like you do in the game!
Click on the sun and moon to change from day to night.
Et cetera...

MIDI info:
"Butterfly" is by Smile.dk, and is the most infamous song in the "Dance Dance Revolution" series of games. If you're a DDR fan, you know the lyrics of this song by heart (whether you want to or not) and can guess why I included it here.
"Big Time" is by Peter Gabriel. What better song for someone three kilometers tall?
"I'm Too Sexy" is by Right Said Fred.  Um, need I explain?
"Katamari on The Rocks" is the opening theme to "Katamari Damacy."  Naaaa na na na na na-na na-na, ka-ta-mar-ee da-ma-seeee...

Set info:
Set 0: Title and credits.
Set 1: His threads from "Katamari Damacy."
Set 2: The slightly-more-modest ensemble from "We Love Katamari."
Set 3: The not-even-slightly-modest costume from "Me & My Katamari."
Set 4: Comfy bathrobe and slippers. Spandex may be comfy, but nothing beats loafing around in a fuzzy robe.
Set 5: A boxing costume based on a childhood scene from "We Love Katamari."
Set 6: The King's father, who was The King of All Cosmos when The King of All Cosmos was a mere prince, long before The Prince was born of course.
Set 7: Frank N. Furter. Come on, how could I *resist*?
Set 8: Spaaaaace Ghooooost!
Set 9: Dress him yourself!  And please resist the temptation to get too personal. He does not like that. 

*****

Want to see more of my KiSS dolls? They're all in Slack & Hash's Domain:
http://www.c4vct.com/kym/slachash
And, why not, here's my main website. It has Darkwing Duck, ReBoot, Brak, He-Man (well, Orko, anyway), Final Fantasy 9, bento, and plenty of other stuff:
http://members.aol.com/negaduck9/negapage.htm

*****

The King of All Cosmos, the Queen of All Cosmos, and The Prince are copyright (c) Namco and used without permission but with respect and affection.  This doll is copyright (c) Kim McFarland.  It is not to be altered, rearchived on the internet, or charged for (on websites or otherwise) without the permission of the creator.  However, should anyone wish to make an expansion set, feel free.