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LocoRoco
Welcome to a weird and wonderful place,
inhabited by colourful, jelly-like creatures called LocoRoco; it’s like
nowhere you’ve ever been before! The premise of the game is simple; you
have to guide your LocoRoco from the start point to the goal at the end
of the level, eating food and growing in size as you go. You don’t
control your LocoRoco as such, but instead dictate the direction it
bounces and rolls in by tilting the ground up to 45 degrees in either
direction by pressing the [L] and [R] buttons. LocoRoco can also jump by
pressing both [L] and [R] buttons together to skillfully avoid enemies
and obstacles. The fatter your LocoRoco is when you reach the goal, the
more points you get.
Tetris, Lemmings and Puzzle Bobble are
games that have not only stood the ages but also revolutionized the
gaming world with their unique and addictive gameplay that spawned
dozens of clones worldwide. Since then, games have relied on previous versions and
gameplay to spawn new creations that although left the gaming feeling
somewhat satisfied, some also craved for more. Fortunately for these gamers, Sony
have released one of the most amazing, addictive, cheerful and
entertaining games of the year called LocoRoco that has the gamer
controlling a plethora of LocoRoco's in order to rescue their fellow
friends from the clutches of the dreaded Moja Troop.
The story of LocoRoco revolves around the
tale of a peaceful faraway planet that is filled the cheerful and joyous LocoRoco's who sing in majestic harmony and valued each other more than
anything in the world. Unfortunately for this peaceful race, an
insidious race called the Moja Troop have invaded the planet while these
peaceful beings napped and it's time for the gamer to assist the
LocoRoco's to liberate their planet.
As mentioned earlier, some of the best and
most memorable games are those that contain simplistic gameplay that is
easy to learn but difficult to master and LocoRoco is no stranger to
this genre. By tilting, rolling and jumping, the player moves their LocoRoco's through over 40 different colourful and bright 2D
environments that is accompanied by some of the most enjoyable and
"cute" music to have ever graced a console game.
As each level starts, the player starts
with one LocoRoco to their arsenal and as you move through the gaming world, you
soon collect more and more LocoRocos as they merge into one large LocoRoco
that adds to the gameplay of the title. With that said, there are certain areas in the game that your incredibly large LocoRoco cannot access but fortunately
for you, by pressing
the circle button, your LocoRoco bursts into dozens of smaller LocoRocos
that changes your gaming strategy.
The control system of LocoRoco is pure
genious and uses the shoulder buttons to control these cute little
creatures by making them roll and jump in a certain way. As the Moja Troop
have destroyed much of the vegetation on the planet, these creatures
have the ability to help re-vegetate the planet which is also a key
aspect to the title.
As you roll your way through the gaming
environment, the player must avoid the Kojya (part of the Moja Troop) who
stick to the LocoRoco and impair their mobility. This is not the only
enemy that the LocoRoco must contend with as the Moyja are larger than
the Kojya and will do anything they can to capture your friends. Last
but not least are the Ojya that are the boss of the Mojya and without
saying more, they are a true deadly annoyance to your existence. Other
creatures that exist in the game include the Musukusu who eat the
LocoRoco, the Toge, a creature with spikes that hurts the LocoRoco, the
Bottyo-ro, an owl with splinters and the Ho-Ho, a creature that uses its
long legs to catch the LocoRoco.
Fortunately the LocoRoco have some friends
on their side that include the MuiMui, the Nyokki and Chuppa who help the LocoRoco's
get to other areas of the level by blowing, pushing and helping them
with hidden clues. Although the main hero in the game are the LocoRocos,
as you slowly progress through the title, you'll eventually meet another
5 different types of these strange little critters, each with their own
unique songs that they sing.
Graphically, LocoRoco may not be your
Burnout Legends or SOCOM but does not try to mimic any other title and
although the gaming world is based in a 2D environment, it can contains
bright vivid colours with extremely bright characters that all merge
together to form something that would not be akin to a Japanese cartoon
that is solely aimed at children.
With that said, the game does contain a few
impressive 3D style effects such as the LocoRoco rolling or merging with
other LocoRocos. The developers have also done a brilliant job at
recreating the different style of environments that you participate in,
whether its the arctic wastelands, the colourful forests or the insides
of some strange beast, LocoRoco is easily one of the most impressive
games of the year with its scalable 2D environment.
Apart from the heroes of the game, the
LocoRocos, the next hero is the addictive music that is undoubtedly
sickeningly cute but I must admit, it had me bopping to the wee hours of
the night that makes it extremely difficult to put this game down. There
are also a variety of other sound effects from the sounds of LocoRoco's
getting hurt or the subtle background sounds such as the gusts of air or
the dreaded Moja Troop.
In conclusion, LocoRoco is easily the best
game that I have played in a few years with its original interface,
addictive gameplay, attractive graphics and best damn music on any
console game, match that with a wide gamut of mini-games and this is
what mobile gaming should be... pure unadulterated fun! Highly
Recommended! Still don't believe me? Log onto
www.locoroco.com and give it a
shot... online! |
