Unlocking characters, different vehicles, and customisation options all require item tickets, and even though you’re always making progress towards getting them, they are obtained much slower than I would like. Whether or not you win a race, a gauge will slowly fill up to grant you item tickets.
Item tickets are earned by collecting little crystals across each race, or completing optional Story Mode objectives. A few characters will join your roster directly, but the rest will need to be unlocked from the in-game shop with “item tickets”, a form of currency. The real benefit of Story Mode is unlocking all the tracks and racers. It’s harmless kid-friendly nonsense, filled with deepcut Final Fantasy references (reFFerences) that seemingly exist just for me and nobody else. The story itself is a mummer’s farce, following Chocobo and his friends as they travel the world in search of a magical race that grants wishes. Each of Chocobo GP’s 20+ characters plays differently, so there’s a lot of variety here. Another character lets you spend bits of her special gauge for little bursts of speed, perfect when I need to recover from my mistimed drifts. Our protagonist, Chocobo the chocobo, turns briefly invincible. Each character’s special gauge slowly builds up over time, and lets them perform a move that can turn the tide just as much as the most powerful Magicite. While each has stats (each racer comes with their own vehicle), what matters more is their unique abilities. What helps make the difference is the characters themselves. Considering these story missions are mandatory to unlock every character and track, winning races seemed random at times. A couple of times this happened right at the final finish line. During Story Mode (which I mostly played on Easy) there were several times when a level 3 spell stunned me for so long I went from 1st place to 7th, and found it impossible to regain my lead. The downside is just how powerful those upgraded spells get. At its best, races are exhilarating, and unpredictable in the best way. Even playing solo, the AI relentlessly flings spells around you, so you need to do the same to keep up. There were also several times when I accidentally skidded into someone’s exit portal, sending me back to where they started. If another player is fast enough, they can jump into your entry portal before it closes. My personal favourite is Swap, which teleports you to a spot further along the track, but leaves entry and exit portals behind you. The spells themselves are utterly chaotic. These upgraded spells are far more effective (for example, Fire grows larger and homes in on targets) so there’s a level of strategy involved when deciding if you should shoot now, or wait for an upgrade. You can hold up to three spells at once, but if you get two or three of the same spell, they merge into stronger forms. The almighty dragon Bahamut is functionally Bullet Bill. Driving into Magicite grants you a classic Final Fantasy spell, such as Haste, which makes you go faster, or Fire, which throws a fireball in front of you.
Chocobo GP is a very approachable racer for filthy casuals like me and my family (sorry mum if you’re reading this).Īnother borrowed, tweaked concept is Magicite, Chocobo GP’s take on powerup items. While these are clearly borrowed mechanics from Mario Kart, I appreciated Chocobo GP actually giving me tutorials for them, and I found them less punishing in practice. If you drift for long enough whilst racing, you get tiered speed boosts, and you get a boost if you accelerate when the starting countdown hits 2. Select your character and take off in arcadey and accessible racing as you compete against a roster of characters each equipped with individual abilities. The first place you’ll want to go is the game’s Story Mode, which gradually introduces the game’s mechanics, which I found quite familiar.