I like roguelike games, but I love roguelike-lites even more. Shiren is great but I cannot play for long periods because it's stressful; one bad decision and you're literally back to square one. You've lost everything, including your experience points and life will be hard for a while. Roguelike lites, on the other hand, offer some of the challenge but reduce the risk quite a bit. Izuna is probably the most well-known roguelike lite. I loved the humor and characters in Izuna and knowing that I'd not lose my experience allowed me to be a bit less calculating. I really like that.

When SquareEnix first announced Chocobo Dungeon, I was pretty excited. I knew it would be a lite type of game and I was looking forward to it. I pre-ordered it shortly thereafter and have put in a few hours with it since picking it up on Tuesday.

Presentation
The music in the game is soft and recognizable, which makes the Final Fantasy fan all warm and fuzzy. I especially love the version of the FF I theme used in this game. It's quiet and soft and overall magical. The human characters in the game are somewhat SD, sort of like the Crystal Chronicles characters. I've only encountered one character with a job and she seems to be the main human character. The graphics have a soft look, like LostWinds. It's all very inviting and classic FF. Once the chocobo enters a dungeon, the graphics take on a much darker appearance. The harshness of the dungeon graphics are softened by transparent puzzle pieces that fall in the foreground. It's a subtle yet nice touch.

The story is told through very short cut scenes. I'll avoid spoilers and give the basic gist of the story: there's a town with a bell that wipes out memories whenever it rings. The townspeople have decided that forgetting is a virtue and are okay with losing memories. Through the first few minutes of the game, it's revealed that chocobo can enter into a labyrinth in people's minds to restore lost memories. It's a simple story but this is Square we're talking about. I know it'll be epic before the game ends.



Gameplay
As is tradition in roguelike games, everything in the dungeons is turn based. The player can freeze everything by not moving, using or equipping items. There are tons of traps as well as tons of items so it balances out. Chocobo regenerates HP and MP while walking; this is crucial to survival. Enemies will attack as soon as they see chocobo and will pursue until they are either dead or successful. Each dungeon is randomly generated and features a final boss. I've encountered three bosses thus far and all have been large and menacing. When chocobo dies, he/she is sent out of the dungeon and stripped of everything except for items that were equipped. This is very forgiving for a roguelike.

Thus far the game has been pretty easy and entertaining. I do anticipate that the difficulty will ramp up to prevent a serious challenge at some point. Until then, this game is a very charming dungeon crawler that never fails to bring a smile to my face. This game could only be better if it were Moogle Mystery Dungeon.