King's relationship with his own father as a child, and how his past experiences influences his relationship with his progeny. Allegra Frank from Polygon lauded the King of All Cosmos as an "all-time great character" and attributed the series' deliriously funny moments to its often sharp writing. To Chris Shive from Hardcore Gamer, "the King of All Cosmos has some of the best quotes of any video game character" due to their often random and nonsensical content which adds to the character's charm, and that he is a good source of motivation for the player to improve their katamari score. Alan Wen from Rock, Paper, Shotgun concurred, opining that failure to please the King is an important part of how a player would come to enjoy the game, and that the emotional payoff comes after the player finally manages to elicit genuine praise from the character. Reflecting on the absurdity surrounding the conceit of pleasing the King's monomaniacal whims, Brendan Main observed that the Katamari series exposes the arbitrary nature inherent in video games, parodying the importance and value society attaches to "inane projects" as well as how beholden individuals are to the goals and rules that bind them. The King of All Cosmos have been featured in several "top" character lists. In a 2007 article published by Destructoid, Colette Bennett described the King as a character she "love to hate" due to his egocentric nature and mistreatment of his son, the player character. In their December 2010 issue, Game Informer ranked the King of All Cosmos #30 in their "Top 30 Characters Who Defined A Decade" list. Naming the King of All Cosmos in his list of the 10 best video-game characters, Tom Chatfield from The Guardian noted that the character is among the oddest aspects of a "bonkers game concept" and that the character's "uniquely deformed syntax" has earned him a dedicated fan following. The character has appeared on multiple character lists compiled by GamesRadar staff, which measures his significance and physical attractiveness among the notable video game characters of the 2000s decade, and as an essential component of one of the most ludicrous storylines in video games. Shive discussed the King's eccentric behavior and unusual dress sense at length in a retrospective editorial, highlighting in particular the character's bulging crotch as a result of his tightly fitting costume and how later sequels has him wearing less revealing