Chocobo Tales is a game from my teenage years that really took me by surprise. Sure the adorable art style was a bit alluring but hidden beneath the cute façade was a real gem. The story may that inspiration from traditional Final Fantasy but the mini-games and card battles feel more like something from WarioWare and Pokémon. Although a bit gimmicky at times the mini-games provide a fun challenge while the card battles provide more strategic gameplay. Even after all these years Chocobo Tales still holds up as a very solid package.
The game starts out with the Shirma, the white mage, reading a tale to all of the chocobos just as Chroma, the black mage, shows up with a special new book. Turns out this is actually an evil book called Bebuzzu which is filled with powerful magic. The books absorbs all the chocobos except for you and therefore the weight of saving everyone falls on your wings. Many of the other books get scatter around the island and as you find them they suck you into their reality. By completing the challenges offered in each book you'll free chocobos as well as unlock new cards. Each book has three different endings some of which will open up the paths you need to reach the island's four crystals. You must find them before Bebuzzu can obtain the power he desires.
Some chocobos will help provide particular hints for progression while other offer access to microgames. You can think of the games in the books as minigames offering more depth then the other microgames which are usually quite simple. Microgames strictly offer two card rewards based on score requirements for the easier silver medals or the difficult gold medals. The games in the book however feature two modes for solo and competitive play and feature seven objectives between them. The card battles are the real treat and are surprisingly a little under utilized.
You can save up to three 20 card decks using the cards acquired from all the minigames. Once you start a duel you and your opponent each draw a hand of three random cards. The first player to select a card each turn gets the initiative in battle. Each card has four sides any of which can display swords or shields. If you have a sword on a side of your card in which your opponent doesn't have a shield you get to attacks. If a player defends an attack successfully they may have a special ability that will trigger. Some abilities require the player to have gems of particular colors which are acquired over time simply by playing cards of those cards.
This is a beautiful, silly, and surprisingly fun game for the Nintendo DS. The stories told in the magical books are mostly based on common folk tales and range from silly to just plain ridiculous. Some of the mini-games are better than others but overall the are mostly enjoyable and provide quite a challenge to fully conquer. Building the ultimate deck and dueling with it is a real treat and I wish their had been more battles. This game is anywhere from 10 to 15 hours long depending on how many challenges and gold medals you go for. Either way this is a very unique experience for those open to something a little different.