Chocobo Racing’s 17th Anniversary

Greetings fellow friends of Chocobo’s. If your familiar with my posts, you know I have a deep seeded love for nostalgic classic games. If your checking out this post, my guess is you also share the same passion for retro gaming. Or your a hardcore Final Fantasy series fanatic.

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Chocobo Racing may not have been received as well as its rivals Mario Kart & Crash Team Racing, but it is a PS1 gem worth examining today. It received average reviews because the critics found it to lack in gameplay features.

CR was released 17 years ago today in Japan, on March 18th, 1999. It was released in North America and Europe around a year later. In Japan the game is also know as “Chocobo Racing: Road to the Spirit World.” Developed by Square Co., creators of the legendary Final Fantasy series. It is said that Square Co. created this kart racer in attempt to cash in on the kart racing trend that was very popular at the time.

All of the characters in the game are Final Fantasy characters that can be found in the titles that came before Chocobo Racing. The main character in the game is your favorite fantasy bird, Chocobo. 8 characters are available from the gate – Chocobo, Mog, Golem, Goblin, Black Magician, White Mage, Chubby Chocobo, and Behemoth. You can unlock the following 5 secret characters after completing story mode – Cactuar, Bahamut, Cloud, Aya, and Squall.

In this kart racing game the characters don’t just drive in vehicles, they also drive scooters, ride magic carpets, and even run. Like most Kart racers you can pick up special items and use weapons. When you pick your character, you are asked to assign a special ability.

Story mode is narrated by Cid, and consist of 9 chapters in pop-up book fashion in FMV’s. The scenery is a mixture of theme’s ranging from Final Fantasy 1 to Final Fantasy 7.

At Nintendo’s 2010 E3 conference they announce a sequel to CR named “Chocobo Racing 3D.” In 2013 the sequel was canceled. Since Final Fantasy Fans love for Chocobo’s will never die, Hopefully one day they resurrect the sequel project.

If you’ve never played Chocobo Racing, its a kart racing game worth checking out. Though it might not be Mario Kart, it has its own appeal that either final Fantasy fans or racing fans can enjoy. If your interested in learning more facts about this title, check out its page on Wikipedia.