This is an interesting game for me. Because right when I got it from my parents back in 09-ish I was convinced before ever trying it I was gonna hate it. I mean just looking at it you can see the justification from a 12-13 year old kid's mindset. It's colorful, light-hearted & the characters are cute - clearly a game made for babies! Not like 1 of the handheld GTA games for example (which I deemed more fitting) but my parents would not budge on buying an M-rated game until I had tried something more age appropriate.
So I started LocoRoco 2 begrudgingly & to make a very long story short it became my favorite title on the PSP by a mile. It became my comfort game to play while traveling & over 3-4 different saved games I have just south of 150 hours total logged in it.
It's hard to encapsulate what specifically I like about it, but its just... So joyful & charming? Like it consistently always had an effect while I was younger putting me in a good mood when playing it. The music is wonderful, its relaxing to collect all the other LocoRoco's - but never becomes so easy it feels boring, customizing the Mui Mui house is a great distraction too.
Before writing this review I did wonder how much of this was nostalgia just elevating the experience. So booted up the game to see how it holds up way better in my mind than reality - Though after an almost 3 hour session I stand by my high praise. I haven't touched the game in years, but it still managed to give me the same calming feeling it did all those years ago.
I can admit that this is a very subjective review. Because I'm not doing a whole replay of the game & checking what holds up 14 years later. Realistically it should probably be around an 8/10, but its one of my favorite of all time due to how monumental it was for me for a few years & not interested in heavily challenging that perception.
So I started LocoRoco 2 begrudgingly & to make a very long story short it became my favorite title on the PSP by a mile. It became my comfort game to play while traveling & over 3-4 different saved games I have just south of 150 hours total logged in it.
It's hard to encapsulate what specifically I like about it, but its just... So joyful & charming? Like it consistently always had an effect while I was younger putting me in a good mood when playing it. The music is wonderful, its relaxing to collect all the other LocoRoco's - but never becomes so easy it feels boring, customizing the Mui Mui house is a great distraction too.
Before writing this review I did wonder how much of this was nostalgia just elevating the experience. So booted up the game to see how it holds up way better in my mind than reality - Though after an almost 3 hour session I stand by my high praise. I haven't touched the game in years, but it still managed to give me the same calming feeling it did all those years ago.
I can admit that this is a very subjective review. Because I'm not doing a whole replay of the game & checking what holds up 14 years later. Realistically it should probably be around an 8/10, but its one of my favorite of all time due to how monumental it was for me for a few years & not interested in heavily challenging that perception.