Template:Sideicon Chocobo Forests are optional locations in Final Fantasy VIII. There are seven forests and in each the player can catch a chocobo by solving a series of puzzles involving chicobo. The forests are connected, in that each can be reached via chocobo taken from any of the other forests.
If the player doesn't want to go through the process of catching the birds, they can simply ask the resident Chocoboy to catch one for 1,200 Gil. Catching a chocobo in the Steam version earns the achievement Chocobo. Template:See Also
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The puzzles involve spots where the player can make chicobos appear and disappear by whistling the ChocoZiner (obtained from Chocoboy). The player can find these spots by using a ChocoSonar. When only one chicobo is out in the open a mother chocobo will appear and the player can either ride her or have her assist in digging up hidden items within the forest. The items are found by using the ChocoSonar. When all the treasures are found the player can keep returning to the forest and a chocobo will be waiting for them to ride, without having to entice them out first.
The forests are optional and the player can complete them in any order. After the first time of completing a forest puzzle the player can talk to Chocoboy after the mother chocobo has appeared, and the player acquired the treasure; Chocoboy will give Squall Boko who is playable in the Chocobo World game on the PocketStation (Japan exclusive) or in the PC-version, and can be summoned in battle via Gysahl Greens.
Forests
| Forest | Location | Chocoboy's hint | Treasures |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Beginner's Forest | Trabia - Winter Island, near Shumi Village. | Try to find a spot where only one falls down. | Aura Stone |
| The Basics Forest | Trabia - Sorbald Snowfield, roughly south of the Shumi Village, on the same island that Trabia Garden is. | Have to blow the whistle twice. | Flare Stone |
| Forest of Solitude | Centra - Nectar Peninsula. | Search carefully where the Sonar reacts. | Protect Stone, Meteor Stone |
| The Roaming Forest | Trabia - Bika Snowfield, north of Trabia Garden. | Be careful where the Sonar reacts. | Shell Stone, Holy Stone |
| Forest of Fun | Centra - Lenown Plains, east of Edea's Orphanage. | Chocobowling with four bottles, one ball. | Meteor Stone, Flare Stone, Ultima Stone |
| The Enclosed Forest | Esthar (Actually on the Centra continent) - Talle Mountains. | Collect on outer side, then go in. | Meteor Stone, Holy Stone, Ultima Stone |
Forest of Solitude
The chicobo is HERE.
It is notoriously difficult to catch a chocobo in the Forest of Solitude near Centra Ruins, because there is only one chicobo. After having found the mother, the player must challenge Chocoboy to a game of cards and ask him to move: Chocoboy is standing on top of the buried treasure.
The Chocobo Sanctuary
After having befriended all of the chocobos in the forests the player must return to The Roaming Forest and take the chocobo for a ride, then head east through the Bika Snowfield, cross the shallow water and enter the Grandidi Forest to reach the Chocobo Sanctuary. This secluded forest can only be reached by a chocobo. In the Sanctuary the player will witness the "Dance of the Chocobos" and the chicobo will offer the Chicobo card. Afterward, the player can buy Gysahl Greens from the chicobo.
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Etymology
The name "chocobo" derives from a Japanese brand of chocolate malt ball by Morinaga, ChocoBall (チョコボール, Chokobōru?). The mascot for this product is Kyoro-chan (キョロちゃん?), a bird who says "kweh".
食う / くう / kuu is a rough way to say "eat", whose volitional casual form is 食え / くえ / kue ("let's scoff 'em down!"), leading to Kweh!
Trivia
- The player can fight the UFO? on the plateau atop the Chocobo Sanctuary as part of the PuPu sidequest.
- Dance of the Chocobos is a nod to Final Fantasy VII, where dancing chocobos give the player the Choco/Mog Materia.
- The mechanics of forest minigame are a precursor to Final Fantasy X's Cloister of Trials. The player has to solve increasingly difficult puzzles and recover hidden items before the forests/cloisters been considered complete.