These passes will boost earnings throughout the planned Seasons, allowing you to buy more rewards from the special offerings in the Gil Shop. Mythril will also be a premium currency to buy from digital stores like the Nintendo eShop, used to obtain Prize Passes. There is Gil to earn as well, accrued through the newly introduced Chocobo GP Mode: a 64-player online bracket tournament that starts when the first Season goes live. Even when you’re not trying to earn extra rewards, there are accessible winning conditions besides “place first” - beating a particular character, for one - that mitigate some frustrations with Story Mode. The other race modes also earn you tickets for finishing but don’t have the added challenges or gauge. While some of these challenges are significant, it adds an extra layer of thrill beyond the goal of placing first, knowing that you could potentially purchase something new if you shave a few seconds off each lap. What’s more, specific challenges in each Story race, like finishing within a time limit or maintaining pole position with every lap, net tickets too. However, in Story Mode and the Chocobo GP, you stand to get even more, as every crystal you collect charges a gauge after each race. With each race, you earn tickets to spend there. While playing through the Story Mode unlocks many new characters, courses, and Rides, much like Chocobo Racing did, Chocobo GP introduces a shop. Still, we’re hoping Square Enix introduces more with future updates.Įach ride also has subtle stylistic distinctions! You can blast across the Big Bridge from Final Fantasy V, through the gritty streets of Zozo from VI, and about IX‘s grandiose Alexandria. Despite this, it’s fun seeing the colorful tracks with a Final Fantasy twist and getting to visit some classic locations. Even then, they are essentially reconfigurations of a few existing locations, leaving replay value at a minimum with the limited initial selection. As players progress through Story Mode, they will unlock more exciting courses offering more variety. Unfortunately, clunky, technical sections often break up the flow in a race, and there are too many short tracks with simplistic layouts, leaving a lot to be desired as yet. Again, Chocobo Racing struggled due to poor track design, so the updates in Chocobo GP improve greatly on that. Sadly, tuning your own custom Chocobo racer did not make a return.Ĭourses consist of fresh takes on a few of the tracks from the original and plenty of challenging new additions. Depending on what a track calls for, you may want to swap for a different vehicle (assuming you’ve unlocked them.) You can also add cosmetic changes to your Rides with unlockable stickers and color palettes so that you can stand out on the track. Now, each racer has three possible rides to choose from: their standard model, a grip-centric chassis, or one focused on speed. Back in 1999, you were stuck with what you got, from flying carpets to rocket skates. Still, the Final Fantasy appeal does make the experience feel distinct enough to justify a possible addition to your racing library.Īs far as customization, one new addition to the series is swapping your racer’s Ride. Sounds familiar, right? Chocobo GP‘s foundation is formulaic, innovating little within a genre dominated by a certain plumber and his pals. Players can expect to grab a racer, choose a course, and zip around themed tracks, grabbing power-ups to get an edge in the race and go for gold, unlocking new features along the way. While the original was often labeled an unrefined “cash grab,” it seems Square Enix incorporated feedback and made some necessary upgrades to the way this new kart-racer handles. That said, Chocobo GP is a fun spin-off from a franchise gamers know and love. There’s a reason the original didn’t topple other racers of the time and beget a long lineage of whimsy-filled, high octane titles replete with whacky racers and exotic locales. Honestly, the biggest draw to this racer for players is the flavor, if nothing else. Building on the bones of Square Enix’s one-time racer, the new entry boasts some welcome improvements but remains “fine” at the moment. Final Fantasy fans haven’t heard much about racing since the original‘s release in 1999 (aside from the potential 3DS entry S-E, later canceled), likely built to compete in the potential-filled market created by Mario Kart 64. Despite that, any day with Chocobo GPwill still make for fine racing. What a fine day for a race…until you hear that phrase repeatedly.
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