Date: 2008-11-02 11:52:02 Created: null
There I was, starting my ten hours in the air between Hong Kong and Helsinki. I'm not one of those people who sleep well on planes. Also, sound for the in-flight movies turned out to be really bad, and my DS started turning itself off when I tried to play Yoshi's Island.
Luckily for me, Finnair lets you borrow a PSP and some games. Three, to be specific. If you're in business class there are also six "optional" games (I guess this means you have to play the three first). The first two options for my non-business self were to have my soul sucked out by either Ridge Racer or Crash Bandicoot tag team racing (a game with a lot of loading time and surprisingly little racing). Not intent on becoming more of an airplane zombie than I already was, my sights were firmly set on the third and last option: Loco Roco.
Soft, bouncy, singing little blobs tumbling around soft, bouncy worlds with soft, bouncy music. What more could a flight-tired mind ask for?
And, for once, the game was actually the way I wanted it to be all the way through. No sudden changes of rules, no timers and no gimmicky boss fights. You learn the controls (using all of three buttons and no analog stick or d-pad) and use them consistently all the way through.
Oh, and
no lava levels!
Finally, someone gets it!
Yes, I made it all the way through in pretty much one long sitting. I would guess it took me at the very most six hours. Six very, very nice and friendly hours. Loco Roco is not a difficult game. You just play, flow along and enjoy all the way. If you want more of a challenge, try to find all the secrets or just go and play some other game. Loco Roco makes you a happier person and never ever frustrates you.
To sum things up: I might not have paid eight thousand crowns just for a PSP and Loco Roco, but when you get a long distance flight to play the game thrown in for free it really is a done deal.
This is one gem of a game.