A spin-off series meant to have more child and casual gamer appeal than the main games, it spans multiple genres, beginning with Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon in 1997.

It features a recurring cast of characters designed by Toshiyuki Itahana and rendered in a more chibi style than traditional Final Fantasy games.

[2] The series then went on hiatus until 2019, when Chocobo's Mystery Dungeon Every Buddy!, a remake of the original Wii title, was released for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4.

He tried to make its appearance more stylish, retaining monster-like elements such as a sharper beak, but believed such a design was unfitting for a "beloved protagonist" and made it more rounded and cute.

[8] In addition to the series itself, Chocobo received a cameo appearance in a mainline game, Final Fantasy XIV, under the alias of Alpha.

However, he praised Chocobo's design, stating that he was "so readily identifiable that I simply can't deny myself the natural desire to take part in his wily adventures" despite being a "seemingly ordinary bird".

[10] In 2009, IGN noted that by the time of the PlayStation, Square Enix was eager to exploit the popularity of the Final Fantasy series in a way they never had before.

Describing the Chocobo series as "moderately enjoyable adventures" that "hopped across all genres", they nevertheless called Final Fantasy Tactics "the only PlayStation-era spin-off that really matters".

Club stated that while the Chocobo series arrived "sporadically" in America, it was "typically welcome" when it did, combining "kid-friendly aesthetics" with "beefy" gameplay in the case of its Mystery Dungeon entries.