Then there's the obligatory "cute game is racist" controversyOutside of the main game, there's admittedly not an awful lot to see and do, but it's not a deal breaker by any means. If you fancy fiddling around tirelessly with all manner of odd bits and pieces that you've collected on your journies, then you can place them somewhere in your very own 'LocoRoco house'. All this appears to amount to is a sort of bizarre 'design your own level' play pen for your LocoRoco to independently bounce around in (to the music of your choice). By placing certain props and platforms in their path, you can set off chain reactions and sit back and watch them happily interact with your creation. It's fun to watch, and sort of mindlessly amusing when you've got some time to devote to it, but hardly in the same league as actually playing the main game. The ability to subsequently exchange them wirelessly with a friend will no doubt offer a certain cult appeal to the really devoted - at a push.
Various mini games can be found elsewhere once you've mined the game fully, but, again, aren't much more than minor curiosities. Available by default, MuiMui Crane is like one of those simple cuddly toy games at fairgrounds where a metallic arm dives in and grabs one (if you're lucky), and this operates on the same principle - except you're trying to extract MuiMui for reasons that aren't all that obvious. Meanwhile, the unlockable Chuppa Chuppa is another short-lived affair where you must fire LocoRoco around a thorn-filled level using the long-beaked Chuppa, with the idea to launch it around for as long as possible without hitting a thorn. Neither will occupy anyone for too long, so don't get too excited. This isn't a game flush with too many useful hidden extras.
Aside from experimental unlocks and silly novelties, the LocoRoco experience is one of undiluted fun. If the tilting, blob moving puzzle-platforming doesn't warm your heart, then the catalogue of alarmingly addictive psychotic J-Pop tunes will have you dancing around the living room. Bound together by bite-sized playability, endless secrets and the most charming 2D visuals ever conceived, LocoRoco is the perfect distilation of everything a handheld game should be. It's the sort of quirkily original PSP title that we've been screaming for - buy it and smile all summer long.
9/10
A blogger has kicked up a right old storm of controversy after suggesting that PSP puzzler LocoRoco has racist overtones.
In a post on his 1UP blog, Alejandro Quan-Madrid argued that the Moja enemies in LocoRoco resemble the racist "blackface" caricature adopted by minstrel peformers at the start of the twentieth century. They remained commonplace for many years - in Britain, the BBC's own Black and White Minstrel Show ran until 1978.
"Today in virtually any public sphere in the US, a depiction of a blackface character is not met without much murmurings and harsh criticism," Quan-Madrid wrote.
"In comparison, some countries such as Japan (where LocoRoco was developed) do not have significant black populations and so blackface images can come about without any criticism.
"The images are also then okay to be labelled as the enemy or even serve as representations of black characters in general, despite the racist images they perpetuate. That and I hear that Japanese people (in Japan) at times can be pretty innocently racist."
Quan-Madrid even goes so far as to suggest that "One could also equate the "invasion of the Moja and the fleeing of the LocoRocos to black slaves being brought to American and the very common practice of today of white flight.
"But we're not even going to go there," he added, perhaps a bit too late.
According to Quan-Madrid, he's "not accusing the developers of being racist, nor am I accusing LocoRoco of being a racist game. I simply believe that this is a product of unchecked institutionalised racism that needs calling out."
He went on to suggest that a colour change for the Mojas should be implemented, because "I do feel these racist undertones, whether intentional or not, would stop me as well as others from fully enjoying this game".
So what does Sony have to say about it? Well, "LocoRoco is a fantasy game geared towards a worldwide audience that takes place in a vibrant pastel world with colorful landscapes and characters and is not based on real-life places, people or things." So there.
Let the comments commence!
I'm really enjoying this game. The songs are stupidly catching, and the little mui-muis are funny for some reason. Who else has it?
