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The Gold Saucer is home to many minigames inFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth, but one of the highlights has to be Chocobo racing. The event feels like a playful, bird-themed take on kart racing, and for those looking for glory on the racetrack, a tournament sidequest will become available in Chapter 12.
Billy, who you met all the way back at the start of the game, is desperate to claim the famed Gold Cup, and makes Chocobo Sam promise to tell him about what happened to his parents if you win. Help Billy take first place and uncover the truth about his family’s past.
Chocobo Customization
Before you even set foot on the track, you have the ability tocustomize the Chocobo you’re going to race with. You’ll have the option ofchoosing between every Chocobo you’ve unlocked in the world(including Selena, since you need to completeEsoteric Secrets of the Eldersin order to unlock this quest).
Each Chocobo has its own distinct base stats, sporting different values in speed, acceleration, weight, cornering, strength, and intelligence.These stats can then be increased by equipping different outfitsin the Chocoboutique.
Furthermore,each piece of clothing comes with its own unique ability, allowing you another layer of strategy during races. Customize your steed to your liking, and it’s off to the races!
While stats like speed and acceleration are obviously incredibly helpful in the context of a race,cornering may be one of the most important. Some of the tougher tracks require you to make multiple hairpin turns in quick succession, andflying off the track can cost you dearly.
How To Unlock The Gold Cup
Before you enter the Gold Cup, you need to raise your rank high enough to compete.You will start at Maiden and must raise yourself up to Gold(go figure) to compete in the cup. Grade III races are available from the beginning, and feature Maiden, Bronze, and Silver difficulty tracks. The rank promotions work as follows:
Gold
Achieved afterwinning three SIlver racesfor the first time.
Achieving Silver rankalso unlocks Grade II races, which feature longer courses than Grade III andcontain the final Silver races needed for you to hit Gold rank.
The races in Grade III and Grade II are a trivial challenge if you have any level of experience with Mario Kart and similar games. Still,you may use them to develop familiarity with mechanicsand implement rudimentary strategies such as:
You can also press X when it hits two during the start countdown for a speed boost, just like in Mario Kart!
Racing The Gold Cup
You’ve finally made it to Grade I, the Gold Cup. Unlike previous challenges,the Cup functions as a circuit, so you’ll be placed intothree races back-to-back-to-back and receive points based on where you finished in each. At the end of the event, the jockey with the most points wins.
While the challenge is certainly increased from your previous races, you really only need to worry about one opponent:Chocobo Sam’s black Chocobo, Hyperion. If you aren’t in first, they will be, making every part of the circuit much more competitive than anything you’ve faced before.Be patient, drift around corners, and use your abilities, and you should emerge from the circuit victorious.
Remember,you don’t need to win every race! If you win two of them and place well in the third, you should accrue enough points to beat Hyperion.
Afterwards,you’ll receive the Chocoking’s Capeand be treated to a cutscene where Billy finally finds out what happened to his parents.
