Pop-Up Duels and Cid’s Adventure Aren’t in Chocobo’s Mystery Dungeon: Every Buddy – Here’s Why

During a live stream event, Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo’s Dungeon director Akihiko Maeda talked about the upcoming remaster  for the PlayStation 4 and the Nintendo Switch, Chocobo’s Mystery Dungeon: Every Buddy!. Not only did he briefly discuss the motivations behind this project, but also revealed that a couple of features from previous versions won’t be returning for the remaster. Chief among those is the Pop-Up Duel system, which is being removed from the game entirely.

In the original game (and other titles in the Chocobo series), Pop-Up Duel was a bonus game players could engage with on the side. Essentially, it was a collectible card-battling game featuring even more adorable versions of the already super stylized versions of various Final Fantasy creatures. This also tied into “Romantic Phrases,” a part of the original game that helped unlock new cards, as well as a few unlockable jobs and dungeons.

The Pop-Up Duel feature is being removed because, as Maeda said, the team opted to take the resources needed to implement and balance the mode and put them toward the main story. Since the game is gone, the unlockable rewards will be placed elsewhere in the game.

Another feature missing is Cid’s Adventure, which was a scenario added in the DS version. However, elements from that scenario have been worked into the main story, so it isn’t gone entirely. This includes a set of new dungeons.

With respect to the Chocobo’s Mystery Dungeon: Every Buddy! project itself, Maeda stated that remaking the Wii title made the most sense logistically, as the goal was to get a project out in time for the series’ anniversary. Remaking fan-favorite Chocobo’s Dungeon 2 would have been much more of an undertaking, while the more recent title still had plenty of surviving assets.

Finally, Maeda also noted that the new version has re-recorded voice acting, partially due to the fact the remaster has elements from both the Wii and DS games together, with some story details changed to make it all flow better.

[Source: Gematsu]