Chocobo GP announced for Switch

[Dionysos]

I haven't been paying attention to the Nintendo Direct event because I didn't think it would have anything to do with me. However, I woke up with the news that Chocobo GP, a sequel to the PSX classic Chocobo Racing, has been announced with a release date set for 2022.

It is to be a Switch exclusive, so that is the only downside (from my point of view, being without a Switch). Still, this might be enough to tempt me to buy a Switch at a reduced price somewhere someday.

Here is a trailer:

A few amazing things to focus on:
Playable characters include Vivi, Gilgamesh and Steiner!
It is blink and you miss it in the trailer, but people have screenshotted this to show that, yes, these characters are in it.

I mean, Steiner has an awesome horsey-themed car! It'll get rusty in that rain though.

In addition to various tracks from the original game, new tracks include Alexandria (FFIX), Gold Saucer (FFVII) and Zozo (FFVI).

Looks like Square Enix are following Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled by having customisable cars/skins, etc. Vivi can be seen riding an Oglop Regent Cid vehicle at some point.

So... What do you think about this?

If interested, what are your hopes for it? It is interesting that we can already see multiple FFIX characters, so hopefully the other games will receive equal treatment. If so, that would be amazing!

 

[Vivi-Gamer]

I REALLY hope this gets a PS4 release, S-E have been quite generous in spreading their ports onto other systems the last few years so one can hope.

Surprised to see Steiner of all things, even Vivi in replacement for a generic black Mage is a treat!

Here's a shot of ol' Gil:

 

[Miko]

It's been forever since I've played Chocobo Racing. I'm actually excited to try and get my son into this, I think he'll really enjoy it. It's nice to see FFIX getting a little more TLC as well since it always seems like the other games get a bit more love - Vivi's Cid-Oglop car is honestly very cute, as is Steiner's! And while I hope for others sake that this game is released on other platforms, the Switch makes sense to me & I'm excited to kick my kid's butt at a racing game

I hate that DLC is so common place these days, especially when it feels like some games get released as an 'incomplete game' (I'm still mad about Animal Crossing), I can see where Chocobo GP could benefit later on from other DLC drops for other characters/tracks later on possibly. That said, hope there's more FFIX cast in the game, but happy to see Steiner & Vivi at the very least.

 

[Dionysos]

I like the look of Gilgamesh in this! It looks like he'll have a custom ability too using his swords, which suggests to me that racers might have unique abilities in addition to the regular track power-ups.

As for DLC, I would rather it not be DLC... But something like the Grand Prix (or whatever) system from Crash Nitro-Fueled might be cool. With that system as new track and new skins, etc, were released every month and people could race to earn in-game currency and exp in order to unlock these items. That encourages gameplay, keeping the game active for a while, whilst also not needing people to pay actual money in order to unlock them. Of course some people paid actual money in order to quickly gain this in-game currency, but it was never needed.

I suppose with an FFVI track being in this game (Zozo) we could expect some FFVI characters at least. Terra and Locke seem to be safe choices, but I would love to see a wildcard character. Since we have Steiner for FFIX, I don't think that is impossible.

 

[Dionysos]

Bit behind, but there is some gameplay footage which wasn't posted in this thread. It gives a proper insight into three of the tracks (Cid's Test Track, Gold Saucer and Zozo), and also seems to show that we can play as Ramuh too!

https://nintendowire.com/news/2021/09/29/preview-checking-out-three-tracks-from-chocobo-gp/

 

[Ilyena]

I saw this the other day and I'm really excited. I never actually played Chocobo Racing but I've been addicted to Switch lately and this looks like fun. Also, my kiddos are really into Mario Kart and it will be nice to have another racing game in the rotation. I'm especially excited to see the love for FFIX.

 

[Dionysos]

We now have a new trailer!

It shows that Terra has been revealed as a playable racer (piloting her Magitek armour no less!) as well as Titan and Shiva.



A few new tracks are showcased too. A beach map which might be called 'Monster Village' and has Sahagins in the background. A map which appears to be 'big bridge' (likely Gilgamesh's, and might have Ex-Death's castle in the background?).

There might be some other new things in this trailer, but it is too fast for me to see. If anyone else notices anything else, let us know!

Perhaps people might also like to know that we now have a release date of March 10th 2022.

 

[Dionysos]

I haven't been following FF news too closely for the past few weeks, but apparently this is a thing (link found in a discussion on a Discord server):

https://twitter.com/x/status/1481510197927555074

I guess for people (like me) who do not actually own a Switch, this free little app appetiser is better than nothing?

 

[Dionysos]

Some information about one of the chocobo characters called Camilla that I encountered on another server.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1487063160163033095

I'm not at all familiar with the Chocobo Dungeon (etc) franchise, and I have only played the original Chocobo Racing out of those games. Camilla doesn't appear in the latter, and therefore I do not know this character at all. She looks like a My Little Pony in chocobo form.

 

[Dionysos]

Chocobo GP has been released. A lot of people are enjoying it, but others have been put off by the season system and the temptation of microtransactions.

I think the principle worked in Crash Nitro Fueled (for me at least), because it was easy enough to race and unlock new characters and skins. But the temptation for kids to cut corners by paying (or kids getting their parents to pay) is a legitimate complaint. Lacking a Switch or this game myself, I have no idea how difficult it is to acquire the in-game currencies required to unlock characters without using real money. But with Square Enix addressing it, at least it should now be a bit easier for some people?

https://twitter.com/x/status/1502250904292102151

Is anybody playing it?

I would be, if only I had a Switch. I hope one day it might be released on a console. (I've been informed that the Switch does count as a console in its hybrid element, but perhaps in the way that a seal counts as a dog).

 

[Miko]

Lmao, to gift everyone perishable Mythril points, which is kinda the source of the problem, is a really bad 'sorry' gift.

I don't plan on going out of my way to get this anymore, which is really a shame because I was going to use this game as a gateway to Final Fantasy for my own kid. To have to pay additional money to enjoy my $50+ game to its fullest capabilities is such garbage in my eyes, and I shouldn't have to want to pay to advance myself forward quicker. It's such an intentional cash-grab tactic, and I realize $50+ is the standard for newly released games, but c'mon, this is a $50 free to play game at this rate. I feel like it shouldn't even be an option in this kind of game, so yeah, I get those parents, I don't want to have to listen to my kid ask me for money to buy in-game currency either.

Ugh, I dunno, maybe I'm blowing it out of proportion, but reading the twitter comments reaffirms my anger every time I think about it. FFXIV especially left a terrible taste in my mouth when they purposely left parts of the game out and made you purchase the DLC just to figure out what happened. Chocobo GP itself is very tacky, but the way things are going for video games in general is really shitty imo.

Or maybe I'm just in a bad mood, I don't know ಠ_ಠ



Also, Dan, you need to get yourself a Switch duuuuuude

 

[Dionysos]

Lmao, to gift everyone perishable Mythril points, which is kinda the source of the problem, is a really bad 'sorry' gift.

I don't plan on going out of my way to get this anymore, which is really a shame because I was going to use this game as a gateway to Final Fantasy for my own kid. To have to pay additional money to enjoy my $50+ game to its fullest capabilities is such garbage in my eyes, and I shouldn't have to want to pay to advance myself forward quicker. It's such an intentional cash-grab tactic, and I realize $50+ is the standard for newly released games, but c'mon, this is a $50 free to play game at this rate. I feel like it shouldn't even be an option in this kind of game, so yeah, I get those parents, I don't want to have to listen to my kid ask me for money to buy in-game currency either.

Ugh, I dunno, maybe I'm blowing it out of proportion, but reading the twitter comments reaffirms my anger every time I think about it. FFXIV especially left a terrible taste in my mouth when they purposely left parts of the game out and made you purchase the DLC just to figure out what happened. Chocobo GP itself is very tacky, but the way things are going for video games in general is really shitty imo.

Or maybe I'm just in a bad mood, I don't know ಠ_ಠ

The in-game currency is perishable? As in it becomes obsolete if you don't use it promptly? Yeah, that is pretty poor. I'm all for in-game currency being used to unlock new characters, skins, etc, but they should at least be a) relatively affordable, b) respect the player's time, and c) be stored so that the player can use them whenever they want/are able.

FFXIV especially left a terrible taste in my mouth when they purposely left parts of the game out and made you purchase the DLC just to figure out what happened.

Do you mean FFXV? If so, I do agree. The vanilla form of FFXV did come across as rushed (in terms of gameplay, and even the narrative itself, until they enhanced that for the Royal Edition). To understand the full story you needed to watch a feature length movie, and to get a full appreciation of the characters you needed to buy and play several DLC packages. I did like the lore of FFXV, despite its flaws, but that level of commitment was a huge ask.

If FFXIV, then I think that, while the game seems daunting during ARR and there is a lot of lore and also pointless stuff at first, the pace improves during the expansions. And each expansion, rather than being a DLC, really serves as an entirely separate game with its own plot and narrative themes, but starring the same characters and a continuous storyline. More like the MCU films and its build up to Endgame and beyond. It is a commitment, but in (eventually) a positive way.

Also, Dan, you need to get yourself a Switch duuuuuude

I wouldn't mind one. But I don't know of many reasons to get one right now. I'm a PlayStation guy all the way, and I can't think of many exclusives to draw me into buying a Switch.

I was tempted to get one for Chocobo GP, but that might not be a good idea right now?

 

[Miko]

Do you mean FFXV? If so, I do agree. The vanilla form of FFXV did come across as rushed (in terms of gameplay, and even the narrative itself, until they enhanced that for the Royal Edition). To understand the full story you needed to watch a feature length movie, and to get a full appreciation of the characters you needed to buy and play several DLC packages. I did like the lore of FFXV, despite its flaws, but that level of commitment was a huge ask.

If FFXIV, then I think that, while the game seems daunting during ARR and there is a lot of lore and also pointless stuff at first, the pace improves during the expansions. And each expansion, rather than being a DLC, really serves as an entirely separate game with its own plot and narrative themes, but starring the same characters and a continuous storyline. More like the MCU films and its build up to Endgame and beyond. It is a commitment, but in (eventually) a positive way.

Oops, I did mean FFXV. FFXIV respectively is a different beast in my opinion, and really MMOs in general. That said...yeah, Chocobo GP currency is totally expirable - which I believe is after 5 months, but when you have buyable bundles in the $80 range it's just freaking insulting. This game isn't even a physical copy outside of Asia

From what I've been seeing online it seems like the game itself is capable of being fun, but it's tediously, almost intentionally, slow gaining and has a bit of sabotaging elements at the end of courses to knock you down from 1st to last places. Some of the more desirable unlockable characters aren't even accessible until much later in the game with a higher level, which is not easily obtainable by the sounds of how slow growing things can be. It's a bit of a time-eater, which is kinda funny since it's a racing game. |:


Microtransactions man. They have no business being in a purchasable game IMO, especially one as expensive as this, and I can't tell if they're just trying to take advantage of me as a nostalgic Final Fantasy fan, or if they're taking advantage of my kid, which the game is kinda geared towards. It's both, really, but come on. It's just so insulting. Gah!

 

[Dionysos]

View attachment 11865 Oops, I did mean FFXV. FFXIV respectively is a different beast in my opinion, and really MMOs in general. That said...yeah, Chocobo GP currency is totally expirable - which I believe is after 5 months, but when you have buyable bundles in the $80 range it's just freaking insulting. This game isn't even a physical copy outside of Asia

From what I've been seeing online it seems like the game itself is capable of being fun, but it's tediously, almost intentionally, slow gaining and has a bit of sabotaging elements at the end of courses to knock you down from 1st to last places. Some of the more desirable unlockable characters aren't even accessible until much later in the game with a higher level, which is not easily obtainable by the sounds of how slow growing things can be. It's a bit of a time-eater, which is kinda funny since it's a racing game. |:


Microtransactions man. They have no business being in a purchasable game IMO, especially one as expensive as this, and I can't tell if they're just trying to take advantage of me as a nostalgic Final Fantasy fan, or if they're taking advantage of my kid, which the game is kinda geared towards. It's both, really, but come on. It's just so insulting. Gah!

This really does sound awful then. If the in-game currency is expirable and also relatively useless (if it takes a long time to be able to unlock characters, etc) then that isn't really respecting their consumers. I remember Crash Nitro Fueled was similarly criticised, but at least that game made it easy to unlock characters (usually, if I am not mistaken, amongst the first things you can unlock per month) and it was things like vehicles and skins that took longer. Which I felt was fairer. Plus, Crash Nitro Fueled already had ALL of the characters and tracks that were available in Crash Team Racing and Crash Nitro Kart, so the additional racers were all extra and all received favourably. They were NOT racers which should have been in from the start.

If Chocobo GP is giving people an incomplete game at full price and making it difficult to unlock characters we all really wanted to be able to play as from the beginning, then that's sad. They've misjudged this.

 

[79Tidus]

I played with my Switch Lite and I found it funny enough!

 

[Voltaire Adams]

What a huge let down this game ended up being...

I tried my hardest to work with the mechanics of this game presented but between it all being so exploitative and a grind, and then those mechanics not even working when you need them to...I had to give up. There were just too many times that I would waste my stickers by losing a race that made me do the 4th lap and end up in last place when I had been in the top 4 at the end of lap 3.

I know they will or already have fixed things, but the fact that I've already missed the season 1 rewards because the game is unplayable is just too much for me to ever want to return.

I'm just always going to be bummed about shelling out $50 and this being what I was rewarded with...