"Sickeningly cute fun, most of the time."

Ah, a game centering around Final Fantasy's lovable little mascot animal, the chocobo... They're little colorful birds and they're absolutely adorable, making their first appearance in Final Fantasy II and being present in every Final Fantasy since.

In this game, you play as an adorable chocobo who has unwittingly unleashed a great evil, Bebuzzu, (although admittedly comically evil, fitting with the style of the game) and must play minigames and card games in order to free your kidnapped chocobo friends, restore power to the four crystals (ah, another classic Final Fantasy staple) and defeat this horrible menace. Rounding off the cast are Shirma, a kind white mage, Croma, a black mage obsessed with books who was in fact the one who originally discovered Bebuzzu in book form, Irma, a girl with a grudge and an army of loyal chocobos who wants to help Bebuzzu destroy the world, and Mog, a helpful card battling moogle with a secret but obvious alter-ego. Oh, and did I forget to mention chocobos? There are a lot of those.

The graphics are what you'd expect from a DS game, fairly detailed character models and good looking scenery. But what really shines in the game is the artistic style present in the minigames. See, minigames involve literally jumping into an enchanted storybook, being told a story, and playing a related minigame in order to unlock cards or storybook epilogues (which then affect the main world). All the monsters you'd recognize from other Final Fantasy games are present, only often as paper cutouts! Yes, the game knows no bounds in it's cutesy display.

But do not mistake me, behind the cuteness is solid and varied gameplay that may appeal to casual gamers and the more hardcore. Apart from exploring the main map during your quest, there are three areas of play:

Storybook Minigames: When you find a storybook in your travels, you can enter it and play a minigame related to the storybook. First you can read through the beginning of the story book, which are in fact little stories featuring Final Fantasy monsters and chocobos in situations very similar to what you might have read in an Aesop or Brothers Grimm storybook. Accomplishing different conditions or competing against enemy chocobos may earn you cards for use in card battles, less common cards that your chocobo friends are sealed in, or story epilogues, of which there are three of in each storybook and which offer an ending to the story as well as altering the main area somehow. These minigames involve simple challenges made more difficult by having to complete with adversary chocobos or time limits. One minigame will have you dodging Ramuh's thunder, or riding an Adamantoise up a treacherous mountain, or playing a rhythm game. These minigames are rather easy to complete to the degree required for story completion, and not too difficult to complete 100% either, but do offer a bit of challenge; don't expect to always beat all the conditions on the first try.

Microgames: These are minigames found all over the place and usually involve a score-based or time-trial minigame with a gold and silver victory condition, and will net you battling cards upon completion. However, these games can become quite frustrating. For example, Job Juggler will have old-school Final Fantasy sprites flying across a stage with the curtains slowly closing, and you need to hit the corresponding image on the touch screen. When the curtains close or you miss a sprite, the game ends. Doesn't sound too bad, but the victory conditions are rather steep. Another game will have you tapping a golem to chisel him out of his petrified state, and another one will have you inserting swords into a magic pot, where the only element is luck. Some are rather easy, others are unfair, but none are required for game completion.

Card Battling: My favorite part of the game. You build a deck using cards you've earned from minigames or found lying about, and battle it out with a monster blocking your path in a dungeon, or with Bebuzzu himself. The system is simple and easy to learn, each card has four circles with a sword, shield, or left blank. How these circles line up when you and your enemy puts down a card determines who damages who. Apart from damage, cards can also heal you, make the enemy take double damage or halve your damage, or destroy the enemies crystals. When the round is done, your card turns into a crystal necessary for certain cards to attack, and a new round begins, where you pick out another card. Indeed, very simple, but there's a degree of strategy in the battle and in the deck building. The only disappointing thing is the lack of battles or challenge. There are only about 9 different opponents, and none provide much of a challenge. If you want to have a good card duel, perhaps look for an opponent on WiFi.

Having touched on the gameplay, I will now discuss the music. If you're a Final Fantasy fan, you will likely recognize every single music track in this game, as they're all remixes of Nobuo Uematsu's work, present in previous Final Fantasy games. And they all fit the game perfectly. You'll hear songs like the Chocobo Theme, the Crystal's Theme and Battle at the Big Bridge, and maybe feel a wave of nostalgia. The soundtrack is solid even if you've never heard the tracks before, though.

Beating the game may take you ten hours, and beating all the minigames and microgames a further five, with online play in addition. If you're a fan of Final Fantasy games or a fan of cute chocobos, you may consider buying this game. If you're looking for fun minigames, perhaps a rental.

Final Score: 7/10

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 02/08/08

Game Release: Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales (US, 04/03/07)