Game Review: Loco Roco

Game: Loco Roco
Console: Sony Playstation Portable
Developer: Sony Computer Entertainment Japan
Release Date: 5th September 2006

Re-inventing the platfoming genre is always a risky business; some games try and bend the formula too far and end up overcomplicating themselves while others don't change things enough, and are criticised for being clones of other games. Loco Roco lies in a sweet spot somewhere between the two, with simple controls and concepts meeting fairly challenging collecting (at least if you're going for 100%), and branching level paths.

The main aim of the game is to roll the player's LocoRoco character to the end of each level, by tilting the world using the L+R shoulder buttons on the PSP. Along the way there are different types of fruit to collect (some increase the size of your character and others are simply for collecting), as well as parts for the customisable LocoRoco house feature. It's also possible to jump by pressing both shoulder buttons down at the same time and then releasing them.

One of the main features of the game is splitting your LocoRoco into its smaller component ones, to fit through tight spaces and get to places that are inaccessible to the larger character. The bigger a player's LocoRoco, the more smaller creatures it can split into up to a maximum of 20. At the end of each level, the screen shows how many fruits and other collectibles have been amassed.

There's a simple storyline which unfolds as the game continues, involving the 'Moja Troop' who feature in most, if not all levels and will attempt to decrease the size of the player's Locoroco by taking away from the total fruits collected. While fairly easy to avoid at first, their tricks get craftier throughout the game, making it more and more difficult to collect and keep all of the fruits.

Graphically the game is nicely stylised and features a good assortment of levels and characters to unlock. The simplistic and easy to understand designs mean that players of any age can grasp the goals of the game, and how to achieve them. In truth it's hard to fail most levels, but it's also very difficult to find all of the collectibles. The music of the game reminded me of We Love Katamari in many ways, in that it's different to a lot of videogame soundtracks, but still manages to be charming and give character to the game.

Overall LocoRoco is a good simple platformer that can also be a challenging collecting game if players so wish. There's plenty to find, and minigames to play in addition to the main mode. Since I wasn't attempting to collect everything, I found the game to be a little easy and perhaps a little short, but I know there's the potential for replaying and searching high and low for those last fruits.

Rating: 72/100
Grade: C