Chocobo's Forest (Final Fantasy IX)



Chocobo's Forest is a location in Final Fantasy IX where the player first acquires a chocobo. Chocobo's Forest is an optional location found on the bottom level of the eastern side of Mist Continent. Chocobo forests are a recurring type of location in the Final Fantasy series and usually associated as places where the player can catch themselves a chocobo to ride on the world map; in Final Fantasy IX the player does obtain a chocobo by visiting the forest, but the place from there on is used for playing the minigame Chocobo Hot and Cold. After befriending Mene the player can buy Gysahl Greens from him in the forest.

Story
After the Festival of the Hunt and the banquet in the Lindblum castle, Zidane, Freya and Vivi leave Lindblum via the Dragon's Gate and decide to head towards Burmecia. If they take a detour toward east, across the Ceebell River bridge, they can go to Chocobo's Forest, where they meet the moogle Mene and Choco the chocobo. In order to tame Choco, Zidane receives Gysahl Greens from Mene and uses the chocobo tracks outside the forest to lure Choco out with the greens. Riding Choco back to the forest, Mene will teach Zidane how to play Chocobo Hot and Cold to find Chocographs.

Chocobo Hot and Cold
Chocobo Hot and Cold is the game's main sidequest and it is started from Chocobo's Forest. The player's aim is to use Choco to find hidden treasures in the forest, the most valuable such treasures being Chocographs, treasure maps that pinpoint hidden treasure chest on the world map only a chocobo can find. Chocobo's Forest is the beginner's location, but after Choco upgrades into a mountain chocobo, the area where the player can dig becomes larger.

When digging in Chocobo's Forest, the player should cover the ground before heading up the two hills, as climbing up and down them takes time and they are small areas to explore and not worth going out of the way to access unless the player is certain the treasure is not on the ground. Choco cannot detect treasures on the hills while on the ground and vice-versa.