Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Chocobo series is a spin-off franchise within the Final Fantasy universe, owned by Square Enix and designed to appeal to children and casual players. It began with Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon in 1997 and spans multiple genres including dungeon crawlers, kart racing, farming sims, and tabletop games. Its most recent entry is Chocobo GP, released in 2022 for Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android.
Toshiyuki Itahana designed the Chocobo character for the series, starting with Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon. He also worked on Final Fantasy IX, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, and Final Fantasy Explorers. Itahana softened the character's design from a sharper, more monster-like appearance to a rounded, cuter look he felt suited a "beloved protagonist."
Mog the moogle was added because Chocobo, the series protagonist, cannot speak. Mog serves as a talking partner who communicates Chocobo's thoughts to the player. This narrative workaround made Mog a recurring companion across the series.
The Chocobo series went on hiatus after Chocobo's Chocotto Farm in 2012 and did not release another entry until 2019. The return came with Chocobo's Mystery Dungeon Every Buddy!, a remake of the original Wii title, released for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4.
Chocobo Racing 3D was announced at E3 2010 as a sequel to the original Chocobo Racing for 3DS. Square Enix cancelled it in 2013, citing quality that fell short of the company's standards.
Critical reception has been mixed but consistent in one respect: reviewers often criticized the games while praising Chocobo's character design. IGN called Chocobo Racing a "commercial tangent" in 1999, and Ars Technica in 2007 described much of the series as "rather unappealing." The A.V. Club noted in 2023 that the series was "typically welcome" in America when it arrived, especially the Mystery Dungeon entries.