Key Takeaways
- Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth put a new spin on the importance of minigames, helping change the perception of what can be considered side fodder.
- With Part 3 on the horizon, Naoki Hamaguchi shared that Square Enix is looking to put a “twist” on minigames.
- The end goal appears to be to make each game feel distinctive from each other, with the overlap existing in story and combat.
Minigames were an integral part of the Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth experience. And whether you grew to love them or hate them, there’s no denying that they were A) creative and B) more than just side fodder.
With the second installment of the planned Final Fantasy 7 remake trilogy complete, attention has shifted to Part 3. That’s a good thing, because the wait could not be more palpable, with news that Rebirth will not receive any additional DLC in order to get Part 3 out as “quickly as possible.”
In the leadup to Part 3, Square Enix’s Naoki Hamaguchi, who directed Rebirth, shared that the team is looking to put a “twist” on those minigames. Just what exactly Hamaguchi means by “twist” remains to be seen, though it’s clear that Square is looking at things from all angles.
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In an interview with VG247, Hamaguchi said, “Just talking about Rebirth, I think I’m very happy with the volume and the balance of mini-games we have in that game.” He added that he believes the team achieved their goals when it comes to the side activity.
In reference to similar activities in other open world games, Hamaguchi said, [These games] just use the same mechanics. There are no real changes, there’s nothing new to experience around the different regions of these worlds.” That is something that Rebirth sought to do differently, with areas having different minigames.
The end goal was to make each area feel like a “breath of fresh air,” with “something new and exciting to do when you enter a new area.” To that end, that’s why there are so many different minigames present in Rebirth, with Hamaguchi adding, “It’s simply a breath of fresh air in an open world (or ‘open field’, as we call it for Rebirth).
But when it comes to Part 3, things won’t be the same. I think if we did just do the same thing again for the third game in the series, then it wouldn’t really be very new or exciting anymore,“ he said. “I want to add a different twist, rearrange things slightly for the next game, and have a slightly different look to things.
All of that is an effort to make Part 3 feel as distinctive as Part 2 was compared to Part 1. In other words, each game, while of the same storyline, has its own set of memories to be had. “We don’t just want to make more of the same, we want to make new and exciting experiences.” Now, if we could only get a release date for Part 3.
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