Creation and development The chocobo was created by Koichi Ishii, an artist and game designer who worked on the original Final Fantasy (1987) and Final Fantasy II (1988). The origins of chocobos came from Ishii's childhood. When he was at elementary school, he bought a chick at a festival market and formed a strong bond with it. One day while he was away at school, his parents decided they could no longer care for it and gave it to a neighbour who kept chickens. Ishii was very upset when he found out, and kept the memory of the chick into his adult life. All through development of Final Fantasy, Ishii wanted to create an animal companion character. A challenge to himself was creating a character that could not speak but would still be capable of creating an empathic connection with the player. The chocobo's design was inspired by the middle stage of his chick before it matured into a chicken. The name "Chocobo" was inspired by the Chocolate Ball, a popular confection in Japan created by Morinaga & Company.
Creation and development The chocobo was created by Koichi Ishii, an artist and game designer who worked on the original Final Fantasy (1987) and Final Fantasy II (1988). The origins of chocobos came from Ishii's childhood. When he was at elementary school, he bought a chick at a festival market and formed a strong bond with it. One day while he was away at school, his parents decided they could no longer care for it and gave it to a neighbour who kept chickens. Ishii was very upset when he found out, and kept the memory of the chick into his adult life. All through development of Final Fantasy, Ishii wanted to create an animal companion character. A challenge to himself was creating a character that could not speak but would still be capable of creating an empathic connection with the player. The chocobo's design was inspired by the middle stage of his chick before it matured into a chicken. The name "Chocobo" was inspired by the Chocolate Ball, a popular confection in Japan created by Morinaga & Company.