There's work to be done (continued)

Though the main task of each dungeon is to make it to the last level, there are also several things you can do inside. For starters, Chocobo can stroll about and pick up items and equip them. Items such as talons raise Chocobo's attack, whereas items such as saddles will raise his defensive stats. Besides these items, dungeons also play host to vegetables, potions, ethers, among many other items.

Besides going on a treasure hunt inside somebody's mind, you can also go on a killing spree. Each level in the dungeon consists of an endless amount of enemies, that once defeated, will net you some experience points and maybe even some job points. By accumulating experience points, players can raise the level of Chocobo so that his stats will increase. Job points work in a similar way, but instead of increasing stats, Chocobo will learn a new ability.

At the end of each dungeon is a boss, an enemy more powerful then any enemy in the dungeon. Each boss has its own pattern that you'll need to take heed of. If you just go head-on with the boss, the end result will be a game over screen. Odds are, as you progress throughout the game, you'll be seeing the game over screen a lot.

The good, the bad and the chocobo

Unquestionably, the best part about Chocobo's Dungeon, in my opinion, are the pop-up duels. Though these duels don't have a lot of depth, they do prove to be very enjoyable. Pop-up duels consist of three phases: the pop-up phase, the matching phase, and the end phase. The pop-up phase deals with selecting a card to fight with and the matching phase consists of the battle between the selected cards. Finally, the end phase shows the results of the round. After this phase, the process repeats itself. Using Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, players can duel friends and random people. Like Mario Kart Wii, players start with a set number of points and depending on how the duel turns out, their score will drop or rise.

My biggest complaint with Chocobo's Dungeon is unquestionably the controls. Though the game is playable using the Wii Remote held sideways or upright, it doesn't allow for the experience as playing with the classic controller. The classic controller has a lot buttons to allow for more options, but it sometimes gets confusing trying to remember which button does what. I personally would've liked to have seen the controls, and the actual game, made a little simpler.

Graphically, Chocobo's Dungeon is a mixed bag. Though the CG's in the game look great, the in-game graphics aren't anything exceptionally well done. Square Enix has been known for pushing systems to their limits, most notably with the Final Fantasy series. Unfortunately though, it looks more like they're trying to push the Gamecube to its limits. The same thing can be said with the music in the game. Again, nothing exceptionally well done, but nevertheless, it's decent.

Concluding

For people hoping for a game the same caliber as games in the main Final Fantasy series, you aren't going to get anything even close. What you're getting is a very cute and cuddly looking game that is as tough as nails. Though I recommend hardcore gamers to check this title out, I strongly forbid newcomers to the Final Fantasy series to try this game. Due to the games high difficulty, they'll likely get frustrated quickly and end up thinking that the Final Fantasy series is too hard. Though I think some games in the series are hard, only a few can surpass the difficulty of Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon.