When it released last week, Final Fantasy-themed racer Chocobo GP took out all the proverbial gas in the car when it came replete with microtransactions and a freemium style model after asking a premium price. Alongside it launched a “Lite” version of the game free of charge, but more or less has the same features built in, leading some to wonder what the point of the premium version was, since both will require a subscription to Nintendo Online as well. It’s a potentially disqualifying blow to what’s otherwise a charming and competent racing game and a disappointing start to the series 35th anniversary.
This week, producer Hironori Okayama wrote a letter to share what the next steps for the game would look like, including the elephant in the room, as well as future content plans.
The most urgent concern, he writes, is to address the bugs causing problems in the current version, where there are errors when purchasing items that arise from differences in the application version – meaning the free ‘Lite’ version and the premium version. Okayama says if this is happened to you and you’ve enquired about it with customer service, you’ll receive an individual response.
Matchmaking has also created situations where players are unable to enter the ‘Ready’ state and proceed into a race, and a bug is also desyncing race start times and causing the results screen to appear before completing the set number of laps, etc. Okayama shares that they are currently working to fix these issues as soon as possible, and that updates are coming.
Players are also apparently unable to play the titular ‘Chocobo GP’ mode properly and the team will be easing the score bands required to increase your Prize Level, as a way to sort of rebalance the curve. There will be some cases where your level will increase immediately.
Chocobo GP is currently holding it’s first Season, in which you can grind out an exhausting battle pass to potentially recruit Cloud and Squall into your rosters. Squall can be purchased with gil earned in Chocobo GP mode and by daily & weekly missions by players who own the retail version of the game. Cloud, on the other hand, is earned on the Prize Pass at Level 60, another currently exhausting, deflating grind to try to claim limited-time rewards. The team is considering making them available again later in a different form for those who purchase the game later, food for thought.
Whether you have the free or premium version, new tracks will be available in Season 2, though the functionality of them differs based on the model you pick. New costumes and background music will be available to buy in the Mythril Shop or can be earned by grinding out a season pass or prize pass.
The team is also planning to make improvements to the game’s balance to “ensure a fair and balanced competitive environment and improve playability” and that those improvements are due before Season 2 begins.
Exact changes to earning the wide swathe of costumes, tracks, music, and characters remains to be seen, especially for those who sunk fifty bucks a freemium game, but we’ll likely hear more as plans solidify.
Recent Comments