LocoRoco 2

We can’t help feeling like we have been here before. The PSP release schedule is a black, seeping abyss and nobody seems to be using the platform in an appropriate way. Software sales aren’t on par with the DS. Third-party support is on the dismal side. While we’re actually describing the PSP’s situation in the latter half of 2008, this bleak outlook was also relevant in the early part of 2006, just before the original LocoRoco came out. The situation is still the same – even though every publisher has had the chance to prove otherwise, the LocoRoco franchise is still the pinnacle of PSP software. The second game sustains the series’ reputation, but the excessive similarities to the first means it’s not nearly as refreshing.

LocoRoco 2 recycles sound effects, music and lots of the visual design from the classic original. The formula is wonderful enough to forgive such complacency, but it basically means that new PSP owners miss out on nothing by purchasing the first title over this. To be brutally honest, this is more an expansion pack than a proper sequel.

Every level is structured in the same way, with secret passages dotted around the environment, 20 potential LocoRoco to collect and the Moja army out to eat the adorable coloured blobs. The differences, such as several brand new mini-games and deeper customisation of the Mui Mui house, are largely inconsequential, but the platforming remains solid. We didn’t expect an overhaul, but the fact that only one new collectable (music notes, obtained through a rhythm-action mini-game) has changed, the setup seems a little stubborn to us.

Then again, the whole affair is tremendously cute, particularly the fat Mui Mui men in pants and the ever-worried expressions of the yellow LocoRoco. While we’re a bit bewildered by the lack of new features, LocoRoco 2 will still cause laughter with its range of bizarre, amusing imagery and near-deranged cut-scenes. One level, set inside a giant penguin, had us in fits of laughter for about three minutes. In our fragile emotional state, that’s definitely a positive occurrence.

It’s pretty hard to grumble, then. The sound design of LocoRoco 2 is definitely on par with the first game, and there are hallmarks about the level design that are still worthy of admiration. LocoRoco 2 is the type of game that should be emblematic of the PSP, in light of the accessible design and suitability for the platform, but the general public will probably shun it. Everything else about the first game is the same: why would this be any different?