Highlights

  • Final Fantasy is known for iconic heroes and villains, but its minigames, starting from FF7, are equally engaging and addictive.
  • These minigames range from space shooters in Galactic Saviors to card games like Sphere Break, adding depth to the FF series.
  • From Chocobo racing in FF14 to Squats in FF7, these minigames provide a break from the main story while offering unique challenges.

Final Fantasy is a series that's basically impossible for you not to have heard of. It's packed with some of gaming's most iconic villains, heroes, and music and was one of the first major RPGs out there with such a heavy focus on storytelling. What it also has in droves, starting with Final Fantasy 7, is minigames.

Related
8 Best Spin-Off Video Games
Sometimes it's time for something a little bit different, and these titles work so well.

Sure, the ATB system is a fascinating form of combat to see Square Enix continually change, but Final Fantasy has almost as much draw for its minigames. These range from racing and card games to fully-fledged sports games. They can become an obsession all of their own, and as you'll see, Final Fantasy 7 really loved them.

Updated March 14, 2024 by Hilton Webster: Final Fantasy is having a bit of a moment right now, with both Final Fantasy 16 and FF7 Rebirth launching back to back. However, while FF16 chose to focus on combat and a gritty world, Rebirth decided to return to its roots: lots and lots of minigames.

13 Galactic Saviors

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth

FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH Galactic Saviors showing a ship flying in space

Do you yearn for the olden days of coin-operated arcade machines and games that were so blisteringly difficult you spent all the pocket change you had on them? Well, look no further than Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. Or, more specifically, the Galactic Saviors minigame from the Gold Saucer.

Related
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth: Gold Saucer Guide
It's not all fun and games at Final Fantasy VII Rebirth's Gold Saucer. Actually, yes, it is.

This game is, quite simply, an olden-style on-rails space shooter. You can barrel roll, follow a set path, and shoot down enemies before they fly offscreen. It's a love letter to the past, from the sudden music transitions to the big final boss that covers the entire screen. Plus, you get some nifty rewards.

12 Sphere Break

Final Fantasy 10-2

A game in session of Sphere Break in Final Fantasy 10-2

Final Fantasy 10 was a major departure for the series. It introduced voice acting, a more linear world, new composers, and even a more traditional turn-based combat. Then FF10-2 came along with another brand new concept and with it, a treasure trove of minigames for Yuna and company to indulge in.

A major addition amongst them was Sphere Break. Customary for Final Fantasy to introduce new board games of some variety, Sphere Break has you collecting and using entry coins to form multiples of a core number on the board until you win. It's a dense game that requires you to be good with numbers, but a win is immensely satisfying.

11 Blackjack

Final Fantasy 9

A game in session of Blackjack from Final Fantasy 9

After Final Fantasy 7 and FF8, Square Enix wanted something of a return to form of the older Final Fantasy games. They brought some of the newer mechanics to a more traditional setting and gameplay to make something new, resulting in Final Fantasy 9. For many, it's one of the greatest Final Fantasy games there is.

Related
Final Fantasy: 10 Most Breathtaking Locations In The Games, Ranked
Final Fantasy has some pretty majestic locations that’ll take your breath away.

It has its own selection of minigames, including its own version of Triple Triad, Tetra Master. However, a more interesting addition is Blackjack. See, it's literally just the real-world card game, but it can only be accessed from the main menu with a certain button combo. It's fascinating that it's even included and more so that it's so hidden.

10 Chocobo RacingFinal Fantasy 14

Final Fantasy XIV Chocobo racing showing many players and Chocobo racing together in a beach area

The critically acclaimed MMORPG Final Fantasy 14 doesn't really seem to ever slow down, gaining more and more momentum with each expansion. As a result, it's likely one of Square Enix's most beloved titles. Like any good MMO, it's chock full of ways to invest your time outside of stories, be it a simple bard or indulging in minigames.

One of those is Chocobo racing. Final Fantasy has had Chocobo racing since FF7 in various forms, but this rendition has the rather major change of letting you race against actual players. The tracks are intricate, with various traps and boosts spread throughout, the weather affecting the terrain, and even Chocobo breeding involved to get the perfect racer.

9 Squats

Final Fantasy 7, Remake, And Rebirth

Final Fantasy 7, which holds something of a monopoly on minigames in Final Fantasy, has too many to count. At times, it can be hard to distinguish between a simple gameplay segment and a dedicated minigame. However, one minigame that grabbed attention in the original was Squats, which has come back in style in Remake.

Related
The Most Iconic JRPG Protagonists, Ranked
Some of the best JRPG protagonists are from one-hit wonder games while others come from storied franchises.

Like in the original, it requires precise button presses to get the rhythm down. It can be challenging, but manageable — that is until Tifa wants to get involved, and the game morphs into doing pull-ups instead. Suddenly the speed increases and the buttons start disappearing. Perfection is needed here, more than just timing — you'll need to perfectly read animations. It's an intense feat that feels great when it's beaten.

8 Fishing

Final Fantasy 15

Final Fantasy 15, Noctis catching a fish

There's a lot that can be said for Final Fantasy 15. It had a rough development, changed from a complimentary game to FF13 to a full-fledged entry in its own right, and has a world and cast with so much heart that's just a little unclear. However, each party member feels well-realized, and Noctis' love of fishing is one you can share.

Sure, you're meant to be saving the world as the chosen one, but even you have to eat. So, sitting down by the various lakes and rivers of the world and casting a line can offer some welcome respite. There's plenty of fish to catch and rods and bait to catch them with, and it all results in a healthy meal at the end of the day.

7 G-Bike

Final Fantasy 7, Remake, And Rebirth

Another of Final Fantasy 7's beloved minigames is G-Bike. It's originally played during the escape from Midgar, running from Shinra and their machines while Cloud defends his friends on his bike. It's such a fascinating moment that works much better than it should and can even be replayed later at the Gold Saucer.

G-Bike appears in the original Final Fantasy 7 during the escape from Midgar, which also appears in Remake. However, it also reappears as a dedicated minigame later at the Gold Saucer, and the same is true in Rebirth.

It makes another appearance in Final Fantasy 7 Remake. First, when facing off against another Soldier who can somehow make his bike defy gravity, and again during the escape from Midgar. The encounter with Motor Ball is greatly expanded, both in terms of gameplay and reworking the setting to battle it on the bike, bringing the absurd sequence even more to life.

6 Gunner's GauntletFinal Fantasy 10-2

Yuna running through Besaid with ammo displayed on screen as she does the Gunner's Gauntlet

A trend that Square Enix kept up with later, Final Fantasy 10-2 was more than just a story sequel, but a chance to change some things with the gameplay. One of these was introducing an even more fast-paced ATB system. There was also a significant number of minigames.

These range from board games to protecting a little lizard, but Gunner's Gauntlet perhaps sums up the FF10-2 best. Yuna may have been a healer, but in Gunner's Gauntlet the game turns into a third-person shooter. It sees Yuna traveling along the Besaid beach, taking out enemies with unique ammo and looting treasure along the way. It's a far cry from FF10's rather meek Yuna.

5 Fort Condor

Final Fantasy 7 And Remake

Another of FF7's famed minigames, Fort Condor has a...unique reputation. It is an undeniably interesting game, which sees you place various units along the path to your base to keep it defended from monsters. However, it can be painfully slow and hard to read, and everything is portrayed as rough polygonal shapes. This made it a bit difficult.

Related
Final Fantasy: 7 Best Versions Of Biggs And Wedge, Ranked
From a reference to beloved characters, here are the best appearances of Biggs and Wedge in Final Fantasy.

When it returned in FF7 Remake with Yuffie, it was joyous to see the changes it had gone through. Removed from its importance as a real location, Fort Condor feels at home on a board. You pick a loadout, place your units, and attack enemy bases and headquarters while defending your own. It's a great transition that fixes all of the issues of the original.

Though Fort Condor in the original Final Fantasy 7 was a minigame you played across the entire game culminating in a Huge Materia, in Remke and Rebirth it is instead a board game with the same basic gameplay principles.

4 Blitzball

Final Fantasy 10

FFx blitzball game

The relationship between Tidus and his father is pretty core to the experience of Final Fantasy 10. Jecht was something of a sports star, being best-in-class at Blitzball, the famed sport of their time. He was so devoted to his craft that he barely even acknowledged his son, viewing him as a failure for not living up to his ambitions.

So, maybe it's a bit ironic that Tidus himself can become a Blitzball star. Played entirely underwater, Blitzball has you passing a ball to score points. It's simple, until the various classes of players and special abilities get thrown in. You can eventually poach players from other teams, in order to build the strongest team the Blitzball world has ever seen.

3 Playing The Piano

Final Fantasy 7 And Rebirth

Instruments are a vessel to play out the feelings of the soul. Music awakens so much in us, and Final Fantasy 7 is a great example of that. The themes of each and every one of its characters is iconic and playing those themes at the right time can awaken heavy emotions. To make that feeling even stronger, you can play the songs yourself.

Scattered throughout the world of FF7 Rebirth are pianos you can play any song you find. Even better, though, is that the pianos can also be played fully independently if you actually know the keys. It's a minigame you can lose hours in.

While many view the piano minigame as new to Rebirth, it actually had a brief appearance in the original FF7. In Tifa's bedroom, playing her theme on the piano unlocked her final Limit Break.

2 Triple Triad

Final Fantasy 8 And FF14

The victory screen for a Triple Triad game in Final Fantasy 8.

Final Fantasy 8 sits in an odd place. It drew heavily from FF7 while doing many of its own, new things, but fell to the wayside with the release of FF9 being so dramatically different. It's a great game that missed its spot in the sun, but one thing it is remembered for is introducing one of Final Fantasy's most famed minigames, Triple Triad.

Simply put, Triple Triad has you collecting cards to play against opponents, with higher values flipping adjacent cards on the board until you own the majority. Win, and you can take a card from your opponent. Lose, and you'll give up a card permanently. On top of that, rules continually change around the world, meaning you'll have to constantly adapt your strategies.

1 Queen's Blood

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth

FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH Queen's Blood Match showing Cloud win a challenge with a score of 56

Triple Triad may have held the crown for decades, stretching into other Final Fantasy games and even its own dedicated spin-offs, but it finally has some competition. Queen's Blood, the card game phenomenon in the Final Fantasy world, is a more than worthy contender.

Queen's Blood is simple enough. You have three starting spots, and you must grow across the board and strengthen your spots so you have the most points at the end. Easy to understand. The real tactics come in the immense number of cards that exist and the truly wild decks you can build with them. Here's hoping it gets a real-world spin-off.

Next
10 Minigames That Deserve Their Own Spin-Off Title
Certain titles have superb minigames within them, some of which are so memorable, they deserve to have their very own game.