Loco Roco PSP...pure awesomeness in your hand

[thejeek]

Ok, I found my way through the five worlds and the end credits - I think that took about 8 hours of playtime

Same here - the only level I had to replay before I beat it was the last one. I think the game is too easy and the learning curve, such as there is, is a bit pants - there really isn't anything much harder about the later levels compared to the early ones.

I'm working my way through getting perfect scores now, which is admittedly quite a bit harder and much slower going but I still feel the game is too lightweight.

Still, on balance I do love the style and it's the sort of game the PSP badly needs - quick to pick up with relatively short levels and not focused on making 12 year old boys feel 'mature'...

 

[Arwin]

Same here - the only level I had to replay before I beat it was the last one. I think the game is too easy and the learning curve, such as there is, is a bit pants - there really isn't anything much harder about the later levels compared to the early ones.

Could be, but I think that in lieu of difficulty level settings, the game actually depends on the hidden stuff to add difficulty. Because like you say, getting perfects is quite a bit harder.

I'm working my way through getting perfect scores now, which is admittedly quite a bit harder and much slower going but I still feel the game is too lightweight.

Actually, the only time I saw game over was in one of the earlier levels, where I fell on a field of black spikes. And I actually didn't die in the final level, but I lost more than half of my collected LocoRocos in the under-water section.

Now, trying to get 20/20, missing one on your way down because you fall into the next level of a section already feels like dying.

Still, on balance I do love the style and it's the sort of game the PSP badly needs - quick to pick up with relatively short levels and not focused on making 12 year old boys feel 'mature'...

It definitely does a good job in highlighting the PSPs potential. And the sheer amount of parts you can collect for the locoroco house and level editor is staggering. And you need a lot of each one part also, if you want to make any kind of coherent level. So I'll be collecting for a good while yet!

For one, when creating a level you can never have enough of those black spikes! :smile:

 

[thejeek]

Now, trying to get 20/20, missing one on your way down because you fall into the next level of a section already feels like dying.

True - also I never thought I'd feel quite so good about eating bees (are they bees?)

Anyway - I shouldn't be too negative - it's the best PSP title I've bought so far, with the possible exception of Lumines, and it's encouraging to see that not only is the PSP capable of this sort of game but that it actually got released.

 

[Arwin]

I think you don't eat them, but that they hold fruit that you take from them, and then you can see them flying off ...

Just unlocked my first Moja ... I'm sure I can find good use for him in the Editor

EDIT: hmm, this is the bumper version of a Moja, slightly less useful.

 

[thejeek]

I think you don't eat them, but that they hold fruit that you take from them, and then you can see them flying off ...

I was gonna say that that makes more sense, but it really doesn't does it I'll just say that I agree it seems more consistent with the evidence than my bee eating theory and leave it at that!

 

[Rys]

Logged about 5 hours in total so far, just finished World 3. It's the first game in a long time where I've come to the end of a playing session and had to double check how long I'd been playing. Nearly missed a train stop yesterday because I was so engrossed.

Utterly brilliant, and my only (tiny) complaint is that the PSP's tilt sensor isn't a means to control things. I gave it to my girlfriend to play and she's hooked, but she's the type of gamer that instinctively also tilts the controller (in this case the entire PSP, and therefore her head to see it ) to make things happen.

 

[mckmas8808]

OMG she tilts her head too? That's funny.

 

[thejeek]

Logged about 5 hours in total so far ... and had to double check how long I'd been playing

Totally - I thought it must be some mistake when I saw eight hours of play in the stats - it's a bit like those folk stories where the guy spends one night with the fairies and wakes up to discover a hundred years have passed :smile:

OMG she tilts her head too? That's funny.

I tilt the whole machine, and my head and sometimes I think I must shout a bit because my cats look at me like I've lost the plot and run out of the room

 

[Rolf N]

There's a 20 minute video interview (also including healthy doses of in-game footage) here:
http://the1upshow.1up.com/

 

[patsu]

I finally found and bought a copy while travelling in Asia.

It's hard trying to collect all 20 red berries. I also look like a dork while playing the game in public transport (Yeah I sometimes tint my head too). Agree that PSP needs more "simple games" like this.

 

[slider]

Cough, cough... *bump*....

Interestingly, Harrison revealed that he was playing a new LocoRoco on his PSP on the way to D.I.C.E., although he said that Sony's "not making any announcements" about the game yet.

Dunno if it's been posted but Big Phil mentioned a new Loco Roco.

 

[Capeta]

So will the sequel flop like the original?

 

[Arwin]

So will the sequel flop like the original?

Flop? You mean it didn't sell nearly enough copies for how good the game was, or it didn't suddenly turn the tide in favor of the PSP in Japan, right? Actually Sony says the game has done very well for them, and I believe them. Here in Europe the game did quite all-right, if I'm not mistaken, and it certainly has given Sony a lot of positive press, with the game winning several category awards.

I think this game on the PS3 will help it break through definitively, as it is perfect for the sixaxis.

 

[Capeta]

I'm sure the PS3 version will run in 1080p and at 120fps with lots of physics and HDR lighting.

 

[Arwin]

I'm sure the PS3 version will run in 1080p and at 120fps with lots of physics and HDR lighting.

You are one of those people.

Loco Roco already runs with lots of physics on PSP. It's one of its great and fun features, though rarely commented on.

 

[xmu]

Slightly off topic, I was really looking forward to the Loco Roco post mortem at GDC but now it's nowhere to be seen on the GDC schedule Guess I have to keep my fingers crossed for LR2 in Phil's keynote

 

[Fafalada]

as it is perfect for the sixaxis.

IMO it'd be even better if PSP had a tilt-addon that worked like sixaxis. I've seen casuals play this and it's pretty obvious they would "get it" instantly if it worked with tilt - where as current control scheme as simple as it is leaves them confused at first (and sometimes frustrated) as they still keep trying to tilt the machine anyway.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

IMO it'd be even better if PSP had a tilt-addon that worked like sixaxis.

Oneof the stupidest mistakes by Sony regards the PSP was to fail to release that.

 

[Capeta]

Oneof the stupidest mistakes by Sony regards the PSP was to fail to release that.

Well Nintendo decided to not include a tilt sensor in the DS too for cost reasons but it doesn't seem to affect DS's popularity. I think not including the tilt in PSP was a smart move from an economic perspective. Not many PSP games would benefit from a tilt sensor.

 

[Arwin]

IMO it'd be even better if PSP had a tilt-addon that worked like sixaxis. I've seen casuals play this and it's pretty obvious they would "get it" instantly if it worked with tilt - where as current control scheme as simple as it is leaves them confused at first (and sometimes frustrated) as they still keep trying to tilt the machine anyway.

I agree, it would have been a nice option to have, also for Mercury. That said, for 'on the go' gaming, I don't think it would be quite such a big succes in, say, a bus or a train. You also have the problem that the screen itself moves with your 'motion control', which could be annoying.

And even then, this is still one of the most intuitive games I've seen people play. Noone I know failed to get it within 2 minutes and I've had quite a few people test it. It's a fantastic game.