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CHOCOBO GP
review | SWITCH
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Publisher: Square Enix.
Developer: Arika. Released: March 2022. Genre: Racing. Posted 20th December 2025. By Shane Battams © 2025 |
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Dissecting Chocobo GP, a sequel to Chocobo Racing that comes some two decades after the PlayStation original, is quite tricky. Not so much because it’s overly technical, but because like a lot of modern releases, several huge updates changed things. Originally garnering significant controversy for a predatory monetisation system and locking content behind a dreaded Battle Pass, Square Enix would backpedal nine months later. Removing the microtransactions, letting all players access the content and delisting a F2P lite version meant that a lot of the criticism levied suddenly evaporated. Now the dust has settled, how does this kart racer fare in its own right, especially on a platform with stiff competition?
GP doesn’t hide its influences, but proves a competent kart racer for the most part. As one of several characters from a myriad of Final Fantasy games including mainline titles and various Chocobo spin-offs, you’ll race across nine tracks that comprise up to four variations. These encompass short routes to more technical affairs, encompassing both story zones and locations familiar to series fans, such as Alexandria from FFIX. There are also power-ups in the form of magicite. You can cast haste for a boost, throw elemental powers, and even transform into Bahamut for a short time. There are also unlockable karts that change a character’s stats and abilities, the latter of which proving interesting as they include huge speed boosts and offensive powers. Handling is solid, and the boost system works well as you drift to build spark or perform tricks over jumps. It’s not going to blow you away, but the fundamentals are at least solid.
Though the track design is mostly fairly tame, Chocobo GP offers colourful, fun racing for those invested in Final Fantasy lore
A few issues see Chocobo GP lagging behind the best, however. Track design is very basic, with a majority offering straightforward routes and, but for a couple of courses, lacking features such as shortcuts. Gold Saucer’s tracks have some cool loops and carry the risk of falling, while Alexandria has retracting gates to pay attention to, but that’s about it. The AI borders on cheap sometimes, banding to catch you up and sometimes repeatedly pummelling you with power-ups. Going from first to last on the final lap is immensely frustrating, and bubble power-ups don’t always protect you. The roster is also a touch uneven. Naturally, there’s quite a heavy focus on Chocobo games, and some Final Fantasy stalwarts like Terra and Steiner become available. However, a lot of the protagonists just aren’t especially interesting to play as. Sometimes, it feels a touch half-hearted.
That being said, fans may still find plenty to enjoy. The story mode, while pretty brief, is novel. Adopting the same storybook aesthetic as Chocobo Racing, it follows a motley crew of characters who enter a racing competition in the hopes of having their wish granted. It’s saccharine sweet for sure, but has a quirky side with lots of meta jokes, nods to prior game tropes, and easter eggs for fans. The only issue is its aforementioned brevity and some less-than-engaging challenges. Each race has a main objective and side challenges, which require you to finish a race swiftly and pass each lap in first place. However, considering the unpredictable nature of the AI and power-ups, this is far easier said than done, and not very enticing. Completing the game unlocks Extra mode, where you can reveal more vehicles and tickets (and use any character on any race), but it’s more of the same. For its brief runtime though, Chocobo GP is still enjoyable.
That being said, fans may still find plenty to enjoy. The story mode, while pretty brief, is novel. Adopting the same storybook aesthetic as Chocobo Racing, it follows a motley crew of characters who enter a racing competition in the hopes of having their wish granted. It’s saccharine sweet for sure, but has a quirky side with lots of meta jokes, nods to prior game tropes, and easter eggs for fans. The only issue is its aforementioned brevity and some less-than-engaging challenges. Each race has a main objective and side challenges, which require you to finish a race swiftly and pass each lap in first place. However, considering the unpredictable nature of the AI and power-ups, this is far easier said than done, and not very enticing. Completing the game unlocks Extra mode, where you can reveal more vehicles and tickets (and use any character on any race), but it’s more of the same. For its brief runtime though, Chocobo GP is still enjoyable.
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There are plenty of modes complementing the story, too. Quick Races allow you to set up custom events and change aspects such as the speed of the racing, AI difficulty and whether there are power-ups. Time attack is self-explanatory, while Series Races features dozens of four-race tournaments to partake in and earn more tickets for unlockables. There’s a lot of multiplayer support here, allowing you to pair up on a single console or use multiple to allow eight-player competition. This is also available for online, along with the GP Mode. This sees 64 racers competing across multiple events, with the top four continuing to the final event. It’s enjoyable to partake in and ups the stakes, with plenty of rewards to be earned for victory. If you vibe with Chocobo GP’s brand of racing, it should keep you playing for a while.
The presentation is what you’d expect, a colourful and charming racer. Characters aren’t exactly detailed, but look clean and animate nicely, especially with taunts you can perform and the storybook sequences. Stages enjoy vibrant lighting, and seeing a couple of classic FF locales reimagined as kart tracks is cool. Performance mostly holds steady at 60fps, meaning races run smoothly. The sound is solid too, especially the soundtrack. From the guitar-laden intro, to the cheesy menu theme and revamped tracks from games such as Chocobo Dungeon 2, they all hit the mark. The voicework is over-the-top as you’d expect, and the writing is enjoyably campy to match. The effects for racing and power-ups also do their job appropriately.
The presentation is what you’d expect, a colourful and charming racer. Characters aren’t exactly detailed, but look clean and animate nicely, especially with taunts you can perform and the storybook sequences. Stages enjoy vibrant lighting, and seeing a couple of classic FF locales reimagined as kart tracks is cool. Performance mostly holds steady at 60fps, meaning races run smoothly. The sound is solid too, especially the soundtrack. From the guitar-laden intro, to the cheesy menu theme and revamped tracks from games such as Chocobo Dungeon 2, they all hit the mark. The voicework is over-the-top as you’d expect, and the writing is enjoyably campy to match. The effects for racing and power-ups also do their job appropriately.
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Chocobo GP deservedly drew considerable ire with its original release model, but how does it fare now with the more mercenary practices removed? Arika’s effort is a solid kart racer, which likely won’t blow away diehard fans of Mario Kart or Crash Team Racing, but should still please aficionados. It’s colourful, delivers competent racing, and offers plenty of fan service for followers of Final Fantasy and its Chocobo spin-offs. While issues with track design, AI and the roster detract from its appeal, these can be overlooked. If you’ve exhausted the big hitters and need another kart racer to fill the void, this one may do the trick.
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VERDICT"Despite issues with track design, AI and the roster, Chocobo GP is still a colourful kart racer with competent mechanics, and enough fan service to please." OVERALL: 6/10 |
OTHER GAMES TO FEATURE CHOCOBOS REVIEWED
Final Fantasy VIII (1999, PlayStation)
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Final Fantasy XIII (2010, PlayStation 3)
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