I just played through Katamari 2 on the switch, but I played it way back on PS2. I always like Katamari 1 better.
Katamari 2 tried a lot of new things, like keeping the katamari on fire by continuously rolling things up, or trying to roll it to a specific size. None of them were bad, but they were not particularly fun.
Most importantly, the music from Katamari 1 is so much better. Those songs have been ingrained in my brain since I was a child. I still um/sing them around the house.
After finishing Katamari 2, I booted up Katamari 1 and immediately it felt like the movement was a bit quicker.
I think the next Katamari release was on the 360. I am not sure if that was the final release. I hope we get a remaster of it as I would like to see how it changed due to the increased power of that console generation.
Seconding Donut County for exactly this. it’s really obviously made for someone wanting a fun Katamari style romp, and it accomplishes that very nicely. It’s not as good, but it is good.
Way better than playing superliminal hoping for a portal-style experience, let me tell ya.