Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon review

A delightful dungeon crawler for those who don't think that's an oxymoron

GamesRadar+ Verdict

Pros

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    Surprisingly decent story

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    Job system offers combat variety

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    Wonderfully nostalgia-inducing soundtrack

Cons

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    Losing your items when you die

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    Some frustrating special rules dungeons

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    Battles still too simplistic at times

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The story, while not incredibly profound, is suprisingly good for a kid-friendly dungeon crawler. Instead of the usual battle of good vs evil, the conflict here is all about forgetting vs remembering. In the land of Memoria, there's a town called Lostime with a huge clocktower in the center. Every time the clocktower's bell chimes, it causes selective amnesia to anyone who hears it. The townspeople are divided as to whether or not this is a good thing - some want to forget painful memories, but others yearn to remember, no matter how difficult. As a brave Chocobo named Chocobo, it's your job to dive into people's heads (aka dungeons) and recover their lost memories.

Each dungeon is a grid-based series of floors, with tons of monsters and items randomly throughout. The battle system is simple, as your only options are moving from square to square, attacking, and using special attacks (which consume SP). As you walk around your health and special attack meter constantly replenish, but your hunger levels increase, so you've got to constantly maintain a balance among the three by eating food and walking around. It sounds tedious, but it's pretty easy to keep a good balance with little effort.

More info

GenreRole Playing
DescriptionSurprisingly good for a kid-friendly dungeon crawler, Chocobo's Dungeon features an addictive job system and lots of different dungeons to explore.
Franchise nameFinal Fantasy
UK franchise nameFinal Fantasy
Platform"Wii"
US censor rating"Everyone 10+"
UK censor rating""
Release date1 January 1970 (US), 1 January 1970 (UK)
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GamesRadarCarolynGudmundson
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