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| From: Square Enix
Category: Video Games
List Price: $19.99
Buy New: $14.95
You Save: $5.04 (25%)
New (23) Used (12) from $8.50
Avg. Customer Rating:  14 reviews
Sales Rank: 9708
Format: Dvd-ram
Platform: Nintendo Ds
ESRB: Everyone
Media: Video Game
Batteries Included: No
Age: 5 - 20 years
Operating System: Nintendo DS
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 0.1 x 0 x 0.1
Console-to-PortableConnectivity
E-Reader
MPN: 90701
Model: 90701
UPC: 662248907017
EAN: 0662248907017
ASIN: B000NKPFFM
Release Date: April 3, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 not as expected July 9, 2007
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
was not that fun compared to other rpg game, it can do a lot better. i guess i thought it'll be more like ffiii so i was disappointed when i played it.
 Not Just A Kid's Game July 8, 2007
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
Chocobo Tales is a highly rewarding and surprising game. Because of the cute design, I expected it to be very easy, and was afraid it would be a failure like FF Tactics Advance. I couldn't have been more wrong! This game meets and far exceeds expectations.
The story isn't much to look at, it's true. Basically, by restoring power to the crystals containing water, fire, earth, and lightning, you're trying to halt and defeat the evil lord of darkness, Bebuzzu. His servant Irma (though she doesn't see herself that way) does her best to use her chocobo minions and put a damper on your plans. Your friends Shirma, Croma and Cid, as well as your chocobo pals, help you along the way.
The gameplay is innovative and fun. There are lots of classic FF enemies, as well as songs redone from various different FF games (the music is great), so it's a good pick for FF fans. But even if not, Chocobo Tales has plenty to offer. There are three different types of gameplay as you travel though the island: card battles, minigames, and microgames.
Cards are collected through minigames and microgames. Minigames are found inside of picture books, and must be played to further the story. They involve things like building houses from puzzle pieces, swimming through underwater caves to escape Leviathan, and correctly replaying music. There are many picture books, each with its own story and game.
Microgames are the one spot where the game gets HARD. They were put there for people who are looking for a challenge, and they deliver. There are always two requirements to beat: silver and gold. For each you get a card. Silver is generally pretty easy. But often, gold is ridiculously hard to defeat. They seem to know exactly what amount of points/time/etc. it takes to make winning seem impossible! But when you finally win it's very rewarding.
Card battles are somewhat complicated, but still easy to learn. Each card has a different color - red, yellow, green, blue, or gray - and different attributes. Elements do take effect; for example, lightning (yellow) will usually have a defense against water (blue). Gray is colorless, but more powerful. The battles are a combination of luck and strategy.
Sadly, you encounter less than 10 battles in the game. However, once you've gotten the professional deck you can battle using the Wi-Fi connection, which randomly picks an opponent in the world and lets you get to it. Being good at mini and microgames and choosing your deck intelligently will make these battles a lot easier.
The graphics are spectacular. The game melds a drawn style similar to Okami and Paper Mario with 3D computerization. The 3D look is given to the island you're traveling around, and the drawn look is reserved for the inside of picture books and the monsters in card battles. It makes the game very interesting to look at.
Overall, Chocobo Tales is a surprisingly wonderful game! In my opinion, it's the best FF game to come out since FFT. It's nowhere near as complex, pretty, or popular as FFX or something, but I think it's much more perfect. I enjoyed it a lot. I've played over 20 hours and I still haven't managed to beat all of the minigames! I recommend for gamers of all ages.
Hint: At the ending credits, don't just sit there! There's still another game to be played!
Note: If you're looking for another good RPG, Etrian Odyssey is getting 5 star reviews everywhere for being old-style and neato.
loved it June 7, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
tons of mini games, not too easy, not too hard, just right! awesome game.
Kid-Friendly Fun with a Few Issues May 19, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Final Fantasy Fables - Chocobo Tales takes the intriguing world of Final Fantasy and turns it into a young kid friendly mixture of minigames and simple storyline.
Where most other Final Fantasy games involve storylines and in-game management that might be too complex for the younger set, with Final Fantasy Fables - Chocobo Tales we have a storyline that is very sanitized and gentle. Perhaps my only real complaint here is that they make fun of a friend they call "chubby" who likes to eat all the time. I'm sorry, if I saw a bunch of kids constantly making fun of a kid and calling him "Chubby", I'd be less than pleased. There'd be a real outcry if the characters were making ethnic slurs about kids, but apparently picking on the overweight is great fun.
You've got friends to save, cards to collect, and books to jump into. The books have a moral-promoting story and then related games to play. The games, again, are on a non-violent, child-friendly level. Given that pleasant situation, I was a little sad to find that the difficulty level of the games seem to vary wildly. Some games are incredibly easy to "win" - gamers of all level of skill do so easily. Other games are so difficult that even very experienced gamers find them nigh on impossible.
The graphics are an intriguing attempt at mixing 2D and 3D graphics. Sometimes it works reasonably well - but sometimes the developers do a poor job at laying out their screen. Things that appear easy to get to are actually impossible - while in other situations items that you should go to aren't drawn well enough to see. With this being a game geared at beginner gamers, it can become quite frustrating.
I do appreciate that this is a basic game that will help to lure in gamers unfamiliar with the Final Fantasy genre, helping them pick up the basics of the characters and card game style without having to spend months memorizing sphere grids or skill trees. I'm all for adult gamers and experienced gamers enjoying simple-style games. I adore Paper Mario, still enjoy Adventure with its duck-dragons, and love puzzle games that all ages can enjoy.
So while I think the concept here is great, they should have done some more work on the testing phase to work out the kinks with the graphics and mini-games. Perhaps a next version will be worthy of five stars to me, but I'll give this one four for coming close.
Final Fantasy: A lovable brand name May 19, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
At first I was a little skeptical with the whole "storybook" approach. After the first few mini-games though I became hooked. All the main mini-games are a lot of fun, plus there are tons of other sidequest mini-games. The card duel style is interesting but nonetheless fun. I think any Final Fantasy fan would enjoy all of the references to classic monsters and characters. The games are fun, and some are suprisingly challenging to fully unlock. Overall I give this game a 4/5.
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