User Reviews (1 - 11 of 14)

Show these reviews first:

Highest Rated
Lowest Rated Newest
Oldest Most Helpful
Least Helpful

Fables you say? The only tall-tale here is this game being rated as good.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: June 24, 2008
Author: Amazon User

First thing I'll say about this title is don't purchase it for more than $10. There is charm in the game, but overall it doesn't make up for the overall recycled gameplay and just pure repetitiveness.

I am a huge fan of RPGs, I've played almost all the main series, and ventured into the more underground ones (Like Atelier Iris, Etrian Odyssey, & Atelier Iris.) Therefore, I am one mildly educated on the subject of RPGs and the Final Fantasy World.

Receiving this game, I thought it'd be a typical RPG with mini-game elements here and there. My god I was wrong, more like a collection of repeating uncreative mini-games. Think of this game as WarioWare boss battles that you repeat over & over to receive the best medal.

Yup, all the game is basically is mini-games mixed in with a horribly unrewarding battle system that just seems forced. 50% through the game I had experienced 4 battles. The battles seemed like they were thrown into the game just so they could please Final Fantasy fanatics. First complaint about the battles is they take seemingly forever, and are very unbalanced. The card concept of battles is awesome, but the way it was executed is just poor in this game, especially because animations consume 75% of the time in battle.

If you want a good card-based battle game pick up Baten Kaitos, 100 times the fun, 100 times the content. Anyways, back on topic to the mini-games. Basically, they're all boring games uncreative games that you've played before without cute chocobos.

The most creative one is ironically the first mini-game, where you race up the mountain as a turtle. The rest are "collect small sprite, avoid boss." or other very common games used in RPGs.

Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy this game. It's just not all that good. It's cliche mini-games mixed in with battles ruined by overanimation, the plot is good though, and the "I want to complete this mini-game and get the best medal on it so I get some battle card I'll never use" is also pretty fun.

Replayability? Zero in my opinion. I have yet to beat this game (or pick it up again to consider beating it.) but I am about 75% through. This counts for about 9 hours of gameplay, therefore if you pick this game up I'm guessing you'll get an easy 12-18 hours of gameplay depending on how much of a completionist you are.

Like I said, it's a good game, but there are many better others on the DS.

Plot 7/10: Seems pretty solid. Makes sense, typical "collect 4 crystals of various elements to save world and friends."

Gameplay 5/10: Mini-games are recycled from other games for sure, but they're not horrible, nor are they extremely boring. They'll entertain you. Receives a 5/10 because of the bad animations that make battles take FOREVER. No skip-animation in options either

Difficulty 7/10: Once again, it's extremely easy to progress the story. Literally anyone could do it. But why I give it a 7/10 is it does allow for "challanges" on mini-games. Silver which you can get after 3-4 playthroughs, and golds which have taken me 20-30 on some occasions.

Length 8/10: Pretty good length, doesn't seem overly long, and hasn't gotten boring really.

Graphics: 9/10 Another redeeming factor. Basically Final Fantasy III: DS graphics mixed with Paper Mario I graphics. 2D & 3D mix in battles is nice.

36/50 = 72%

Buy, but dont pay more than 10 bucks.

review

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: May 19, 2008
Author: Amazon User

this game was a bit boring and did not hold my attention. i ended up taking it in to a game exchange store very shortly after getting it.

Final Fantasy Games:

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: April 29, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Rene` and I both have a DS. Him, black, and I a pink one. I had some unatural obsession with any game that has the wifi symbol on it and buying two coppies.. SO I would, and we would. Rene` really loved this game. He finished it as quickly as possible while I was struggling with the final boss in FF3. hah.. We wanted to card duel eachother.. :) fun times, good memories.

It is based on a book that was evil and sucked all the other books into some dark portal along with all of chocobos friends, and you have to save them by figuring out all the mysteries in the books.

This game consists of micro and minigames. Every time you make first place in a game of some sort (usually a race) you win either a silver or gold playing card so you can duel a boss. (if it's not a race, it's a timed game. Pretty fun though! )

Amazing game for any age

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: March 27, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Being a young adult, when I first saw this game I thought it looked really cute but maybe a little more geared for kids. Wow was I ever wrong, and I'm really glad I chose to get it. Hands down this is my favorite DS game so far, and I haven't even finished it yet.

You play as a chocobo and can name yourself whatever you want. A friend of yours has you open this book he got, and it ends up stealing the souls of all your friends. You are then sent on a mission to go defeat this book/evil spirit and get all your friends back. More storyline develops afterwards that I won't spoil.

The thing I just LOVE about Chocobo tales is all the mini games. Most of the time I don't like mini games because they're annoying and not well made, but the ones in this game are very enjoyable. That's also pretty much the main focus of the game: jumping into pop-up story books and beating the mini game inside. Then the story proceeds and you learn more about the plot and what not. There's also a card game worked into the system, and normally I hate that because they make it too complex. But this one is very simple and fun!

There's nothing about this game that needs to be improved, and I can't really think of any cons at all, so I give it 5 stars for sure. A must have for anyone.

Chocobos are tooo awesome!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: September 07, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I didnt really know what to expect from this game, other than it being really cutesy. But after playing it for an hour, i realized this game is a lot of fun, esp. if you other friends who play it too! Pop-up card dueling is fun, and the mini-games add entertainment to the story. Stories in this game are *Final Fantasized* so be ready to chuckle a bit. Recommended indeed!

not as expected

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 3
Date: July 09, 2007
Author: Amazon User

was not that fun compared to other rpg game, it can do a lot better. i guess i thought it'll be more like ffiii so i was disappointed when i played it.

Not Just A Kid's Game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: July 08, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Chocobo Tales is a highly rewarding and surprising game. Because of the cute design, I expected it to be very easy, and was afraid it would be a failure like FF Tactics Advance. I couldn't have been more wrong! This game meets and far exceeds expectations.
The story isn't much to look at, it's true. Basically, by restoring power to the crystals containing water, fire, earth, and lightning, you're trying to halt and defeat the evil lord of darkness, Bebuzzu. His servant Irma (though she doesn't see herself that way) does her best to use her chocobo minions and put a damper on your plans. Your friends Shirma, Croma and Cid, as well as your chocobo pals, help you along the way.
The gameplay is innovative and fun. There are lots of classic FF enemies, as well as songs redone from various different FF games (the music is great), so it's a good pick for FF fans. But even if not, Chocobo Tales has plenty to offer. There are three different types of gameplay as you travel though the island: card battles, minigames, and microgames.
Cards are collected through minigames and microgames. Minigames are found inside of picture books, and must be played to further the story. They involve things like building houses from puzzle pieces, swimming through underwater caves to escape Leviathan, and correctly replaying music. There are many picture books, each with its own story and game.
Microgames are the one spot where the game gets HARD. They were put there for people who are looking for a challenge, and they deliver. There are always two requirements to beat: silver and gold. For each you get a card. Silver is generally pretty easy. But often, gold is ridiculously hard to defeat. They seem to know exactly what amount of points/time/etc. it takes to make winning seem impossible! But when you finally win it's very rewarding.
Card battles are somewhat complicated, but still easy to learn. Each card has a different color - red, yellow, green, blue, or gray - and different attributes. Elements do take effect; for example, lightning (yellow) will usually have a defense against water (blue). Gray is colorless, but more powerful. The battles are a combination of luck and strategy.
Sadly, you encounter less than 10 battles in the game. However, once you've gotten the professional deck you can battle using the Wi-Fi connection, which randomly picks an opponent in the world and lets you get to it. Being good at mini and microgames and choosing your deck intelligently will make these battles a lot easier.
The graphics are spectacular. The game melds a drawn style similar to Okami and Paper Mario with 3D computerization. The 3D look is given to the island you're traveling around, and the drawn look is reserved for the inside of picture books and the monsters in card battles. It makes the game very interesting to look at.
Overall, Chocobo Tales is a surprisingly wonderful game! In my opinion, it's the best FF game to come out since FFT. It's nowhere near as complex, pretty, or popular as FFX or something, but I think it's much more perfect. I enjoyed it a lot. I've played over 20 hours and I still haven't managed to beat all of the minigames! I recommend for gamers of all ages.

Hint: At the ending credits, don't just sit there! There's still another game to be played!

Note: If you're looking for another good RPG, Etrian Odyssey is getting 5 star reviews everywhere for being old-style and neato.

loved it

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: June 07, 2007
Author: Amazon User

tons of mini games, not too easy, not too hard, just right! awesome game.

Final Fantasy: A lovable brand name

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: May 19, 2007
Author: Amazon User

At first I was a little skeptical with the whole "storybook" approach. After the first few mini-games though I became hooked. All the main mini-games are a lot of fun, plus there are tons of other sidequest mini-games. The card duel style is interesting but nonetheless fun. I think any Final Fantasy fan would enjoy all of the references to classic monsters and characters. The games are fun, and some are suprisingly challenging to fully unlock. Overall I give this game a 4/5.

Kid-Friendly Fun with a Few Issues

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: May 19, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Final Fantasy Fables - Chocobo Tales takes the intriguing world of Final Fantasy and turns it into a young kid friendly mixture of minigames and simple storyline.

Where most other Final Fantasy games involve storylines and in-game management that might be too complex for the younger set, with Final Fantasy Fables - Chocobo Tales we have a storyline that is very sanitized and gentle. Perhaps my only real complaint here is that they make fun of a friend they call "chubby" who likes to eat all the time. I'm sorry, if I saw a bunch of kids constantly making fun of a kid and calling him "Chubby", I'd be less than pleased. There'd be a real outcry if the characters were making ethnic slurs about kids, but apparently picking on the overweight is great fun.

You've got friends to save, cards to collect, and books to jump into. The books have a moral-promoting story and then related games to play. The games, again, are on a non-violent, child-friendly level. Given that pleasant situation, I was a little sad to find that the difficulty level of the games seem to vary wildly. Some games are incredibly easy to "win" - gamers of all level of skill do so easily. Other games are so difficult that even very experienced gamers find them nigh on impossible.

The graphics are an intriguing attempt at mixing 2D and 3D graphics. Sometimes it works reasonably well - but sometimes the developers do a poor job at laying out their screen. Things that appear easy to get to are actually impossible - while in other situations items that you should go to aren't drawn well enough to see. With this being a game geared at beginner gamers, it can become quite frustrating.

I do appreciate that this is a basic game that will help to lure in gamers unfamiliar with the Final Fantasy genre, helping them pick up the basics of the characters and card game style without having to spend months memorizing sphere grids or skill trees. I'm all for adult gamers and experienced gamers enjoying simple-style games. I adore Paper Mario, still enjoy Adventure with its duck-dragons, and love puzzle games that all ages can enjoy.

So while I think the concept here is great, they should have done some more work on the testing phase to work out the kinks with the graphics and mini-games. Perhaps a next version will be worthy of five stars to me, but I'll give this one four for coming close.

Review Page: 1 2 Next 

Actions