"A long, long way away, past the moon, the sun and further than the very best telescope could see, an extra-special planet spun contentedly in space. ..."
If you enjoy stories that begin like that and feature funny little creatures who live on a smiling planet (and you aren't frightened by water balloons) then LocoRoco could be calling your name.
The game's title refers to little round blobby guys that reside on the above-mentioned grinning globe. Their world is green, cheery and full of song ("It seemed like fun and laughter would go on forever") until a hoard of ugly invaders descend from outer space and start to turn smiles upside down. The peace-loving LocoRoco have to find a way to keep their home safe and green, and drive off the mean old aliens.
A Different Kind of Rock 'n' Roll
Loco's single-player classic arcade-style game play is as simple as its good vs. evil story line. (Our 6-year-old volunteer jumped right in with glee.) You control the bubbly ball-of-jelly hero by using the PSP bumpers to tip his world one way or the other and cause him to roll, squish and jiggle along (hit both bumpers and he jumps). Your goal is to work your way through each twisty-curvy level catching small bee-like critters, discovering hidden rooms and eating special berries that make your little bloblet grow into a big fat wobbler. If you reach a tight squeeze along the trail you can divide the big LocoRoco into a bunch of little ones and they tumble their way to their goal. And that's the real point of each level—making it to the end with as many of these cute singing and smiling blobbers as possible.
Along the way you'll encounter lots of colorful landscapes and face funny-looking cartoon animals that will either help or hinder your shimmy-shift progress. The worst of this lot are the invading Moja—black, floating, hairy dust balls—who want to eat any LocoRoco they can find. (Our volunteer loved to squeal and cover her eyes every time they showed up.) However, you can either roll away or jump up and bop them—they're just chicken fluff at heart. All of this is accompanied by childlike voices singing odd, bouncy little songs of gibberish.
Cute Is as Cute Does
Of course, if you're the kind of person who has to find meaning in everything, then that gobbledygook music and the pointless little jelly-on-a-roll mini-games will probably drive you insane. You'll also find that Loco's levels, though charming, are pretty similar to one another and not very challenging—which some will translate as monotonous.
But if you play the game in small bites and you're young (or young at heart) then the fun mechanics and the great-looking visuals (like a blend of Dr. Seuss, VeggieTales and Donkey Kong) are bound to bowl you over, and make you start begging for more. Just like our littlest gamer did when we told her it was time to pack up the PSP and head up to bed.
