How to Catch a Chocobo in Final fantasy 7
In the world of Final Fantasy VII, the act of catching and breeding Chocobos is less of a mini-game and more of a rite of passage. Depending on who you ask, it’s either the ultimate retro RPG joy, or a cruel psychological experiment by Square Enix.
TLDR: To catch a Chocobo in Final Fantasy VII, first buy the Chocobo Lure Materia and several Greens from the Chocobo Farm. Equip the Materia and wander over Chocobo footprints on the world map to trigger an encounter.
In battle, immediately throw one of the ‘greens’ items at the Chocobo to distract it. While it eats, quickly defeat the surrounding enemies without hitting the bird. If you damage the Chocobo, it will flee. Once the enemies are gone, you’ll be riding your new bird.
For more in depth instructions on catching Chocobos in FF7, read on below.
First step to catching chocobos in ffvii
The first step to catching a Chocobo in Final Fantasy 7 is securing the proper equipment at the Chocobo Farm, located southeast of Kalm in the Grasslands. You cannot simply find and tame these creatures in the wild through luck because you must possess the Chocobo Lure Materia.
Enter the farmhouse and speak with Choco Billy. He will sell you the Lure Materia, which is the only way to trigger Chocobo encounters while walking over footprints on the world map. While you are there, it is equally vital to purchase a stockpile of Greens such as Gysahl Greens. These act as a temporary distraction during battle, keeping the bird from fleeing while you eliminate other enemies. Without these two specific items, specifically the Materia to find them and the Greens to hold them, any attempt to catch a Chocobo will end in failure before the battle even begins.
Locating a chocobo in the ff7 world map
Once you have your Materia and Greens, head to the nearest set of Chocobo footprints on the world map. Walk or run across these tracks until the screen swirls and a battle begins. You will know you have a chance to catch a bird if you see a Chocobo standing alongside regular enemies.
Your very first move should be to use a Green on the Chocobo. This initiates a feeding animation that keeps the bird occupied. If you ignore the bird to attack enemies first, it will likely get bored or startled and flee the battlefield immediately. While the bird is distracted, focus on dealing with the other monsters. Use single target attacks rather than spells that hit all enemies, because accidentally striking the Chocobo will cause it to run away or counterattack. Once every enemy is defeated and only the calm Chocobo remains, the battle ends and you will successfully be riding your new companion as an iconic accompanying jingle plays.
For new players, catching a Chocobo can initially be a frustrating experience, but once you get to grips with the mechanics it is a relatively straight forward process. It’s also a very satisfying feeling once you have successfully caught your first Chocobo and can then ride it around the map.
Racing a Chocono in ff7 is a different proposition to the initial catching process. To race Chocobos in Final Fantasy 7, you’ll first need to catch and stable a Chocobo at the ranch in Chocobo Farm. Once this step is finished, visit the Gold Saucer Chocobo Square and speak with Ester to register for a race. You begin at Rank C and must win races to reach the prestigious Rank S.
For the best results, switch to Manual mode using the Select button. Hold R1 and R2 while racing to slowly replenish your stamina bar. Manage your speed carefully; sprinting consumes stamina, and empty bars leave your bird exhausted. Conserve energy for the final stretch to overtake opponents. Finally, remember to feed your Chocobo high quality Greens back at the farm to permanently increase its racing stats.
Breeding Chocobos is arguably the most complex side quest in Final Fantasy 7, requiring patience & specific items. It is also the only way to obtain the Gold Chocobo, which can cross any terrain on the world map.
To breed Chocobos in FFVII, rent all six stables at the farm and collect Carob and Zeio Nutts. You must catch specific wild birds and mate them to unlock rare colors. Start by crossing Great and Good birds to produce Blue and Green variants. Once you have both, mate them to create a Black Chocobo. Finally, breed your Black bird with a Wonderful Chocobo using a Zeio Nutt to obtain the legendary Gold Chocobo. For success, always race your parent birds to Rank A or S at the Gold Saucer to ensure the correct offspring color.
