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26-760: The Chocobo series is a collection of video games published by Square , and later by Square Enix , featuring a recurring creature from the Final Fantasy series, the Chocobo , as the protagonist . The creature is a large and normally flightless bird which first appeared in Final Fantasy II and has been featured in almost all subsequent Final Fantasy games, as well as making cameo appearances in numerous other games. The Chocobo series of video games contains over 20 titles for video game consoles, mobile phones, and online platforms. These games include installments of

52-770: A digital board game , to comprise the Chocobo Collection compilation, released the same year. Chocobo on the Job was released in 2000 for WonderSwan , while Chocobo Anywhere was released in 2002 for mobile. Chocobo Anywhere received several sequels throughout 2003 and 2004; Chocobo Anywhere 2: Escape! Ghost Ship , Chocobo Anywhere 2.5: Infiltrate! Ancient Ruins , and Chocobo Anywhere 3: Defeat! The Great Rainbow-Colored Demon . Two other mobile games, Choco-Mate and Chocobo de Mobile , were released in 2003 and 2006, respectively. On handheld consoles , Chocobo Land: A Game of Dice , an enhanced version of Dice de Chocobo ,

78-415: A "beloved protagonist" and made it more rounded and cute. The character of Mog was added due to Chocobo's inability to speak, in order to have a talking partner that could communicate Chocobo's thoughts to the player. In addition to the series itself, Chocobo received a cameo appearance in a mainline game, Final Fantasy XIV , under the alias of Alpha. He was chosen for the role due to having beaten Omega

104-447: A vortex and landed in the quaint town of Lostime within the island of Memoria, which disappeared from the rest of the world fifty years ago. In the center of Lostime is a clock tower which rings the Bell of Oblivion that makes everyone lose their memories. Along with his new friend Shirma and a mysterious boy named Raffaello who is able to create a labyrinth of memories, Chocobo has to recover

130-556: Is a 2007 role-playing video game published by Square Enix for the Wii . It is an installment in the Chocobo series that focuses on Chocobo and his quest to free a town lost in time from eternal forgetfulness. It is a loose sequel to Chocobo's Dungeon 2 on the PlayStation . The game was well received by critics, who praised the dialogue, graphics and nostalgia for Final Fantasy , but noted

156-522: The Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles series, Final Fantasy IX , and Final Fantasy Explorers . When he was initially designing the Chocobo character for Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon , he attempted to stylize it to be visible on a square grid. He tried to make its appearance more stylish, retaining monster-like elements such as a sharper beak, but believed such a design was unfitting for

182-544: The Mystery Dungeon series of roguelike video games, racing games , adventure games , and minigame collections. Although the various games of the series have different game styles and are generally unrelated except by their inclusion of a Chocobo as the main character, Square Enix considers them to be a distinct series. The first game, Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon , is an entry in the Mystery Dungeon series and

208-424: The Chocobo's Dungeon sub-series as "simplistic dungeon crawling of the lowest common denominator", while calling Chocobo Racing a "completely derivative kart-racing clone". However, he praised Chocobo's design, stating that he was "so readily identifiable that I simply can't deny myself the natural desire to take part in his wily adventures" despite being a "seemingly ordinary bird". He also expressed excitement for

234-601: The Wii Remote to control characters. The player can also choose to use the Classic Controller if preferred. As the player moves, Chocobo regains health, and if the player loses all of his or her health, he or she will be brought back to the beginning of the current dungeon. The game is Wi-Fi compatible, and players can battle against other players. While searching for the fabled Timeless Power gem to power his Airship, Cid and his partner Chocobo ended up being sucked into

260-488: The "undoubted highlight" of the sub-series Chocobo Tales despite its games of numerous genres. In 2023, The A.V. Club stated that while the Chocobo series arrived "sporadically" in America, it was "typically welcome" when it did, combining "kid-friendly aesthetics" with "beefy" gameplay in the case of its Mystery Dungeon entries. Chocobo%27s Mystery Dungeon Every Buddy! Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon

286-525: The Chocobo development team as the platform had shifted from the Nintendo DS to the Wii . Pastel colors replaced the bright colors of the Chocobo Tales . Some of the more difficult game elements were removed so that it would appeal to "small children and female" players. Square Enix 's Virtual World had in-game advertisements for this game during the virtual world's first week. Joe Down Studio developed

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312-630: The dungeon to assist. The game experienced strong sales in the first week after release in Japan but quickly fell from the video game charts. Square Enix reported that 160 thousand copies were sold as of September 2008, with 90 thousand units sold in Japan and 70 thousand units sold in North America. The enhanced DS version sold over 74,000 copies by the end of 2009. IGN praised the game for its polish, graphics, humorous dialogue and its wealth of gameplay choices. Video game website Joystiq previewed

338-477: The game's shallow and repetitive gameplay. An enhanced port of the game was released for the Nintendo DS in Japan in 2008. A remaster, Chocobo's Mystery Dungeon Every Buddy! , was released for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 in 2019. The gameplay involves randomly generated dungeons and turn-based battles of the Chocobo's Mystery Dungeon title, though new elements have also been incorporated into

364-404: The gameplay, such as the Job system featuring ten jobs. Different jobs change the appearance of the player's Chocobo and alter the layout of the dungeons the players enter. "Pop-up duels" also make a comeback with the addition of enemy cards that can be brought to "Mog's House", where they can be used to play minigames such as "bat shooter", "kick darts", fishing, and gardening. The player uses

390-519: The lost memories of Lostime's residents. These actions reveal the mystery behind Raffaello and the calamity that began the trouble. The Chocobo no Fushigina Dungeon Toki Wasure no Meikyū Original Soundtrack was released in Japan on January 23, 2008. The theme song, Door Crawl , which is both included on the soundtrack and available as a separate single, is written and performed by Ai Kawashima . Development began in November 2006 with new members added to

416-511: The most of any Final Fantasy character. The Chocobo series was initially received with surprise in the West due to Square's reputation for hardcore games. In 1999, IGN called Chocobo Racing a "commercial tangent" that more resembled a Nintendo game, describing Chocobo as a "strange, loveable bird-creature". In 2007, Frank Caron of Ars Technica criticized many of the games in the series, stating that they were "rather unappealing". He described

442-423: The music for the game and featured extensive remixing of music from various Final Fantasy games due to the positive reception of remixed Final Fantasy music in the game Chocobo Tales. New music was composed for the opening by Kumi Tanioka . The studio requested that they be allowed to use music from the early Final Fantasy titles as it would be appropriate to the theme of forgotten time. Musical cues such as

468-576: The release of Chocobo Tales , saying that it had him "rapt" due to its art style and gameplay. In 2009, IGN noted that by the time of the PlayStation , Square Enix was eager to exploit the popularity of the Final Fantasy series in a way they never had before. Describing the Chocobo series as "moderately enjoyable adventures" that "hopped across all genres", they nevertheless called Final Fantasy Tactics "the only PlayStation-era spin-off that really matters". In 2012, Retro Gamer magazine called

494-691: The sound of pickaxes can be heard in the Fire Dungeon, and songs play backwards to indicate the restoration of memory. The theme of forgetting difficulties is discussed in the game story, and the developers tried to convey that putting all into resolving problems is much better than simply trying to forget, as the people in the game story have. An enhanced port, titled Cid to Chocobo no Fushigi na Dungeon: Toki Wasure no Meikyū DS+ ( シドとチョコボの不思議なダンジョン 時忘れの迷宮 DS+ , Sido to Chokobo no Fushigi na Danjon Toki Wasure no Meikyū DS Purasu , lit. Cid and Chocobo's Mystery Dungeon: The Labyrinth of Forgotten Time DS+ ) ,

520-456: Was followed by the 2022 release of Chocobo GP , a kart racing game, for iOS, Android and Switch. Chocobo Racing 3D , a kart racing game for 3DS that would have been a sequel to Chocobo Racing , was announced at E3 2010 , but cancelled in 2013 due to its quality falling short of the company's standards. Various tabletop games based on the franchise and illustrated by Itahana have been released. A card game , Chocobo's Crystal Hunt ,

546-412: Was released in 1997. In addition to Square and Square Enix, the games have been developed by several other companies, including h.a.n.d. , Bottle Cube, and Smile-Lab. Eight albums of music from Chocobo games have been produced and published by Square Enix, DigiCube , and Toshiba EMI , and an additional album of Chocobo-related music from both the Chocobo and Final Fantasy series, Compi de Chocobo ,

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572-591: Was released in 2002 for Game Boy Advance . It was followed up in 2006 by Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales for Nintendo DS . Chocobo Tales would go on to receive a Japan-only sequel in 2008, Chocobo and the Magic Picture Book: The Witch, the Girl, and the Five Heroes . Cid and Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon was released on DS the same year. On home consoles , Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon

598-424: Was released in 2013. Japan North America PAL region Chocobo (series) The first released Chocobo game was the 1997 Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon for PlayStation . It was followed on the console by a 1998 sequel, Chocobo's Dungeon 2 , as well as Chocobo Racing in 1999. Racing was bundled with two other games, Chocobo Stallion , a racing and breeding game, and Dice de Chocobo ,

624-454: Was released in 2016. A board game , Chocobo Party Up! , was released in 2019. A picture book , Chocobo and the Airship , was released in 2021 in Japan and 2023 in the West. It follows Chocobo and the recurring character Cid as they attempt to build an airship and fight off monsters threatening their town. The character designer of the Chocobo series, Toshiyuki Itahana, also worked on

650-418: Was released in Japan for the Nintendo DS on October 30, 2008. It features a new storyline centering on Cid, as well as new jobs for characters to learn. A remastered port titled Chocobo's Mystery Dungeon EVERY BUDDY! was developed by Rocket Studio, Inc., and released for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 on March 20, 2019. It features a new buddy system to bring monsters and other characters into

676-406: Was released on 2007 for the Wii . 2010 saw the release of Chocobo Panic for iOS and Chocobo's Crystal Tower for mobile. A farming sim , Chocobo's Chocotto Farm , was released in 2012, also for iOS. The series then went on hiatus until 2019, when Chocobo's Mystery Dungeon Every Buddy! , a remake of the original Wii title, was released for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 . This

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