Chocobo GP is the new title produced by Square Enix of which we propose the review, released on Nintendo Switch on March 10, 2022and direct heir of Chocobo Racing which, in 1999, carved out a large slice of amateurs, opposing the two main karting titles of the time: Mario Kart on Nintendo 64 e Crash Team Racing on PlayStation. The characters and atmospheres of Final Fantasy are back in a fun racing game, where unlikely vehicles (or skates for Chocobo) roar and bite the asphalt, race after race, in search of the undisputed winner.
Chocobo GP was developed by Akiraa Japanese studio that has collaborated with Nintendo for titles such as Pac-Man 99 (our review here) e Tetris 99and which is now back on track with a new game that has, among its pillars, an interesting one competitive circuit, with awards and rankings. Two versions of the title can be found on Nintendo eShop: Chocobo GP Liteone free version downloadable by all and which includes some tracks and 3 characters as well as the prologue of the story mode; and then the full version of the game at a price of around € 50.
Once upon a time…
There story mode is one of the first things the player is faced with Chocobo GP, as well as another of the pillars on which the racing title is based. Knowing the style of Final Fantasyno wonder that a big piece of the pie belongs to history, which is mainly made up of running races. Chocobo and his moogle friend Atla they decide to participate in an important competition whose prize, up for grabs by Pilot X, it will be a wish. Faced with such a succulent surprise, all that remains is warm up the engines (or, in the case of Chocobo, put on the skates) and set off at full speed towards the finish line.
The story of Chocobo GP it’s a lot of fun, with engaging dialogue that break the fourth wallcharacters increasing as you complete the various episodes, and competitions with specific objectives to be achieved. You can select the game mode from Beginnerrecommended for those unfamiliar with racing games and for the little ones, and Professionalin which the level of difficulty is significantly higher.
Story mode is vital for unlock characters of the roster, and the dialogues are dubbed in English, even if they can sometimes be long to follow. It is always possible to skip any scenes in the story that do not include racing by pressing the + button on the Nintendo Switch. In the Lite version of Chocobo GPplayers will only have the prologue available, which contains a practical tutorial to become familiar with the commands, some of which are somewhat artificial results.
Learning the commands will require some attempts, especially for those unfamiliar with this type of game. In addition to speeding up, players can press combinations of commands for driftmanaging to increase their cornering speed for several seconds, look over your shoulder for any attacks from opponents in the queue, use bonuses / penalties earned and collected along the way, rotate and more.
Chocobo GP?
Although the story mode is of fundamental importance, the main mode of Chocobo GP is exactly Chocobo GPthat is a competitive circuit that allows you to stretch the longevity of the titleand to challenge in multiplayer the other players. Similar to what we recently saw with Tetris 99 And Pac-Man 99also in this case the challengers are placed in a grid, which collects all those who pass the turn automatically, and moves them race after race towards the top of the pyramid.
It starts with groups of 64 players, then continuing with a shortlist of 32 winners, 16 winners and, finally, 8 winners, the best who will compete for the final prize. They pass the turn the first 4 players of each group, and the challenges are faced by 8 players at a time. Participating in the races will provide everyone with some prizes and points to level up, even those who are not the winners. Winning is not easy. The tracks are quite varied, although they are alone 9 total tracks present in Chocobo GP. Some tracks can, however, be tackled with alternative routes, taking a different direction at the forks and finding new paths to get to the finish.
The same story mode, once completed, can be replayed to unlock bonuses and extras. The dialogue will not change (but can be conveniently skipped) and the purpose of each race will be exactly the same as the first time, but those who wish to get their hands on more rewards or complete the game as much as possible will have nothing to complain about. Also, in the mode Chocobo GP are present seasonal events which will be periodically updated and modified, with new rankings and a new reward system.
The breath of Final Fantasy
Despite being a racing game, in Chocobo GP is present much of Final Fantasy. Aside from the characters and some of the music, the ways in which you can tackle the races have also drawn heavily from the titles of the main series. It wouldn’t be, after all, a respectable spin-off if there were no connections to the womb. In the various tracks that can be tackled in the races they are scattered different elementswhich participants can collect to get bonuses or throw penalties on their opponents.
The tracks are, in fact, littered with various types of power-ups, in the form of the magilite. As you progress through the story mode, all the types of magilite that you can collect and use will be explained. Often, during the race, you will find yourself in front of Magicuovawhich can be colored gold, silver or copperand give special power-ups among the various available, all taken from the world of Final Fantasy. On the race screen there are 3 slots, which are filled with the type of magilite with which you come into contact, similar to what happened in Chocobo Racing.
The magilite system is however artificial, and often the players are forced, due to the need to face the races in the shortest time possible, to use what they have earned without worrying too much about the effect it will have on opponents, as long as you slow them down. Thanks to the magilites, it is possible to cast different types of magic, from that of fire, which serves to launch fiery barriers against enemies, to those of water, which create whirlpools in the middle of the track, up to allowing participants to unleash earthquakes, freeze other players or electrocute them. The magic sector is, in short, quite varied.
During the challenge, the crystalswhich will serve for the special ability of each character, a real treat to use at the right time. THE 22 characters Of Chocobo GP in fact, they each have their own skills. That of Chocobo, for example, who is the first character that can be used by all players, is the acquisition of a “sprint” that lasts for a few seconds. Used at the right time, it could allow you to overtake several opponents, perhaps during a particularly difficult curve or in the final stages of the race.
Speaking of the characters, all 22 are obviously drawn from Final Fantasy. We have: Chocobo, Atla, Camilla, Camilla’s Dad, Vivi, Clair, Pilot X, Cid, Shirma, Irma, Ifrit, Gilgamesh, Ben, Chocobot, Steiner, Ramuh, Titan, Sylph, Shiva, Terra, Asura and Maduin. Each character has a card that contains his own statisticssuch as speed, acceleration and drift.
Wallet on hand
Video games in the mold of Chocobo GP they must place a lot of importance on longevity, relying on solid multiplayer that updates over time with new content, to give a breath of fresh air to the gameplay. This is essential for Chocobo GPsince it has on its side a limited number of tracks, which could quickly tire players. Unfortunately, at this point it is necessary to mention the weakness of the title: the microtransactionsmassively present in both versions (also the paid one).
In the game they are present 3 different currencies. THE tickets they are obtained a little at a time by playing and participating in races (it is not necessary to win games), and can be used to buy characters and, above all, various customizations. THE guil they can be combined thanks to the Chocobo GP mode and by participating in the seasons. To get these coins you have to face the races and perform certain actions during the challenges, for example use the drift a certain number of times, or perform stunts, use the special ability of your character or the magilites.
Guils are very complicated to put together, and a lot of them are required for everything in the shop that can be purchased with this currency. Finally, dominating the microtransactions landscape are the mithril. The amounts to spend to grab a fair amount of mithril, which can be used in the appropriate section of the shop for to unlock the way to get a character, specific skins or other elements, vary between € 10 and about € 80, which is why it is necessary to be careful to leave the game in the hands of the little ones. Direct access to credit cards could be “fatal”.
Although the massive presence of microtransactions in the Lite version Of Chocobo GPwhich represents a free-to-play obtainable by all, the less acceptable is this very presence even in the full version. Spend around € 50 for the game and end up with a lot of content blockedunless you decide to put your wallet again, it is certainly not very pleasant, and it is an unjustified choice on the part of those who have thought about Chocobo GP with these rules.
The title currently has limited content, but this may be due to a decision by enrich it in the future with seasonal content, passes or DLCs that will add new tracks and characters. Hopefully, the new content won’t be pushed massively into the store instead, forcing players to make a choice between giving up on unlocking them or paying again.
Nintendo Switch works
Chocobo GP was released exclusively on Nintendo Switch, and the hybrid console from Nintendo performs very well, managing the title in an optimal way. There are no smears either during the story mode or during the Chocobo GP, and races can be tackled smoothly. For sure, as also happened in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (review here) own a Pro Controller it will give the player an extra boost, being more comfortable and practical than Joy-Con.
However, a positive thing is the possibility to face the races too with just one Joy-Con. With Nintendo Switch in fixed mode, Chocobo GP it shines on the screen, but even in portable mode it manages to be appreciated, although the display is much smaller in size. All players can get an idea of the title by downloading the Lite version for free from Nintendo eShop, which still allows you to participate in tournaments, even if with only 3 characters.
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