Square Enix have recently released an interview with Yuuki Yokoyama (Producer) and Toshiyuki Itahana (Character Designer) of Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo’s Dungeon. Here they talk about the origins of the famous character plus the future of Chocobo titles.

This interview can be found here. But to those whom don’t have a square enix members account, the full interview can be found below.

- Mr. Itahana, you are the one who designed this cuddly rendition of Chocobo, correct?
Itahana: That’s correct. There was a discussion 10 years ago about making Chocobo’s Dungeon and we started a trial and error process of altering Chocobo’s design.

- How was the experience of designing this alternate Chocobo?
Itahana: It was painful [laugh]. They pretty much left me in charge of design. I basically had to decide for myself what would work or not. I would create a design, take a look at it from the front, and sometimes it would look like a dinosaur. I repeated this process and eventually we settled on the current design.

- Which character did you design first for this title?
Yokoyama: The first two were Chocobo and Shirma.

Itahana: Right. Initially her body proportions were closer to the ones in FINAL FANTASY FABLES: Chocobo Tales. I suggested that perhaps the game could take on the look of clay animation, so I redrew the characters to match the new style.

Yokoyama: However, we decided that we wanted to use the clay animation look for other games instead, so…

Itahana: So my idea was denied [laugh]. I was informed that the game would take a more serious tone, and that the adventurers would traverse expansive deserts and ghastly dungeons. Also, the target audience was set to be older than the ones for Chocobo Tales, so I changed the character proportions accordingly.

- Did you design these characters before reading the script?
Yokoyama: Yes. I created Shirma with the image that she was a cheerful girl that worked at a farm. When I read the script I found out that she was a dependable girl with a positive attitude, so I think that my initial guess wasn’t too far off.

- Croma was a boy in Chocobo Tales, but was Croma intended to be a girl this time around?
Yokoyama: No, Croma was indeed a boy and was set up as Shirma’s older brother. However, when I started to draw Croma, I felt that the character was a better fit as a girl. That’s when I suggested that Croma should be female this time.

Yokoyama: The script only contained a rough plot at that time, so not a lot was planned around Croma.

Itahana: When the proportions of the small characters from Chocobo Tales were enlarged, Croma started to look… well, beastly [laugh]. It’s hard to express emotion with just glowing eyes in a dark hood, so I tried to make Croma look more human in general.

Yokoyama: I requested the main character designs quite early. It was unrealistic schedule-wise to have Itahana design all the game’s characters, so we had our developer h.a.n.d. help us. However, we needed a benchmark to base the designs off to avoid any inconsistencies in style so we had Itahana create one set of monsters and bosses as well.

- With the benchmark provided, what other requests did you make?
Itahana: We requested the designs to reflect the realistic game world. What fabric the clothing was made of, if the monster had thick hair, if it was slick in texture, etc. We wanted these details handled realistically.

Yokoyama: For instance, h.a.n.d. would create the 3D polygon model of a Goblin based on Itahana’s design. Itahana would then check the model and make notes or sketches to suggest changes that I would later forward to h.a.n.d.

Itahana: There were many changes, but one that stood out was the Magic Beast Phoenix since we had its face changed to a human one. Magic Beasts are monsters, but they are gods after all. That’s why I wanted them to stand out from ordinary monsters. Some monsters had very complex body shapes, so I simplified its silhouette and suggested the change to make the monster stand out.

Yokoyama: Out of the monsters, the one that I believe changed the most was the Lizard. It was a cute design at first, but we wanted a more savage look.

Itahana: Right. We requested the Lizard to have a more arched back, to tilt forward, and to have an overall scarier aura to the creature.

- How about the job illustrations?
Yokoyama: The first Black Mage Chocobo had Chocobo’s face showing, but when Itahana saw it, he suggested that Black Mages should have veiled faces and glowing eyes.

Itahana: Right. I remember having a conversation about the Ninja and how we wanted it to wear a hood. When these iconic jobs are caricaturized, it’s vital that anyone who sees it can immediately identify what that job is. For instance, the first Dancer job design was very cute, but it was hard to identify what the job was supposed to be. So in turn we changed the hat that the Dancer was wearing. All in all, the staff at h.a.n.d. are very talented, so working with them was a breeze. We usually instruct everything from the character’s colors and shapes to clothing patterns and other detailed items, but they were very aware of the direction that we were taking, so I felt comfortable in having them create designs for us.

- It seems that there’s a lot to do as a project supervisor.
Itahana: Yes. There’s a lot to talk about even for the smallest of things. Also, since h.a.n.d. is located in Hokkaido (northern island of Japan), communication must have been tough for Yokoyama [laugh].

Yokoyama: I frequently visited them [laugh].

- What did you keep in mind while designing Chocobo for this title?
Itahana: In Hataraku Chocobo*, Chocobo would occasionally wear work clothes, and in Chocobo Tales he stylistically looked different. But this is Chocobo back to his roots and I wanted the design to be simpler. I tried not to add any quirks to the design for this reason. However, while drawing, I made the eyes a little rounder and changed the beak a bit, though I suppose it’s not noticeable [laugh].

- How will Chocobo be portrayed in future titles?
Itahana: I’m not sure yet. I always start drawing once I know what kind of game I’ll be working on. I always strive to draw the most appropriate Chocobo for a particular game, so I always look forward to the next project.

- Closing words for fellow Chocobo fans, please.
Itahana: It has been 10 years since the creation of this cuddly rendition of Chocobo. He has grown quite a lot in this decade, so please join Chocobo on his current and upcoming adventures.

* WonderSwan game released in September 2000. This game was released only in Japan.

Source: Square Enix Members NA

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