Boko (Final Fantasy VIII)

Boko is a chicobo (the term for a young chocobo used in Final Fantasy VIII) summoned using Gysahl Greens to battle. He is thus a pseudo-Guardian Force, but the way to level him up is different than all the others: the player must level him up in the add-on game Chocobo World that was only available in Japan for the original PlayStation release, as it is played on a PocketStation. PC versions of Final Fantasy VIII include the game.

Profile
Boko is a young chocobo, and thus diminutive in size. He has a larger head and smaller wings in proportion to its body than the adult chocobos. He is a yellow chocobo with blue eyes. A full sized chocobo stands at about 275 cm (9 foot) in height while a chicobo, depending on age, can be seen to be about 17 cm (6.7 inch) in height on up.

Obtained
The first time the party goes to a chocobo forest and catches a chocobo, the Chocoboy will gift Squall Boko and he will follow the mother chocobo ridden on the world map. Boko can then be sent to Chocobo World to be leveled up.

Squall and his friends can summon Boko into battle using Gysahl Greens. The player can get Gysahl Greens from the ChocoBoy at the forests, or from the chicobo at the Chocobo Sanctuary after the quest is done.

Battle

 * See the Summon sequence here.

When Boko is away in Chocobo World he cannot be summoned. If the player uses a Gysahl Green in battle when Boko is away, they get a message Boko cannot be summoned and the character's turn is wasted. The player must first transfer him back to Final Fantasy VIII. Transferring Boko also brings forth all the items he has collected in the other game.

Boko has four different attacks: ChocoFire, ChocoFlare, ChocoMeteor and ChocoBocle, each more powerful than the previous. To get the different attacks Boko must reach a certain level and trigger an event in Chocobo World, or the player must use a cheat device.

Boko, when summoned, can call Chubby Chocobo to attack enemies as his ultimate attack ChocoBocle. ChocoBocle is one of the few attacks in Final Fantasy VIII that can break damage limit.


 * $$Damage = LevelMod * Level / 10 + Power$$
 * $$Damage = Damage * (265 - TargetSpr) / 8$$
 * $$Damage = Damage * Power / 256$$

Chocobo World


The minigame Chocobo World can be played on a PocketStation, a device that was sold exclusively in Japan. The minigame unlocks certain items in Final Fantasy VIII. The game is included in the PC-version of Final Fantasy VIII.

Boko, along with friends Cactuar and Moomba, must rescue their friend MiniMog (a moogle) from the evil Demon King in Scary Mountain. During his adventures Boko must fight other monsters and overcome many perils, as well as fighting the urge to watch his television set and go fishing.

From when he reaches level 20 Boko meets a female chicobo named Koko who kisses him each time they meet. After each kiss, his powers will increase allowing for a stronger attack when summoned by the player party. When Boko reaches level 100 Demon King will capture Koko and Boko must fight him for her freedom. If Boko is leveled up to level 100 in Chocobo World in the Steam version, the player earns the trophy Top Level Boko.

Etymology
In the English versions, the chicobo is named Boko, after the chocobo Bartz Klauser rode in Final Fantasy V, Boco. Boco comes from the last two syllables for the word "chocobo", "co" and "bo", which are put in reverse: "bo" and "co".

In the Japanese version of Final Fantasy VIII, the bird is simply called "Chicobo" (or "little chocobo"). This is what he is called on the Chocobo World story screens even in English. The Triple Triad card for him also calls him just "Chicobo".