- AKA
- Jason Tandro, Doc Brown, Santa Christ, FearAddict, Thibault Stormrunner, RN: Micah Rodney
So I decided to sit down and organize my favorite mini-games in the Final Fantasy series. But rather than go by my gut feeling I decided to be somewhat objective with it... by which I mean rating my subjective feelings in a variety of subjects and going by the numbers.
I determined the following criteria for what I consider makes a good mini-game, and came up with the FERIS G rubrik. A good mini-game is:
1. FUN.
2. Easy to understand and play.
3. Relevant to the story or world.
4. In-Game Rewards For Playing are great / useful.
5. Should Not Be Compulsory To Win The Game.
6. Grinding / Farming Should Be Limited or At Least Fun To Do.
Without further ado here are my top 10:
10.
9.
8.
7.
6.
5.
4.
3.
2.
1.
===
Phew, okay well thank you for reading this, but of course I want to know what yours are. Use whatever criteria you want. What kind of rubrik would use? Is it really just about gut feeling for you? Let me know, discuss!
I determined the following criteria for what I consider makes a good mini-game, and came up with the FERIS G rubrik. A good mini-game is:
1. FUN.
2. Easy to understand and play.
3. Relevant to the story or world.
4. In-Game Rewards For Playing are great / useful.
5. Should Not Be Compulsory To Win The Game.
6. Grinding / Farming Should Be Limited or At Least Fun To Do.
Without further ado here are my top 10:
10.
F: 8 / 10
E: 8 / 10
R: 6 / 10
I: 5 / 10
S: 6 / 10
G: 4 / 10
Total: 37 / 60
Sphere Break from FFX-2 made the bottom of my list but I still think it's an incredibly fun little mini-game. The simple coin-based math bonanza is fun and easy to learn, and it has some relevance to the world and a whole chapter dedicated to it but it's not a massive world-spanning thing (really only showing up in Luca iirc). This lose points because grinding for better coins in Bikanel Desert is tedious, the in-game rewards are not great apart from the Lady Luck Dresssphere and it is required that you play it (at least to obtain the Lady Luck Sphere).
E: 8 / 10
R: 6 / 10
I: 5 / 10
S: 6 / 10
G: 4 / 10
Total: 37 / 60
Sphere Break from FFX-2 made the bottom of my list but I still think it's an incredibly fun little mini-game. The simple coin-based math bonanza is fun and easy to learn, and it has some relevance to the world and a whole chapter dedicated to it but it's not a massive world-spanning thing (really only showing up in Luca iirc). This lose points because grinding for better coins in Bikanel Desert is tedious, the in-game rewards are not great apart from the Lady Luck Dresssphere and it is required that you play it (at least to obtain the Lady Luck Sphere).
9.
F: 10 / 10
E: 4 / 10
R: 5 / 10
I: 4 / 10
S: 10 / 10
G: 8 / 10
Total: 37 / 60
Lords of Verminion from FFXIV is a recent but worthy addition to the lineup. Finally giving a purpose to those Minions you've been collecting, this RTS game is both incredibly fun and gets a perfect score for being completely optional. Grinding is also basically nonexistant unless you want to grind to get the best possible minions from the main game. That said... there's barely any in-game reward apart from MGP, it's not really that easy to learn compared to other mini-games and it only has a passing relevance to the world by, again, giving minions a purpose. I rank this higher than Sphere Break for one reason: That kick ass music.
E: 4 / 10
R: 5 / 10
I: 4 / 10
S: 10 / 10
G: 8 / 10
Total: 37 / 60
Lords of Verminion from FFXIV is a recent but worthy addition to the lineup. Finally giving a purpose to those Minions you've been collecting, this RTS game is both incredibly fun and gets a perfect score for being completely optional. Grinding is also basically nonexistant unless you want to grind to get the best possible minions from the main game. That said... there's barely any in-game reward apart from MGP, it's not really that easy to learn compared to other mini-games and it only has a passing relevance to the world by, again, giving minions a purpose. I rank this higher than Sphere Break for one reason: That kick ass music.
8.
F: 7 / 10
E: 6 / 10
R: 10 / 10
I: 4 / 10
S: 6 / 10
G: 6 / 10
Total: 39 / 60
I honestly thought going by gut that Blitzball from FFX would be #1 on this list and it's definitely the mini-game I sunk the most time into in my life (I had excel sheets full of player stats on this game). But the numbers don't lie. It's fun factor is pretty high but it's water polo menu navigation. It's not an easy thing to learn and the grind can be pretty bad to get new abilities (though if you have Jecht Shot and decent players you're set.) The world relevance is pretty much second to none, one your characters using a Blitzball weapon and Blitzball being mentioned everywhere. It's In-Game rewards are technically good but only obtained after a long massive grind of games. And of course, it's mandatory to play at least one game (and one very hard game) to complete the game.
E: 6 / 10
R: 10 / 10
I: 4 / 10
S: 6 / 10
G: 6 / 10
Total: 39 / 60
I honestly thought going by gut that Blitzball from FFX would be #1 on this list and it's definitely the mini-game I sunk the most time into in my life (I had excel sheets full of player stats on this game). But the numbers don't lie. It's fun factor is pretty high but it's water polo menu navigation. It's not an easy thing to learn and the grind can be pretty bad to get new abilities (though if you have Jecht Shot and decent players you're set.) The world relevance is pretty much second to none, one your characters using a Blitzball weapon and Blitzball being mentioned everywhere. It's In-Game rewards are technically good but only obtained after a long massive grind of games. And of course, it's mandatory to play at least one game (and one very hard game) to complete the game.
7.
F: 7 / 10
E: 8 / 10
R: 6 / 10
I: 6 / 10
S: 10 / 10
G: 3/ 10
Total: 40 / 60
Justice Monsters from FFXV is actually a pretty fun little pinball game. It's easy to pick up and play and is pretty fun but there isn't really any variety. It's relevance to the plot is okay, being an attraction at every diner you stop at and the In-Game rewards are pretty good, especially the best one you can get. It's the getting it that's a pain, grinding is basically all you do at this game if you want to get the best prizes and it requires you to stay at one machine for upwards of an hour to get it. And each time you leave the prize counter resets. That's some fuck. That said it gets a perfect score for being completely optional.
E: 8 / 10
R: 6 / 10
I: 6 / 10
S: 10 / 10
G: 3/ 10
Total: 40 / 60
Justice Monsters from FFXV is actually a pretty fun little pinball game. It's easy to pick up and play and is pretty fun but there isn't really any variety. It's relevance to the plot is okay, being an attraction at every diner you stop at and the In-Game rewards are pretty good, especially the best one you can get. It's the getting it that's a pain, grinding is basically all you do at this game if you want to get the best prizes and it requires you to stay at one machine for upwards of an hour to get it. And each time you leave the prize counter resets. That's some fuck. That said it gets a perfect score for being completely optional.
6.
F: 6 / 10
E: 7 / 10
R: 8 / 10
I: 10 / 10
S: 5 / 10
G: 5 / 10
Total: 41 / 60
Now some games have done Chocobo Racing better (FFXIV) and some worse (FFXIII-2) but I'm judging the OG from FF7. It's not as fun as you all may remember. Get a chocobo with max stats, burst to the end, win game. Really only facing some challenge at the A and S Rank races. It's easy to understand though and relevant to the plot as all the chocobo stuff kind of ties in together. The In-Game Rewards are among the best of any mini-game: Knights of the Round from the breeding and Sneak Attack from the Racing. You are required to race to complete the game however and unlike Blitzball if you lose you have to do it again. And the grinding... well we all know how bad the grind it. Still this is a worthy mini-game if only for the rewards and the atmosphere of the race track.
E: 7 / 10
R: 8 / 10
I: 10 / 10
S: 5 / 10
G: 5 / 10
Total: 41 / 60
Now some games have done Chocobo Racing better (FFXIV) and some worse (FFXIII-2) but I'm judging the OG from FF7. It's not as fun as you all may remember. Get a chocobo with max stats, burst to the end, win game. Really only facing some challenge at the A and S Rank races. It's easy to understand though and relevant to the plot as all the chocobo stuff kind of ties in together. The In-Game Rewards are among the best of any mini-game: Knights of the Round from the breeding and Sneak Attack from the Racing. You are required to race to complete the game however and unlike Blitzball if you lose you have to do it again. And the grinding... well we all know how bad the grind it. Still this is a worthy mini-game if only for the rewards and the atmosphere of the race track.
5.
F: 7 / 10
E: 7 / 10
R: 9 / 10
I: 4 / 10
S: 10 / 10
G: 5 / 10
Total: 42 / 60
Noctis's Fishing from FFXV is actually the best fishing mini-game I have ever played. It's fun and challening, though the end-game fishing has a ridiculous spike. It's also fairly easy to learn and master apart from those end-game spikes. The relevance to the world is great, it's Noctis's favorite way to relax and it helps you continue your journey by being a source of food. Though the in-game application of this is pretty weak, there are better food options out there and stuff like Liege of the Lake are insanely hard. Grinding comes mainly from the fishing itself and those again can get really hard towards the endgame. It is completely optional however.
E: 7 / 10
R: 9 / 10
I: 4 / 10
S: 10 / 10
G: 5 / 10
Total: 42 / 60
Noctis's Fishing from FFXV is actually the best fishing mini-game I have ever played. It's fun and challening, though the end-game fishing has a ridiculous spike. It's also fairly easy to learn and master apart from those end-game spikes. The relevance to the world is great, it's Noctis's favorite way to relax and it helps you continue your journey by being a source of food. Though the in-game application of this is pretty weak, there are better food options out there and stuff like Liege of the Lake are insanely hard. Grinding comes mainly from the fishing itself and those again can get really hard towards the endgame. It is completely optional however.
4.
F: 8 / 10
E: 10 / 10
R: 5 / 10
I: 3 / 10
S: 7 / 10
G: 10 / 10
Total: 43 / 60
I don't care if Snowboarding from FF7 wasn't that great. It was no SSX, but it was still really fun at the time. Time hasn't been too kind to it but it's really easy to learn - being one of the most "pick up and play"-able Mini-games ever. Apart from one story mission it's not super relevant to the plot and in-game rewards are... not; you get GP. Apart from that one mission it's not mandatory and you don't really have to try all that hard to get to the end of it so it's not really painful. Best part? There's no grind. At all. You snowboard - that's it. All you have to unlock is the other two levels in the Gold Saucer version.
E: 10 / 10
R: 5 / 10
I: 3 / 10
S: 7 / 10
G: 10 / 10
Total: 43 / 60
I don't care if Snowboarding from FF7 wasn't that great. It was no SSX, but it was still really fun at the time. Time hasn't been too kind to it but it's really easy to learn - being one of the most "pick up and play"-able Mini-games ever. Apart from one story mission it's not super relevant to the plot and in-game rewards are... not; you get GP. Apart from that one mission it's not mandatory and you don't really have to try all that hard to get to the end of it so it's not really painful. Best part? There's no grind. At all. You snowboard - that's it. All you have to unlock is the other two levels in the Gold Saucer version.
3.
F: 8 / 10
E: 7 / 10
R: 6 / 10
I: 10/ 10
S: 10/ 10
G: 3/ 10
Total: 44/60
Triple Triad is about the only thing from FF8 that is universally loved, apart from the music. It's a fun, simple card game that only gets hung up when some of the more insane rules are added in. It's easy enough to learn but those advanced rules can be really tricky to remember while playing. The in-world relevance... it's there as a game and there's the Queen of Cards and Card Club so it's okay but no major presence in the main game. Also the card grind espeially from the Queen of Cards quest is un-for-giv-a-ble. But where Triple Triad excels is the fact that it truly is completely optional but it has some of the best rewards ever from Card Modification. In truth, you play this game for the card mods. Again, XIV did it better but the OG is still a great game.
E: 7 / 10
R: 6 / 10
I: 10/ 10
S: 10/ 10
G: 3/ 10
Total: 44/60
Triple Triad is about the only thing from FF8 that is universally loved, apart from the music. It's a fun, simple card game that only gets hung up when some of the more insane rules are added in. It's easy enough to learn but those advanced rules can be really tricky to remember while playing. The in-world relevance... it's there as a game and there's the Queen of Cards and Card Club so it's okay but no major presence in the main game. Also the card grind espeially from the Queen of Cards quest is un-for-giv-a-ble. But where Triple Triad excels is the fact that it truly is completely optional but it has some of the best rewards ever from Card Modification. In truth, you play this game for the card mods. Again, XIV did it better but the OG is still a great game.
2.
F: 8 / 10
E: 9 / 10
R: 5 / 10
I: 10 / 10
S: 7 / 10
G: 6 / 10
Total: 45/60
This Hot and Cold game from FFIX is pretty damn fun even with the sometimes restrictive 60 second timer. It's also super easy to get. It's hot or cold, dudes. The in-game relevance is not the greatest, but you go on a whole journey with this Chocobo pal of yours, creating one of the most interesting Chocobo tales in the series. The In-Game Rewards are why you play this game. It's night and day trying to play this game without doing this mini-game, so much so that I actually had to deduct a few points on the optional factor. Yes it is optional but the best gear in the game as well as a superboss are locked behind it. The grinding can be pretty tedious and you'll play this game enough times to hate it a little bit especially when the timer goes off in the middle of you digging up a Chocograph. But still this is definitely worthy of the number 2 spot in my book.
E: 9 / 10
R: 5 / 10
I: 10 / 10
S: 7 / 10
G: 6 / 10
Total: 45/60
This Hot and Cold game from FFIX is pretty damn fun even with the sometimes restrictive 60 second timer. It's also super easy to get. It's hot or cold, dudes. The in-game relevance is not the greatest, but you go on a whole journey with this Chocobo pal of yours, creating one of the most interesting Chocobo tales in the series. The In-Game Rewards are why you play this game. It's night and day trying to play this game without doing this mini-game, so much so that I actually had to deduct a few points on the optional factor. Yes it is optional but the best gear in the game as well as a superboss are locked behind it. The grinding can be pretty tedious and you'll play this game enough times to hate it a little bit especially when the timer goes off in the middle of you digging up a Chocograph. But still this is definitely worthy of the number 2 spot in my book.
1.
F: 8 / 10
E: 7 / 10
R: 9 / 10
I: 7 / 10
S: 8 / 10
G: 10 / 10
Total: 49 / 60
Okay, okay, this surprised me too but hear me out. Fort Condor Battles from Final Fantasy VII are a great little tower-defense game built into the world. It's simple to get started and apart from the gil management aspect of it and the need to constantly return if you want to do all the available battles it's simple. It's relevant to the plot as a huge chapter of the game is devoted to this and the Huge Materia inside. The In-Game Rewards for it are pretty good if you do every mission but even if you don't you still get the Huge Materia and Phoenix Materia from completing the final mission, which is also the only mandatory mission apart from the first one (which I think is also technically optional). And there is NO GRIND. You earn new units by progressing through the main game, and that's it. And each unit can help you develop new strategies and each time you unlike a new type of trap it is instantly gratifying. I always keep a save spot next to the final Fort Condor battle so that I can play this one at full strength as often as I like and I spent hours developing all sorts of strategies for clearing the game. Of course the best strategy of all is to simply begin the game with one Attacker, bum rush the end line and spawn all your troops down there shutting out the enemy before all the units spawn but that's not as much fun. So yeah it's not the first one that comes to mind, it's not what you might put even on your top 10 list. But for me? I consider Fort Condor Battles to be the best mini-game in the series.
E: 7 / 10
R: 9 / 10
I: 7 / 10
S: 8 / 10
G: 10 / 10
Total: 49 / 60
Okay, okay, this surprised me too but hear me out. Fort Condor Battles from Final Fantasy VII are a great little tower-defense game built into the world. It's simple to get started and apart from the gil management aspect of it and the need to constantly return if you want to do all the available battles it's simple. It's relevant to the plot as a huge chapter of the game is devoted to this and the Huge Materia inside. The In-Game Rewards for it are pretty good if you do every mission but even if you don't you still get the Huge Materia and Phoenix Materia from completing the final mission, which is also the only mandatory mission apart from the first one (which I think is also technically optional). And there is NO GRIND. You earn new units by progressing through the main game, and that's it. And each unit can help you develop new strategies and each time you unlike a new type of trap it is instantly gratifying. I always keep a save spot next to the final Fort Condor battle so that I can play this one at full strength as often as I like and I spent hours developing all sorts of strategies for clearing the game. Of course the best strategy of all is to simply begin the game with one Attacker, bum rush the end line and spawn all your troops down there shutting out the enemy before all the units spawn but that's not as much fun. So yeah it's not the first one that comes to mind, it's not what you might put even on your top 10 list. But for me? I consider Fort Condor Battles to be the best mini-game in the series.
===
Phew, okay well thank you for reading this, but of course I want to know what yours are. Use whatever criteria you want. What kind of rubrik would use? Is it really just about gut feeling for you? Let me know, discuss!