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LocoRoco 2 Review
The original LocoRoco blended cute graphics, catchy music, and an innovative simplistic control scheme to make it one of the PSP's early greats. With this year's true sequel (the PS3 DLC Cocoreccho doesn't count), fans will find the ultimate LocoRoco experience. Newcomers should jump right into the sequel despite the ''2'' on the box.
The core mechanic still consists of tilting the game world with the shoulder buttons to roll and bounce happy blobs around levels in search of more blobs to merge and grow with. The type and number of LocoRoco onscreen affects the tone and complexity of the music, making it somewhat interactive.
The hefty batch of new levels offer familiar locales (like a lush garden, frozen mountain, or the inside of a giant sick penguin), but the constant barrage of new puzzles, platforming challenges, and hidden paths keep things fresh. Throw in new underwater stages or hard shells that these soft blobs can use in different ways, and the frequently shifting rules of tilting and gravity keep you on your toes.
The core game is one of the strongest platformers out there, and the mountain of extras pile on the enjoyment. Finding hidden locations or creatures now triggers a quick rhythm game instead of making you just listen like before. These notes contribute to ''leveling up'' the current stage, which lets you eventually earn easier item collection, resistance to spikes, and a map of the stage with all the power-ups marked on it. Items collected during stages can be used to help fill in puzzles and also contribute to the MuiMui house -- basically an ant farm for tiny blue creatures that you can expand and deck out with cosmetic and useable items like a music player or in-game camera. LocoRoco 2 even includes a cannon defense game where you blast attacking planes out of the sky.
This is just a small sampling of the replay-friendly tasks. Improved minigames (including a traditional shooter) and entertaining boss battles (one involves plucking moustache hairs) round out this great $20 package. PSP owners would be crazy to pass this one by.
