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  • 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?

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

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