Chocobo (Final Fantasy VII)



Chocobos are a form of transportation, entertainment, and a gameplay element in Final Fantasy VII. In addition to appearing as a summon, they can be raised and bred at the Chocobo Farm, used to travel to locations otherwise inaccessible, such as Materia Caves, and can be raced at the Chocobo Square in the Gold Saucer. When riding a Chocobo, the player encounters no enemies. The player can capture a Chocobo near the farm to cross a swamp due to it being fast enough to evade a giant snake in the area. While they appear throughout the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, the only game where they have any story importance is Final Fantasy VII.

Final Fantasy VII is one of the few games where the term "Chocobo" is capitalized. This has been changed for the other Compilation of Final Fantasy VII titles.

Story
AVALANCHE first come into contact with Chocobos while in pursuit of Sephiroth. Blocking the path towards the Mythril Mine is Midgar Zolom, a difficult enemy to defeat. The Chocobo Farm offers an alternate to fighting Midgar Zolom head-on: using a Chocobo to cross the swamp and evade it. Later on AVALANCHE visits the Gold Saucer and ends up thrown down in Corel Prison. To be freed Mr. Coates tells them they must win a Chocobo race and Cloud Strife wins a race for the whole team. While in the prison the party may get lost in the desert and be carted back in a wagon pulled by a large Chocobo.

Following the acquisition of the Highwind, AVALANCHE can choose to raise and breed Chocobos at the farm. As Meteor is falling and the farm has fewer visitors, AVALANCHE may rent Chocobo stables at the farm. With the Highwind the party can also visit Chocobo Sage, an amnesiac Chocobo enthusiast who lives in a cabin in the north.

Nature
Chocobos in the world of Final Fantasy VII are moderately taller than humans, round and bright-colored with more noticeable feathers than in most of their appearances. Unlike later games, the Chocobo cry in Final Fantasy VII is "Wark" not "Kweh."

Chocobo are found all across the world of Gaia in the wild, and are also a common means of transport for humans. They are featured in social events, such as the racing at the Chocobo Square which holds bets, the only known sport on Gaia. Chocobos are prominent features in culture, notably the mascot of the Gold Saucer with people dressed as Chocobos to greet the patrons, and as figurines. There is also a "Chocobo House" seen in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children but this is never visited.

Breeds
There are several different Chocobo breeds, many of which can be attained by the player through breeding, others which can only be seen in races. Chocobos can be one of the breeds and male or female.

Yellow
Wild chocobos are yellow. They are the most common breed and have no special abilities other than being a faster alternative to traveling by foot on the World Map. Yellow Chocobos cannot travel through water, high mountains or ocean. "Good," "Great" and "Wonderful" chocobos are required to breed Chocobos of different colors. The standard Chocobo Cloud is given in Gold Saucer in his first race is yellow.

Blue and Green


Blue Chocobos, also called river Chocobos, can run over rivers and shallow water, but not deep ocean or mountains. Green Chocobos, also known as mountain Chocobos, can cross mountains and cliffs but cannot enter water. Both types are born from great and good Chocobos using a Carob Nut.

Great Chocobos can be found by Mideel (those accompanied by one or two Spirals) or Rocket Town (those not accompanied by Velcher Tasks), and good ones by the Gold Saucer (those accompanied by two Spencers).

The player can mate either two great Chocobos, two good Chocobos, or use a mix. Once one colored Chocobo of either blue or green has been born, the player can mate the colored chocobo with its parent for a chance to get either green, blue, or yellow Chocobo. The player can try and breed the Chocobos, and if they get an undesirable result, reset the game and try again. Due to the game's random number calculation, one will receive the same color/gender combination after every "hard reset" (switching the console off and on) and reload directly outside of the farm. A simple way to bypass this is to feed a random green to a random Chocobo after the reload forcing the next random number being calculated, and one receives the next color/gender combination.

It is typically advisable to get two sets of parents so that once one of the two special Chocobos is born, the player can save and keep trying with the second set of parents until they get the complementary Chocobo. Otherwise the player has to wait until the parents of the first are ready to breed again. Chocobos that have advanced in ranks in the Gold Saucer races have a much better chance of producing colored offspring than if the chocobos haven't been raced at all.

In the Gold Saucer races, a programming error reverses the abilities of these colored Chocobos. Green Chocobos are unaffected in the space section of the short course as well as the water section of the long course, while blue Chocobos climb hilly terrain easier. This can be seen easiest in the short course; given the same or comparable top speed, the blue Chocobo will conquer the rising spiral at the beginning far more handily than a green or yellow Chocobo.

Black


Black Chocobos (also called mountain-and-river chocobos) are born when blue and green Chocobos are mated with a Carob or Saraha Nut. They inherit all the abilities of their parents. They can travel over both shallow water and high mountains, but cannot cross ocean. They have freedom from being slowed-down in both the undersea and space sections of the Chocobo racing track.

Gold


Gold Chocobos (also called sea chocobos) are unmatched in the races, naturally coming with impressive stats. A gold Chocobo can be born when a black Chocobo is bred with a wonderful yellow Chocobo, which can be captured near Icicle Inn (accompanied only by one or two Jumpings), with a Zeio Nut. Because they are descended from green, blue, and black Chocobos, gold Chocobos can travel anywhere around the map: over mountains, through shallow water, and even cross the ocean, thus they are the only means of obtaining the Materia for the ultimate summon Knights of the Round from Round Island.

The player can obtain a gold Chocobo from the Kalm traveler by offering him the Desert Rose key item; however, to get the Desert Rose, the player must have beaten the Ruby Weapon. A gold Chocobo obtained this way has poor stats for racing or breeding. If the player's stables are full when giving up the Desert Rose, the Chocobo will wait at Kalm traveler's house until the player makes room for it.

Obtaining the gold Chocobo earns the player an achievement in the PC version re-release of Final Fantasy VII.

Other Breeds
In the Chocobo races other breeds are seen, including white, pink, red, dark blue, and purple. Though they are of a different color they effectively function as yellow Chocobos. There is no way for the player to acquire Chocobos of these colors in Final Fantasy VII. A single white Chocobo is found in Mideel, and when given Mimett Greens and tickled behind its ears it relinquishes the Contain Materia.

Gold Saucer has staff dressed in chocobo costumes in the venues. Two can be found at the Wonder Square who are intended to appear in different sizes, a regular sized one and an unrealistically small one, yet due to a bug this is not the case in the PlayStation versions and they both appear at regular size. After obtaining the Highwind the larger one disappears and the smaller one comments on being alone. There is also a chocobo painted on the background of the Event Square and a chocobo mascot on the ticket office in Round Square.

Carriage Chocobo
The first Chocobo seen in game. Tifa Lockhart is transported in a Chocobo Carriage in Midgar Slums to the Sector 6 Wall Market, where Cloud and Aeris spot her. The carriage also appears at the desert surrounding Corel Prison if the party get lost to bring the party back to the prison.

Chocobo Farm Chocobos
Before the player acquires the Highwind, there are several Chocobos at the Chocobo Farm. When the player interacts with them, after performing a short dance, they can drop the Choco/Mog Summon Materia.

Choco/Mog Summon


The Chocobo appears as a summon. Ridden by a Mog the pair crashes into the enemy stunning the Mog. It deals non-elemental damage and has a chance of inflicting Stop. There is also a chance the command summons the Fat Chocobo instead. The Choco/Mog Summon Materia itself is Wind-elemental. The Materia is obtained by talking to the Chocobo near the fence at the Chocobo Farm. Following the obtaining of the Highwind the chocobos disappear, though the player can get the Materia from a Chocobo they catch.

Fat Chocobo


One of the possible outcomes for the Choco/Mog summon with a 1/16th chance of appearing, or of Cait Sith's Summon Limit Break, Fat Chocobo deals greater damage to all enemies, but does not have the chance to inflict Stop.

Enemy Skill


A Chocobo appears in the Chocobuckle ability that can be obtained as a skill in an Enemy Skill Materia. The Chocobo resembles the Fat Chocobo more than the regular Chocobo, having stunted legs. To get Chocobuckle the party member with the Enemy Skill Materia must be hit by the Chocobo enemy's counterattack. Chocobuckle's damage depends on how many times the party has fled from battle.

Enemy


Chocobos are fought as enemies on the chocobo tracks on the world map when the party has a Chocobo Lure Materia equipped. They cannot be defeated as thus give no EXP or other spoils; their only purpose is to be captured to be used as steeds and for breeding at the stables. Chocobo battles have unique battle music.

Mideel Chocobo
A white chocobo is found in Mideel. When given Mimett Greens and tickled behind its ears, it gives the Contain Magic Materia.

Sage's Chocobo
A green Chocobo is found at the Chocobo Sage's house. When the player interacts with it, it drops a rare Enemy Skill Materia.

Teioh
Teioh is the Chocobo belonging to the jockey Joe. His stats are based on the player's racing Chocobo, and are always greater (even surpassing the maximum stats available to the player). Teioh's speed will always 10% extra, and his stamina also 25% greater. Teioh appears in the races when the player is racing with their own Chocobo, appearing randomly in classes B, A and S; the higher the rank the more likely it is that Joe and Teioh will make an appearance.

Kalm traveler's Chocobo
Once the player defeats Ruby Weapon and gives the Kalm traveler the Desert Rose, the Kalm traveler will show the player his gold Chocobo, and give it to them.

Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-
Zack Fair can get a chocobo in his Digital Mind Wave by finding a treasure in Mission 8-4-1. When summoned, the chocobo and Zack perform Chocobo Stomp together. Though the Chocobo Farm appears as background to some missions, no chocobos are seen on its premises.

Chocobo Breeding
Chocobos can be bred and raised on the Chocobo Farm. They come in various breeds and are either male or female. The Chocobo's gender is decided when the captured chocobo is moved into a stable from the yard; the player can save their game and reset and try again if they get an undesired gender.

Wild Chocobos can be encountered in special areas on the World Map covered in Chocobo tracks. Once captured, Chocobos can be kept in stables in the Chocobo Farm; the option to buy stables opens after the party has acquired the Highwind. The stables cost 10,000 gil and six can be bought at once. On the farm the Chocobos can be bred to create new breeds or to be used in the races at the Chocobo Square. This will allow players to access the Materia Caves.

Chocobo Tracks
Around the world there are Chocobo tracks where wild Chocobos may appear in random battles. They only appear when the Chocobo Lure Independent Materia is equipped. The Materia can be bought at the Chocobo Farm on disc 1, or found lying around the farm later in the game. The maximum Chocobo Lure rating is 32. Level 1 Chocobo Lure adds +8, Level 2 adds +12 and Level 3 and Master add +16. The effect stacks to the maximum of 32 by equipping multiple Chocobo Lure Materia. Different tracks have different chances of attracting Chocobos, the track near the farm being the easiest.

With a Level 1 Chocobo Lure Materia the player has 75% chance to enter a Chocobo battle on the tracks near Chocobo Farm, 50% chance on the tracks in Junon Area, and 25% everywhere else. With a Level 3 and mastered Chocobo Lure Materia the chance to encounter a Chocobo in a battle on the tracks near Chocobo Farm and in Junon Area is 100%, and 50% everywhere else. With two Level 3 or higher Chocobo Lure Materia equipped, the player will always encounter chocobos on all the tracks.

Along with the Chocobo are several enemies. The enemies must be beaten without scaring the Chocobo away to capture it. To do this, the Chocobo must be pacified with Greens, otherwise it will run away. Attacking it will cause the Chocobo to retaliate with weak pecks or the Enemy Skill Chocobuckle before retreating. The Chocobo cannot be defeated. If all other enemies are defeated, the Chocobo is captured.

Greens (see below) can be used to keep the Chocobo occupied for a number of turns and to reduce the chance of it fleeing. The default chance a Chocobo will run is 50%.

Greens
Greens can be given to Chocobos in battle to reduce their chances of running away and keep them occupied for a number of turns. When fed to Chocobos in the Chocobo Farm stables the greens boost the Chocobo's stats making them better racers in Gold Saucer.

Sylkis Greens are twice as good as Reagan Greens and are the best greens to raise Dash, Run, Stam, and Co-Op. Pahsana Greens are the best to raise Int. The only Greens that raise Accel are Mimett Greens, and there's only a 25% chance for an increase. Feeding a Chocobo greens can improve its stats, but only to the maximum of the Chocobo's potential. The only way to attain higher maximum Run and Dash is by breeding.

Greens can be bought from the Chocobo Farm and from Chocobo Sage.

Stats
Choco Billy at the Chocobo Farm can rate the strength of a captured Chocobo for the races. If he does not give a positive adjective in his rating ("good", "great", "wonderful"), the Chocobo is not worth the effort of raising.

Below is the strength of the caught chocobo compared to the rating Choco Billy gives it:

A Chocobo has several stats, and only some of them are visible to the player. By feeding the Chocobo greens its stats will be augmented. Every time the stats are increased, the Final Fantasy VII version of the "Victory Fanfare" plays.

The stats the player can see are speed and stamina.


 * $$Speed = [Dash/34] (Max = 6000/34 = 176)$$
 * $$Stamina = [Stam/10] (Max = 9999/10 = 999)$$

Newly caught Chocobos fall in one of the aforementioned eight categories; these ratings determine the Chocobo's stats. It is possible to get fairly good racing Chocobos by feeding greens to caught high-rating Chocobos, but their stats will never go as high as bred Chocobos' stats.

A newly born Chocobos' stat depends on the Nut the Chocobo was fed, and on the average of the two parents' stats. However, all newborn Chocobos are set to have the following stats:

Steed
Chocobos can be ridden on the world map, directed with the D-pad. The terrain they can cross depends on their color variation. Yellow Chocobos can only traverse parts the party can travel while on foot, but faster and without random battles. Blue Chocobos can cross shallow water like the buggy, and green Chocobos can cross mountains. Black Chocobos can do both and gold Chocobos can even cross the ocean. After catching a Chocobo from the tracks the player gets to mount it, but once dismounted with the cancel button it will run away unless the player has rented stables at the Chocobo Farm where an option to send the dismounted Chocobo to the farm opens up.

Chocobos from the farm can be taken out to be ridden and since they have been tamed they no longer run away when dismounted and will wait in the spot the player left it. Chocobos waiting on the world map appear on the map as a blinking dot. To mount a tame Chocobo the player simply needs to press the action button next to it. This can lead to a Vehicles glitch if the player is also near another vehicle, thus attempting to board two "vehicles" at once. Tame Chocobos can be taken aboard the Highwind by boarding the airship while mounted on a Chocobo. If the player enters the Highwind as an in-game location while the Chocobo is onboard it can be interacted with in the stable and been given hay, although this doesn't affect anything.

The player is prompted to ride a Chocobo once in the story to cross the marshes outside Mythril Mine but doing so is not mandatory.

Midgar Zolom Evasion
To pursue Sephiroth and reach the Mythril Mine, the player must traverse the swamp in front of it, which is guarded by Midgar Zolom. There are two ways to do this: the first way is to defeat Midgar Zolom, the second is to traverse the swamp using a chocobo. Typically the former is not advised as the player is unlikely to be at a level where they can compete with it. However, to evade Zolom, the player is only required to visit the Chocobo Farm nearby and purchase a Chocobo Lure Materia, then fight on the tracks outside. Once it's captured, the party can cross the Marshes to reach the Mines.

Materia Drops
Chocobos can create and cough up Materia: the Choco/Mog Summon Materia is obtained from the Chocobos at the Chocobo Farm, while the Contain Materia is obtained by giving the white chocobo in Mideel some Mimett Greens, then tickling it behind the ears. An Enemy Skill Materia can be dropped from the green chocobo at the Chocobo Sage's house.

Chocobo Racing


In the Gold Saucer resort Chocobos race in the Chocobo Square. The inmates from Corel Prison can escape the jail by winning a chocobo race. Cloud Strife wins his party's freedom this way after being captured while hunting for Sephiroth. He is taught how to race by the racing expert Ester. Cloud is the default party member to race, although Tifa and Cid may also volunteer when they are in the party.

This is a minigame the player only has to win once in the storyline. The Chocobos in the races have two stats: Stamina and Speed. Speed determines how fast they run, and Stamina determines how long they can run at top speed. On the left side of the screen is a red meter that shows how much Stamina the Chocobo has left. When the Chocobo runs out of Stamina they will slow down to a crawl and are easily overtaken. To restore Stamina, the player can hold down the two right shoulder buttons ( and ) (for the PC version, hold down Page Down and Target), which means one can push the Chocobo harder throughout the race. While riding a Chocobo two forms of control can be used: Manual and Automatic. Automatic gives complete control to the Chocobo, while Manual gives the player control.

For winning a race the player receives an item which can either be kept or be traded in for GP, the currency of Gold Saucer. There are four classes for the Chocobo race: Class C, Class B, Class A and Class S. Each one is more competitive than the last, and requires better and better chocobo to win. To advance to the next class three races in the current class must be won.

A talented jockey named Joe and his black Chocobo, Teioh, infrequently appear in Rank B races, occasionally in Rank A, and frequently in Rank S. He is more of a challenge than the other racers because Teioh always has 25% higher Stamina and 10% higher Speed than the player's Chocobo.

Winning ten times in a row will prompt the message "This is the winningest jockey in S rank ever since Joe" from Ester, and the player is rewarded with a prize package of items won from the races.

Materia Caves
To access the Materia Caves, which contain the Mime Materia, Quadra Magic Materia, HP↔MP and Knights of the Round Materia, the player needs Chocobos that can access each. This can be done one of two ways, either breeding Chocobos to gain access to each of the breeds which can access the Materia Caves, or by defeating Ruby Weapon to immediately gain access to a gold Chocobo when presented to the Kalm traveler.

Musical themes
There are five themes associated with Chocobos. "Electric de Chocobo" is a version of the "Chocobo Theme" that plays during random battles when chocobos appear. "Waltz de Chocobo" plays during the dance the Chocobos in front of the Chocobo Farm perform before they give the Choco/Mog Materia. When the Chocobo is ridden on the World Map, "Cinco de Chocobo" plays.

"Racing Chocobos - Place Your Bets" plays during the menu screen just before a race, while "Fiddle de Chocobo" plays during the actual race. Two variations of the classic victory fanfare play after the player has finished a race: "A Great Success" or "Tango of Tears," depending on whether the player wins or loses the race.

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Though no live chocobos appear, chocobo-related items are scattered around the world. A chocobo figurine made out of wood can be seen in Denzel and Marlene's room in the 7th Heaven. Additional appearances include a sign with a chocobo silhouette, advertising the "Chocobo House". Several of these green signs appear while the cast is battling Bahamut SIN, and a directory sign mentioning the Chocobo Farm. A flock of what may be chocobos are seen running across a dirt road in the movie's cinematic ending credits.

Final Fantasy Trading Card Game
Final Fantasy VII Chocobo's cards appear in Final Fantasy Trading Card Game. They are wind-elemental.

Triple Triad (Portal App)
Chocobo from Final Fantasy VII appears on a Triple Triad card.

Merchandise
When Final Fantasy VII was released in 1997 plush toys of the colored Chocobos the player can breed in the game were available from Japanese crane catcher games at arcades. The set also includes a chubby version resembling the Chocobo that appears during Chocobocle Enemy Skill, or used as a mascot in Gold Saucer. Another plush produced by Banpresto also exists of a sitting Chocobo.

Also in 1997 Bandai released official Final Fantasy VII "Extra Knights" action figures. A yellow Chocobo is included with Aeris, or in a multipack including numerous figures in America. Key chains by Bandai also exist.

Square and Coca-Cola joined forces in a marketing campaign to bring Final Fantasy figurines attached to Coca-Cola products sold in shops. The first edition contained characters from Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VIII, including a Final Fantasy VII Chocobo. Two versions exist, a colored one, and a solid red "crystal" version.