Ludography
69/100
Players8 ratings
67/100
Critics2 reviews

Where to get it

Chocobo GP cover

2022 · Arika · Arcade · Kart racing

Chocobo GP

Nintendo console exclusive

Get set for a new racing experience in Chocobo GP, featuring a roster of dozens of Chocobo characters, complete with their own unique abilities and variants. Choose your favorite Chocobo series character, and race through familiar tracks set in the Final Fantasy universe. It won't be easy crossing the finish line first. Find magic stones called Magicites (including Fire, Water, and more) throughout the track and equip them to take out the competition.

Released
10 March 2022
Platforms
AndroidNintendo SwitchiOS
Genres
ArcadeKart racingRacingSports
Developers
Arika
Publishers
Square Enix
Series
Final Fantasy
Modes
MultiplayerSingle-player
Perspective
Third person
Themes
Party
Country
Japan
Age ratings
ESRB E10+GRAC ALLPEGI 3CERO A
Languages
Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Spanish (Spain)
Time to beat
3hmain story8hwith extras20hcompletionist

About

Chocobo GP is a 2022 kart racing game developed by Arika and published by Square Enix for the Nintendo Switch. The game is a spin-off of the Final Fantasy series and is a sequel to 1999's Chocobo Racing. It was released in celebration of the series' 35th anniversary and features locales and characters from across the franchise.

Chocobo GP received mixed reviews from critics; while praise was given for its controls, track designs, items and character-specific abilities, criticism was given for the game's monetisation model.

›Story

A racing tournament is held and the victor is to receive a prize like no other: to be granted a single wish.

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

The game is a kart racing game featuring single-player and multiplayer modes. The player chooses a character from the Final Fantasy series of video games and directs them through a race track in efforts to finish before the other racers. Players can perform power-slide drifts to help make tight turns and get extra speed boosts. Items called "magicite" can be collected by driving a character into "Magic Eggs", and can be used to either help the player's character, or hinder other racers.

Individual characters also have specific abilities, and vehicles can be customized by the player. The game features multiple modes, including a "story mode", custom races, and online races. The online races include a 64 player elimination tournament mode as well.

Story

The game's story mode includes characters entering a racing tournament offers a winning prize of "a wish for anything their heart desires". Race courses are set in locations from various Final Fantasy games, such as the Gold Saucer from Final Fantasy VII, the town of Zozo from VI and the town of Alexandria from IX. Characters in the game include both specific party members from previous Final Fantasy games and characters from the previous Chocobo spin-off games. The roster includes Chocobos, Moogles, White Mages, Black Mages, Vivi, Steiner, Terra Branford, Cactuar, and Maduin, among others. Cloud Strife and Squall Leonhart were added to the roster in Season 1 as a prize pass unlockable and purchasable character with Gil, respectively.

Development

The game is a sequel to the 1999 PlayStation game Chocobo Racing. A follow-up to the game was first announced in 2010 for the Nintendo 3DS, though its development was outsourced, the quality suffered, and was quietly cancelled by 2013. In March 2021, publications noted trademarks being filed for a Chocobo GP and Chocobo Grand Prix. Chocobo GP was officially confirmed during a Nintendo Direct broadcast in September.

It was released for the Nintendo Switch on March 10, 2022, alongside a free version of the game, titled Chocobo GP Lite. This free-to-play version of the game included the Story Prologue, Chocobo GP mode, three characters, local and online multiplayer, and allowed players to transfer their progress over to the full version of the game after purchase. The full version featured a battle pass and microtransactions. The game's soundtrack was composed by Hidenori Iwasaki.

Reception

Chocobo GP received "mixed or average" reviews according to review aggregator website Metacritic.

Destructoid gave the game a 6.5 out of 10, writing, "...if you're looking for a serviceable racer to play on the side that's full of old school unlocks Chocobo GP is a fine option; provided you can get past a few hurdles. Hopefully a series of patches, the eventual possible elimination of the season pass system, and a price cut will make this package way more enticing". Nintendo Life and Shacknews reviewed the game more positively, praising the controls, tracks, character-specific abilities, items, roster, modes, performance, and the potential of the Chocobo GP mode, while criticizing the weak story mode and paid season pass.

Releases by platformdates and regions as published

PlatformReleasedRegions
Android12 December 2021Worldwide
iOS12 January 2022Worldwide
Nintendo Switch10 March 2022Worldwide

Editions and related releases

Follows
Chocobo Racing

In the same series

Games like this

Collections4 collections

Years

Genres

Platform libraries

Publishers

Description adapted from its source, CC BY-SA 4.0.