Review: Chocobo GP

destructoid.com:

Man it’s been a long time since Chocobo Racing was relevant to the world at large. I mean, it was always relevant to me! I was that guy playing CTR in between Mario Kart runs looking for something different, and I maintain that Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing is still the actual king of karts. Chocobo GP is almost there in terms of making a similar splash, but it falls into some very familiar classic traps, and one modern one.

Chocobo GP (Switch) Developer: Square Enix Publisher: Square Enix Released: March 10, 2022 MSRP: $49.99

Here’s what this new iteration offers. Chocobo GP (online 64 person staggered races), seasonal unlocks, multiplayer, time attack, an in-game shop (more on that later), time attack, series races (rank number one across four races), a custom mode, and a story campaign (crucial), with most modes support two player split screen. Online wasn’t available to us, so we couldn’t try out GPs, but backing up a bit, the latter mode is the most important part for a lot of people, myself included.

So many kart racers lack a proper story mode, and ones that do historically include them are rare: especially today. Chocobo GP‘s story provides the old school rush of unlocking more content, from tracks to racers, through normal progression. You’ll start with a roster of three, then work your way up from there. The titular Chocobo is on skates and can boost, Shirma the white mage puts up a defensive barrier, which is crucial in some races, and Ben the Behemoth (ha) rushes towards opponents and knocks them around. I’ll get to the character abilities soon, as they’re the heart and soul of the game.

The visuals are hard to convey through stills, but in motion a lot of the starker elements come to life. Some of the early