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LocoRoco joins The Best in Japan
Sony loves promoting the friendly blobs of LocoRoco. Although the game a lot of critical acclaim, it still hasn't garnered the sales warranted by such quality. Well, Sony's not giving up yet. Sony has announced that the game has entered "The Best" status in Japan, which is similar to America's Greatest Hits program. The game will be reissued as a budget title on February 22nd for the low price of 2800 yen. LocoRoco joins other recent additions to "The Best" series, such as: Initial D: Street Stage, We Love Katamari, Metal Gear Acid 2, and Bleach: Heat the Soul 2. Hopefully, we'll see our American version reach budget status soon.
LocoRoco comes to cellphones
It looks like some Japanese gamers will get to play LocoRoco even if they don't own a PSP. Gamespot is reporting that the Sony-Ericsson SO703i "smell 'O'phone" will come with a version of LocoRoco pre-loaded. While the phone does have several aroma faceplates, there was no LocoRoco aroma faceplate announced. Though it's doubtful many would want to find out what a yellow blob actually smells like. The phone is scheduled to hit Japan in February. There is no US or Europe release date announced yet.
Best of the rest: Zack's picks
Tetris DS (DS)Nintendo is guilty of shoveling franchises at its fans; did we need another Tetris? Does the NEStalgia design make the game more fun? Probably not. (And I think the pixelated graphics on the top screen detract from the game; I'd rather have the classic Russian graphics and music.) But this game with just adequate art direction excels in its online match-ups. I just keep coming back to Tetris DS to battle other action-puzzle dorks online.
Complete Loco Roco guide for download
Sony's official PlayStation website now has a complete, downloadable strategy guide for Loco Roco, which reveals the locations of every MuiMui, Pikorie, berry, and yes, Loco Roco. Think of it as a holiday gift from the kind folks at Sony.
What end of year awards did PSP earn?
Every major video game site loves to do an end-of-year "Best of" awards feature (something we'll undoubtedly lash out at you, PSP Fanboy reader). Contrary to popular belief, the PSP has done quite well for itself, and some of the awards its received may surprise you. Here's a run-down of everything I've seen across the Internet:GamespotBest Platformer: DaxterDaxter beat out three Nintendo DS games, including New Super Mario Bros, thanks to its incredible technology, great personality and fantastic gameplay. "The gorgeous visuals and sound are wrapped in gameplay that is as polished and enjoyable as any full-fledged PlayStation 2 game. While not wholly original, Daxter sacrifices nothing and is simply an all-around amazing game."Best PSP Game: Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops"Portable Ops not only delivers some of the best presentation quality to date on the PSP, but makes some meaningful, interesting changes to the MGS formula. The resulting game is very well suited to playing on the go and also achieves a better balance of gameplay and storytelling than previous Metal Gear Solid games."IGNPSP Game of the Year: Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror"What's most impressive is the depth of the action -- no second analog stick required! The control scheme enables you to do everything from operate a set of gadgets and diffuse bombs to snipe enemies and sift through different enemy types, all without slowing down the pace of the action."Games RadarWTF Award: LocoRocoGames Radar certainly took a non-traditional approach to awards this year. "We also loved that you couldn't play this game without cracking a smile - the nonsense songs were insanely catchy, the bright colors and curvy shapes were captivating and the overall theme was almost relentlessly happy and fun. By forcing our jaded, stone-like faces to grin once again, LocoRoco earns its Platinum Chalice like few other games on this list."The "It Doesn't Actually Suck" Award: PSPGames Radar understands what we've known all the time: PSP is a great system. The plethora of excellent exclusive titles and fantastic PS2 ports has Games Radar and PSP fanboys everywhere asking "this is a bad system?"Next Generation23rd Best Game: LocoRocoIn its top 50 list, LocoRoco managed to break into 23rd place. "Eminently cute and weird as a $3 bill, LocoRoco had players controlling a world and tilting it in order for a smiling blobbish thing to collect goodies, get fatter, and eventually roll or drop past a finishing point. It was as if someone's strange drug-induced hallucination had come to life on the PSP, complete with a dandy soundtrack and a punishing difficulty factor."
Associated Press' top handheld choice? LocoRoco
The Associated Press is one of the world's leading providers of news and opinion in the world. So, when such a huge mainstream press outlet says something good about the PSP, I take note. AP chose Oblivion as their Overall Game of the Year, and gave LocoRoco the award for Portable Game of the Year. "Sony's PlayStation Portable finally received a great, original game this summer with LocoRoco. Heaps of cuteness, creativity and charm made what could have been another boring platformer into one of the year's most original and irresistible video games." Surely, this comes as a surprise to those that expected a DS game to win. However, it's not all roses in Sony-land. The PLAYSTATION 3 got the dubious award of "Worst Console Launch." [Via Online Athens]
More LocoRoco games, confirms Sony
After spewing some mumbo jumbo, Sony's Phil Harrison moved on to a more finite announcement in his conversation with MTV. Harrison talked LocoRoco sequels: "We're going to bring LocoRoco back in a couple of new ways with some new friends in the future."A PSP sequel is the obvious direction to take, but don't rule out a downloadable PS3 game with motion controls. As for these new friends? That implies a cannibalization of the franchise. You know, enough characters to put together a 'kart racer' and 'zany sports' spin-offs -- with a LocoRoco 'puzzler' and 'mini-game collection' on deck. Hey, it works for the other guy...[Via PSP Fanboy]
Loco Roco sequel confirmed
Sony Computer Entertainment President Phil Harrison recently spoke to MTV News, and made a startling revelation about the PSP exclusive LocoRoco. "It was a very successful game for us and we're continuing to evolve the franchise," he said. "We're going to bring 'LocoRoco' back in a couple of new ways with some new friends in the future." LocoRoco and Friends. Sounds like a sequel to me. Considering how many new levels the development team has created for the holidays, it seems like there's still a lot more LocoRoco to come.
LocoRoco Christmas demo arrives [update 1]
Sony has posted a Christmas-themed downloadable level of LocoRoco on its Japanese website. The demo does not require players to own a retail copy of LocoRoco, but PSPs must be updated to firmware v3.02 to play. Here's the step-by-step install guide: Download the EBOOT.PBP file Connect PSP to PC (via USB) Open the PSP/GAME folder Create a folder named "NPJG90001" Place EBOOT.PBP file in the folder See also:LocoRoco Halloween demo [requires firmware v2.81 or higher]Update: corrected required firmware version.
Loco Roco Christmas downloadable demo
Get in the holiday spirit with Loco Roco. It appears, as promised, a Christmas themed version of Loco Roco has hit the net for your downloading pleasure. If you've downloaded demos before, you know what to do:1. Download the demo ZIP file.2. Extract the contents of the ZIP file.3. Connect your PSP to your computer using a USB cable.4. Go to the PSP/GAME folder.5. Copy NPJG90001 folder into directory. Check out our new demos site:demos.pspfanboy.com
IGN picks its top 10 PSP games for this holiday
Just in time for next week's infamous Black Thursday, IGN has released its 2006 Holiday Buyer's Guide and has also added their 10 choices for PSP games that should fill your stockings this Christmas. That's if you've been a good boy or girl, because if you've been bad, you get Family Guy. Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception Daxter Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories Killzone: Liberation LocoRoco Medal of Honor Heroes Mercury Meltdown Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror Tekken: Dark Resurrection What, no Sega Genesis Collection or EA Replay? And while Daxter is a very good game, I don't think too many kids will go Nintendo 64 Kid crazy over getting a game released in March. Still, this is a pretty decent list, and I can't argue with it too much. If you're PSP shopping for someone, you might want to refer to this list.
Loco Roco ranks in top 100 memorable moments
Games Radar decided to go through the annals of their video game memory, and search for the 100 most memorable gaming moments they could think of. The PSP managed to get a measly two games on the list: Loco Roco and Lumines. Apparently, the moment when all the Loco Rocos get together to sing was memorable enough to mark it the 60th most memorable gaming moment of all time.Do you agree that these games deserve to be on this list? Or, do you think any other PSP games should make the cut?
New Loco Roco & Final Fantasy VII demos to arrive in time for holidays
We PSP fanboys love to play demos. We've been blessed with a plethora of demos for Loco Roco, but it seems like they're not done quite yet. A key observer on the PlayStation forums noticed that YourPSP described plans on releasing a Christmas-themed demo of Loco Roco to supplement the Halloween demo that came out about a week ago. Considering how the game is about eating everything in sight, wouldn't a Thanksigiving themed demo also be appropriate? Another noteworthy demo to come out later this year is the highly anticipated PSP-exclusive Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII. Jeux-France reported about a week ago that an issue of Famitsu reveals the producer's intentions to have a playable demo available by the end of the year. If it comes around the time of the other Loco Roco demo, it seems like PSP fanboys will have a lot of free demo playing on their hands this holiday season. [Via PlayStation Boards & 1UP Boards]
Hand-drawn Loco Roco maps guide you through demo & game
Are you having trouble finding every single secret in the new Loco Roco demo? Don't fret. Walter, a German PSP enthusiast, has meticulous hand-drawn guides that'll get you through the demo and get your blubbery pal as fat as he can. He's working on the rest of the game too, so those of you that simply must find every secret in the game might want to check his cute effort out.See also:Loco Roco Video Sandwich special (includes video walkthrough of the first demo)
Loco Roco Halloween demo
As promised, the Halloween demo of Loco Roco is out. European PSP owners will want to head over to yourpsp.com right now and download this ghoulishly themed demo. Everyone else may just want to download it from us. 1. Download the demo ZIP file. 2. Extract the contents of the ZIP file. 3. Connect your PSP to your computer using a USB cable. 4. Go to the PSP/GAME folder. 5. Copy UCES00304-Halloween folder into the GAME directory. Check out our new demos site: demos.pspfanboy.com
Two new downloadable demos coming soon
We <3 downloadable demos at PSP Fanboy. So, whenever there's news about a new demo coming out, we get excited and pay attention. According to the YourPSP French website, a Halloween-themed demo of Loco Roco will be coming out soon. It'll supposedly require a new firmware (2.82) to run.In addition, according to Kingplayer, a demo of Ridge Racer 2 will also be available. Considering the lack of new content put into the sequel, what are the odds that it'll be a level that's in the original?The demos are supposed to come out on October 26th. Will you be upgrading your firmware to play them?
Dueling Analog's Loco Roco comic
Yet another Loco Roco comic was discovered by Joystiq's Weekly Webcomic Wrapup. From the fine folks of Dueling Analogs, it goes into detail about the eating disorder our poor blubbery friend may have. Is it as effective as Penny Arcade's comic from a few months ago? I'd say no, but you can be the judge. See also: Paperweights for no man! [Via Joystiq]
Stickers make your system fun!
Tokyo Game Show had special stickers on all the PSPs on display. Joystiq showed you the awesome PaRappa system (which would look great with your PaRappa pouch), and now we're here to show you the rest. Read on to see the rest...
Loco Roco wins two awards at BAFTA
Loco Roco was the most-nominated game for this year's British Academy of Film and Television Arts' annual video game awards. The award winners were revealed tonight, and Loco Roco was able to score two victories from its eight nominations. The game won for both Best New Character, and Best Children's Game, an award usually reserved exclusively for Nintendo titles. Congrats to the brilliant Loco Roco team: you guys deserve all the praise. Read on to see the winners of other categories.
LocoRoco gets emo, joins MySpace
MySpace is the biggest site on the internet. Home to tons of emotionally unstable teenagers that have nothing better to do than refresh their Friends list constantly, MySpace is the perfect place for stalkers and advertisers to go to reach such a lucrative audience. Sony has created a page dedicated to Loco Roco to "spread the joy" and make it a less dark, depressing, emo place. So far, it looks like it's working: the blobs have over 6,000 friends so far! Will you add these blubbers to your friends list? I know I will. Check it out, if only for the free ringtone and other goodies offered on the site. If the site makes you happy enough, maybe you won't go into that dark corner in the bathroom writing poetry about how much life sucks.
