A LocoRoco is a cute, malleable, circular blob with a happy face and a sprig of hair. They love to sing, jump and roll around, and are generally a very blissful bunch of creatures. But one day, when the evil Moja Corps decided to invade their home world for no good reason, the LocoRocos made the decision to bounce into action to defend their turf.

LocoRoco is 2D style platformer, not terribly unlike the original Sonic the Hedgehog or Super Mario Bros. The game takes a very simple control scheme and theme and runs (rolls?) with it. Pressing the PSP's L and R shoulder buttons will tilt the environment to the left or to the right, rolling the LocoRoco in the respective direction. Hitting and releasing both shoulder buttons simultaneously bounces the Loco into the air. Your LocoRoco can also be broken into several smaller blobs on command, and then back into one contiguous mass, if need be. The simplistic nature of the controls definitely plays a large role in LocoRoco's appeal, and in the context of the game, it works very well.

The gameplay itself is also pretty straightforward. You roll and bounce your Loco through the stages, all while eating fruit and items, eliminating or avoiding enemies, and eventually finding the stage goal. Along the way there are a number of hidden passages to locate, bonus items to collect, and simple puzzles to be solved. It's nearly impossible to "die" in the game, so you won't find any bottomless pits or much in the way of difficult enemy encounters. LocoRoco is more about you exploring and finding your way through each stage then anything.

LocoRoco is extremely stylized, from the art in the title screen and options menus, to the in-game graphics and designs. Everything in the game is chock full of eye-pleasingly colorful and beautifully animated vectorized graphics. Yeah, it's cute and happy, but not absolutely disgustingly so. The stages and environments are fairly expansive, and well designed, with detailed animated 2D backdrops which encompass some of your typical platformer themes. Happy faced friends and enemies can be found throughout as well, and are equally as distinct and cheerful.

Much like the visuals, the music and audio found in LocoRoco are candy-coated and as happy as can be, and also integral to the game's charm. There are a number of upbeat little tunes and cheerful sound effects and voices, but the real kicker is that the LocoRocos actually sing as you play. When beginning the game for the first time you can't help but stare in amazement as your Loco begins singing to their own song, in their own voice and musical style, all while rolling and bouncing among the level. They sing in some sort of gibberish language but the musical stylings (J-Pop, Opera, R&B, etc.), are pretty obvious when you hear them. Additionally, as your Loco grows larger the songs fills out with additional instrumental layers, and then when breaking into multiple blobs each of the small Locos contribute to the song as a chorus. The result is definitely unique, and I doubt you'll find many games with such an interesting, strange and varied audio composition.

For those mostly interested in more "mature" themes, the game's style may be a turn off, though the slick art designs and unique audio should hopefully make up for it. But really, if the game doesn't put even the slightest smile on your face at one point, you may have no soul. It's true.

The primary issues I have with LocoRoco are the game's length and relative lack of replay. The various worlds and stages go by pretty quickly, unless you spend time trying to locate each and every hidden passage, item and whatnot. Once a stage is complete, you can go at it again to increase your completion time or percentage, but all it really yields is additional "pieces" for your Loco house; which is an online sharable, sandbox-like environment for your LocoRocos with a simple level editor. Additionally, while most of the game's stages and worlds are nicely designed and interesting, about 3/4 of the way through the game you may get that "haven't I seen this already?" feeling. Besides the standard game, 3 different mini-games can also be unlocked, and you can also work on your aforementioned Loco house.

LocoRoco may not be for everyone, but it's worth experiencing regardless. Thankfully, SCEA has made a downloadable demo available for those interested in, but not quite sold on, the colorful and happiness of it all. I'd expect a more fleshed out PSP sequel, or at the very least some type of motion control "PS3 arcade" iteration down the line.

Eds. note: For our earlier review of the import version of LocoRoco, Click Here.