here in the states. We had to figure out what happened to 4 through 6 when 7 dropped, and

then a couple years later we were treated to the roguelike Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon...

2. Sure, there was a Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon 1, but who's counting? The important

part is, it's a mysterious dungeon, full of Final Fantasy monsters and music and concepts.

And music. That's what really struck me, just the random tracks from the PlayStation-era

titles, remixed and full of... um, bassoon, at least in the Chocobo Farm theme.

So, in line with pretty much every Final Fantasy ever, there's a dude named Cid who's trying

to build an airship, and you're his faithful Chocobo companion. Which is to say, he's gonna

do all the high-level pondering and mechanical whatzitery, while you're left to endanger

yourself in the actual gameplay. After getting stranded in a strange town while searching

for treasure, you're... um... kinda lost my train of thought...

Wait, since when was I playing Banjo-Kazooie? Why are there jiggies in my Chocobo game?

I, um... where was I again? Oh, that's right, the bell in the clocktower makes people forget

things, important things, plot-relevant things, and in order to advance you're going to have

to jump into their brains and set things right. Yep, it's Inception with a Chocobo and a Moogle

who gives advice... and Mystery Science Theater 3000 references. I'm not the one making them

for a change! Anyway, once you're in the dungeon it's your standard roguelike, though you have

the option of changing jobs in the vestibule area to alter your abilities and stats. Rather

than a hard-and-fast MP system, you have a number of SP crystals dependent upon your

current class and job level, which refill alongside your health as you trek through

the dungeon. That is, so long as you don't go hungry.

Roguelikes are known for being brutal as all get out, but Chocobo's Dungeon seems like

a much more accessible entry point into this particular RPG subgenre. It certainly lacks

the complexity of trying to juggle a whole party like in the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon

series, but then again, that might just work in its favor. More emphasis is placed on upgrading

weapons and developing jobs, which gets back closer to the roots of the Mystery Dungeon

series, like Torneko and Shiren the Wanderer. Your prime targets in these delves are, as

usual, familiar Final Fantasy monsters, ranging from adamantoises to bombs to those adorable

FFXI-style mandragoras, sweaters included. Now in new huge-stinkin'-boss size!

If there's one stumbling point in Chocobo's Dungeon's presentation, though, it's the vocal

work. Especially compared to The Crystal Bearers, these lines tend to come out a bit flat and

poorly-localized. But you're not here to listen to humans natter on about what they can and

can't remember, you're a chocobo! And you're being guided by a strange, superhero wannabe

moogle! You're here to kick ass and eat greens. And you just got knocked out, so you lose

all of your inventory including greens. So... wait. What game was this, again?