Chocobo GP is entering dangerous territory, as it’s a Nintendo Switch-exclusive kart racer, which means it’s competing with the undisputed king of the genre. The Nintendo Switch is home to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, which is a critical and commercial darling. Despite Mario Kart 8 Deluxe‘s success, there have been rumors circulating that Mario Kart 9 is in development and will launch on the Switch in the future. Mario Kart 9 could use some of the ideas introduced in Chocobo GP.

The original Super Mario Kart on Super Nintendo is credited with creating the kart racing genre as people know it. The more traditional racing games have a focus on realism, while the kart racing genre is a lot more light-hearted and encourages the use of items to slow down foes, and for the stages to possess dangerous hazards that need to be avoided. Super Mario Kart used characters from throughout the series as racers and put aside any notion of animosity between them from the mainline games, which is why Mario has friendly races with Bowser. This led to a lot of copycat titles that were inspired by the Mario Kart games and used characters from different franchises to fill out the roster. These include Team Sonic Racing, Angry Birds Go!, Bomberman Kart, Cartoon Network Racing, Crash Team Racing, Digimon Racing, Pac-Man World Racing, and the legendary Garfield Kart.

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Chocobo GP is a Final Fantasy kart racer and it’s the latest game to take a shot at Mario Kart‘s throne. The Final Fantasy license is a bit different from the cartoon and kid-friendly characters who often appear in kart racers, and the gameplay in Chocobo GP reflects this. Chocobo GP has a different take on the Mario Kart formula, in the way that it treats its characters, courses, and items. Chocobo GP is a live service title and it will be adding new content over time, so this formula could be even more different a year from now. If the rumors about Mario Kart 9 being in development for Nintendo Switch are accurate, then the producers should take a look at some of the ideas used in Chocobo GP and consider using them in the next Mario Kart.

Chocobo GP’s Character Abilities Would Be Great In Mario Kart 9

In Chocobo GP, every character has a special ability that is tied to a meter, which fills up over the course of the race. Once the meter is filled, the player can unleash a special move that is unique to that character. The player can either use the ability as soon as it’s available, in the hope of building up another one as quickly as possible, or they can save the ability for when they need it in a pinch. This means that Chocobo GP’s characters feel a lot more distinct than the ones in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, where most of the differences come in the form of stat boosts that won’t be noticeable to the average player.

The Mario Kart series has used a similar concept in the past, in the form of Special Items in games like Mario Kart: Double Dash!! and the Mario Kart Arcade GP series. In these games, characters can pull unique items from boxes, such as Toad and Toadette having access to the Golden Mushroom, or Baby Mario and Baby Luigi having access to the Chain Chomp. A special move that each character possessed would help make them feel more distinct and would give players an option if they had bad luck drawing items during a race.  It would help to limit these to one per race, as the multiple uses of the ability in Chocobo GP can lead to races becoming too chaotic.

Chocobo GP’s Magicite Shows How Mario Kart 9’s Items Can Improve

A lot of the magicite spells in Chocobo GP are similar to items in the Mario Kart series, with Bahamut acting like Bullet Bill and Haste acting like the Mushroom. One of the best additions to the roster in the game is something that comes from another title, and it’s the Swap magicite, which has an effect that is similar to the Portal Gun from Portal. This is clearly an obvious reference, as the two portals created by the magicite are blue and orange. The Swap spell creates a portal that warps a racer to a further point along the track. The catch is that nearby racers can also use the portal, allowing them to gain an advantage as well. If a racer runs into the second portal, then they are sent further back down the track.

The Swap magicite is a great addition to Chocobo GP and it could work in the Mario Kart series by turning it into a Warp Pipe. It would have to be one of the items that is reserved for people who are further back in the race, like the Bullet Bills in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, as it could give people in the lead too much of an advantage. It would offer racers a way to catch up to the pack, as well as offer a last-ditch method of avoiding projectiles.

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Mario Kart 9 Should Use Remixed Tracks Like In Chocobo GP

Chocobo GP only has a few tracks at launch, but there are different versions of each track that have varying hazards, layouts, and lengths. The Mario Kart series isn’t lacking for new tracks, especially considering that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is adding 48 courses in its upcoming DLC. The idea of varying existing tracks is an interesting one, as offering shorter versions of existing tracks would be great for tournaments, rather than having to rely on specific stages.

This could be similar to how Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has Battlefield and Omega versions of every stage, as these are popular layouts for tournaments and people who want simpler matches. A variant for every track in the shape of Baby Park or Mario Circuit, with different hazards based on the original stage, would be a great way to add a ton of content to Mario Kart 9, while allowing for short races for competitive play.

Chocobo GP will be released for Nintendo Switch on March 10, 2022.

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About The Author


Scott Baird
(2543 Articles Published)

Scott has been writing for Screen Rant since 2016 and regularly contributes to The Gamer. He has previously written articles and video scripts for websites like Cracked, Dorkly, Topless Robot, and TopTenz.
A graduate of Edge Hill University in the UK, Scott started out as a film student before moving into journalism. It turned out that wasting a childhood playing video games, reading comic books, and watching movies could be used for finding employment, regardless of what any career advisor might tell you. Scott specializes in gaming and has loved the medium since the early ‘90s when his first console was a ZX Spectrum that used to take 40 minutes to load a game from a tape cassette player to a black and white TV set. Scott now writes game reviews for Screen Rant and The Gamer, as well as news reports, opinion pieces, and game guides. He can be contacted on LinkedIn.

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