Chocobo's Dungeon 2

Chocobo's Dungeon 2, originally released in Japan as Chocobo no Fushigina Dungeon 2, is a sequel to Chokobo no Fushigina Danjon. It is part of the Chocobo series and, by greater extent, the Fushigi no Dungeon (Mystery Dungeon) series. It was released for PlayStation in 1998 for Japan and in 1999 for North America. Despite the game's predecessor, Chokobo no Fushigina Danjon, not being released in North America, the "2" was kept in the game's title. It is the first Mystery Dungeon game to release outside of Japan. The game stars a chocobo, which can be given a name by the player.

Characters
There are many characters in Chocobo's Dungeon 2, and each of them helps Chocobo in a different way at one point in the game. For example, Mrs. Bomb lets Chocobo stay at her house.

Some characters join Chocobo and can be controlled by a second player or the game itself. These include Mog, Shiroma, and Cid. There are also characters that Chocobo can summon by collecting feathers, such as Titan, Sylph, Ramuh and Bahamut.

Setting
Chocobo's Dungeon 2 is mostly based in a village. There is a beach near the village and a vast sea. Towering over the village is a large tower covered in ivy, Cid's Tower. North of the village is a huge forest, a swamp and a looming mountain, Snow Mountain. When progressing through the game, the overworld changes a few times.

Plot
At the start of the game, Mog takes Chocobo treasure hunting. They enter a monster-filled dungeon and Mog flicks a switch that separates him from Chocobo. Chocobo then meets the white mage Shiroma. She claims she has important work to do in the dungeon and leaves. Then Chocobo enters the dungeon again and finds Shiroma again. Shiroma decides to help Chocobo find his friend Mog. They succeed but due to Mogs greed he ends up sinking the dungeon into the sea and destroying Shiromas home forcing them to go to a nearby village where Shiroma's "Aunt Bomb" lets Mog and Chocobo stay. However, Shiroma is then kidnapped and it's up to Chocobo to save her. Chocobo gets the help of the local inventor Cid after helping him clear out the imps taking over his tower.

Gameplay
In this game, the mazes for the dungeons are randomly-generated, though certain portions have specific patterns, such as the mazes and rooms in Cid's tower. This means that each time the player enters the same dungeon, the path through the maze will be different, although the same items and monsters will be encountered.

In the beginning of the game, Chocobo can only carry a few items. If he dies in the dungeon, the player loses all accumulated items and must start over. As the game progresses, the player will be able to rent storage space in town and send extra items there. Items in storage are not lost if the character dies.

Chocobo can be equipped with various saddles for armor, and strap-on claws for weapons. There are also special furnaces where the player can forge unique weapons and Recycle Boxes where the player can combine items to get a new, randomly produced item. There are also feathers which provide various special abilities. Items can also be bought and sold in town.

There are several secondary characters from the main Final Fantasy series, including Cid, Shirma, and Mog. Chocobo can also assume the form of some of the monsters if he steps on certain traps.

If the player lets the credits run at the end of the game, he or she will then be given the ability to play a new form of the game where it is possible to play any of the dungeons as one of the support characters. This second playthrough also has a secret dungeon with 30 levels.

Dungeons
There are 7 dungeons in Chocobo's Dungeon 2 but the two tower dungeons are the same, but they have harder monsters and different items. The first dungeon is cut in two. First you go in with Mog, then with Shiroma. The water dungeon is one of the biggest dungeons in the game. Also, the 4th and 6th (last) dungeons are the same up to floor 10 but with harder monsters in the last dungeon. There is also a 7th dungeon after you complete the main story.

1st Dungeon (Mog):

Setting: Underground, Dungeon

Partner: Mog

Floors: 6

Boss: none

1st Dungeon (Shiroma):

Setting: Underground, Dungeon

Partner: Shiroma

Floors: 10

Boss: Skullhammer

2nd Dungeon:

Setting: Tower

Partner: Cid

Floors: 15

Boss: Imp Robo Boss

3rd Dungeon:

Setting: Underground, Dungeon

Partner: Shiroma

Floors: 27

Boss: Ultros

4th Dungeon:

Setting: Forest, Swamp, Mountain

Partner: Cid

Floors: 24

Boss: Glass Goth

5th Dungeon:

Setting: Tower

Partner: Cid

Floors: 15

Boss: Imp Robo Boss

6th Dungeon:

Setting: Forest, Swamp, Mountain, Dungeon

Partner: Mog

Floors: 26

Boss: Glass Goth X, then Glass Goth Z

7th Dungeon:

Setting: Forest, Underground, Dungeon, Underwater

Partner: Mog, Kuz, Shiroma, Cid

Floors: 30

Boss: Leviathan

Reception
Chris Charla reviewed the PlayStation version of the game for Next Generation, rating it 3 out of 5 stars. He stated that "If you're looking for something new, look elsewhere. If you're looking for something classic done with more advanced graphics, you've found it."

Chocobo's Dungeon 2 was received with generally negative reviews, such as IGN's 6.5 rating, and calling the game "boring", and "It lacks just about every feature that is important in a masterful role-playing experience".