With every Nintendo Direct comes a fair share of surprises. From surprise game releases, like what happened with Castlevania Advance Collection today, to general surprise announcements of games currently in development. One of the surprise announcements that came almost out of nowhere for the latest Direct was Chocobo GP, a new racing game starring Chocobo, bringing a few of its favorite friends from other Final Fantasy titles.
As FF remains an ever-popular gaming franchise, the Chocobos and Moogles from the series remain almost just as popular, being remembered alongside the series as the mascots for the RPGs. The yellow birds have seen special solo spin-offs starring a smaller, cuter critter for the last several years, and it seems the bird is back following the Chocobo trademark being filed last year.
Chocobo GP is a unique racing game starring numerous different Final Fantasy characters as they enter a special racing tourney where a wish for "anything they want" is the prize. Apparently, the only condition to enter the race is that their mode of transport of choice needs to have wheels, so the namesake bird is on roller skates. Other FF cast members are riding in numerous different modes of transport alongside the critter as they compete towards victory.
The game has racers using "Magicite" as items in the game, which can be used to cast different Final Fantasy spells such as Aero. The more Magicite the player collects, the stronger the spell; going through FF's usual three-stage spell upgrade chain. The trailers shared currently show many different tracks; such as The Gold Saucer, Cid's Test Track, and Alexandria from Final Fantasy 9.
Chocobo GP looks to be a cute, fun racing game for fans to play alone or share with friends. For the Final Fantasy fans who have wanted another Chocobo Racing title for years, this might be exactly what they've been waiting for with the potential for improvements, and possibly an updated character roster and DLC.
While it looks to be fun, being whimsical and cute isn't going to be enough to stand up against other similar titles already out, like the best-selling Mario Kart 8. Many kart racers have tried to stand out against the market, and not too many have made their mark. The gameplay looks rather promising, but how well Chocobo GP does will need to wait until the game arrives in 2022.
Chocobo GP launches in 2022 exclusively for Nintendo Switch.