LocoRoco 2 Review

The most charming and Kid-friendly Experience on the PSP Returns

Mar 12, 2009 Daniel Sims

LocoRoco 2 develops the simple fun and gentle presentation of its predecessor, but at the cost of that game's subtlety.

Sony’s original 2006 LocoRoco was praised as a simple, accessible, and extremely charming game, but was also criticized for its somewhat shallow gameplay. This sequel feels like a fully-matured game, but lacks the first game’s intuitive nature.

The LocoRoco games have players collect and rescue creatures called LocoRoco from the invading Moja. This is done by using the L and R buttons to tilt the environment around the LocoRoco to navigate colorful, musical levels. The LocoRoco take the form of blobs that roll through the tilting world. As more LocoRoco are found they combine into a larger mass that can split and recombine.

Part of what makes these games an endearing experience is how Sony has been able to craft deep gameplay from such a simple setup which contrasts with many more complex PSP games. LocoRoco 2 expands upon this with many new features and a more robust interface.

LocoRoco2: A more Complete Game

The first LocoRoco was little more than an experiment with some physics, a simple gameplay tool, and some nice level design. From the menus displaying level statistics and all the new gameplay types it’s evident that LocoRoco 2 sets out to be much more of an actual game.

Using the exact same controls Sony has been able to add new features and abilities to deepen LocoRoco 2 and differentiate it from its predecessor. Where in the first game the LocoRoco could only roll and bounce, in LocoRoco 2 they must dive underwater, spin through obstacles, and even sing in tune. Not only does LocoRoco 2 contain rhythm-based sections embracing the first game’s unique focus on music, but it also offers several minigames.

What solidifies LocoRoco 2’s metamorphosis is its newfound emphasis on what every other self-respecting game emphasizes. That’s scores, records, and direct exposition of all these things. These things make LocoRoco 2 feel more complete as a conventional game, but the original did not gain its charm from being a conventional game.

A Less Subtle Experience

The original LocoRoco was a simplistic game, perhaps too simplistic for many, but it was also an unusually intuitive game. LocoRoco 2 can still be considered intuitive in normal terms, but not to nearly the same extent as the original.

An accomplishment of LocoRoco was how much it managed to communicate to players with few words. Except for a few scant text interventions and a wordless tutorial, a lot about LocoRoco’s gameplay and world could be inferred from simple observation which is something that few videogames can boast.

LocoRoco 2 on the other hand comes complete with text tutorials, cut scenes, and all kinds of descriptors for its characters and settings. The question arises as to whether all this new context was worth demystifying LocoRoco’s presentation.

Bottom Line

Those who enjoyed LocoRoco but were disappointed at its shallowness should be pleased with LocoRoco 2’s added breadth of gameplay. The original tried to be an extremely simple, untaught experience but it seems that could only bring the franchise so far.

The copyright of the article LocoRoco 2 Review in Video & Online Games is owned by Daniel Sims. Permission to republish LocoRoco 2 Review in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.