I thought so too when I first heard it -- I literally said "ugh that's gross" before realising nobody else was around to hear me -- but it has grown on me somewhat. I think drawn out vowel sounds are pretty common in an Australian accent (esp. Queensland; we are sister states with Texas for a reason) but chocobo is still my preferred.

Related: Moogle is a smurfing horrible word either way so I just say mog. Like mop but flipped round. Mog. Easy. (oh god I guess Moomba ties into this. smurf I am gonna quit while I'm... somewhere.)