When the original Loco Roco burst onto the PSP scene, it surprised many with its simple yet engaging gameplay, a multitude of levels and replayability, and of course those adorable Loco Rocos and that ever-so-catchy main theme song. The sequel has been recently released, and I’m here to tell you if this title is worth picking up.
So the basic premise is still the same there: You are a planet who has been invaded by the evil Moja Troop, along with other mischievous characters. You can tilt the world and influence the Loco Roco on their way to restoring peace and joyous music to everything. It may not sound like a lot has changed since the first game, but a lot of subtle adjustments and fixes add up to create a title that is superior to the first in many respects.
New to the series is a rotating overworld of sorts. It is your gateway to each new level, as well as the old ones and extra rooms which I leave to you to discover. The Mui Mui house is still there, as well as a “Moja Memories” section which allows you to replay any bosses you have defeated in an attempt to finish it with all Loco Rocos intact.
That brings me to one of the biggest additions in this game: bosses. While there may have technically been some bosses in the original, the bosses in this game have attack patterns, some of which require skilled jumping in order to defeat.
Through the course of the game, you come across a multitude of collectables. New to this game are Loco Stamps, which make up a mini-game. You have to match stamps within a picture, and once you do so you are rewarded and can freely decorate the card and take snapshots of it.
Another section of that same screen is labeled “Memories.” You can look over notable events from your travels, and replay movies that you’ve watched so far. There’s another big addition to this game: cinematics! There are a lot of movies between levels, and many of them are quite entertaining.
The Mui Mui House has also been upgraded, this time including resource management as you build various pieces of furniture for the Mui Mui to play with. The main campaign is notably shorter than the original, but there are so many other aspects to the game that the unlockables make up for the smaller number of levels. And the levels that are there are just as fresh as those from the first game, with my personal favorite being the Bui Bui Fort (The Bui Bui are a “bad” take on the Mui Mui).
All of this culminates into yet another enjoyable adventure for our favorite singing blobs of…whatever Loco Rocos are made of! Fans of the previous game should purchase this without hesitation. Anyone even remotely interested should also pick this up. The best part of all this? It’s a measly $20!
PlayStation LifeStyle’s Final Score
Large amount of collectible items. Entertaining cinematics and perfected gameplay. |
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