Final Fantasy skips numbers.
That seems to be the general gist of the series, at least 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?