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C H O C O B O 'S W O R L D
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F A Q
version 0.87 == October 15, 1999
======================================
Final Fantasy VIII: Chocobo's World FAQ
[--a final fantasy viii mini-game for the sony pocketstation--]
version 0.87, 15oct99
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
0. Table of Contents.
1. Intro.
2. Instructions.
__From the US FFVIII Instruction Book.
3. The Menu Screen.
__Pages 1-7.
4. Fighting.
__System.
__Damage & Weapons.
__Enemies.
5. Exploring.
__Major Events.
__??? Events.
6. Level Data.
__Deciding HP.
__ID.
__Weapons.
7. Item Data.
__Recieving Items in FFVIII
8. Misc.
__U.S./Japanese Differences.
__Character Names.
9. Outro.
__Versions.
__Sources.
__Legal.
__Contact.
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
1. Intro.
Chocobo's World is a 'solo-RPG' for the Sony PocketStation, and is
directly compatible with the Squaresoft Playstation RPG Final Fantasy
VIII. In the game, you play a young Chicobo named Boco who sets off to
find his friend Mog. Along the way you'll not only find Mog, but also
love, action, excitement, drama, and horror... and fishing. Lots of
fishing...
This document is a look at Chocobo's World in both it's U.S./Canada and
Japanese forms. The game is virtually identical in both regions, so all
of the data should apply to both version of the game (as well as the
European version, which I know nothing about...). Although this FAQ is
not complete, it might help answer some of the questions that you might
have about how this wonderfully random game works...
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
2. Instructions.
Although it's assumed that if you have access to Chocobo's World you
will have the FFVIII instruction book, I have reprinted (and clarified)
the instructions for people that may have imported the Japanese version
without a full working knowledge of Japanese... Also, some of the
wording is a bit off or confusing, so I've tried to fix that...
__Instructions from the U.S. FFVIII instruction book.(
(changes/clarifications are in [brackets])
page 38 POCKETSTATION
(*NOTE: Chocobo World requires the PocketStation person game unit, which
may not be available for purchase outside of Japan.)
CHOCOBO WORLD
After obtaining [a] Chocobo in the actual game, the player will be able
to [download] Chocobo World, a mini-game played on the PocketStation*
personal game unit. Select on the [Final Fantasy VIII] Menu
Screen while the PocketStation personal game unit is inserted into [one
of] the MEMORY CARD slot[s]. Boco[, your Chicobo,] will move into the
PocketStation personal game unit with the command and return to
the FINAL FANTASY VIII game with the command.
If the player would like to save in the "Home" mode, it will be
necessary to save the game data using the regular save method in FINAL
FANTASY VIII.
(picture of the PocketStation showing the buttons - the four buttons in
the shape of a diamond on the left hand side are referred to up, down,
left, and right respectively. The larger button on the right is called
the enter button, and the infared communication port is at the very top
of the unit.)
Boco [or whatever you have chosen to call your Chicobo] - A Chicobo
(baby Chocobo) who follows [the] Chocobo [that you ride in the
main Final Fantasy VIII game]
MiniMog - A lost infant Mog
Events Occur when Boco Encounters Friends
While moving on the Walking Screen, certain events will occur. Starting
with Cactuar [aka. Cactrot] who hands out items, various characters and
friends await Boco's appearance in order to help Boco out along his
journey.
page 39 POCKETSTATION
WHAT TO DO
Boco embarks on an epic journey.
Finding a Chicobo in FINAL FANTASY VIII and saving it to the
PocketStation personal game unit will enable the player to enjoy the
games listed in the following section. Finding Mog will be the primary
objective in Chocobo World.
1. Finding Mod.
Try to find the MiniMog who has become lost within the PocketStation
personal game unit.
2. Raise the Chicobo
Boco, who appears as a Guardian Force (GF) in FINAL FANTASY VIII, can
only be raised in the PocketStation personal game unit. For information
on how to raise Boco, refer to the section[] "[B]attle & Leveling Up" on
page 40.
3. Collecting Items
Items found in Chocobo World can be brought back into the world of FINAL
FANTASY VIII. There may even be rare items that cannot be found in the
actual FINAL FANTASY VIII game.
HOW TO PLAY
Learn Various Maneuvers
There are three different screens in Chocobo World. Refer to the
following information to learn how to play on each screen. Playing
methods and battle arrangements are explained below.
WALKING SCREEN
Main Game Screen - Move Boco in any [of the cardinal] direction[s]
up button Walk Boco further away (North)
down button Walk Boco closer (South)
left button Walk Boco left (West)
right button Walk Boco right (East)
[hold any directional button Make Boco run in that direction]
enter button Display Menu Screen
MENU SCREEN
Confirm status and movement methods. Can also check settings for the
optical communication function [as well as display the current time].
up/down button[s] Select/Toggle between displayed menu
settings
left/right button[s] Scroll through the menus
enter button Use the optical communication function,
send data to another PocketStation
personal game unit. Otherwise, return
to Walking Screen.
BATTLE SCREEN
The screen changes to the Battle Screen upon encountering an enemy, and
battle begins.
up button Not Applicable
down button Not Applicable
left/right button[s] By pressing them alternately, the ATB
count will reach 0 sooner.
enter button Not Applicable
BATTLE & LEVELING UP
Upon encountering an enemy, the screen will switch to a Battle Screen,
and battle will ensue. When the [one of the] numbers displayed in the
bottom middle portion of the screen[, the ATB] (the left number is the
enemy's, the right number is Boco's) reach[es] 0, [an] attack[] will be
waged [by the fighter whose ATB has reached zero. After the attack has
hit, both ATB counters will reset]. Upon winning a battle, Boco will
receive magic stones. If the stones line up[, either vertically,
diagonally, or horizontally], Boco's level will increase [by one].
DEFEAT
When [your HPs reach zero, Boko will be] defeated[. Following this,]
Boco will [] sleep until [his] HP [are] completely recovered. It is
possible to wake Boco up during sleep, but it is best to wait until [he]
has recovered completely.
- It is possible to fight against a friend's "Boco" using the optical
communication function. Select from the Menu
Screen.
- Hold down the enter button to switch to the CONTINUE/EXIT Menu Screen.
It will then be possible to select [(save game and quit to
PocketStation main screen)] or {continue game).
- 7 memory blocks will be used exclusively for the PocketStation [game,
Chocobo World].
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
3. The Menu Screen.
As the instructions state, the Menu Screen is accessed by pressing the
enter button during Walking Mode (which I'll probably refer to as
Exploration Mode). What the instructions don't clarify is how to use
the menu screen to your advantage...
__Page 1: The Map Screen.
The first page that will load up is the map screen. It will show your
current location (a flashing dot), locations of the events in the level,
your current level, and the current time (not in-game time, but real-
world). Not much to really do here, but you'll constantly be checking it
for event locations, and how to best navigate the level.
__Page 2: The Status Screen.
The second page is another page that you'll be visiting frequently. It
shows your weapon, your current level (LV), current/maximum hit points
(HP), and your ID number. The first few things are pretty obvious, but
the ID number is still a bit of a mystery to me... More on this in
section 7...
__Page 3: The Item Screen.
A really basic screen - shows the number of each item (A, B, C, or D)
that you have.
__Page 4: The Communications Screen.
This is only used for communicating with other PocketStations. I've
never tried it, so I can't really say much here...
__Page 5: The Event Wait Screen.
OK. This is a pretty important screen if you want to get through the
Mini-Game quickly. While it would make the most sense to leave the Event
Wait On, if speed is of the essence, turn it Off. When it's On, the
game will wait for you to press the enter button before entering an
event. This includes all events - battle, meeting friends, and any other
events. So if you want to let the game play itself, it won't. However,
to get through the game, maintaining your sanity (and not destroying
your PocketStation's left and right buttons), set it to Off so that it
will only pause before major events (these happen on levels 20, 50, 75,
and 100).
__Page 6: The Mog Screen.
This is a screen that I didn't touch most of the time. I'm not sure what
the purpose of having Mog sleep is, so I always had him on StandBy, so
that if Boco was in trouble, he'd come to the rescue... This is only
available after you find Mog for the first time (around or on level 20).
__Page 7: The Move Screen.
This set the amount that Boco will wander from the straight and narrow.
If the move is set on 1 (the minimum), he will just keep walking in a
straight line. If it's set on 6 (the maximum), he will turn when he sees
an event point to his front, left, or right (but not to his back). Of
course, this does sometimes backfire, as there can be a point very close
to him that he won't see... Anyway, to get the game going as fast as you
can, set it to 6.
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
4. Fighting.
__System.
As with any RPG, Chocobo's World has it's fair share of fighting.
However, the enemies are all pretty similar... Anyway, the fighting
method is simple - each combatant has an ATB gauge, represented by a
number from 9 down, that will decrease over time. When the number
reaches zero, an attack is dealt, and both ATB gauges reset. You can
speed up the ATB gauge by pressing left and right alternately.
So how do you not totally destroy your PocketStation's buttons? Well,
most of the fights, you can just let the PocketStation fight on it's
own. You'll lose more often this way, but it's safer on the system, and
your fingers & sanity... A second option is to press the buttons until
you are one or two numbers ahead, and then let it time down. Both of the
gauges will decrease at an even rate (I believe that this is always
true...) if no buttons are being pressed, so once you're ahead, you
should be fine. As for always pressing the buttons to get the ATB gauge
down as quick as possible, it's really not necessary...
__Damage & Weapons.
The way that damage is dealt is simple. Your weapon is made up of four
numbers, ranging from 0 to 9. One of those numbers will be randomly
picked every time that a combatant does damage (your opponent has a
similar 4-number weapon of it's own), and that number is subtracted from
the other person's HP. First one to 0 loses...
As for the weapons themselves, they, like most of the things in this
game, are randomly generated (to a certain extent). You should start out
with a 1-1-1-1, and for your first time through the game, you can end
with as high as a 9-6-9-7. The most powerful weapon, a 9-9-9-9, is only
obtainable by playing through the game 7 times (I believe - don't quote
me on this).
__Enemies.
There are a whopping four normal enemies in the game, and a single boss.
All of them fight in a similar manner, and aren't really all that
different from each other. Gotta love the names, too:
Name: Monster A
Map: 1-100
HP: LV+6
Descrip: A living shadow.
Name: Monster B
Map: 10-100
HP: LV+8
Descrip: A winged ball.
Name: Monster C
Map: 30-100
HP: LV+10
Descrip: A blob.
Name: Monster D
Map: 70-100
HP: LV+16
Descrip: A large rock monster.
Name: Resutobosu
Map: ??
HP: 99
Descrip: The shade-looking enemy that stole Koko!
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
5. Exploring.
The bulk of the game is taken up by simple exploration via the 'Walking
Screen' ('Exploration Mode [or Screen]' would have sounded so much
better...). You get a wonderful, never-changing landscape, with the sun
contantly blaring down on you, and mile after mile of sandy wastelands.
Sounds like fun, eh?
Each game is made up of 100 randomly generated levels. Each level will
have about 10 (give or take) event points that can be seen via the Map
Page of the Menu Screen. These points will occasionally appear (again,
randomly), so it's pretty much impossible to clear an entire board.
While exploring, Boco occasionally gets bored. He'll do whatever he
feels like - sleep, eat, go fishing... You know - the like. This,
accompanied by his lack of direction, can make for a very, very long
game...
__Major Events.
At specific levels in the games certain major events will occur. These
are events that will create an Event Wait screen even if you have the
option turned off. Here's a summary (and I suppose it should be noted
that the following contain spoilers, not that this game is huge on
story...):
Level: Event: Description:
20 Boco meets Koko. Boco, a young, strapping male Chicobo,
meets Koko, a pretty young femal Chicobo.
Of course, in normal dramatic fashion, she
doesn't notice him, while he goes crazy
over her. Such a dramatic story, told in
grand Shakespearian overtones in wonderous
black and white 64x64 pixel glory.
50 Boco's first kiss. (note: event wait must be on)
Ah yes, young lovers. It makes the heart
flutter, doesn't it? Although I missed
this scene, I'm sure that it is full of
all of the passion and romance of a dime-
store Harlequin novel, and will make all
of you stone-hearted gamers melt where you
stand...
50 Oops. (note: event wait must be off)
Oh, that silly Boco. He fell down a hole
and died. Whoops. That's what you get for
having the event wait off... Never fear,
like any death in this game, he
immediately is revived, although a bit
sleepy...
75 Sitting 'round Yes, this is what friends are for. Cactrot
the fire... (aka. Cactuar aka. Saboteaur) and Moomba
sitting around the fire, enjoying each
other's company... And our friend Boco?
Well, seeing as I barely remember this
scene, I don't know what Boco is doing.
Hmmm... Maybe he and Koko are, um,
enjoying each others' company? Oh my, and
so so young...
100 Kidnapped! After going through 100 levels of mind-
numbing, repetative battle and the same...
exact... scenery... you're rewarded with
your girlfriend/love interest getting
kidnapped? What is this world coming to?
?? Resutobosu Well, I'm not _quite_ sure what this event
is, as I've never gotten it, but it
involves fighting Koko's kidnapper in a
battle to the death... And unfortunately,
he has 99 HPs... Have fun!
__??? events.
Occasionally Boco will get side-tracked and start doing something
totally unrelated to the quest. This works the same as sleeping - Boco's
HP will slowly be refilled. Boco's other interests include, but aren't
limited to:
-watching TV
-having a picnic
-fishing
-sitting around the campfire (does this happen normally, or did I just
catch this on level 75?)
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
6. Level Data.
Although most of the game is random, there is one part that isn't -
Boco's levels (LV). Boco raises levels through magic stones - you need
to get three magic stones in a row, either vertically, horizontally, or
diagonally (OK, so this is semi-random). Either let the stone stop
spinning through the available slots on it's own, or press the enter
button to stop it.
__Deciding HP.
In each game Boco can raise to Level 100. His HP are decided in the
following manner: Each time that you play through the game (in the chart
this is his grade - 7 is the first time that you play, 1 is the 7th...),
there is a bonus number that is attached to it. This is a contant
number, and helps figure what Boco's HP is. This number, added to Boco's
current level divided by 4. Confused yet? Refer to the following chart
and equasion:
Grade: Bonus: Maximum HP (or HP on LV 100):
1 16 41
2 12 37
3 10 35
4 9 34
5 8 33
6 7 32
7 6 31
Boco's HP = Bonus + (Boco's LV / 4)
-round down-
Example 1:
My first time through the game (Grade 7), Boco had a HP of 30 on LV 99.
Hence:
HP = 6 + (99 / 4) -round down-
HP = 6 + (24)
HP = 30
Example 2:
Upon leveling up to LV 100 in this same game, his HP rose to 31.
Hence:
HP = 6 + (100 / 4)
HP = 6 + (25)
HP = 31
Sounded harder that it is, right?
__ID.
OK. I'm not quite sure what Boco's ID is, but I believe that it has
something to do with the Items that you recieve upon re-entering FFVIII,
as well as something to do with your Grade (number of times throught the
game)
Here's a random chart:
Grade: Serial Number:
1 1
2 3
3 8
4 9
5 9
6 90
7 880
As far as I can tell, this means that your first time through the game
your ID will be lower than 880, your second time it will be lower than
90, third time lower than 9, etc. - I'm not positive about this. There
are kanji in the chart that I can't read (the chart, as well as most of
the material in this section, is taken from the Japanese FFVIII
Ultimania Strategy Guide). I'll add more to this section the more that I
play the game...
__Weapons.
Here's a short section for you - as Grade 7 (first time playing the
game) your maximum weapon will be 9-6-9-7 (although I only found a 9-6-
9-5), but once you reach Grade 1 (7th time through) you can acquire a 9-
9-9-9.
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
7. Item Data.
OK. There's a lot of info that will be added to this section (hopefully)
eventually, but for now, it's pretty sparse. When playing through the
game, you'll get Items, marked A, B, C, or D, from Cactrot. Your
probability of getting s certain item is based on the following chart
(grade again being the number of times through the game...):
Grade: A: B: C: D:
1 25% 25% 25% 25%
2 5% 35% 30% 30%
3 4% 10% 46% 40%
4 3% 10% 37% 50%
5 2% 10% 28% 60%
6 1% 5% 24% 70%
7 0% 5% 15% 80%
This doesn't mean that you'll get the items in that proportion. My Grade
7 game netted me 12 Bs, 14 Cs, and 99 Ds. Obviously, I got 0 As that
game as they are literally impossible to get. However, by even playing
through Grade 6 you should get at least one A (assuming that you recieve
around 100 items or more, which I easily did...).
__Recieving Items in FFVIII.
Obviously, your reason for collecting the As, Bs, Cs, and Ds is to
exchange them for items in the full FFVIII game. The items that you get
is dependant (as far as I can tell) on your Grade and ID, as well as
what Chocobo's World items you've collected. There are two tables, each
containing a different set of items, that you may get items from - this
is how you'll recieve different items depending on your Grade and ID...
Of course, which table you get for which Grade and ID I don't know
yet... Anyway, each CW item has a set group of FFVIII items that it can
become, and a set chance of becoming that item. A rare item will have a
chance of 1/64, while a more common item will have up to a 13/64 chance
(this only occurs in D, though). A quick glance at the tables shows that
the chances for Ds range from 1/64 - 13/64, Cs are either 1/64 or 2/64,
Bs are 1/64-3/64, and As are from 1/64-5/64. I'll try to have the table
up by the next revision, but I'm not guaranteeing any sort of
completeness - again, it's all in Japanese, and contains many unfamiliar
Kanji... Plus, those names would then have to be translated to the
English version names...
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
8. Misc.
__Changes in the Japanese and US versions.
There is a single in-game change - the title screen. The Japanese title
screen has the name in Katakana, while the US one has it in English with
a silhouette of a Chicobo and a Chicobo feather.
Aside from that, there are misc. name changes (Chicobos are Kochocobos
in Japan, and I'm not sure what Boco's Japanese name is... also Cactuars
are Saboteaurs, etc.). The entire Japanese PocketStation game is in
English, though, so there's no translation that I'm aware of...
Obviously, all of the FFVIII interface has been translated...
__How I Refer to Characters in this FAQ.
Well, there are two things that I do in this FAQ that may bug some
people, so here's an explanation. I always go with default names (or
almost always - Bartz in FFV will be an exception - Butz all the way!),
so although your Chocobo may not be named Boco, in this FAQ, he will be.
Also, since the original Boco from FFV is a male, I refer to the Chicobo
Boco as such. Plus, he's going after Koko, who is (assumed) to be
female. If you want to see them in a different light, be my guest.
You also may note that I occasionally call Cactuar 'Cactrot.' I'm not
sure when the name was changed, but from my SNES FF days, I remember him
as such. Same enemy, different name...
Lastly, although it's not a character, I'll mention it - I hate the name
'Walking Screen', so I will occasionally call it the much better
sounding 'Exploration Mode'.
__How to Obtain a PocketStation.
Well, I live in Japan, so I'm not really much help - I bought mine at my
local game store... But... Online game stores that have carried them in
the past:
NCS (http://www.ncsx.com)
the Rage (http://therage.com)
Tronix (http://www.tronixweb.com)
There are probably others, but these are the only ones that I remember.
I've only dealt with NCS, and would wholeheartedly recommend them. I've
heard good things about the other two as well...
Expect to pay a decent amount for a PocketStation, though - they retail
for 3000 Japanese Yen, which is about US$28. However, I've heard that
the prices may have settled around US$50-55, so be aware. Also, if
anyone tells you that they are hard to find or still in high demand,
they're not. Although they still sell quite a few every week, it is
very, very, very easy to find them here. This has been the case for
about 2 months now - the high demand/scarecity factor has all but
disappeared, but still be careful of people trying to make a fast buck.
As for the probability that Sony will release the PocketStation in the
US/Canada/Europe/etc, I'd say that it will happen eventually, with the
key word being eventually. There are rumours of a re-design and re-
launch for the Playstation 2, and all that I've heard says that the
US/Europe will not recieve the item until then (Winter 2000, probably).
Basically, don't be scared that Sony will release then in your area
right after you buy one - it probably won't happen...
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
9. Outro.
__Versions.
ver.0.87 15.Oct.99
Everything added. First release.
__Sources.
Final Fantasy VIII Ultimania
ISBN4-925075-49-7
Primary source, aside from the game, was the excellent "Final Fantasy
VIII Ultimania," edited by Studio BentStuff, released by DigiCube,
licensed by Square. FFVIIIUlt is a 480 page Strategy Guide/Bible that
covers every possible aspect of FFVIII, aside from the actual text
(which is available in a different book called 'Final Fantasy VIII
Wish You Were Here'). Chapter 8 is devoted to Chocobo, and about 10
pages total are devoted to the PocketStation game. All of the charts
were copied from this book, as was a lot of the other data. The book
is still in print, retails for 1500 Japanese Yen (about $14), and is
invaluable even if you can't read Japanese (will 100 pages of maps be
enough? How about stats for every enemy, including stats for
different levels that the enemy might be at? Oh, there's so, so
much...)
-as a side note, Ultimania are available for SaGa Frontier II (over
500 pages) and Seiken Densetsu: The Legend of Mana (over 600 pages)
Final Fantasy VIII Instruction Manual (U.S. version)
The instruction manual that came with the game. Obviously, most of
section 2 is copied directly from it...
Final Fantasy VIII (U.S. version)
The in-game Chocobo's World tutorial came in use as well, and will
eventually make it's way into the doc...
__Legal.
Square, Squaresoft, Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy VIII, Chocobo's World,
Chicobo, Kochocobo, Boco, Triple Triad, Squall Leonhart, Rinoa
Heartilly, Seifer Almasy, Zell Dincht, Quistis Trepe, Selphie Tilmett,
Irvine Kinneas, Laguna Loire, Kiros Seagill, Ward Zabac, Edea, Cid
Kramer, Fuujin, Raijin, Raine, Ellone, Sant' Angelo di Roma, Balamb,
Dollet, F.H., Esthar, Timber, Galbadia, Centra, Trabia, Garden, SeeD,
Ragnarok, GF, Guardian Forces, Ultimania, and any other FFVIII-related
names/etc. that I haven't listed, but may be applicable, are copyright
1998-1999 Square Co. Ltd. and/or DigiCube. Sony, Playstation, and
PocketStation, are copyright Sony. I have no idea whose copyright Family
Mart is. 7-Eleven is probably copyright 7-Eleven, but I don't really
know. All other trademarks are copyright of their respective holders.
This document is copyright J.T.Kauffman 1999 and cannot be reproduced
for profit in any form. It can be freely distributed over the internet
as long as it is unaltered and is only distributed on free (i.e. non-
subscription) sites. If you do choose to post this document on your
site, please email me to let me know.
All information is provided at your own risk.
__Contact.
J.T.Kauffman
stormwalker@hotmail.com
since 15oct99,
Shibata, Miyagi, Japan.
jt.