When a truly special game comes along and leaves an impression on you, your reasons why can vary greatly. Some will say that the gameplay had an impact on them or that the graphics were great to look at. With truly memorable games it’s often difficult to choose any one reason why you might find it to be great. In the case of LocoRoco best to make a little extra room in your brain because it’s worth remembering pretty much all of it. LocoRoco is by far one of the cutest, creepiest and insane experiences that you can find in gaming and definitely on a portable.



The story of LocoRoco involves the LocoRoco planet being invaded by space creatures called the Moja. As the LocoRoco, it’s your job to save your planet from being consumed by the evil invaders. How do you do this you say? Well, basically you roll around the world eating up fruits to become bigger so that you can fight the larger creatures that the world throws at you. It’s not Shakespeare so don’t expect a narrative masterpiece here. LocoRoco is all about its simplistic gameplay and style. Simplistic is sometimes a word to describe games made by lazy developers or ones designed for children. While LocoRoco definitely looks as if it’s aiming at a younger crowd, adults should find the game no less entertaining. If they find the colorful worlds, “unique” singing and simple mechanics to be too corny or maybe even beneath them, then they are missing out on genuine good time.



As stated before, you play the LocoRoco and it’s your mission to navigate through various different levels by tilting the world to the left or right with the corresponding shoulder buttons. By holding one down and tapping the other shoulder button, the LocoRoco will jump. The only other button that serves any purpose is the circle button which is used to separate your LocoRoco and reform them. Yes, by eating berries scattered around the world, you become larger and have the ability to split apart in order to get through tight spaces and around other obstacles. The controls are excellent and shockingly simple and getting used to moving your LocoRoco around the world takes only a few minutes. Each environment is basically a giant obstacle course that will throw simple puzzles after puzzle at you. Some of the ways you get around in each level is by utilizing things like jump pads, hopping into the wind which tosses you to different areas or by a sticky pad type substance that forms along certain surfaces that allows you to cling and move slowly along their path. The world isn’t all just a big playground though; your enemies the Moja are out to get you. Unlike most games, there aren’t swarms of enemies after you at every turn (or in this case, roll). Sometimes you may only see three or four Moja in a level, but if you don’t tread carefully they can be a pain. Moja have the ability to damage you and take away one of your LocoRoco. They are defeated quite simply by hitting them from a jump and some of the larger ones at the end of each world take a few more hits to take down. The Moja isn’t your only worry as there are some other hazards in the world like stationary creatures or spiked burrs laid out across the land. Some creatures are helpful though, like the Chupa who once landed on can shoot you high up to a platform that you couldn’t have reached otherwise.

Aside from ridding their planet of the Moja, the LocoRoco have to worry about saving their friends, the MuiMui. The MuiMui are small blue creatures that are usually found in the hidden areas inside each level. By collecting them, you can unlock new things for your Loco House. Speaking of hidden areas, there are many of them. If you simply storm through each level, you are bound to miss hidden pockets that are sprinkles around. It’s best to roll along all the walls because sometimes you will pass through one revealing an area with more berries, MuiMui or Pickories. Also worth mention of course are the Pickories, which are the most common item found around the game. Collecting as many of these as possible can help with Mini-games later. Because the enemies are few and far between and that the levels are fairly linear, LocoRoco isn’t a very challenging game, but it makes it no less addicting or engaging. Its simple take on controls and wildly imaginative levels that have you sliding, slipping and hopping through winter wonderlands and even the inside of a whale’s stomach, make LocoRoco a fun and pleasant adventure from beginning to end.



Also scattered throughout the levels are pieces for your LocoHouse. These are gained by pleasing the inhabitants of the world (if you have enough LocoRoco to sing for them) and they can be applied to a small environment that you have free reign to shape. There are many pieces to find. They range from wheels to letters and you can decorate your house to your content. Once the house is finished, you can move your LocoRoco in and see how they react to the environment. It’s not exactly a headlining feature, but it is quite fun to see what kind of obstacles you can create for your LocoRoco. Also included in the game are a few minigames. First there is “Mui Mui Crane” which is of course a crane game that can help you acquire new pieces for your house. The second game is called “Chuppa Chuppa” which has you firing your LocoRoco towards goals with the hopes of collecting new items for your house. The third (which takes a bit to unlock) is a level editor which allows you to make your own LocoRoco levels using the pieces you found in the world or the other games. As you can see, the developers left quite a bit behind to keep you busy after the main game is over. The story mode of LocoRoco is quite short on a whole, but many people will probably be compelled to play it over just for the fun of it.

LocoRoco is a beautiful game that shows off many different colors and cartoonish effects that truly make it a standout PSP game. It’s not the most technically impressive game on the console, but artistically it’s probably one of the best. The worlds are bright, colorful and the LocoRoco themselves are fun to look at. The graphics can be considered simple, but they are presented in such a masterful way that it’s easy to look beyond the visual norm expected of the average games of today.

The soundtrack on the other hand is corny, sometimes cheesy, and always embarrassing to blare out in public. But guess what? It doesn’t matter because each tune, while completely insane and random, is addictive, memorable and makes for a really great game music. Some of the voices used (for the different colored LocoRoco) are better than others, but the experience while playing the game wouldn’t have been half as entertaining without these songs. The sound effects are just as well done and over all the audio presentation of LocoRoco is top notch to say the very least. Just a word of caution, the first time you play LocoRoco, if the music and graphics look or sound weird to you, its ok. Soon enough you will hopefully find out that its odd nature is a major part of the game’s charm.

LocoRoco is one of those few games that comes out every couple of years and surprises us with its original ideas, slick and quirky presentation and gameplay that people of all ages can enjoy. The game may not be for everyone as its style will inevitably turn some people away, but the level design is masterful, and the gameplay is polished and strangely addicting. If you want more challenge, then there are plenty of other games out there for you. If you want to have a fun time and save the LocoRoco planet from destruction (and who wouldn’t, they make really convincing sad faces), then this game is more than worth a pick up.