Another famous aspect of the ever-present Chocobo is its theme music. Since the Chocobo's first appearance in Final Fantasy III (Japanese 3, not US 3), it has been accompanied by this jaunty melody. Like the Chocobo itself, the song's melody has remained unchanged from game to game, although each game has its own interpretation of the song - some, like Final Fantasy VII, sporting several Chocobo themes.
Final Fantasy III: "Chocobo de Cue" was the original Chocobo theme, as my sources inform me that the Chocobo did not appear in any earlier Final Fantasy games. "Cue" or "Kue" is the sound a Chocobo makes, usually translated to the more recognisable "Wark!" (This game should not be confused with Final Fantasy VI, which was originally released in America named Final Fantasy III.)
Final Fantasy IV: To the best of my knowledge, this game's chocobo theme had no proper name. FF4 featured three Chocobo themes: the Chocobo Forest theme, the Chocobo theme proper and the Black Chocobo theme. One entry in my soundtrack names the Black Chocobo theme "Samba de Chocobo", while another calls it "Mambo de Chocobo"; I am not sure which (if either) is correct.
Final Fantasy V: "Go go Boco!" is a good old traditional Chocobo theme in this game, while "Mamba de Chocobo" is used when flying across the world map on the Black Chocobo.
Final Fantasy VI: "Techno de Chocobo" is the one and only Chocobo theme in this fantastic game. It's basically just a light techno remix of the original theme, and is used when riding a Chocobo about the world map.
Final Fantasy VII: FF7 has more Chocobo music than any of its predecessors - appropriate, since it features the Chocobo more strongly than any of them, allowing you to fight, summon, capture, train, breed, race and train Chocobos of various colours. The Chocobo songs in this game are "Cinco de Chocobo", "Electric de Chocobo", "Fiddle de Chocobo", "Waltz de Chocobo" and the Chocobo racing theme.
Final Fantasy VIII: As the Chocobo was relegated to a lesser role in the game, so was its theme music. FF8 features only two Chocobo themes, "Mods de Chocobo" and "Odeka ke Chocobo".
Final Fantasy IX: Again, this game features two theme, "Aloha de Chocobo" and "Ukelele de Chocobo". The style of either theme is obvious from the name, with Aloha de Chocobo featuring kettle drums and Ukelele de Chocobo sounding like a banjo.
Final Fantasy X: "Brass de Chocobo" is a jazz version of the song, featuring such instruments as trumpets and the saxophone. What, only one Chocobo song in this game? Outrage!
The recurring Chocobo theme is a fantastic example of the great variety that composer Nobou Uematsu is capable of. What he originally created as a simple tune, he has successfully redone in a number of styles, as evidenced by Ukelele de Chocobo, the electropoppy Odeka ke Chocobo, and the jazzy Brass de Chocobo. If it is the most popular of Final Fantasy's musical scores, this may be one of the biggest reasons for it, as each game's Chocobo theme is both familiar and innovative.
Several fan-made versions of this song exist, including the amusing Chocobo remix by Fanatics Tower of Power and the version by Joe Redfier which made its way into Joseph Blanchette's Chocobo flash anim. OCRemix (http://remix.overclocked.org) also has a number of Chocobo theme remixes. The Chocobo's popularity is such that EsperNet IRC Network even named one of their servers for it.
For those of you with a Nokia mobile telephone device, If you'd like the Chocobo theme as your ringtone, I spent far too much time recently developing my own. The following ringtone is, strictly speaking, FF7's Electric de Chocobo. Dropping the BPM to 125 fits both FF6's Techno de Chocobo or FF8's Odeka ke Chocobo (the electronic sounding one), both of which are essentially the same rhythym. I don't think Nokia phones can handle 150BPM (FF7's Fiddle de Chocobo), and FF9's Chocobo themes are in a different key.
Tempo: 160BPM
Keypresses (Nokia 3210 Composer):
28*, 0, 7**, 5, 3, 2*, 7**, 5, 7, 0, 5, 0, (hold 7)9, 68, 58, 0, 5, 6, 59, 4, (hold 5)9, 48, 58, 0, 5, 7, 29*, 3, (hold 4)9
RTTTL/Nokring (note: split across two lines to ensure it fits on the page):
8d6,8p,8b,8g,8e,8d6,8b,8g,8b,8p,8g,8p,b.,8a,16g,16p,
16g,16a,8g,8f,g.,8f,16g,16p,16g,16b,8d6,8e6,f.6
How it should appear on screen:
8d2 8- 8b1 8g1
8e1 8d2 8b1 8g1
8b1 8- 8g1 8-
4.b1 8a1 16g1
16- 16g1 16a1
8g1 8f1 4.g1 8f1
16g1 16- 16g1
16b1 8d2 8e2
4.f2
A fan of role-playing games in both videogame and pencil-and-paper forms, I recently asked my DM if my summoner character could find or summon a Chocobo, to which he agreed on the skeptical condition that I could come up with stats for one. The following is my own take on the Chocobo as a creature in Dungeons and Dragons 3rd edition.
Chocobo
Large Magical Beast
Hit Dice: 3d10+6 (22 hp)
Initiative: +2
Speed: 40ft. (8 squares)
Armor Class: 14 (-1 size, +2 Dex, +3 natural), touch 11, flat-footed 12
Base Attack/Grapple: +3/+10
Attack: Peck +6 melee (1d6+4)
Full Attack: Peck +6 melee (1d6+4)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./ 5 ft.
Special Attacks: Chocobo kick
Special Qualities: Darkvision, low-light vision
Saves: Fort +5 Ref +5, Will +1
Abilities: Str 16, Dex 15, Con 14, Int 3, Wis 11, Cha 7
Skills: Listen +3, Spot +3
Feats: Endurance, Run
Environment: Any land
Organization: Solitary, pack (1-5), herd (4-12) or domesticated
Challenge Rating: 1
Advancement: 4-9HD (Large)
Level Adjustment: —
These friendly yellow-feathered birds resemble ostriches somewhat, but are tougher and have larger heads. They are easily trained as mounts, and are used similarly to horses. Chocobos do not speak a language, although they may understand the language of their trainer.
Chocobo kick (Ex): If the chocobo charges, he may make a slam attack dealing 2d4+3 damage. If it hits, the chocobo can attempt to trip the opponent (+3 check modifier) as a free action without making a touch attack or provoking an attack of opportunity. If the attempt fails, the opponent cannot react to trip the chocobo.
Variant chocobos
Different versions of the chocobo can be made, based on the chocobos games where they have various special abilities. For example, to create an FFV Black Chocobo, simply give the standard chocobo a fly speed of 40ft (clumsy). To create chocobos with abilities such as Choco Cure, give them comparable spell-like abilities (such as cure moderate wounds 3/day), noting that powerful abilities should increase the creature's challenge rating. To create an FFVI Golden Chocobo, advance a chocobo to maximum HD and give it permanent spider climb and water walk abilities.