User Score
7.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 35 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 35
  2. Negative: 3 out of 35
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  1. DavidDodge
    Mar 13, 2007
    7
    Rather short but very sweet. The minigames are fun and give good incentive to continue playing for the side-objectives. Sub-minigames push the limit on reasonable high score however, over the line into near-impossible.

    The card game is fun and deep while remaining simple and easy to pick up and play. Online play also helps considering the unfortunate lack of it's use in
    Rather short but very sweet. The minigames are fun and give good incentive to continue playing for the side-objectives. Sub-minigames push the limit on reasonable high score however, over the line into near-impossible.

    The card game is fun and deep while remaining simple and easy to pick up and play. Online play also helps considering the unfortunate lack of it's use in single-player. Worth playing, might not be worth buying however. (Japanese Import)
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  2. Nov 25, 2019
    5
    It's OK if you didn't remember to bring any other cartriges with you. You'd think a card-based fighting game with a collection of other minigames would be the ultimate way to entertain yourself, with a variety of fun things to do. And you would be wrong, because mostly what you'll do is grind your way through minigames you dislike to get the cards you need to play the part of the game youIt's OK if you didn't remember to bring any other cartriges with you. You'd think a card-based fighting game with a collection of other minigames would be the ultimate way to entertain yourself, with a variety of fun things to do. And you would be wrong, because mostly what you'll do is grind your way through minigames you dislike to get the cards you need to play the part of the game you really wish you were playing. If this game were made new today, you'd just be prompted to make a $129 microtransaction to unlock all of the cards and skip the minigames altogether.

    The popup fight card game is fun, with just enough strategy to be interesting, just enough time to make decisions, and just enough randomness that you don't feel overwhelmed. Unfortunately, to get good cards, you need to play minigames. And the minigames are, well, not fun. How many different variations on whack-a-mole can you imagine? What if you also mix in some hidden-item-search and puzzles? It's every boring minigame you've ever said "no thanks" to, lovingly animated with extremely cute chocobo graphics. Yeah the art is great.

    Saying "well they're for children" does not excuse boring games. Any kid who can play this fairly complex card game and enjoy it is going to be just as annoyed as I was with these stupid minigames. There I said it. Sorry. It's just not that great.
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Awards & Rankings

34
47
#47 Most Discussed DS Game of 2007
73
#73 Most Shared DS Game of 2007
Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 42 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 25 out of 42
  2. Negative: 2 out of 42
  1. A beautiful game to look at with some fun replayable mini games. Don’t expect an epic story, though – just lots and lots of Chocobos! [JPN Import]
  2. Irritating and irrational, Magic Picture Book treats you badly. Yet one flash of those choco-puppy eyes and your heart will flutter. The DS equivalent of Stockholm Syndrome. [JPN Import; Mar 2007, p.76]
  3. Play Magazine
    75
    With its weird mishmash of genres, art styles and difficulty levels, Chocobo and the Magical Picturebook is sort of a mess. But it's the good kind of mess, born of a passionate development team that was determined to pack a ton of ideas into a DS cartridge. [JPN Import; Feb 2007, p.79]