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My Top Ten Mini-Games In FF

Jason Tandro

Banned
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.
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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.


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.



===

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!
 

Joker

We have come to terms
AKA
Godot
Triple Triad <=> Hot and Cold > Fort Condor

Sometimes I love Triad more, sometimes Hot and Cold. They're both by far the best in the series, imo.
 

Flintlock

Pro Adventurer
I think fun should be the only criterion. Which minigames would you choose to play if there was no reward involved at all? I'd play Triple Triad, Tetra Master and Hot & Cold quite happily, and I'd give Fort Condor a spin every now and then, but that's about it. For a series with so many minigames there haven't actually been that many good ones.
 

ForceStealer

Double Growth
Chocobo Hot and Cold is way too highly regarded. I hate that game. And I hate that almost every single piece of 'ultimate' equipment in IX comes from that ONE minigame. :wallbanger: Every other game spreads that crap around.

1. FF7 Snowboarding - I've booted up FF7 save files specifically to play a few rounds.

2. Tetra Master - Does a really lousy job of teaching itself to you. But once you figure it out I find it more interesting than Triple Triad. Also dat music.

3. Sword Duel - there's not much to this game, but I've always had a blast performing Zidane and Blank's duel. And again, music.

4. Blitzball - I never cared about this game before, but when I played the remaster, I actually got really into it. The whole signing free agents and contracts and such really gives it that veneer of a sports sim that gives it a feeling of legitimacy. Pretty impressive. And boy did X-2 ever ruin it.

5. G-Bike - I'm terrible at it, but it was still really awesome when it first happened. I wish more of the games did something like this.

6. Triple Triad - great for its accessibility and adaptability. But eff the attached sidequest.

7. Submarine - I think I'm the only person that likes the game, but I usually clear all the levels once available. It's just so...quintessentially PS1, really resembles a lot of games that were out at that time.

8. Fort Condor - this game IS pretty cool, and rather ahead of its time with the Tower Defense craze. I always kinda begrudge how expensive it is, and then you can't play it anymore once you likely have the funds to spare.

9. Closing my hand in a car door.

10. Chocobo Hot & Cold - I exaggerate, it's better than Lightning Dodging or FFX's Chocobo Race, but still I will always be confused by what everyone loves about it. The time limit is frustrating, the grind is incessant, the rewards are lousy until, again, every piece of ultimate equipment not named Excalibur II are from it. So either you do it or screw you. At least in X you could simply ignore the crappy games and get OTHER people's ultimate weapons. Using the chocographs to find a spot on the world map is enjoyable. Getting the chocographs in the first place is pain in the ass.
 

Joker

We have come to terms
AKA
Godot
Playing Tetra Master is what I imagine being stabbed is like: sharp, unending, shooting pains, combined with wishing you would just die so it would be over with already.

Also I forgot the sub game in ff7 I LOVE THE SUB GAME IT'S SO MUCH BETTER THAN SNOWBOARDING AND G BIKE
 
You can tell my favorite two minigames from my earliest YouTube uploads. :monster:


Only by getting below 62 seconds in the PAL version can you get the "FREAK" rating. This is by far the most difficult course, and the most difficult version, to get the top rating for.





FF7 Snowboarding - I've booted up FF7 save files specifically to play a few rounds.
Same!




 

Flintlock

Pro Adventurer
@Force

Vivi, Quina, Eiko and Amarant (and Steiner, which you already acknowledged) all have ultimate weapons which don't require you to spend so much as a second playing Hot & Cold.

I personally think that snowboarding is one of the least enjoyable things in FFVII. It just handles so terribly. But maybe that's because I've always been a fan of actual snowboarding games: Cool Boarders on the PS1 and (especially) the SSX series on the PS2. There's no comparison.
 

Jason Tandro

Banned
AKA
Jason Tandro, Doc Brown, Santa Christ, FearAddict, Thibault Stormrunner, RN: Micah Rodney
Ooooh I forgot about the Speed Square Roller Coaster. Consider that my Honorable Mention along with Sub (You're not the only one bro) which I love even though it's outside of the game usefulness is... not. If it were for the sheer fun factor Sub would be up there in the top 5. I love the creepy lonely atmosphere and the actually pretty decent PSOne shooter / hunter game. I ALSO FORGOT GUNNER'S GAUNTLET FROM FFX-2 WHICH WAS GOLDEN - I WILL FIGHT YOU. I remembered the Calm Lands Mini-games but while they were fun I couldn't play them for too long at once.

If FUN was the only factor for playing, my top five would be Triple Triad, Blitzball, Fort Condor, Lords of Verminion and Sub or Snowboard depending upon the day you ask me.

Tetra Master is better than I gave it credit for but I really don't find it that fun especially compared to Triple Triad. It's pretty weaksauce. What I'd love is for a Final Fantasy to come up with a trading card game with like a slightly dumbed down version of MTG.

I don't really like G-Bike. It's fun the first time but I never want to do it again afterwards. I also didn't consider plot mini-games that you can't redo like the sword battle but that one is SUPER fun.

What are the worst Mini Games in my opinion?

5. Tetra Master (No Sir I Don't Like It)
4. FFXV Chocobo Racing (Against the other members, the obstacle courses in ChocoMog Festival were god-tier.)
3. FFXIII-2 Chocobo Racing (Snore fest)
2. Serendipity Slots (Punishing and boring)
1. FFX-2's Blitzball (HOW DID YOU FUCK THIS UP????)
 

ForceStealer

Double Growth
With the possible exception of X-2 Blitzball if only because of what a poor rendition it is of something that was already done, FFX chocobo racing is worse than all those. With the chocobo barely obeying you, the super short time limit for the balloon thing AND THOSE FUCKING DIVE-BOMBING BIRDS. That has to be the most infuriating game in the series.

I like that Tetra Master gives each card a type as well as the strength of numbers. The RNG element is less than ideal, though. Also, there is a more MTG-ish FF TCG.
 

Jason Tandro

Banned
AKA
Jason Tandro, Doc Brown, Santa Christ, FearAddict, Thibault Stormrunner, RN: Micah Rodney
FFX chocobo racing .

giphy.gif


Post deleted for being irrelevant. This is about mini-games... not self-flagellation. :monster:
 

Flare

Pro Adventurer
AKA
Flare
I don't really have some big method for rating minigames, just that I rate them by how much fun I had playing them, so it'll be really subjective :awesome:

Tetra Master - Funnily enough I'm still not fully sure how to play this game, I use cards that get beat up and it always seems to surprise me :wacky: Next playthrough I do of IX I want to research the rules thoroughly to finally understand it. But I somehow did pretty good in the game as a kid when I would play through IX, so... :monster:

Chocobo Hot and Cold + Finding chocographs - I loved the whole side quest with Choco in IX. Sincerely loved it. It involves the Hot and Cold minigame where you find treasures and chocographs and lvl up your chocobo, then you use the chocographs on the world map (which is also my favorite world map in an FF game ever) to find more treasure, and over time your chocobo changes color and gains new abilities. Can you imagine my excitement as a child when Choco changed color and gained a new terrain ability on the world map? Anyhow I loved it.

Triple Triad - Tbh I remember more of this game from playing it with Ite in Seattle and playing it on XIV than I ever do playing it on VIII, but I never even beat VIII so.... It's an extremely easy game to learn and play, and it's also fun. Because of some lovely people (Joe and Red) I now have some of my own cards and wish to subject my FF loving cousin to a game, when we have the time. :awesome:

Blitzball - For a while, I never 'got' the game of Blitzball, and I never really played it again. My first playthrough was when the game first came out and I just didn't understand the rules/didn't take the time to. But in my last playthrough a few years ago, I took some time to read the rules and it turned out to be a lot easier than I thought it was, and I started really enjoying it and ended up playing a good amount of it. Plus I always loved how relevant it was to the story.

Chocobo Racing - This is a bit opposite of Blitzball for me in the fun factor. I really had a blast with chocobo racing when I first played VII (unlike Blitzball) but the last time I did so, it wasn't as fun as I remembered it being. :wacky: However I still enjoy it and like that it has some sense too as a minigame, racing chocobos like we race horses. :monster: Haven't played XIV's version of it yet, but I'm always up for chocobo racing as a minigame to see how it's handled in a new game.
Can't wait to see the Remake's handling of it :awesome:
(As a side note, breeding the chocobos was kind of a pain in the ass, didn't enjoy that so much)

Battle Square - I enjoyed playing this purely because of the random challenges it'd inflict on you while doing the fights. :D

Fishing - In FFXV, fishing is really quite enjoyable, totally agree with JT on this. It's fairly simple in mechanics but definitely takes some skill to snag good fish. I've spent hours fishing in this game.

Agree with Force about the dual between Zidane and Blank in IX - It's got awesome music and the simple challenge of pressing the right button at the right time. Makes for a fun intro. :D

Side mention for the Junon Parade - I've screwed up badly in this before and yet I always always laugh my ass off in this 'minigame' in VII. It's one of the games that's more entertaining the worse you do at it. :wacky:

Sad face at there being practically no minigames from XII to love :sadpanda:
 

Flintlock

Pro Adventurer
Am I the only one here who finds the Chocobo racing in X easy? I haven't struggled with it since I played the game for the very first time as a 14-year-old. :P You just need a bit of luck with the way the balloons line up at the start.
 
I don't remember the Chocobo balloon racing in FFX to be hard either. The way that so many people have complained about it makes me wonder if there's some version difference at work here that makes the PAL edition easier.
 

Jason Tandro

Banned
AKA
Jason Tandro, Doc Brown, Santa Christ, FearAddict, Thibault Stormrunner, RN: Micah Rodney
@Kimble: Right I should have clarified I meant like in a Video Game have that be the minigame. MAybe FFXVI will have the FF TCG in it lol.
 

Fangu

Great Old One
Best mini game evar is collecting Chops in XII :monster:

FIGHT ME

I personally think that snowboarding is one of the least enjoyable things in FFVII. It just handles so terribly. But maybe that's because I've always been a fan of actual snowboarding games: Cool Boarders on the PS1 and (especially) the SSX series on the PS2. There's no comparison.
This. So much.

I even forgot there is Chocobo racing in XIII-2.

Also, among the worst is that fucking Cockatrice in XII. THAT FUCKING COCKATRICE.
 
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