LocoRoco 2: Turn that Frown Upside-down

You might be wondering…”Tsubasa? Why so sad in the picture?”

“…and who is your friend?”

Read on to find out.

Now that America is ready for some change with President Obama, we too are ready to bring some change to one of our favorite franchises in LocoRoco 2. Question is, will we be able to improve on the beloved original? Say it with me people…”Yes We Can!”

Most of you may already recognize the basic controls of tilt, roll or jump in LocoRoco. I’m sure it has left an impression with you with its unique and colorful art style, gameplay, and of course the music that sticks in your head like bubble gum on your sneakers – but enough of the intro stuff…what’s new?

Let’s start with the music.

Not only does it stick in your minds for the whole day, but once you start playing, you will immediately notice the music building up (more instruments, more liveliness) as you make progress through the stages. The Moja appear and even their gloomy voices create great fusion with their themed music. You are even challenged to play a musical mini-game during the adventure to earn notes (See above screen)! It’s like being in an interactive musical.

LocoRoco’s New Tricks
Music is clearly not the only change we bring to you with LocoRoco 2. The LocoRoco are not going to sit back and let the Moja wither their cheerful world. Even though new obstacles are in place such as water, huge gaps or boulders to block their way, don’t you worry! The LocoRoco have taken swimming lessons from Michael Phelps, and survival swinging lessons from Indiana Jones.

They can also hop into objects such as shells, and plow through enemies or obstacles to proceed. Later on you learn the super jump too, which is really cool (It just might take you to places you couldn’t explore previously).

Deeper Levels
But wait, don’t be intimidated by all the new moves that LocoRoco 2 brings. This doesn’t mean the game is too difficult. All newbies are welcome to join us in helping the LocoRoco bring color back to their world. At the same time, we haven’t forgot about the loyal supporters out there. The more experienced veterans are sure to be pleased with the depth and replay value that LocoRoco 2 has. Some skills are not obtained until a certain level of progress is made in the game. You might want to play back some of the levels again, to go back and visit unexplored areas within the stages, or perhaps pick up some additional items!

The Stamps
One example of the items collected through gameplay are stamps and stamp sheets. I’m not sure if all of you can relate to this, but remember the collectable sticker books they used to have for baseball or football? It kind of works like that. Stamp sheets have been left blank with areas to fill in. Players will review the stamp sheets and do their best to fill in the empty artwork spaces with their stamps. Trust me, there are a lot of stamps to collect!

(Oh…I almost forgot to mention there is a small reward for any stamp sheet that is completed. Happy stamping!)

The MuiMui House
Another good reason for you to keep playing is the great MuiMui House. This is the happy home of the MuiMui that you will or have safely recovered from their captivity. The player will start with the shell of the MuiMui house. They will need a combination of various items they collect during their journeys across the LocoRoco 2 stages.

As your game play progresses, you will (hopefully!) have more MuiMui to house and feed. Keep going back to collect the items you need to build rooms, furniture, and toys for the MuiMui to live another happy day. Don’t worry, the MuiMui will assist you in letting you know which items are in need. Although this will require some additional gaming on your part, we have prepared a special surprise for those of you who fully complete the MuiMui House. MuiMui!

New Mini Games and the Mystery of my Sad Face
There are six new mini-games to discover in LocoRoco 2, and since I don’t want to kill any surprises, I’ll just tell you about a few.

A shooter type game within the world of LocoRoco? (Yes We Can!) BuiBui BoooooN! is a mini game in LocoRoco 2, where your objective is to shoot down enemy BuiBui (imagine super mean MuiMui), rescue the MuiMui, and collect the LocoRoco bringing them to the end of each stage. You are rewarded for you performance with items that can be used to create something back at the MuiMui House. Make sure to massage your right thumb before playing!

You know when you always seem to choose the wrong line at a toll booth or a cash register? That’s me with the Loco Race mini game. Loco Race is basically – Guess which LocoRoco can get to the finish line first. Your chances are one out of four. This is good fun. At the end you even receive a prize, hopefully an item you are looking for to build something at the MuiMui House? I’m terrible with this one…but that’s not why I’m sad.

The girl in the photo earlier is Kumi Yuasa, the AP on LocoRoco 2, and my partner in LocoRoco crime. I recently challenged Kumi in my favorite mini-game, Loco Rider, the mini-game that brings multiplayer to LocoRoco (Yes We Can!). I can’t tell you how fun challenging friends on LR2 is, so I’ll just show you. Kumi is “I love LocoRoco,” the Yellow LocoRoco, I am logged in as “NewRing,” the Red One…

The answer to the mystery is all in this video.

Want more LocoRoco goodness? Stay tuned!