Imagine, if you will, 20 years or so down the line. Sonic the Hedgehog has gone bald, slowed RIGHT up, and got fat. Really fat. Really, really fat. So fat, in fact, that he's actually gone a lardy yellow colour, and he doesn't run anymore. Instead, he bounces and slops about, like a space hopper full to bursting with cold vegetable soup. Got that? Good. Because apart from a terrible warning about the ravages of old age and overconsumption of gazpacho, that is about as best a comparison to Sony's new PSP offering as I can manage. Oh, apart from one other thing - whereas Sonic lost his magic gaming touch some years ago, Loco Roco is tremendously enjoyable.
Loco Roco is a decidedly retro 2D platformer, and play-wise things really don't get much more basic. You play the happy, (initially) little blobby Loco Rocos, who's lovely, peaceful planet has been invaded by unpleasant Loco-eating creatures called Mojas. Your job is to safely guide the Locos through their world, avoiding the Mojas as you go, back to their home (which looks suspiciously like a giant turnip - I guess they've got property price issues too). Movement is achieved by simply tilting the landscape left or right with the PSP shoulder buttons so your Loco rolls that way, and you can pick up more Locos by eating certain plants (and getting bigger as a result - up to a total of 20 per level) as you go. You can also bounce to get over obstacles and reach new areas, and split yourself from one big Loco into loads of smaller Locos to get through teeny tiny gaps, then re-join yourself on the other side. As you trundle about, you'll also come across MuiMuis (more on them later), and other random helpful creatures who'll do stuff like hoover you up and fire you out of their nose high into the air, lift you to a higher level, or create a new platform for you to bounce off of. There are also spiky bits of land to avoid unless you fancy getting a puncture and losing a Loco, owls that throw pointy thingies at you, and blobby fellas that live underground and try and grab you as you bounce past. And that, in a nutshell, is it. Sounds deceptively straightforward, and mechanics-wise it is - but to master the game and safely collect every Loco on every level actually takes some serious skill.
Level design, by the way, is absolutely ingenious. In case you're wondering where the Sonic reference comes in, it's because there is a plethora of hidden areas, pinball-like set-pieces, pachinko sections, funnels, chutes, spirals, waterwheels and tons of other stuff between you and the stage goals. Part of the fun is just simply exploring and seeing what you can find. And for those after the elusive 100% rating, exploring is a necessary part of the game too, as the MuiMuis who I mentioned earlier are usually stashed away in the most awkward to reach places throughout each level . Rescue all these little chaps and rewards are unlocked, from access to more music to new bits and pieces for your Loco house (a sub-game we'll come onto in a sec).
Although it's only 2D, so not pushing the PSP that much processor-wise, Loco Roco looks absolutely fabulous. The levels are vibrant, bright, colourful and cartoony without ever being sickeningly cute, and despite their simplicity the Locos themselves have more character and likeability about them than most of the dreadful generic game "heroes" you get these days put together. The graphics are also really, really sharp and striking, and very much animation studio quality. But the thing you'll remember most is the music. As they go along, your Locos will sing ridiculously stupid, happy, smiley songs with nonsense lyrics to you. You'll either love them or hate them, but I'm very much the former - they're just brilliant, and it'd take a really jaded gamer to not crack a smile just listening to them warble on. In some areas, you actually need to have collected enough Locos to sing loudly enough to activate some special feature in the level - be it a lift, or a doorway or similar - and these little choruses all have their own particular song, depending on the type of Loco.
The veteran gamers amongst you might remember titles such as Thing on a Spring and Wizball, and Loco Roco shares some aspects with those old timers - namely, it takes a lot of skill to master your bouncing so that you can get where you want to go, as opposed to where your Loco and the laws of physics want you to go. This is by no means a gripe about the controls though - everything there is absolutely spot on and you're always left feeling that when you lose a Loco, it's your fault for a lack of skill, not the games' fault for being uncontrollable. In fact, soppy old git that I am, after playing for a while I actually started to get quite upset when one of my happy little Locos was eaten by a Moja or popped on a spike, and just had to replay the level to get them all back safe. Sad I know, but the little guys are just so cute it's hard to resist.
Apart from the 5 worlds of the main game, there are also a few simple sub-games tacked on that can also be shared over wi-fi to other PSPs. These can be played from the title screen when unlocked, but to do so you have to pay a small fee of the fruit you collect in the main game. Doing well in the sub-games (which isn't too hard; e.g. one of them is a seaside claw-grab machine) earns you yet more bits for your Loco house. This is a sandbox construction kit, where you can just use bits of furniture, platforms, waterwheels and the like you earn in the main game to build a nice, fun home for your Locos, who will then happily bounce about in it like idiots. All utterly pointless, but an amusing distraction nonetheless. Overall longevity isn't staggering, but you'll be going back time and again to get that last Loco or MuiMui and there's plenty of replay value just in the fact you'll turn it on to hear the music and hoon about for a bit.
So, how good is it? Well put it this way: it's the game that's finally got me using the PSP again, as opposed to just my DS. Unlike so many PSP ports and rehashes, it's perfectly suited to the system and perfectly suited to handheld gaming. If Sony had another half-dozen titles like this, I suspect the PSP would be faring much better against its two-screened competitor sales-wise. As it is, this is the best game the PSP has, bar none: you really won't play a happier, more joy-filled game this year - in fact it's so ridiculously and infectiously upbeat, Sony could probably successfully market it as an antidepressant. Easy to pick up, hard to master, and most importantly absolutely colossal fun.
Graphics | Audio | Gameplay | Replay | Genre | Final |
