Facts…
There’s something that we all agree on: game industry repeats itself. If not always, at least most of the times. Games are being copied and gameplay’s just the same from genre to genre. And when we all think that things are not going to change and that we try pretty much in vain, there comes the big bang! As in the case of Wii, the fresh idea comes from Japan. Only there, where Manga, Sonic and Pokémon were born, could a game like this be made. And we’re talking about LocoRoco, a game as original as its name…
But what is LocoRoco?
Well it’s a mix of puzzle and platform genres. It tells us the story of a planet, where some very very cute little creatures, the LocoRocos, live happily singing and jumping here and there. Unfortunately as you can imagine, this happy and lunatic -in its own lovely way- atmosphere’s in trouble. Some bad and ugly inhabitants of another planet, the Mojas (I think that until this line the names by themselves are a great reason for you to actually see this game), attack the LocoRocos. And as you can easily imagine again, you have to save their world. How? By throwing away any Moja you find while you’re rolling yourself through some pretty fascinating levels. The whole game consists of five worlds, while every world is divided into eight levels. Unfortunately though, due to their limited number, the levels seem similar, not-so-original and repetitive.
Show me the LocoRocos
In LocoRoco, we don’t have to do with some high resolution-latest technology 3D graphics nor with dark, depressing, gloomy and bad kind of aesthetics. Instead, the game’s full of brilliant, colorful and psychedelic visuals that will brighten up your day. And the most remarkable aspect is that whereas the graphics are as simple as a child’s drawing, the animation is just excellent. You have to see a LocoRoco rolling on a soft surface to notice how astonishingly it presses the gum-like ground.
But is music equally good?
Sound is perhaps the best side of the game. As I mentioned above, LocoRocos are fans of singing. And they’re pretty good at it. The music and the sounds they make are just plain and unbelievably addictive. I caught myself many times after I played the game to just murmuring the melody. There are more than five different kinds of LocoRocos and each of them has its own style in music. So, more for you to explore!
Simple but enjoyable.
The gameplay in LocoRoco is so simple it can be barely called gameplay! Simple, but really clever. LocoRocos can’t actually move. The only thing they can do is jump. And the only way to do that is by tilting the ground to the right or left in order to make them roll. The only buttons that are used are the PSP triggers (or shoulder buttons). By pressing the left one, you make the ground tilt to the left. By pressing the right one you tilt the ground to the right. By pressing both of them you make your LocoRoco jump. During your rolling, you’ll find some kind of orange flowers. When a LocoRoco eats one of them, it becomes bigger, thus consists of more than one LocoRocos, and can jump higher. When you can’t get through a hole because you’re fat just press O button once and your LocoRoco will break into many little LocoRocos, that can unite again into a bigger one by keeping the O button pressed. But be aware of the bad Mojas. They can grab you and separate a small LocoRoco from your bigger one once and for all. Your main goal is to find and eat all the orange flowers of each playfield and to free your little friends called Mui-Mui. There are three Mui-Muis at each level.
Questing.
The game offers some intriguing quests. When you’ve finished a level it keeps track of your performance and offers you the chance of becoming better. Also, if you find all the flowers in one level, you can try to beat a certain time-challenge for the same level. And last but not least, there some kind of birds in there that can change the shape of your LocoRoco, thus its movement. That adds a lot to the gameplay. There is also the LocoHouse. During your playing you can collect pieces for building your own LocoHouse, which is actually a small exercise field for you and your LocoRocos. It’s something that I personally found of no use, thus didn’t actually did it. There are some mini games also that you can unlock and play, but there are not of big importance, as their goal is to collect pieces for the LocoHouse (that I didn’t build :-)).
Well, is everything so perfect and beautiful in this title?
The answer is, as expected, NO. The thing that traumatizes LocoRoco is boredom and repetition. The graphics are charming, BUT they hardly change from world to world. The sound is magnificent (without a but-I don’t think you can ever get bored of those addictive rhythms, even if they’re childish). The gameplay is clever, BUT it hardly ever changes. Even with the birdlike-changingtheshapeoftheLocoRocos-machines, you can easily get bored. The good thing, which again if you think of it is negative, is that the game doesn’t last long.
BUT, even with its flaws, even if it’s pretty short game, it remains genius in its simplicity. I think that you’ll get so addicted that when boredom comes you’ll already have finished the game twice! Go and get it, ‘cause it’s probably the first original game you’ve played since PuzzleBobble (which of course was copied and repeated thousands of times). Aaah, beloved game industry…
TeLEstIc
LocoRoco 
