LocoRoco is no doubt one of the strangest games on the PSP. You roll around a happy-as-can-be, singing orange blob and as you progress through each wacky and colorful level he gets fatter and fatter. As strange and bizarre as it is, it is actually extremely fun. LocoRoco relies not on stunningly high resolution graphics or revolutionary gameplay, but rather happy graphics and audio along with enjoyable gameplay. It sounds cheesy, but once you get your hands on it you will be smiling the entire way through.
LocoRoco’s gameplay is extremely simple. The only control you have over the LocoRoco blobs is the tilt of the planet they are on. By using the L and R buttons you can tilt the planet and the LocoRoco will start rolling to either side. Your job is to roll the LocoRoco across the entire stage while getting as many collectibles as possible and avoiding the few enemies. By pressing both L and R at once you will cause the LocoRoco to fly into the air and also by pressing the circle button you can split up a large blob of LocoRoco or bring them all back together. These are the only controls used throughout the entire game, so the game is very easy to pick up and start playing anytime by anyone.
The skill in the game lies mostly in finding hidden areas throughout each stage. Also, pushing the physics in the game to the max takes some skill to get the LocoRoco into hard to reach areas to find special items. The overall gameplay feels very similar to the classic Sonic titles. You basically move from left to right, while going through lots of ramps, loops, and obstacles, while avoiding a few different enemies and spike pits here are there.
Besides getting through each level, getting as many collectibles as you can is your second most important task. The most important collectable is the red fruits that the LocoRoco will actually eat. After it eats a fruit it will slightly grow in size. These fruits are all over the place in the game, so the more you eat; the fatter you are going to get! By the end of the stage the LocoRoco becomes quite big and that means it is harder to avoid the enemies or spikes that can break off little pieces of the blob. Other collectibles throughout the stages include different types of flies and a little man-type creature that is extremely hard to find.
In order to complete a stage 100% you will have to play it over and over again, because you have to get a number of collectibles scattered and hidden throughout the level. Getting every collectable the first time through is almost impossible. Although the game doesn’t force you to completely beat each stage before moving on, it is something that you are going to want to do, or come back and do later. This fact online adds tons of replay value to the game, but there are also mini games and you can even build your own LocoRoco House.
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