Chocobos or chocobo-themed characters have played story roles in multiple titles, notably in Final Fantasy V and XIII.

The chocobo was created by designer and artist Koichi Ishii, inspired by childhood memories of raising a chick to adulthood.

[2] This anger prompted him to include the chocobo in its intended companion role in the debut Mana title Final Fantasy Adventure (1991), which was the first project where he had creative control.

[2] He was originally going to make the chocobo one of a trio of mascot characters alongside the Moogle and a third animal creation that ended up being scrapped.

[7][8] A recurring element in games featuring the chocobo is a titular musical theme, created for Final Fantasy II by Nobuo Uematsu and remixed or redone in subsequent entries.

[5] It underwent multiple redesigns based on the setting of each game, such as Final Fantasy XV (2016) where it was designed to appear realistic while still having exotic flourishes.

[11][12] They were initially left out of the world design of Final Fantasy XVI (2023), but staff protests prompted scenario writer Kazutoyo Maehiro to incorporate them.

[14][12] His early attempts to make a more monster-like version did not work due to the planned tone, which focused on a light-hearted story.

[14] Recurring artist Yoshitaka Amano created a concept for the Chocobo summon from Final Fantasy III, though this design differed markedly from its usual appearance.

[19][21] From Final Fantasy VII onwards, Chocobos have appeared in more substantial roles within racing minigames, and as summoned monsters.

[7][21] In Final Fantasy XI and XIV, chocobos were included in player-focused activities, featuring them as both pets and means of transport.

[12] Within Square Enix's library, chocobos also saw playable cameo appearances in Tobal 2,[35] Legend of Mana,[36] and Dragon Quest X.

[5][20][44][45] In a feature on the series for Retro Gamer, Samuel Roberts referred to the Chocobo as an iconic creature since its introduction in Final Fantasy II.

[49] For Final Fantasy VII, the site Anime News Network regarded the caring for chocobos as an appealing sidequest due to the benefits that come from it and thus wanted the remake to have it.