Final Fantasy fans are livid over mobile gacha-like microtransactions in Chocobo GP, a full-priced $50 title from Square Enix. Chocobo GP was supposed to be a quaint successor to the classic Chocobo Racing on Nintendo Switch, but the free-to-play shenanigans were not immediately visible until fans began to play the game. The backlash against has been vocal and none to pleasant for Square Enix.
Chocobo GP microtransactions go far for a $50 game
After racing for a short time, players are suddenly met with Gil, tickets, and Mythril, the in-game currency that you only acquire by spending real money. Purchasing the first season pass is essentially free because it costs 800 Mythril and the game gifts you 800 Mythril to log into season one. However, the 800 Mythril actually expires if they’re left idle for five months. There aren’t even a lot of regular gacha mobile games that do that.
This is in the full £40 version of Chocobo GP. #NintendoSwitch pic.twitter.com/Q3ongzlLVn
— TangoBunny (@TangoBun) March 10, 2022
And looking at various subreddits like r/TwoBestFriendsPlay and r/FinalFantasy, it’s clear that the fans not only feel duped, but feel that the reputation of Square Enix has been tarnished.
Here is just a sample of the top-rated comments from Reddit:
“That may be the scummiest gacha tactic I’ve seen to date.”
“Game should had been F2P instead of a fake lite version with how much mtx this game has.”
“Legitimately had no idea about all of this microtransaction crap, booted up the game, was greeted immediately with ingame currency you buy with mtx, battle pass to get rewards with two tiers, and the entire design making it feel like my nintendo switch is a phone. Like am I paying a $50 game or a f2p mobile game?”
After the live-service controversies of Marvel’s Avengers and the widely panned Babylon’s Fall, it would seem that Square Enix microtransactions are hitting the proverbial wall. Worse yet, most reviewers for Chocobo GP didn’t know about these microtransactions until after the game’s release.
In other news, an Elden Ring fan has made an app to track quests and NPCs, and Square Enix has revealed the PlayStation exclusive title Valkyrie Elysium.
