Chocobo’s Mystery Dungeon: EVERY BUDDY! game review- The nostalgic strategy game back in action

Chocobo’s Mystery Dungeon: EVERY BUDDY! is no stranger to any JRPG fans as this turn-based strategy game is a Mystery Dungeon gem. The game is a remastered version of Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo’s Dungeon which was first released on Wii, and then ported to Nintendo DS afterwards. Without further ado, let’s jump into the Chocobo’s Mystery Dungeon: EVERY BUDDY! game review.

Few Tweaks To The Game

Even though it’s being remade, not everything made it to the new title. For instance, there’s the Pop-up Duel card game along with the Romantic Phrases that developers find it hard to add in. So, they decided to remove it and focus more in refining and enhancing on the main game. Besides that, Cid’s Adventure mode is patched up because of how players find the level resets and item system between Cid and Chocobo frustrating. Now, Cid’s Adventure is a part of the story and players will be able to bring chocobos they raised into new dungeons.

Story

The game kicks off with a cinematic where Chocobo and Cid is on their way to retrieve a treasure from the Tower in the Sands. They are looking for the Timeless Power, a gem that will help restore Cid’s airship. Before getting their hands on it, they go through dungeons and finally make their way up just to find Irma and Volg ahead of them.

Amidst the conversation, the gem somehow reacts and open up a vortex that sucks all of them in and teleports the duo to a town called Lostime. Upon reaching, the two soon find out something fishy going on because the town has a mysterious clock tower with a bell. When the bell rang, people around it will lose their memories. Later on, Chocobo will have to help the townspeople to regain their memories and purpose with the ability he received that allows him to travel into one’s memories.

Gameplay

Chocobo’s Mystery Dungeon: EVERY BUDDY! offers the same classical rogue-like experience like the rest of the Mystery Dungeon series. In the game, players will explore the dungeons that are in the memories of the inhabitants of Lostime. Like the previous games, there are levels to the dungeons and players will have to find a door to proceed to the next one. Also, the world in the dungeon is always changing and each time you explore the map it’ll be different. So, wandering around aimlessly in the dungeon does no good because Chocobo has a hunger meter and when it reaches 0, HP will deplete until you’re knock out. On the way, monsters and traps will be in the way and players will have to use their wits to overcome it.

Besides that, random items such as Talons, Saddles, Potions, Spellbooks, Foods and more will be scattered throughout the dungeon. It’s advisable for players to loot them before proceeding to the next stage because once you proceed there’s no turning back. In addition, there will also be unidentified items too that can be beneficial or harmful until it is used or identified.

To complete a dungeon, Chocobo will have to defeat bosses found in certain floors, but players may also enter a duel room to duel with bosses such as Ifirt, Shiva and Ramuh. Speaking of dungeons, there are a couple types of it within the game. The first type is a normal dungeon that doesn’t limit the items and buddies you bring while the other one is Challenge Dungeon that has a limitation on levels, items and not being able to bring along a buddy. With dungeons like this, it’ll spice up your game even if you over-leveled or over-geared.

Job Classes

As the game progresses, Chocobo will be able to unlock and pick from a variety of jobs classes. With the addition of classes, “SP” is also being introduced in the game because skills from different classes requires certain “SP” to cast. Moreover, jobs can also be upgraded through the use of Job Points that will randomly drop every time players defeat a monster. The job classes plays an important factor in this turn-based strategy game as some jobs can turn the tides around in battle.

For example, Black Mage can cast spells without the need for spellbooks, Beastmaster can buff the party with Protect and Dragoon can attack multiple tiles away.

The Buddy System

In Chocobo’s Mystery Dungeon: EVERY BUDDY!, there’s a buddy system that allows Chocobo to befriend and recruit monsters hence “EVERY BUDDY”.

The monsters that Chocobo can recruit ranges from little monsters found in dungeons to bosses like Ifrit that can aid you in battles. To recruit monsters, players will have to defeat them first and also have enough Buddy Points to unlock them. Moreover, amassing enough Buddy Points will unlock more variation for monsters with each possessing different skills, traits, strengths, and weaknesses. Having able to bring you own side kick into a dungeon really does add a whole different flavor into the game.

Check out our gameplay:

Verdict

Overall, Chocobo’s Mystery Dungeon: EVERY BUDDY! is a pretty fun game that you can lay back and play. It’s quite a relaxing game that does not stress plus the music really does bring back the nostalgia. Moreover, the blend of the art style and the retro graphics make the game very captivating. You’ll find yourself wanting to go back for more if you played the game. Lastly, the game also supports co-op mode which means you’ll be able to buddy up with a friend in the game and I think that really is the definition of EVERY BUDDY!

If you’re looking for the game, you can get it on PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch.