A great game with a great price tag...
Story: It starts out with Shirma calling everyone together for storytime. Then, your friend, a black mage, busts in with a fancy looking book. You open it, unwillingly releasing Darkmaster Bebezzu. The story starts then, with you restoring light to the crystals and defeating Bebezzu in the end. Good characters make it an enjoyable story, but it's just a bit short. The whole game clocks in at about 10-11 hours for your first playthrough, so the story isn't as involved as some of the other DS FFs. If you're looking for a great story and longer game, Final Fantasy IV is a better choice.
Mini-games: Some of the mini-games are just plain annoying, such as the one where you are in a bubble being chased by a Leviathan.If you have enough patience, you will beat them with enough practice. The Final Fantasy versions of various fairy tales, like The Boy Who Cried Wolf and The Tortoise and the Hare, will make you smile. You earn different endings to the stories, depending on the achievements that you accomplish. You can also earn pop-up battle cards, which brings me to...
Pop-up Battles: These are great fun and are the most fun part of the game. More strategy is involved than it first looks, and it has you coming back for more in the quest to build a perfect deck. This part, from my point of view, is the part that really makes the game really worth playing through. The only down side is how you earn the cards...
Micro-games: These hit-or-miss games are scattered all over the place. Some are unfairly hard and some are quite easy. They are the easiest way to earn new pop-up cards.
Graphics: This game is definitely more kid-oriented than other installments in the Final Fantasy series, but the game has good graphics,and it's kid-oriented focus does not detract from the gameplay.
Overview: Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales is a good game worth a buy, but it's not the usual FF fare. It's a cheap way to have fun for the 10 or 11 hours that you play it, though you have to be ready for the occasional frustration.
Story: 7.5/10
Gameplay: 9.5/10
Graphics: 8.5/10
Overall: 8.5/10