There are few things worse than when a company takes elements from a gaming series and shoehorns them into a card battle game or a minigame collection. Games like that usually end up selling well, but are ultimately empty shells of the series they’re trying to recall. When Square Enix announced they would be following that exact formula in a game on the DS, Final Fantasy enthusiasts were understandably worried. The truth is that fans shouldn’t count their Chocobos before they’re hatched. A surprisingly nostalgic presentation can be found in Final Fantasy Chocobo Tales, where the simple gameplay admirably stands apart from its inspiration.
Throw away any preconceived notions about this title before you press the power button, because this title has no traditional Final Fantasy gameplay at all. It may look and sound the part, but anyone walking into this game expecting an epic Japanese RPG will be letdown straightaway. This game is equal parts minigame and card battle. The minigames utilize the touch-screen, and are peppered throughout the expansive overworld map. One of them harkens to the classic "Where’s Waldo" books, where you must locate a flaming Chocobo in the midst of a crowd. Another pits you against a rival Chocobo, where you both are falling towards the ground. In the style of Yoshi Touch & Go, you draw leaves with the stylus to guide them toward power-ups and coins but away from items that slow you down. Some of them are better than others (the block puzzle ones are among those that fare the worst), but not one of them ends up either unplayable or a game-ruining mess.
Completing the minigames within certain time limits or with a certain amount of points unlocks environmental anomalies (i.e. a tree will disappear, revealing an item) or special cards for the card battle game. The card battle system is simple enough to learn, and it has a smoothly escalating difficulty curve through the game. There are two opponents, you and the computer, both starting with 20 life points. The object is to reduce that to zero by attacking your opponent with cards. Cards can be four colors: red, green, blue, and yellow. These colors are usually tied to elements, so red would be for fire, and blue for water and ice. A red card’s attack would be placed in the red circle at the top of the card, but it would also have three other circles: two on the sides, and one on the bottom. If any of these other circles has a shield, it can defend against an attack of that color. So if a yellow attack is coming your way, and your card has a shield on yellow, the damage will be prevented. If an attack meets an attack, like green on green for example, the damage would be cut in half.
Some cards have extra abilities when qualifications are met, like burning your opponent to cause double damage in the next round, adding depth to what would otherwise be a painfully basic experience. The ability to build your own deck adds strategy and makes playing a mildly addictive experience, if only just to test your new card combinations. Also, unlocking rare cards instills desire to perform better in minigames, creating actual replay value — something sorely lacking in games of this type.
The gameplay, as solid and basic as it is, takes a backseat to the presentation. The main character being a Chocobo is no surprise, but the supporting cast includes the infamous Black Mage character design. The music is comprised of memorable tracks from past games, like the town and battle themes from the original Final Fantasy. All of the stories that come attached to the main minigames use summons like Bahamut, or other enemy types (a Cactaur or Adamantoise) to retell classic fairy tales, and the cards are adorned with many of these characters as well. It’s also worth noting that the visual style is similar to that of a pop-up book, lending a storybook feeling to the game.
Everything comes together to create a fairly basic yet solid diversion in the Final Fantasy vein. Despite the amount of depth in the card games and the diversity among the minigames, the juvenile art design and childlike story elements might put off older gamers. Because of this, Chocobo Tales wouldn’t be a bad "My First Final Fantasy" for the younger crowd, and might be a good game for parents to play with their kids.
