LocoRoco review (PSP)

The Loco House is your chance to build a little exercise area for the LocoRoco using a variety of parts that you unlock in the main game or win in one of the minigames. You can choose from different house sizes, and then place various pieces, platforms, spinners, and so on. Once you've built something, you can hit Start to launch a LocoRoco into the house, and then watch it bounce around. It can be pretty difficult to wrap your mind around the different pieces and actually build an interesting house, though. In addition to that, there are three minigames to unlock. Two of them--chuppa chuppa and the mui mui crane--focus on you completing a task with the goal of unlocking more Loco House pieces. You'll have to spend 100 of your pickories to play these games. The third is a level editor that lets you build your own basic LocoRoco levels, but unlocking this third game takes time. There isn't any multiplayer in the game, but you can share your Loco House and created levels with other players, as well as send a demo level of the game via game-sharing.

Aside from progressing through all of the levels, the game is also built around replaying levels to beat your best. It keeps track of how many LocoRoco you finish a level with, how many pickories you collect, how many Mui Mui you find, and how long it takes you to finish the level. Each level also has a time-trial mode that focuses strictly on finishing quickly. If you're the sort of person that plays for perfection, you'll probably appreciate this replay value.

The audiovisual presentation of LocoRoco really goes a long way. The graphics are cute, vibrant, and extremely charming. The faces of your LocoRoco are brimming with personality, and the things you encounter in the levels can be equally as striking. It's got a very unique visual style, but what makes it all work is the way it moves. The blobby LocoRocos bounce, roll, and squish around in a very cool way, and the cartoony nature of the game infuses it with tons of personality. The music, complete with plenty of unintelligible vocals, is really great. It's very, very catchy and really adds to the game's charm. It'll bore its way into your head and never let go. The rest of the sound effects are also good.

LocoRoco makes an absolutely fantastic first impression. It's got unique control, a really great look to it, and the gameplay is sharp. Unfortunately, the level design doesn't take too many chances with that formula, and as you go on, the game starts to feel a little monotonous. If you're the sort of person that plays in short bursts, though, you can sidestep that feeling. Either way, LocoRoco's charm carries it quite well, and it's a unique experience that's worth checking out.