"A rather enjoyable game"

I didn't what anything to do with Chocobo Tales. It seemed like just another Final Fantasy cash in. I did buy it though for completion purposes. Is it worth buying though? Does it actually hold a few surprises behind its child like exterior? Read on!

Chocobo has sat to listen to a story when the black mage of the village comes running up with a new picture book he has found. He has Chocobo open it; it unleashes an evil that turns almost every person in the village into a card. Now Chocobo must set out to rescue the townsfolk and find the four crystals to stop this evil force. I must say for a microgame, it sure has a nice plot to it. The plot won't win any awards but the dialog is funny and filled with little things for the Final Fantasy fans. The twists in the plot are also nice but that darn Chocobo is silly sometimes when it comes to paying attention to what's happening.

The DS sure doesn't do 3D well. However Square so far has made the 3D games look really good. Starting with Final Fantasy 3 and now this game. The character models look nicely detailed, if not a little too big. The world itself is colorful and while it does seem a bit lifeless. I really like the graphics during the card battles. They have a hand drawn life to them. Very nice indeed. Even the microgames have a nice visual style to them and I really like the way the Hide and Seek game looks.

The sound in the game is very nice. Fans of Final Fantasy will enjoy it the most. Common music themes are used here like the victory battle theme and the main title theme. Besides that we also get the Chocobo sound effects and a few others. It's all nicely done. The game does seem a bit limited though with its sound effects.

Control is done with just the stylus and it works. I did find it more convenient to move around the maps using the d-pad. It seemed easier. The stylus is almost always right on. The first Red Riding Hood mini game has some sensor issues but oh well. Also during the credits mini game my DS was all over with where I was taping so I have no clue what was happening there.

Chocobo Tales is almost like two game types in one. On one hand we have the card battles. There are maybe 10 in the entire game. At first they start off as rock, paper scissor kind of thing. It's simplistic, childish and just too random to be any fun.

Once you get more cards (100 total) and a better deck maker the game opens up and feels less random. The basic idea is that each card can do so much damage. There are four slots on the card and one slot will have a sword and one will have a shield. If the other persons card has a shield on their card where your sword is then they will guard.

So it may require some thought but I really have a dislike for card games. I was able to win without putting much thought into it at all. If you're a fan of card battle I don't think there is enough of it here for you to find enjoyment.

Rest of the game is a set of microgames. There are about 15 or so microgames. The biggest flaw is that you'll need to play most of them at least 3 times to complete the game. Beating a microgame opens up a harder setting, unlocks new items, book endings, paths and other stuff. So it never feels like nothing is happening by working your way up.

The microgames themselves range from so-so to really good. I never really had a problem with any besides the maze and the first leviathan microgame. I really like the hide and seek one where you hide from these two guys. Most of them are entertaining it be it drawing leaves (a line) to bounce your Chocobo up into the clouds or picking up pieces to build a house.

Also, when you play on harder settings the people you're playing against change from peons to the next class of bad guy to the baddest Chocobo of all (who I might say is really cool). The difficulty also spikes up around the 4th (of 5) difficulty.

The game isn't overly long. Everywhere I went said the game was at least 10 hours to beat without 100% completion. The game was lucky to last me 4 hours. Maybe it's different for everyone but 4 hours isn't all that long. Granted there is still a ton for me to do if I ever go back to the game and oddly enough I can see myself revisiting this game. It's one of the few microgames that I have found fun and maybe it's because the microgames last longer than 5 seconds.

Chocobo Tales isn't for everyone. Final Fantasy fans will find some nice things in the game for them. Fans of the microgame genre may enjoy this also. The catch is that the game is really easy and the card game does feel tacked on at times. None the less, it offers a fun diversion and a lot of extra stuff to do.

Story - 7/10
Graphics - 9/10
Sound - 8/10
Control - 8/10
Game Play - 8/10
Replay Value - 9/10

Final Score - 8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 08/10/07