When Chocobo GP was a surprise reveal in a Nintendo Direct last year, fans who had waited for a new Chocobo Racing game were ecstatic. It looked to be a fun kart racer for Final Fantasy fans, and the fact that it would have a lite version and a premium version seemed great for fans on a budget. However, the premium version was covered in microtransactions, and after a fair deal of backlash, a patch coming on May 31 seems to be aiming to make things less expensive for players.
There were many things wrong with how Chocobo GP decided to manage microtransactions. The biggest problem was that these offers were only available in the $40 dollar retail version of the game, while the lite version was locked out of the premium shop entirely. On top of that, characters were locked behind "Prize Packs" that required either grinding or more money for Final Fantasy fans to get the characters instantly.
Square Enix seems to have listened to the fan outrage this pricing plan has caused because a patch will be released before Season 2 of Chocobo GP begins that removes the Premium Prize Pass and other purchasable rewards from the game. All characters will be earned through the normal prize pass from now on, and only require players to get to level 20 rather than 60.
The basic Prize Pass will also give Mythril, the game's premium currency, as a reward throughout the 20 levels available. While it's not known how much this will give to players, some are thinking that this new system has a strong chance to give enough Mythril that when combined with the game's other bonuses, they can easily earn back what the Prize Pass costs without paying. Even if that isn't the case, characters will be available through Tickets later on, meaning not everyone has to pay extra money to get their favorite Final Fantasy character.
On top of this, players who have the Lite version will now be able to participate in multiplayer races, a feature that was once locked. While this seems like a great start to fixing the many problems fans had with Chocobo GP, this new patch and previous patches have made no attempt at fixing the fact that Mythril expires. There is also no mention that Lite version players will get to purchase the Prize Pass.
However, the online multiplayer being unlocked for Lite players officially makes Chocobo GP a good contender against Mario Kart for fans on a budget. For those wishing to race their friends online, they can simply download the Lite version and have fun together. However, fans won't get to see how this patch affects the game until Season 2 officially begins.
Chocobo GP is available now for Nintendo Switch, with version 1.1.0 going live on May 31.
Source: Square Enix Support Centre