• Chocobo Guide

    The world of Final Fantasy VIII contains seven Chocobo Forests, which are full of puzzles, treasure, and of course, Chocobos. Although these forests are not required to complete the game, they are a challenging and interesting section of Final Fantasy 8 that every person should try.

    First off, a Chocobo is a yellow animal that looks like a cross of an ostrich and a chicken. They are found in Chocobo Forests, and only come out of hiding when only one of their babies (Chicobos) are out in the open. They are about the same height as humans, and can be used as a fast method of transportation. While riding on a Chocobo, Squall will not face any random encounters, so it is a very safe and fast method of transportation. Although Chocobos cannot walk on water, they can travel across shallow parts of the sea, which is necessary to find the Chocobo Sanctuary and the Ragnorok on disk 4. Unfortunately, once Squall dismounts from a Chocobo, it runs away permanently, and he will have to travel back to a Chocobo Forest to find another one. Chocobos can also be used to dig up treasure in the Chocobo Forests.

    A Chicobo is a baby Chocobo, and plays a vital role in the game. Chicobos are baby Chocobos, and Squall needed to use them to find a Chocobo. A Chocobo will only come out of hiding when only one Chicobo is out in the open. Also, a Chicobo named Boco can be used on the Pocketstation to collect items after catching your first Chocobo. One special item, Mog's Amulet, allows Squall to get the GF Minimog, and can only be found on the Pocketstaion.

    There are seven Chocobo Forests in the world, each one containing Chocobos, Chicobos, and treasure. Chocobo Forests stand out because of their distinct circular shape. The Chocoboy can be found in all of them.

    The Chocoboy is a kid that spends all of his time in the Chocobo Forests. He will give Squall the ChocoWhis, and teach him how to use it. Pay careful attention when he explains how to use it, for this is vital to solving the Chocobo Forests. If you want, you can just give up, and the Chocoboy will catch a Chocobo for you (for a price). But the whole point is to figure it out for yourself, so only do this if you are hopelessly stuck.

    The ChocoWhis has two parts, a ChocoSonar and ChocoZiner. The ChocoSonar is the part of the ChocoWhis that detects the location of Chicobos. The beeping sound of the ChocoWhis will get faster if you come to a spot where you can call Chicobos. If you are certain that you are in the right spot, you can then use the ChocoZiner to call the Chicobos. If you are in a place where the ChocoSonar did not react, and use the ChocoZiner, your whistle will be stolen, and you will have to buy another one. If you are in the right place, a certain amount of Chicobos will come down. To find treasure, you have to wait until you catch a Chocobo, then use the ChocoZiner. If you use it in a spot that has treasure, the Chocobo will dig it up for you. You don't have to worry about using the Sonar for this, just walk around using the ChocoZiner.

    The seven forests are listed below in order from easiest to hardest. Not all of the forests can be accessed until Balamb Garden becomes mobile.

    The Beginner's Forest
    Location: The Beginner's Forest is located next to Shumi Village on Winter Island.
    Chocoboy's advice: "Try to find a spot where only one falls down."
    Solution: There is a spot to the southeast of Chocoboy where only one Chicobo falls down. Use your ChocoSonar to find it.
    Treasure: After getting the Chocobo to come out, get the Aura Stone in the northern part of the forest by pressing the ChocoZiner repeatedly until you find it.

    The Basics Forest
    Location: The Basics Forest is in Sorbald Snowfieldon Trabia's west coast, south of Shumi Village.
    Chocoboy'sadvice: "You only need toblow the whistle twice."
    Solution: First, use the ChocoZinar in the center of the forest. It is the only spot that is not next to a snowbank. There are two spots which can then be used to solve the forest, both are on the southern snowbank.
    Treasure: There is a Flare Stone is the westernmost part of the forest. The Chocobo will dig it up by using the ChocoZinar after the Chocobo reveals itself.

    The Roaming Forest
    Location: The Basics Forest is north of Trabia Garden.
    Chocoboy's advice: "Be careful where the sonar reacts."
    Solution: First off, use the ChocoZiner in one of two places. Either a spot right next to the Chocoboy, or in the northeast part of the forest. Then use it in the center of the opened up part of the forest (the section that is not the path). Then, go all the way south right next to the forest exit, and use the ChocoZiner again. Finally, return to the first spot and use the ChocoZiner one last time to have only one Chicobo remaining.
    Treasure: Squall found a Shell Stone and Holy Stone there in the northern part of the forest.

    Forest of Fun
    Location: The Forest of Fun is east of Edea's House in the Lenown Plains on the Centra Continent.
    Chocoboy's advice: "Chocobowling with 4 bottles, 1 ball."
    Solution: It is possible to set up the Chicobos as pins in this forest, and then knock them down with another Chicobo, like bowling. The first spot to use the ChocoZiner in is the southernmost spot where the ChocoSonar reacts to. Then use it in either of the two spots that are just a little east of the Chocoboy, which sets the pins. The next spot can be either at the easternmost or westernmost part of the forest, which sets the ball. The "ball" will knock over all the other Chicobos over for a strike, so it will be alone. This will make the Chocobo come out.
    Treasure: There is a Meteor Stone, Flare Stone, and an Ultima Stone in the far eastern part of the forest.

    Forest of Solitude
    Location: If you don' have the Ragnorok, this can be a very hard forest to find. Go to the Centra continent (south of FH), and go to the northernmost part. You will have to disembark from the garden, and walk around a narrow path that goes around a mountain range to find this hidden forest.
    Chocoboy's advice: "Search carefully where the Sonar reacts."
    Solution: This is a very simple, yet frustrating Chocobo Forest. There is only one Chicobo in this forest, but he is very hard to find. The sole Chicobo is near the Chocoboy, slightly to the northeast. It is very hard to find, Squall has to be in the exact right spot for the ChocoSonar to react. Once you find it, the puzzle is solved.
    Treasure: Just like the forest and the puzzle, the treasure can be very difficult to find. Squall has to talk to the Chocoboy after finding the Chocobo. He'll ask to play cards, but instead tell him to move out of the way. A Protect Stone and a Meteor Stone are right where he was standing previously.

    The Enclosed Forest
    Location: The Enclosed Forest is located on the south side of the Talle Mountains in southern Esthar.
    Chocoboy's advice: "Collect on outer side, then go in."
    Solution: The first spot is in the northwestern part of the forest, and the second spot is just a little south of it. The third location to use your ChocoZiner in is in the southeastern part of the field (not the path). Spot four is in the upper-right, and the fifth and final spot is in the center of the field.
    Treasure: Hidden in the most upper-right corner of the forest are a Meteor Stone, Holy Stone, and Ultima Stone.

    The Chocobo Sanctuary
    Location: First of all, don't bother coming here until you've solved all of the other Chocobo Forests, because you'll be wasting your time. To get there, you need to get a Chocbo from The Roaming Forest, and head across the shallow part of the ocean into the Grandidi Forest. After exploring in the forest for a bit, you'll find it.
    Solution: This forest isn't really a puzzle, but a reward for solving all of the other ones. Talk to a Chocobo and you will get the one-of-a-kind Chicobo card. You can talk to a Chocobo again and got some Gysahl Greens, but the Chocobo will steal 600 Gil from you.