LocoRoco 2

"LocoRoco 2 will have you coming back for more and more"

LocoRoco 2 may as well be one of the biggest hits on the psp this year and is much an improvement considered to the first, and I give it a definite two thumbs up, why? Ill explain in my review

Story: After successfully repelling the moja the LocoRoco go back to living a peaceful life on their beautiful planet. However The moja's leader Bonmucho unwilling to accept defeat prepared a massive evil attack on the LocoRoco with his mother. Armed with a horrible sonic weapon, a song that sucks the living life out of things, the Moja set off once again to try and conquer the LocoRoco's Planet

Gameplay: The Gameplay in LocoRoco 2 is quite simple and addictive, you play as the planet that houses the little balls of goo called LocoRoco as well as the mui mui and other inhabitants. As the planet you can control which way the ground tilts so the LocoRoco can roll and bounce their way across your surface. Your enemy's The Moja are evil and will try to eat your LocoRoco unless you fight back an make the LocoRoco hit the moja by bouncing up. The game also has several minigames that offer a lot of fun aside from the story, my personal favorite is the Loco Race which has you picking a LocoRoco out of the four on screen and then watching them traverse the map to try and get to the finish line, depending on what place your LocoRoco gets in you get a item to help build your Mui Mui house.

Graphics: You can see a lot of visually stunning detail that the developers put into the environment, you cant help but to feel like your looking at a piece of art as you play this game. Little effects were even added in like when your LocoRoco doesn't quite make a jump and hits a wall you can see their body cave in to the shape of the wall. The lighting in this game also helps set the mood to a point where a dark stage feels a little creepy, and a light stage feels happy and peaceful. Another little detail I liked that the developers put into the game was the water effects. Whenever your LocoRoco lands in water the water splashes up and forms little waves everytime you move. Theres also the little offspray of water from the waterfalls.

Sound: Arguably some of the best music ive ever heard in a game. LocoRoco 2 recycles some music from the from the first game and changes it a little to make it sound much better. The new music tracks that were created for the game sound amazing too. I recommend wearing a good pair of headphones while playing this game cause then you can here clearly the mui mui in the background singing and your LocoRoco sing too. The more musical notes you collect in game and the bigger your LocoRoco gets the more variety that gets added to the music.

Controls: In LocoRoco 2 the only buttons you'll pretty much use are the L&R buttons and the O button. The L&R buttons are used to tilt the earth left and right and when you tap them both at the same time you can make your LocoRoco jump in the air. When you tap the O button your LocoRoco splits into a bunch of tiny LocoRoco so you can traverse new areas, you can also hold the O button to make your LocoRoco come back together and be one again.

Replay Value: There's tons of replay value to go at in this game. After you beat the story mode if you haven't finished your mui mui house you can go out and replay levels to try and get resources, or you can just replay the levels to find secret pathways with the new powers your LocoRoco can unlock to get higher scores on the levels. Another thing is all the minigames that are offered, their fun and addictive and will always have coming back for more.

Conclusion: This game is a definite buy if your into 2d sidescrollers with a graphical artistic twist, and innovative gameplay that will keep you coming back for more. I hope you enjoyed my review and will pick up this game, but hey? That your choice!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/23/09

Game Release: LocoRoco 2 (US, 02/10/09)