Along the way, dialogue constantly breaks the fourth wall, acknowledging little in-jokes from the series and poking fun at the fact that everybody keeps forgetting Gilgamesh.Ĭhocobo GP’s story is a short, but sweet affair. Things aren’t quite as they seem, however, and there’s a big bad that pops up at the last second, which the game even calls out as a Final Fantasy trope. Chocobo and his buddies are taking part in a racing tournament with the promise that the winner gets a single wish granted. ChocobuddiesĬhocobo GP’s greatest strength is its story mode, which is a fun and surprisingly self-aware little tale that’s entirely voice-acted (yet another surprise!). Mario Kart works so well because you always feel like you can win if you ace a great jump or get the right power-up at the perfect moment.Ĭhocobo GP sometimes feels like a last-place disaster lurks around every corner.Īll of these criticisms are mostly minor annoyances common to the genre, but stacked together they make Chocobo GP’s gameplay feel unexceptional. Getting hit by even one attack can drop you from first to last, let alone all the times you get nailed by a second one right after. But there are far too many power-ups to keep track of, and getting hit by a power-up requires a lengthy recovery animation that can last nearly seven seconds.
The power-ups in Chocobo GP are all inspired by Final Fantasy, like Haste which gives you a speed boost, Fire that lets you shoot a homing projectile, and Bahamut that transforms you into the summon to zoom ahead. However, there are times that a jump might run right into a turn, making it nearly impossible to make said turn if you try and get a boost. You can do a trick when going off a jump, that will then give you a boost when you land. The wonkiness of the controls coupled with some track design flaws can sometimes lead to severely frustrating crashes. There’s a certain “floatiness” that makes your inputs feel imprecise. The other big problem is that karts simply don’t feel as responsive as you’d want them to. It’s huge, colorful, difficult to navigate, and genuinely a lot of fun.Įach character also has their own unique ability that builds up during the race. A particular highlight is the Golden Saucer, which feels like Chocobo GP’s answer to Mario Kart’s Rainbow Road. Some of the later tracks do a much better job at feeling unique, providing a lot of twists, turns, and unique areas. There are different variations to some tracks that help add some variety, like a “hyperspeed” version with extra boost pads and more turns. That’s obviously true in any racing game, but you need enough gimmicks to make the racer forget that. You feel like you’re driving around in circles.
Many early-game Chocobo GP tracks are short and bland, with only a few turns and no kind of unique obstacles. Ultimate can get away with that kind of frustrating gameplay design, but at least Nintendo offers up multiple ways to unlock the game’s core roster. It doesn’t help that you have to unlock most of the tracks and playable characters as part of the story mode. Boring track design and flaws in the general feel of the controls make Chocobo GP a bit tiresome. Drifting is absolutely essential in Chocobo GP, as the game uses a similar system to Mario Kart where you build up boost as you drift, as well as crystals that build your overall speed. If you’ve played a kart racer before you know the basic formula of Chocobo GP: eight characters race on tracks filled with environmental hazards and power-ups.