The Best Minigames In Video Games

Summary

• Some minigames in games are so enticing that they become more captivating than the bulk of the game itself.
• Games like Mortal Kombat, Final Fantasy, Sonic, and Yakuza have iconic minigames that enhance the overall gaming experience.
• Fishing stands out as one of the most significant and rewarding minigames in the history of gaming, present in various titles as a timeless favorite.

When we start playing a new game, with some rare exceptions, we’re playing the bulk of what the game represents. No one picks up Pokemon just to cook curry at camp, or Skyrim to pick locks. But sometimes, a game can make minigames that are so enticing, they become more enthralling than the bulk of the game they’re actually from.

In fact, plenty of games have reached the heights of their success not just by merit of their core content, but that of their side content as well. Following the critical path is all well and good, but you want to be enticed along the way, too. So with that in mind, let’s look at the minigames that bring our favourites games to life.

10

Mortal Kombat – Chess Kombat

Over the years, Mortal Kombat has found plenty of ways to spice up the secondary experiences of the game, from character customisation to cameos. But the most successful of them have always been the at times rather detailed minigames they’ve created. From the full-fledged campaign of Mortal Kombat Deception, to the Motor Kombat of Mortal Kombat Armageddon.

And from them all, it’s hard to choose a single victor, but there’s something so alluringly odd to Chess Kombat, from Mortal Kombat Deception. Like real-life chess, the pieces can only move in certain directions and must defeat other pieces to advance. Except that’s literal in Chess Kombat. You have to physically beat the opponent’s pieces to remove them, cutting a bloody swathe to the Leader piece.

9

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth – Chocobo Racing

The very first Final Fantasy game to feature Chocobo was Final Fantasy 2, though it wasn’t until Final Fantasy 7 that they became a rideable, raceable, beast. In fact, the original FF7 had raising Chocobos as a game-long project, able to bring htem into racing at the Golden Saucer. Rebirth takes that to the next level.

While you can’t raise your own Chocobo, each region has a unique one, with just as unique stats and abilities when brought to the races. Couple that with every piece of clothing altering their stats, and the tracks bascially being a simplified version of Mario Kart and you have a minigame that feels like it could be a full-fledged game by itself.

8

Sonic Adventure 2 – Chao Garden

The Sonic Adventure games marked Sonic’s debut in 3D, and many would still view that duology of games as the pinnacle of the series’ 3D endeavours. Much of that is down to the level design and movement, but there’s no denying that Sonic Adventure 2’s Chao Gardens played a big role in its enduring legacy.

The Chao Gardens give out just as much as you put in. Rather than being a single minigame, it is a whole hub world packed with Chaos that you must care for. And caring for them invovles petting them, feeding them, boosting their stats, engaging in battles with them, and deciding their moral alignment. Really, Sonic Adventure 2 is all just a prelude to the depth of the Chao Gardens.

7

Yakuza Kiwami 2 – Cabaret Club

If ever there was a game series to give Final Fantasy a run for its money in terms of minigame variety, it would be Yakuza, or Like A Dragon as it’s known now. Really, it’s hard to pick out a single one from the copious number there is, but the Cabaret Club seems like a great place to start. Debuting in Yakuza 0, it made a return in Kiwami 2 so Kiryu could have a go at running yet another business.

The Cabaret Club is a dress-up game disguised as a business simulation. While you are trying to maximise profits and customer turnover, you have to spend a lot of time tending to your girls to get there. And that requires spending so much time honing their stats, changing their dress, styling their make-up, and so on. It is a dream job.

6

Final Fantasy 8 – Triple Triad

It’s hard to look at games nowadays divorced of in-game card games. They make up the bulk of minigames now, from Red Dead Redemption’s Poker to Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s Queen’s Blood. But it all really took off with Final Fantasy 8. While the game as a whole got lost in FF7’s shadow, no one can forget the cultural impact of Triple Triad.

The rules of Triple Triad are pretty simple. Across the nine titles, you place down cards to flip your opponents to turn them to your side. Whoever has the most cards when the round ends, wins. The winner gets to take a card from the loser, and this even impacts how players around the whole world play, popualr cards shifting with wins and losses.

So popular was Triple Triad that a version of it called Tetra Master appeared in Final Fantasy 9, and actual Triple Triad can be played in Final Fantasy 14.

5

Mario Party – Slaparazzi

Mario Party is the major exception to ‘not buying a game just for the minigames’, because the bulk of the game is minigames. It’s all about testing the limits of your friendship in increasingly frustrating, unfair games that care more for chaos than equality. So what would even be the best minigame in all that legacy?

Let’s just take one from a more recent entry – Slaparrazi. It’s just cruel. You all try to get centre-frame for a nice picture, and you’re just too greedy to let anyone else get in there. And then, for just a brief moment, you get to see that photo flash on screen to see just who forced their way to the top.

4

The Witcher 3 – Gwent

The Witcher 3 is a game built on legacies. The work of Andrzej Sapkowski novels, the foundations set up in The Witcher 1, the rich folklore and history of Poland from which the games draw. And of course, Final Fantasy 8’s Triple Triad. There is no Gwent without Triple Triad. Gwent is a whole other beast though.

Comprising multiple factions with unique cards and factions, countless tournaments and players, and an insatiable thirst for growth, Gwent dominates the world of The Witcher 3 to be its lasting legacy. And for all the minigames that deserve their own game, Gwent is the one to finally get it.

3

Final Fantasy 10 – Blitzball

Final Fantasy 10 was a big shift for the series. The first game on the PS2, the first without Nobuo Uematsu as the sole composer, and the first with full voice-acting for the main cast. It was a big shift, and became much more linear as a result, And how do you entice people to spend more time in a linear world? WIth Blitzball, of course.

Love it or hate it, there is no denying the incredible lasting influence of Blitzball. It is one of the most complex minigames the series has seen, and it was built around the characters themselves. Underwater football, where you actually had to sign contracts and try to snatch players from other teams to strengthen your own. Incredible stuff on the direct gameplay and business management end of things.

2

Yakuza – Karaoke

Like A Dragon has a great many minigames, though few of them were perfect from the first go, and even fewer return in subsequent games. A one-and-done affair, leaving each game have something unique. Karaoke though, that’s something that couldn’t see its full potential in just one game, even if it hasn’t mechanically expanded since.

Karaoke carries the heart and soul of Like A Dragon. Characters dress up in their silly outfits, they star in their own music videos, they reminisce about the past. It’s a funny minigame in trying to actually sing all the notes, but it’s just as magnificent for seeing how the characters change how they sing each song between games.

1

Just About Everything – Fishing

So far, we’ve looked at singular minigames, ones that have a massive following in-and-of-themselves. But we would be remiss to not note the most significant minigame in the history of gaming – fishing. Like the real-life activity, fishing is a reward by itself, and no game can claim to have the greatest fishing ever. So instead, we’re taking the time to commend every game that has portrayed this humble act.

We have Final Fantasy 15, with Noctis traveling across the world to find different fish. There’s Webfishing, and how fishing can be used to help people bond. There’s Stardew Valley, where the actual mechanics of fish can be as divisive as the act itself. And so, so many more. Fishing is an act no one game can master, but we can all try. For fishing, truly, is the greatest minigame there was and ever will be.