Chocobo

The hallmark of the FF series. These giant birds, sort of a cross between an ostrich and a chicken, are the work horses and all-around awesome beasts of the FF universe. Usually a corn yellow in color, their usage varies wildly from game to game. Baby chocobos are known as chicobos (or "kochocobo"s in Japan). In many games (3, 4, 5, 7, 8) Chocobos can be called in battle as summons. However, their primary purpose is transportation, though usually you have to catch one to use it. Riding on a chocobo will prevent enemy encounters, and in some games they can be upgraded to different colors. These different colors usually indicated different abilities, like being able to walk on water, mountains, or even fly.

The chocobos' trademark sound is usually "Wark!" (Click here for the Wark from FF7!) In FF9 this was changed to "Kweh!" They have their own theme music, as well (currently playing if you have the music on). See In-Crossovers: music for more information. The Chocobos have a wide variety of their own games (see Ex-Crossovers and Release Info for more information).

The first named Chocobo was Boko, Bartz' trusty steed in FF5. In FF9, some black mages find a chocobo egg and raise it, naming it Bobby Corwen. Chobi the Chocobo in FFU has the same Chocobo Kick summon ability, and the same affinity for spicy-hot Dead Peppers as the Chocobos in FF9 did. There's also a "Chubby Chocobo" or "Fat Chocobo". In FF4, he can store any excess items in his stomach (ewww!) to be regurgitated later when you need them (ewww!). In FF9, he's the ruler of the Chocobo Paradise. These guys have their own separate theme click here to hear it!

2: Used for riding; runs back home after dismounting.
3: Used for riding, runs back home after dismounting. Can also be called into battle as a summon. Using Gysahl Greens, you can also summon a Chubby Chocobo that will hold excess items for you.
4: Rydia can summon a Chocobo into battle using her Call ability. Different colored Chocobos can be found in Chocobo Forests, including white Chocobos that restore MP, black chocobos that can fly, and standard yellow chocobos for riding. Unlike the yellow ones, black chocobos will wait for you to get back on before flying back to their homes. Chubby Chocobo/Fat Chocobo shows up here as well.
5: Can be called into battle as a Summon; Chubby Chocobo sometimes appears instead. Your chocobo buddy Boko will give you a lift earlier on in the game, but after that chocobos are in short supply. Boko and Koko are yellow chocobos, and are the only ones to make an appearance in this title.
6: Instead of catching Chocobos, you rent them from stables that can be found in towns and forests. You can ride them anywhere you can access over land, and they run back home after you've dismounted.
7: The Choco/Mog Materia summons a stampede of Chocobos with Moogles riding them. If you're lucky, the materia may instead summon a morbidly obese Fat Chocobo to drop on the enemies. To catch them for travel, you have to have the Chocobo Lure Materia and have them show up in battle; then defeat all enemies besides the Chocobo, before it flees, to capture it. You can race them in the Gold Saucer for prizes, and breed them into different "specialty" chocobos that can cross various types of terrain; turquoise for rivers, green for mountains, black for mountains and rivers, and gold ones can go anywhere!
8: Chocobos can be retrived from Chocobo Forests scattered throughout the world after solving a puzzle (sort of a mini-game), and then ridden. Can be called into battle by using Gysahl Greens.
9: Chocobos can be raised and used for treasure hunting in the Chocobo Hot and Cold minigame, which leads you to some of the best items in the game. Unlike other games, Chocobos will wait for you after you dismount and will home in on your location if you utilize Gysahl Greens. Dead Peppers seem to be the Chocobo's favorite snack in this game. Your Chocobo can gain powers in the minigame, as follows: light blue for rivers, red for mountains, blue for oceans, and gold ones can fly!
10: You can rent riding Chocobos only on the Mi'ihen Highroad and the Calm Lands. To get one on the Calm Lands you need to ride them through an obstacle course first. Chocobos are also decked in armor and used by the crusaders at the battle of Mushroom Rock. Later in the game, they're used in a racing mini-game.
X-2: Chocobos will show up in battles (they can attack, cast spells, and be killed!); you can capture them by feeding them Gysahl Greens once the enemies are gone. You can then raise them on Clasko's Chocobo ranch. You can still only ride them on the Highroad and Calm Lands, but you can also send them out to scout for items in various spots. There's a secret Chocobo Ruins inside the ranch, too, with the prize being the Excellent Chocobo!
11: Chocobos are a major method of transportation, and can be ridden after completing a quest upon reaching level 20. Time spent on Chocobos is limited, but can be extended using certain equipment. Chocobos also feature in a few sidequests.
12: You can rent Chocobos from Gurdy in various towns for various prices. Chocobos can only be ridden for 180 seconds, after which they'll run away. You can dash up to three times while riding. You can also (rarely) find wild chocobos wandering around; you can ride them (with the same caveats) by feeding them a Gysahl Greens. You can also find various colors of Chocobo (Green, Brown, Black, Red) which will attack you; some of them can even use Chocobo Meteor! There's also a flashing white Chocobo called Trickster who's a mark, and an extremely rare L.99 Red Chocobo which appears in the Ozmone Plains.
Tactics: Chocobos are treated as regular monsters, that can fight with or against you. If you move a character on top of them, they'll mount the creature and gain its movement attributes. Yellow Chocobos can cure, Black ones can cast Esuna, and Red ones can cast Choco Meteor!
Tactics Advance: Judges use Chocobos to ride into battles. Other than that, little is known of the creatures in this game.
MQ: The only real use for Chocobos in this game is for weathercocks on the houses in Windia.
Unlimited: Chobi the Chocobo in FFU has what looks like the "Chocobo Kick" summon ability, and the same affinity for spicy-hot Dead Peppers as the Chocobos in FF9 do.
The Spirits Within: Chocobos can be seen in two different spots. Once on a man's briefcase and another time on Aki's pajamas.