Chocobo GP review – magicite kart

metro.co.uk:

Chocobos are strapped into rocket skates for another attempt at a Final Fantasy kart racing spin-off, where originality is in short supply.

Mario Kart might be ubiquitous with kart racers, but the genre’s history isn’t written solely by Nintendo. Crash Team Racing is championed for its still-peerless single-player mode, while the vehicle switches in Diddy Kong Racing and Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed have manifested (albeit with slight differences) in Mario’s recent ventures around the track.

There’s space for other kart racers to thrive outside of Mario Kart’s grip, it’s just a difficult climb. Especially after Mario Kart 8, a borderline immaculate experience which even Nintendo seems hesitant to follow-up, as it continues to dominate sales charts almost eight years later.

For Chocobo GP, a Final Fantasy spin-off and sequel to 1999’s Chocobo Racing on the original PlayStation, the odds are stacked even higher considering new DLC for Mario Kart 8 is releasing just a week later. Unfortunately, Chocobo GP doesn’t feel primed for a successful underdog story, more the factory conveyor belt where karting cash-ins are marched to their slaughter.

If you haven’t played a kart racer since 1999, you might find Chocobo GP endearing. The racing is functional, if rigid, and borrows heavily from its slicker competitors. The drifting is identical to Mario Kart, with three tiers of boosts, and crystals (like coins) are collected from the track to increase your speed; even the turbo trick from the starting line is the same. A track based on the Gold Saucer amusement park from Final Fantasy 7 is practically Rainbow Road by any other name – with coloured surfaces and devious corners without guardrails.

There are a few tricks unique to