LocoRoco proves that Sony is capable of creating unique game content for the PSP that rivals the "innovation" that Nintendo is always talking about for its handheld systems. While the gameplay mechanics are pretty simple to pick up and play (and the game is admittedly shorter than it should be), there's no denying it's overall charm. LocoRoco succeeds due to it's charming characters and settings, catchy tunes and unique visual style. LocoRoco is - in all honesty - the best platformer we've seen on the PSP this year.

The story, which reads more like a heavily illustrated short story for children, tells the tale of the happy and carefree Roco, a race of cute lovable creatures that like to spend their days bouncing, rolling, laughing and playing games. But one day an evil invader called the Moja (which are black tar like creatures that like to eat our little heroes) came and ruined everything. Being a peaceful race, the Roco set out to find their friends and free their world from these unwelcome and unfriendly invaders.

Roco's love berries, and eating one will make these rotund little creatures multiply. Every time a berry is eaten the Roco grow one new friend, and after only a few berries these cute creatures multiply faster than a wet Gremlin fed after midnight or Tribbles on the Star Trek Enterprise. As you eat more berries your Roco will grow larger and larger, giving him (or her) more weight and mass which affects how you navigate the world.

Roco's don't really move in the traditional sense of the word. The core element of the game is the ability to tilt the world left or right, which causes your Roco to roll. While titling the world, your Roco can also jump, which allows it to reach areas that you wouldn't normally be able to when the world isn't tilted. Using this tilting method (left and right shoulder buttons on the PSP) and jumping (by pressing both shoulder buttons together), is the primary means of getting through each level, so it's pretty easy to jump right in and play the game. The other important thing that you can do is break your Roco up by pressing the circle button. This causes your fat and sassy Roco to break up into little Roco's (however many you have collected at the time). This is handy because it allows you to drop down into areas where your larger conglomerated Roco can't fit.

There are a lot of environmental elements to the five game worlds you'll traverse that are breathtaking and fun. There's breeze patterns that whisks your Roco along a predetermined path, sticky things that you can jump on to haul you to a safe location, spring boards that make you jump high and even creatures that can chew you like bubblegum and turn you into all kinds of weird shapes... Learning how to use all these elements is important because a lot of the game's secrets and the friendly Mui Mui can only be reached by figuring all this stuff out. Like the Mui Mui, there are many friends in each level that are waiting to reward you if the conditions are right. Some will give you a lift to an otherwise unreachable area or reward you with a special house piece. These requirements usually have to do with the number of Roco you've collected, so it's important to eat lots of berries and avoid various environmental dangers and Moja you encounter to keep that number high.

The object of the game is to make it to the end of each level with as many Roco's as you can, though it's as easy as getting to the end with just one to move on to the next one in a given world. Since one is no challenge at all you'll want to collect as many as you can and as quickly as possible (the max for each level is 20). Players will also be collecting bugs which can be used in extra mini-games separate from the main worlds you'll be jumping and titling through. At the end of every level your Roco, bugs and special house pieces are counted and a score is tallied. We'll talk more about the house parts later, but bugs are used in a couple of fun mini-games that you can enjoy.

There's a nice array of worlds you'll get to traverse and all are crafted in a way that can only be described as ultra charming. While the art style is simplistic, it's also very cheerful and charming. Along the way your Roco will sing and dance, and occasionally you'll find a new Roco that sings the same tunes differently and sings some new tunes of their own. It's fun to listen to your very first Roco sing and then hear those selfsame tunes sung by other Roco's in other tones and octaves. This and many other small touches is what makes the game so appealing.

Insects are used in a couple of short but fun mini-games that you "buy" into. The first is MuiMui Crane, which much like the popular arcade staple, allows you to grab prizes like Roco's and house pieces. The Chuppa Chuppa challenge is a little bit different: using your Roco and this interesting creature, players must shoot their Roco without hitting any of the hazards (which is an admittedly difficult and rewarding task to pull off). Finally there's the Roco house, which isn't really a mini-game but it is a bit of fun. Basically you use all the house parts you've collected to create a domicile for your Roco to get some exercise in. While there's not a lot of interactivity for the player, it's fun to watch what your Roco will do on its own when put into various situations using things like wheels, stairs and platforms. Players can also take a picture of almost any of the action and save it to a photo album to be used for PSP themes or on their computer (using a USB cable). It's fun stuff and all of these elements ooze so much charm.. Players are able to share their houses with other players and non-LocoRoco owners can check out some demo levels wirelessly if your in the sharing mood.

In the end LocoRoco proves to be a success due to a number of reasons including an inspired artistic style that is simple but strikingly beautiful, characters that are both eccentric and charming, and a catchy soundtrack that you won't get out of your head. Despite it's short playtime (which is alleviated a bit by trying to meet the challenge of collecting everything in each level) and a lack of multiplayer, LocoRoco is still the best platformer to hit the PSP this year.