Chocobo: Final Fantasy’s Favorite Mount
by Burbie52, HSM team writer
Chocobo have a long and varied history. They’ve been a staple of the Final Fantasy IP since the second installment of the game series. For those of you who aren’t familiar with them, they look like a cross between an ostrich and a giant chicken, with larger feet and a bright yellow hue. In some of the series’ entries, you couldn’t ride on them; they served a different role in the game, but in most of the installments, they have been a basic mount used to travel distances in the game faster than possible on foot.
Playing in Final Fantasy XIV, I would have truly been surprised if chocobo were not a part of the game. One of the endearing qualities of the Final Fantasy series is the inclusion of common elements throughout them, even though the stories are completely different in each. Chocobo are one such element; Moogles are another, as are some of the items used, such as the Gysahl Greens used to feed the chocobo. The greens have always served as a way to boost your chocobo in some way, or to make them behave in a particular way. In Final Fantasy XIV the gysahl greens are used to call your chocobo to battle with you or serve as a healer.
A normal and colored chocobo in stable.
The thing about this particular installment of the series is that they are continually adding new things to the chocobo segment of it. There have been many recent additions to them in the past couple of updates alone; we can now stable the chocobo and train them if you own a stable and have it on your Free Company estate. The training is not only to help your chocobo level and gain experience, but also it will serve when they bring chocobo racing into the game. Chocobo racing has been a part of many games in the series starting with FFVII, and can be a wonderful game unto itself.
There have also been games created to feature chocobo, such as Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales and Chocobo Racing. They have also made many guest appearances in other games such as Sword of Mana and Legend of Mana, and there are several easter-egg references to chocobo found in a variety of games over the years.
Recently, in FFXIV, we have been given the ability to change their color by feeding them certain types of berries and fruits. There are many variations in the colors available, and it has become a meta-game all unto itself trying to get the color you are trying for. It can be a long and 
daunting process, and can be an expensive proposition, as the fruits can only be grown in free company gardens and they sell quite high in the markets. The developers are quite smart in the way they introduce new elements to the game and create new markets at the same time, adding to that meta game as well.
Not only did this add to the market, it also added a new element to the new Hunt meta game that was added to the Grand Company a little bit ago. The only way to grow the fruit is by purchasing seed from the NPC that sells them, who also happens to be the one who sells higher-quality company gear, and also only allows the buyer to do so through the special allied seals obtained only through the hunts. This ties all of this together in a nice tidy package, and thereby promotes different things to do in the game.
Midas’ year reward barding.
There are several different mounts to ride in Final Fantasy XIV that can be obtained in a variety of ways, but only the chocobo is able to learn how to fight alongside its master. You get your first one as a part of the storyline, and when you reach level thirty there is another quest to give them the ability to fight and heal. As they gain experience at this, they are also allowed to level up and gain new abilities and strengths, but you have to distribute the points they earn as you see fit, so it is totally up to you what role you wish them to play in the game. I prefer healer, so my chocobo, Midas, is a better healer than fighter, though he can really help in that capacity as well. Once you get your chocobo you are allowed to name it, and you can also change the name later on if you decide you don’t like it anymore.
There are also a lot of different saddles, hats and foot pieces, called barding, which can be obtained through company seals (Grand Company currency), as rewards for certain trials, and also for staying in the subscription for the game itself. These, combined with the colorization, allow you a great deal of latitude in what your personal chocobo looks like.
The latest thing added to the game for the chocobo is the ability to ride them in the private residential areas, which is a real boon as the areas are quite large if you have a mind to explore them on foot. One of the things I also like about them is that their size varies according to the owner’s size. If you are a small Lalafell character, your chocobo will be small as well — and the inverse is true for the largest race in the game, the Roegadyn. This adds another great touch to an already wonderful segment of the game.
I think that Final Fantasy would not be as rich a game IP as it is without chocobo as a part of its history and lore, and I am glad to see that Square Enix is continuing this long tradition in their game. I look forward to what is to come — the racing in particular.
September 25th, 2014 by Burbie52 | 1 comment
Burbie52 is a 62 year-old published author and founder of the Grey Gamers group within Home. Born and raised in Michigan, she has lived there her entire life, with the exception of a twelve-year residency on the Big Island of Hawaii. She enjoys reading and writing, as well as video games, especially RPG's. She has one son in his twenties.
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I Love Chocobos! I love how the Final Fantasy series keeps them in every game. Great article Burbie