Square have been producing games for a long, long time, and every once in awhile they break away from their main series, like Final Fantasy and Mana, to produce a spin-off game. Many of these have starred those large, yellow birds, the Chocobo. Unfortunately, titles like Chocobo Racing and Chocobo Dungeon 2 (both for the PSOne) were mediocre at best, lacking the magic that made us fall in love with the little birds in the first place. But hold on a moment before judging the newest Chocobo title, Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales, as those other games are Chocobo feed when compared to this behemoth.

Starting with a WarioWare-like mix of mini-games and micro-games, all of which use the touch screen or the microphone, Chocobo Tales throws in a light-hearted story that involves the retelling of well known fairytales - now starring Final Fantasy characters - and a deceptively deep trading card game, before binding all this into a book of majestic graphics and upbeat tunes. Don't let the sugary coating that's lacquered onto every inch of the game or the inconsistent difficulty level turn you off, because Chocobo Tales isn't just another kids' game - it's the next in a long line of quirky surprise hits that call the DS home.

Final Fantasy Fables isn't just a clever title, as Chocobo Tales' story is a combination of the main fable of the Final Fantasy series and a retelling of children's fairytales, with a Final Fantasy flavor. A magical book named Bebuzzu that's bent on destroying the world has birdnapped all the chocobos of a small village, and it's up to the warriors of light to harness the powers of the four elemental crystals to defeat this book and its minions. However Bebuzzu has changed the world and it's only by going into storybooks and setting things right that natural order can be restored. These storybooks are based on many a well-known tale but with a new Final Fantasy twist on the story and casting; for example, The Ugly Duckling is now about a chocobo who, when aggravated, starts crying fire. The Big Bad Wolf from the Three Little Pigs is now played by the lightning summon Ramuh and in Little Red Riding Hood the role is shared by a group of Tonberries. The Boy Who Cried Wolf is no longer clamoring about wolves - he's yelling about Leviathan! Anyone who has played their fair share of Final Fantasy games will recognize and (should) love the homage to the series' monsters and summons that makes up the meat of Chocobo Tales' story sandwich.

Despite all the wondrous homage, the story is unbiasedly tailored towards children. For many open-minded gamers this will not be a problem, but for some the cute characters and warmhearted story will drive them far away from Chocobo Tales. If you fall into the latter category then that truly is a shame, as the localization team at Square-Enix went to great effort in attempting to balance the story for both younger and older gamers, by implementing creative word choices and engaging language. Sure, it has a bird as the hero, but the story is much the same as it has been in any other Final Fantasy game before VII's mature turn, and I'm sure you played those without fear of your age being called into question.

Chocobo Tales' gameplay is broken into three parts; mini-games, micro-games and trading card battles. The mini-games are found in pairs inside the storybooks littered throughout the world, which they base their activities on. Each storybook begins with the telling of the initial story, then once the main conflict presents itself, the reins are handed over to you to finish. Using the touch screen for simple yet intuitive control, you'll help the humble but slow adamantoises win a race against the fast but cocky cactuars, freefall down a beanstalk to collect Titan's falling treasure before he falls on you and even build the Three Little Pigs' houses!

To give these games a bit of longevity without making breaking the mini-game mold, each has a Battle Mode where you compete with computer-controlled players between five difficulty levels, as well as a single player Trial Mode. On top of these, there are also six goals to be met per storybook, the rewards for which not only provide cards for your card battles but are also the key to the three endings written for each story. Read an epilogue and watch how a key moment happens outside of the storybook, altering the landscape to now permit progression or access to secret paths! These start off so elementary in nature, suckering you in, but before you know it you've been washed in an ambience of clever storytelling and outstanding presentation so that by the time you reach the more intricate games, you are hooked, line and sinker.

As a whole, these mini-games provide a well-tuned experience that have a Mario Party vibe, except maybe the boring music memorization games, 'Mimic That Melody' and 'Symphonic Survivor' - but that's not to say they are problem free. The instructions explain how you control the upcoming mini-game, but your objective is not always clear, which can lead to unnecessary confusion. The larger problem is a difficulty disparity that seems to inflict every game in some way though; there are some games, such as the Where's Waldo rip-off 'Find That Fiery Chocobo' and music memorization games, where there is little challenge regardless of difficulty level and then there a some like the coin-collecting 'Fire Frenzy' and swimming for freedom 'Underwater Escapades' where the game's competition is always top notch, regardless of difficulty. Combine these extremes and you have a game that suffers from a strong case of unbalanced difficulty. This is why developers create separate difficulty levels for their Story Modes and this is why a game that is being catered to two completely different age groups should follow that logic as well.

The micro-games, a term that has seen heavy use since Nintendo's WarioWare series hit the shelves, are quick bursts of arcade-style gameplay that pay out trading cards for high scores. Taking advantage of both the touch screen and the microphone, be prepared to meet frustration head on, as games such as 'Job Juggler,' 'Cheese Chase' and 'Boggling Bridges' put your reflexes to the test. Back in the Eighties you could probably have built an entire arcade based solely around the twenty-three micro-games found here! Though a completely optional part of Story Mode, there is nothing optional about the entertainment and legitimate challenge (no lack of balance here - they're all hard!) they provide, nor can you deny the rare cards they hand out as rewards. Don't be surprised to find yourself saying 'just one more time to reach the high score' on a micro-game, only to have thirty minutes of futility pass yet still be saying 'just one more time'.

Last, but certainly not least, is the trading card battles known as Pop-Up Duels. Generally reserved for boss battles, these duels are beyond awesome and easily made the game for me. The card system is a strange mix of Culdcept, Magic: The Gathering and Rock-Paper- Scissors, with the goal being to deplete the opponent dueler's HP by calling forth the monsters inside of the cards. Battles are broken into sections, with the first being the Pop-Up Phase, where you are randomly dealt three cards from your deck to the touch screen. You select one of these cards to play, sliding it up to the playing field on the top screen and your opponent does the same; the first one to slide their card onto the playing field goes first, so it pays to know your deck and to think on your feet.

For the sake of example, let's say you slide your card up first. Each card has a main elemental-based color for a background - fire red, ice blue, plant green, lightning yellow and neutral gray - four zones representing each of the elements (with neutral being left out), as well as a list of attacks and abilities. On any of these zones, a card can have a sword or a shield, which represent a monster's ability to attack an opponent's defense or block their offense. Say the card you slid up earlier had a sword on the red zone - that means you can attack the red zone of the card your opponent slid up and the attack listed on your card will go through without a hitch. If your opponent has a shield in the red zone then that attack is completely blocked, and if they have a sword too, then the damage from the attack is halved. Once each side has had a chance to attack if their cards have swords - some cards only defend, such as walls - cards with elemental background colors turn into crystals, which are the key to unleashing the abilities of many cards. Then a new card is given to replace the used one and the Pop-Up Phase begins anew.

Even if for some reason that sounds a daunting, or your interest in collectable trading card games has always hovered around zero, the Pop-Up Duels in Chocobo Tales are put together in such a way that they only appear intimidating during the lengthy tutorial, as accessibility is always the key. Your decks never involve more than twelve cards, bosses always use elemental-themed decks so their weaknesses are visible and card variety is limited to only a small selection of monsters. I have played harder regular card games, such as Hearts and Rummy, so if you can handle those games then you should be able to handle Pop-Up Duels.

With that said, the Pop-Up duels aren't child's play; once you have a decent selection of cards to choose from, it becomes obvious that these duels can be approached in more than just one facile way - and the key to unlocking that approach in both deck-building and multiplayer is in the crystal abilities found on many cards. Much like in the Pokémon Trading Card Game, many cards have abilities that cannot be used until a certain amount of crystal power has been accumulated. Though novices can get by without crystal abilities, embracing them not only opens up a world of powerful new abilities and deck possibilities, but it injects deck building and dueling with a much needed dose of skill and strategy.

Square-Enix has wowed us in the past with presentation that pushes the DS to limits that no other developer has attempted, and Chocobo Tales is no different. The graphics are broken into two types; the overworld and the storybook. The overworld includes both the main world and the characters found throughout the game, which are created using a slightly upgraded version of the fabulous 3D engine used in Final Fantasy III, rendering everything with vibrant colors and detailed textures. The storybook type borrows the 2D/3D hybrid made famous by the Paper Mario series. All the characters and objects are made of flat sheets of paper, colored in with crayons and thick black lines, giving them a "child's creation" look that is both effective and endearing. The music is a blend of original tunes and remixed Final Fantasy themes. Each song is robust and lively, setting a perfect lighthearted veil over every inch of the game. A greater emphasis on variety and less on remixes of the Chocobo and Final Fantasy battle themes would have been appreciated, but this is easily overlooked, thanks to the care and quality of what is here.

There is quite a lot of gameplay to discover and enjoy in Chocobo Tales. The main quest is about a ten-hour affair by itself, if you pass on meeting every mini-game's six goals and earning all the micro-game cards. But what fun would that be?! If you are willing to invest the time, you could find an additional ten to twenty hours of gameplay just searching out every card, mini-game and Chocobo. Micro-games, even after all the cards have been earned from them, are not only perfect timewasters for commutes or short breaks, but with the online Ranking Page on the official Chocobo Tales' website to challenge, top scores haven't been this entertaining to attain since the Wii's Rayman Raving Rabbids. Need some multiplayer hijinks to go along with your wealth of single player lasting appeal? Then look no further, as the mini-games and Pop-Up Duels can be enjoyed with friends, with the duels taking it online for ranked battles. The lack of single-card mini-game multiplayer does sting a little, but if I had to choose between that and the Ranking Page, the latter wins without competition. Now if only a developer would go the extra mile and allow us to upload our high scores directly from our DS…

Many reviewers have been surprised by just how engaging and entertaining Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales is, as the kiddy label had them convinced it would be nothing more than schoolyard fare. I can't say I was in that group, as my undying love for those yellow birds had me worrying more about a possible localization and how long I would have to wait for the game's release than how my maturity would be perceived. All that energy put into the localization proved to be a great investment, as Square-Enix have me proclaiming them the rulers of the DS yet again. Blending numerous gameplay styles together isn't a new concept, but very few final products glimmer in the light of creativity and enjoyability as Chocobo Tales does. First Rocket Slime and now this - my eyes are in a frozen stare at your bag of tricks Square-Enix, waiting for you to amaze me again!

Reviewed by Tony Peters for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).