10 Things to Know When Starting Chocobo GP

Chocobo GP is here, and all of your favorite Final Fantasy mascots have joined the race! The game is a pretty straightforward kart racer, but there are still some nuances that you’ll need to know as you play. Today, we’ll share with you 10 things to know when starting Chocobo GP!

1. There’s a free version of the game you can try out!

On the Nintendo eShop, there are two versions of Chocobo GP: the Premium and Lite versions. The Premium version is the full version of the game, and it costs 49.99 USD. The Lite version is sort of like an expanded demo version, as it allows you to try the main Chocobo GP mode against other online players. Go ahead and give it a shot to see if you like enough to purchase the full game!

2. Play through the Story prologue!

You may be tempted to jump straight into the online Chocobo GP mode upon starting the game, but we recommend checking out the Story mode first. At the very least you should complete the prologue chapter, as it’ll teach you basic kart controls and mechanics, like drifting, drift boosts, and starting boosts.

For reference, you can pull off a starting boost by holding down the A button as soon as you see the “2” on the countdown appear. Continue holding down the A button until the countdown finishes, and you’ll blast off at the beginning of the race, giving you a nice head start!

You can press and hold the R button to perform a drift. Yellow sparks will start to fly out of your wheels as you drift. Holding your drift will turn the sparks blue, then finally pink. Letting go of the drift will result in a drift boost, with pink sparks giving you the strongest boost. Mastery of this technique is key to winning races!

3. Use your special ability!

Each character in Chocobo GP has a special ability, but their ability meter must be charged before it can be used. You can charge it by performing tricks, using drift boosts, and grabbing Crystals scattered along the track. Once your ability gauge in the bottom left corner is charged, press either the Y or ZL button to activate your ability!

Special abilities vary from character to character. For example, Chocobo’s special ability boosts him forward while leaving behind rings that boost other characters.

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4. Grab Crystals to boost your max speed!

You’ll notice blue Crystals floating around the track. Grabbing ten Crystals will fill up your gauge and boost your maximum speed! Grabbing Crystals also fills up your character’s ability gauge as well, so they’re very helpful! Just keep in mind that you’ll lose some Crystals every time you take damage from other players. Also, at the end of every Grand Prix, your collected Crystals are tallied up, and you’ll be rewarded with Item Tickets!

5. Collect Magic Eggs to get helpful Magicite items!

Just like Mario Kart, there are plenty of helpful items called Magicite that can give you the upper hand in a race. You have three slots for Magicite, and collecting the same Magicite will upgrade it. Those floating objects with the question marks are Magic Eggs, and running into one will grant you a Magicite. There are three different kinds of Magic Eggs, and knowing how they work can let you plan ahead.

The Red Magic Egg is the most basic Magic Egg, and it grants a random Magicite. The Blue Magic Egg will upgrade your current Magicite if you have room. The Rainbow Magic Egg will grant you two of the same Magicite, chosen at random.

6. Perform Air Tricks for speed boosts!

Littered along the tracks are Jump Zones, denoted by their glowing orange ramps. Going over these will boost you forward, but if you press R to drift while on them, you’ll perform an Air Trick! Successfully landing an Air Trick will give you a temporary speed boost. If you time it especially right by waiting to press R just as you’re about to go off the edge, you’ll get an even bigger boost!

7. Hit a wall? Use a Wheel Spin!

If you hit a wall in a bad spot, you might get stuck for a while. If this happens, you can perform a Wheel Spin to rotate on the spot by holding down both the A and B buttons. You can use this to get back to the track faster than just trying to accelerate to it.

8. Check your rearview mirror for danger!

If you need to peek behind yourself for a second, you can press and hold either the X or ZR button. You can check to see if someone is sneaking up on you, or if there’s a dangerous Magicite heading your way.

If players are shooting Magicite at you from behind, you’ll see an exclamation mark at the bottom of the screen. A yellow exclamation mark means you’re being directly targeted, while a red one means someone is using their special ability in your direction.

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9. Complete Dailies for Gil and Item Tickets!

Pressing X on the main menu will bring up the dailies and weeklies screen. Here, you’ll be given a random set of missions that you can complete for Gil and Item Tickets. Aside from completing the Grand Prix and other single-player modes, this is the only way to earn currency, so try to do as many as you can!

10. There are three kinds of currency!

Chocobo GP features three different kinds of currency: Gil, Mythril, and Item Tickets. Gil and Item Tickets iare earned by completing Grand Prix, daily missions, and weeklies. They can be spent in the Shop for fun customization options for your favorite characters!

Mythril is the premium currency of the game. You can earn them through special events and under certain conditions, and you can spend them on premium costumes for your characters, the Prize Pass, and new songs.

That’s it! That’s everything you should know when starting Chocobo GP. If you have any other tips or questions, feel free to let us know in the comments below!