Joe (Final Fantasy VII)

Joe is an NPC in Final Fantasy VII. A master Chocobo jockey, Joe is first introduced to the player when they escape Corel Prison, and Ester introduces the player to him. At this time, Joe's appearance is minor. Later in the game, Joe randomly appears in Chocobo races at the Gold Saucer when the player enters them. In contrast to the other NPC jockeys, which appear indistinguishable from each other and ride randomly-colored Chocobos, Joe is immediately recognizable by his red coat, white pants and black hat. He is also the only NPC jockey to ride a black Chocobo, named Teioh. Joe is notable as an opponent in that his Chocobo's stats are always higher than the player's Chocobo, making it difficult to win; even if the player is riding a gold Chocobo with maxed-out stats, Teioh's stats will still be higher. His stamina can go over 999, the maximum allowed by the player, and he can possess a top speed of over 150km. Again, Teioh's exact stats depend on the player's.

Exactly when Joe appears is random, but the higher the player's rank is, the more likely it is that he will appear. At "S" rank, it is almost a guarantee Joe will be in every race. Once the race begins, Joe immediately teleports behind the player's Chocobo. For the rest of the race, Joe will never sprint, unlike other NPC opponents, but will eventually still take the lead—if the player is in the lead, Joe will surely be in second. As Teioh is a black Chocobo, Joe is unaffected by the slow-down areas, so maintaining/gaining a lead on him is difficult, especially since, as mentioned, he will always have higher stats than the player. Joe then tends to sprint at the very end of the course, which is typically when he will overtake the player and any other Chocobos and finish in first.

It is possible to beat Joe—with a black or gold Chocobo of their own, the player can rob Joe's advantage and beat him with only minimal difficulties. Even lower-ranked blue and green Chocobos, or exceptionally well-bred normal Chocobos, can beat him, although obviously this is much more difficult. Once the player has won 10 straight races at "S" rank, Ester mentions they're the best jockey she's seen since Joe, and gives them a variety of prizes for their feat.

Other Appearances

 * In Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-, Joe is briefly mentioned as a "Dashing man riding a Black Chocobo." It is later revealed that Joe has a different Black Chocobo named Hyperion during the events of this game.