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Chocobos are large flightless birds in the world of Ivalice in Final Fantasy XII and Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings. They are both domesticated and wild, with the yellow variation being the most common, though many different species exist. The player can ride them and fight them as enemies.

Clan Primer[]

Chocobos share an entry in the Clan Primer.

Page 1: Observations[]

What creature, fair or foul, has affected the lives of the common man more than the noble chocobo? Though the yellow chocobo is by far the most common, and the only domesticable sort, many other wild breeds of differing hues have been identified. In general, the other colorations of chocobo tend to be quite violent, giving rise to the saying: "Yellow, best for riding; aught else, best be hiding.
Even as tame chocobos are known for their temper, true domestication requires time and expertise. Their curiosity can often get them into trouble, but they are charming nevertheless, and popular throughout Ivalice. As famed naturalist Merlose once wrote: "a little personality goeth a long way.

Clan Primer

Page 2: The Town Crier[]

Hear ye, hear ye! Good news for those knights who are sensitive of nose! Thanks to recent discovers, you can bid a fond farewell to troublesome chocobo odors! The method is simple: ply your chocobo chick with only fresh gysahl greens, and that disconcertingly disgusting stench will diminish by up to three quarters! The news isn't all good, however, as it takes two to three years to raise a chocobo to riding age, meaning that the fragrant fruits of your labor won't ripen for some time.

Clan Primer

Profile[]

Chocobo artwork

Concept art.

Chocobos are commonly used as steeds in Ivalice. When attempting to return to Rabanastre from vanquishing his first hunt, Vaan runs into a prized white chocobo that is to appear in a parade for the new Consul's honor. The Order of the Knights of Dalmasca also used chocobos as steeds during the Battle of Nalbina Fortress. Chocobos are said to have a distinct smell about them, and their favorite food is gysahl greens.

Chocobos come in various sizes, although they tend to be taller than average humes. White chocobos seem to the tallest, as Vaan runs into a large one at the Rabanastre gates, and a giant white chocobo roams the Paramina Rift. Chocobos in the wild can appear in flocks.

Gameplay[]

Final Fantasy XII[]

Steed[]

Chocobo s way-large

The player riding a chocobo.

Yellow chocobos can be rented for transportation from Gurdy at most towns at ground level.

Gurdy's chocobo stable locations

Riding a chocobo allows the character to cross maps faster without being harassed by enemies, though it is not possible to interact with anything while riding one. The chocobo can temporarily sprint, but only thrice. Characters can ride for a maximum of 180 seconds before the chocobo drops the rider, though this can be extended by 1.8 seconds via entering the menu and modifying equipment. If an Esper is summoned, it will have to be dismissed before a chocobo can be ridden. The yellow chocobo, if ridden into Ozmone Plain, will appear in the bestiary once the party disembarks.

Chocobos cannot enter settlements, certain dungeons, or boss arenas, with each prompting a different warning message. A chocobo rented from Rabanastre's Eastgate will therefore be confined to The Stepping in the Dalmasca Estersand. Wayward Chocobos can also be encountered outside the Henne Mines and in the Mosphoran Highwaste, allowing players to ride them, though the Highwaste chocobo will require one Gysahl Greens. After completing the main story events in Jahara, a chocobo will be offered free of charge at the stables. Likewise, a wounded Imperial soldier in the Sunlit Path section of the Ozmone Plain will offer his chocobo to the player if given a Potion.

Chocobo tracks in Golmore Jungle from FFXII TZA

Chocobo tracks in the Golmore Jungle.

Chocobos can access paths player characters cannot cross on their own, indicated by chocobo tracks on the ground. These appear in the Ozmone Plain FF12 Map - Ozmone Plain, Golmore Jungle FF12 Map - Golmore Jungle, the Phon Coast, the Mosphoran Highwaste, the Tchita Uplands and the Cerobi Steppe. As the Henne Mines are sealed off by chocobo tracks, a chocobo will be required to reach them by land. A chocobo is also required to reach the Esper, Exodus, in the Mosphoran Highwaste. One chocobo path links the Tchita Uplands to the Cerobi Steppe, allowing the player to travel there early if they take a chocobo from the Phon Coast.

Enemy chocobos[]

Black chocobo

Black Chocobos on the field.

Some chocobo variants are fought in the wilds. They tend to yield Gysahl Greens when felled. The five different colored chocobos are the only enemies naturally weak to more than one element.

  • Black Chocobo is found on the Ozmone Plain. It appears in flocks.
  • Red Chocobo is found on the Ozmone Plain among the Black Chocobos, albeit rarely. A more dangerous variety of this breed also exists (see below).
  • Brown Chocobo can be found in The Yoma in the Dalmasca Estersand, and the Corridor of Ages in the Salikawood. Brown Chocobo is docile and will not attack unless provoked.
  • Green Chocobo can be found in the Corridor of Ages in the Salikawood.
  • White Chocobo can be found on the Hakawea Shore of the Phon Coast, but does not appear easily.
Red Chocobo.
Trickster.
  • Trickster is an Elite Mark that becomes available upon reaching Mt Bur-Omisace. Intrigued by the white chocobo that helped stave off vandals who harassed a chocobo flock and vanished as quickly as it came, Gurdy went to petition for the hunt of this elusive mark.


Sky Pirate's Den[]

Wayfarer sprite
Sharpshooter sprite.

A chocobo's sprite is added to the Sky Pirate's Den after the party has walked over 50,000 steps, granting the player the title of Wayfarer. A white variation is obtained after defeating Trickster, awarding the title of Sharpshooter. In The Zodiac Age, these are awarded as trophies/achievements as well.

Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings[]

Chocobo RW

Its swift legs carry it charging into battle.

In-Game Description

Chocobos are a Rank I melee summon, and the fastest summon. They have no special attacks, and their normal Beak attack only deals minor damage. Chocobos can also be encountered as enemies. Different colored chocobos have different skills, although the player can only summon the yellow type. Trickster is the most powerful chocobo.

Behind the scenes[]

Skyferry-Black-Chocobo-FFXII-TZA

Chocobo on a skyferry.

Some chocobos appear in the background of various areas, including on top of skyferries. When going through the Ozmone Plain toward Jahara, the player might spot a garif attacking a wild chocobo. This is actually Supinelu, training alone in the plain: depending on if he falls or survives by the time the party reaches the village, the player gets a different scene with him once in Jahara.

If the player doesn't ever talk to Gurdy and refuses the offer of a free chocobo in Jahara, an extra scene can be viewed in Mt Bur-Omisace where Gurdy will ask why the party is avoiding chocobos. While Japanese games are often comfortable breaking immersion to deliver in-game information, this aspect was to be "westernized" in the localized version. When Vaan encounters Gurdy in Rabanastre, the Japanese dialogue had the vendor explain what the chocobos were. As Vaan, a street-wise orphan, would know what a chocobo is, the English version instead has the vendor lamenting that some guy rode off on one of the chocobos without paying, to deliver the same information more fluidly.[1]

White chocobo

White chocobo at the gates of Rabanastre.

By doing the July sidequest at Nalbina, the player can learn the parader chocobos present during Vayne's appointment ceremony at Rabanastre were gifts from Gibbs's family of generations-old quality chocobo breeders at the Tchita Downs. When Gibbs traveled to Archades, he had to purchase a viera cologne to remove the chocobo stench that lingered on him.

A cockatrice called Moomer can be seen in the chocobo pen at Sea Breeze Lane of Balfonheim pretending to be a chocobo as part of the great cockatrice escape quest.

Although the player never encounters them, chocobos with flight capability exist within the world of Ivalice. On the flight during the Hunt for Deathgaze, the player may speak with a "Despondent Man" NPC in the Skyferry's Observation Parlor area who states that the chocobo on the deck flew away, highlighting the rare variety.

A glitch exists in the Zodiac versions of the game that can cause players to appear out of bounds riding a chocobo, unable to dismount. This can be exploited in the PC version of The Zodiac Age to ride chocobos where normally impossible.

Gallery[]

Etymology[]

Chocobo is a recurring animal in the Final Fantasy series and often seen as the series's mascot. The name "chocobo" derives from a Japanese brand of chocolate malt ball by Morinaga, ChocoBall (チョコボール, Chokobōru?). The mascot for this product is Kyoro-chan (キョロちゃん?), a bird who says "kweh".

食う / くう / kuu is a rough way to say "eat", whose volitional casual form is 食え / くえ / kue ("let's scoff 'em down!"), leading to Kweh!

References[]

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