The Loco Roco Effect
by LostRainbow, HSM guest contributor
A place, far away from the real world, in the middle of the ocean. Little yellow smiley people called LocoRoco, who follow you around and coo happy sounds at you. Little black alien guys who wave at you and give you gifts if you dance for them. Happy music that is a language all of its own. A relaxing hammock and beautiful blue waters.
These are just some of the things you will see at this amazing, happy, relaxing place. No, you are not dreaming or on another planet; you are at one of the happiest places on PlayStation Home, called Loco Island.
The effect of playing Loco Roco can be profound. The feeling of the game combined with the location graphics and sound effect is a bounty for the senses that can transport you to your own happy place. Many personal spaces on Home can get stale after a while, but Loco Island invites you to stay and relax, and seems to transcend time.
My current job is very stressful. It got to the point that I dreaded going to work. I remember coming home one evening and being completely stressed out. I decided to turn on Home and go visit Loco Island. As soon as I logged on I was greeted by a little black guy called a MuiMui. The MuiMui was waving at me and saying what sounded like “my my” which I interpreted as him saying “hi”. I waved back and walked along the beach and started to feel a little better.
As I walked, a calming, familiar music was playing. The music was in a language I didn’t understand, but it was soothing. I hummed along and could feel the stress rolling off of me. As I walked further, I passed little yellow smiley guys called LocoRoco. They were giggling and rolling around. I knew they would follow me if I danced for them, so that’s what I did. I also knew if I could get them all in one place they would surround me and sing a happy tune. I got them all to the beautiful beach with pretty blue water and they stopped in their tracks and sang. I couldn’t help but smile, and the hard day I had was soon forgotten. I sat down on the beach and the LocoRoco shut their eyes and cooed a happy noise.
I sat with my feet in the warm sand and watched the waves crash along the shore. In the distance a MuiMui was playing with a beach ball. I decided to explore the island further and ride on a swing. I climbed the steps and the MuiMui that was on the swing politely got off and gave me a turn. As I rode the swing, the scenery was beautiful. I could see the blue sky, the clouds and hear the familiar tunes. When you are swinging it seems like you are actually on the swing and I could feel it in my stomach; sort of like the feeling you get when you go down a big hill on a roller coaster.
It brought me back to my childhood which when life seemed to be more carefree and stress was something you didn’t think about. I was taken back to summers spent outside with my family where I would swing for hours on our swing set. I felt very relaxed and had found my happy place.
I knew I had to eventually log off and start my evening. I got off the swing and climbed up higher to the hammock. I lay down and enjoyed the scenery and felt myself drifting into a trance. When I shut the game off I felt happy and relaxed and had forgotten about my stressful day at work.
I call this the Loco Roco effect because I felt so much better about stuff. The next morning when I had to get ready for work, I decided to turn Loco Island on so I could listen to the music as I got ready. It made me feel less stressed about going to work that day and I approached the job with a much better attitude.
It’s amazing the effects a game can have on you!
LocoRoco is a video game that was released in 2006 for the PSP (Play Station Portable). It was developed by Tsutomu Kouno, who was trying to create a game that was different than other games being released on the PSP. LocoRoco is a place of peace on a faraway planet. Round yellow smiley type guys called LocoRoco reside here. They have friends called MuiMui that live there as well. They are always happy and they take care of the island and keep it peaceful. LocoRoco has a soundtrack of music that is based on a fictional language that Tsutomu Kouno created for the game. He based them on the Japanese language, but altered them so it would not alienate foreign players. The Loco Island space on Home is based on this game.
So with all that being said, if you are feeling a little blue or just need to escape to a peaceful, happy place then Loco Island is the perfect place on Home for that. It is a timeless place filled with fun activities where you are transcended to a tropical, remote island with beautiful scenery and blue calming waters. It is a place where the residents make you feel welcome and are always happy to see you. I have owned this space for well over a year and it is my all-time favorite spot to relax.
When I have a stressful day, I turn on Loco Island and lose myself in happy thoughts and I explore the island. When I am done exploring, I lie down on the hammock with my eyes shut I can feel the cool breeze, hear the birds chirp and can hum along to all my favorite songs. I feel relaxed and happy and have a wide smile across my face!
March 30th, 2012 by LostRainbow | 6 comments
LostRainbow is a Guest Contributer to HSM. She is also an online gaming veteran and a professional private beta tester who lives in New York City. She will hopefully someday find The Rainbow Connection.
Twitter
I enjoyed reading your article LostRainbow! LocoRoco is a very relaxing space and it was one of the first spaces I bought on Home. When I first came to Home there weren’t a lot of choices in spaces, and this one does offer so much that you don’t get bored. Just a great space for smiles and a song!
I was lucky that LocoIsland was my first personal estate purchase about two years ago, because it is a happy, wonderful place that I still love to visit. I earned everything for it, including the pickle suit and bought almost everything related to it, from add-ons to clothing. I love your point of view in this article. Keep up the good work!
I saw Loco before it came to the USA when a friend invited me to their Japan personal space and I liked it right away. This was the first place in Home that required you to return regularly to gain rewards and keep your little guys happy. It is a large and relaxing atmosphere I agree. Good take on it Rainbow, I am sure you are not the only one who feels this way about the space.
Another great article Lost. I like you have used the Loco Roco space as a kind of relaxing therapy. I love the attention to detail in this space, from the water to the clouds to the sounds. The effect is wonderful and a great place to chill and relax.
Thanks everyone for the kind words!!!
KOOL very nice rainbow, indeed we need to meet on home,