Square-Enix had the demo stations for Chocobo’s Dungeon: Toki-Wasure no Meikyuu in a simulated cave with floating puzzle pieces. Before you can get inside you had to wait in a line and I was lucky enough to get in before the queue zig-zagged around Square-Enix’s booth.
When I sat down to play the game (yes, this was one of the few games you could sit and play!) there were two choices for a control scheme. You can either hold the Wii remote like a remote or go for the classic NES controller style. I picked the latter and was whisked away into a town controlling the chocobo. Since the demo was timed I didn’t spend a second exploring the town. I ran straight into a cave where Shiroma, the white mage, greeted me into the fiery maze.
Right in the first floor of the dungeon there is a crystal and when you step on it you can choose the Chocobo’s job. I picked the White Mage first, which had a helpful arsenal of healing spells. I stepped up on to the second floor and saw familiar Final Fantasy monsters drawn in the style of the Chocobo games. Goblins approached me as I took my first step and before they got too close I preemptively casted protect. When you use magic in Chocobo’s Dungeon: Toki-Wasure no Meikyuu you expend the rechargeable SP crystals. The crystals gradually come back, but since there is a delay you can’t constantly cast Dia from a distance. Since my spell crystals were gone it was time to walk up and unleash a furious chocobo kick by pressing B. After a few kicks the goblins were finished and it was time to step forward. After a more exploration in the randomly generated dungeon, I saw bombs on the screen and it was time to move into kicking mode. This time I landed a critical hit, which made the screen zoom in for a more dramatic effect.
Along the way I stumbled on treasure like spell scrolls which were one shot use items. By the fourth level I had a healthy supply of spells and a good feel of what the White Mage class was like. It teleported out of the dungeon and gave another class a try. I chose the Knight, which had a handful of physical attacks. Power slice increased the amount of damage a kick did, but the spin kick attack was useful the most useful skill. When you use it al of the enemies within one square take damage. I started to get tricky with the spin kick. I purposely took damage from a red marshmallow to move into a better position to hit a group of enemies with one turn.
Right when I reached the Phoenix boss monster time was up. I didn’t get a chance to fight it, but I got to try out more than one class. And if it wasn’t for the job system Chocobo’s Dungeon: Toki-Wasure no Meikyuu would be just another cutesy rogue-like.
