I would have been pleased if Locoroco 2 was just a moderate extension of the first game’s concept. The original Locoroco was, without a doubt, the happiest game I had ever played; not unlike digital Prozac electronically absorbed through a non perverse tactile activity. Locoroco’s lead designer Tsutomu Kouno is, thankfully, far more ambitious than I. Loco 2, in additional to preserving the previous game’s joyous atmosphere, has taken a more kitchen sink approach to the rest of the design concept. You won’t believe how much content has been packed into the sequel.
Of the most fundamentally relevant to the core game is the new ability to bite down and clamp onto objects. Uses of this mechanism included biting objects and wiggling them free to pull them out of the ground, gripping on to stuff as it move you from place to place, and throwing switches to set parts of the level in motion. We were also told that the Mai Mai king will make frequent appearances to teach even more new, as of yet revealed actions.
Stage design has also received a significant overhaul. In the demo reel we saw an underwater stage with some cool gravity effects, as well as a couple “vehicles” (such as a rocket ship), for you to ride around the level. Overall, 25 stages are planned for the final version. Fans of the first game will note the smaller number of stages, but they shouldn’t be worried; the extraneous content found within Loco 2 might outweigh the overall game.
First off, seven goals appear in each stage after the initial play through. These included finding and collecting five butterflies in the stage, racing to a checkpoint, and locating missing Loco’s hidden somewhere in the stage. Secondly, Loco 2 is overflowing with minigames. Of particular interesting as a horizontal shooter, which featured a ship dragging a Loco around behind it. The Loco got bigger and bigger as more stuff was collected, thereby making it harder and harder to evade incoming fire and proceed through environmental obstructions. Another was Loco Rider, a four player minigame that involved everyone pushing each other all over the place in a bit of traditional platforming insanity.
A minigame from last time around is revisited in the form of the Mai Mai house. Rescuing the lost Mai Mai’s throughout the level will transport them to their new dwellings. The more and more you pack into the house, the more activities, such as running around or playing instruments, they partake in when you choose to visit their dwellings. Should you be exceptionally gifted at pleasing them, they will reward you with new minigames or hidden stages. Of particular interests was the fact that their house can also be attacked and broken down, which you will occasionally have to defend against with a giant cannon. It was kind of unclear how deep this portion of the game will run, but it felt like it might have the potential to be more of a time sink than the main course.
I got to sit down for a brief interview with Tsutomu Kouno, which was probably the highlight of my TGS experience. It’s clear that Sony is giving Kouno complete control over his game and are perfectly comfortable with letting him fully develop every drop of passion that spilled out of his ambitious vision for Locoroco 2. He said that Locoroco 2 would not only include unrealized concepts he wanted to include in the first game, but was also more of a burgeoning playground for whatever he happened to think of during the development process. Even the most seemingly minuscule or insignificant idea was fleshed out and turned into a design concept that fit perfectly within the Locoroco paradigm. He also said that no matter what one element from the first title would remain constant throughout the follow-up: the game’s focus is not on competition, but on fun, pure unadulterated fun. Competition has taken a back seat to delivering an experience focused around enjoyment – and, in a day where most games lose sight of the simple fun elements, Locoroco 2 felt completely revitalizing.
