pkmin3033
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Minigames! Chances are we've all played at least one video game in our lives that has had a minigame of some sort contained within it, be it a simple game of poker or something a bit more complex. Some minigames are just idle distractions, some are essential to game progression, and others are parts of much larger sidequests.
So, what do you think of minigames? Are they a welcome addition, or something that you typically ignore in favour of the main adventure? What are some of your favourite/least favourite minigames?
Personally, I like minigames as long as they aren't thrust upon you...which they typically are, especially in RPGs. Minigame-associated trophies are one of the biggest banes of my existence, especially as a lot of minigames are either poorly designed or, worse, have a luck factor which determines whether or not you win. They're a welcome distraction, but when they become a necessary diversion, that's when their flaws become all too apparent. Unless they're relatively easy, or have very good in-game prizes or trophies associated with them, I tend to avoid them in favour of the main story.
Favourites? Triple Triad in FFVIII. I think I spent more time playing that than I did the actual main story. There was an element of chance in it which often came back to screw me over at the end (Chains are horrid, and the "Random" rule was effectively a death sentence) but I love collecting things, and I enjoyed tracking the cards down and doing the bigger sidequest involved with it. Plus, Shuffle or Boogie. I could listen to that for hours. The hacking minigames in BioShock were quite fun for me as well: simple yet occasionally frantic, with good rewards for finishing. Namely automated turrents, bots, or opened doors for prizes. The Anaconda minigame in Timesplitters 2 was fun as well...it was just Snake, but the background music was catchy. I'm not sure I'd consider collosseum modes minigames as much as I would sidequests, but if they did count, I'd include pretty much every single one I've ever played, for their assorted cameos and superbosses.
Least favourites...I have too many of these. Blitzball from Final Fantasy X is probably the biggest one. Whilst chocobo racing was annoying, there wasn't much of it. Blitzball required hours of time, and AI varied from pathetic (Rondos) to aggravatingly competent (Al Bhed Psyches) and the views made controlling the characters difficult at the best of times. The less said about Kingdom Hearts' awfully designed and numerous minigames (Gummi Ship missions and Ice Cream Beat are the two biggest offenders) the better, as well. Red Light/Green Light in Tales of Symphonia, where the kids liked to boot you out of the way at the least opportune moment, was infuriating, especially as it carried Genis' best weapon as the prize. Also, anything slot machine or poker related. If a game has a casino, and you have to go in there for trophies or weaponry, it's bound to be an absolute disaster...
So, what do you think of minigames? Are they a welcome addition, or something that you typically ignore in favour of the main adventure? What are some of your favourite/least favourite minigames?
Personally, I like minigames as long as they aren't thrust upon you...which they typically are, especially in RPGs. Minigame-associated trophies are one of the biggest banes of my existence, especially as a lot of minigames are either poorly designed or, worse, have a luck factor which determines whether or not you win. They're a welcome distraction, but when they become a necessary diversion, that's when their flaws become all too apparent. Unless they're relatively easy, or have very good in-game prizes or trophies associated with them, I tend to avoid them in favour of the main story.
Favourites? Triple Triad in FFVIII. I think I spent more time playing that than I did the actual main story. There was an element of chance in it which often came back to screw me over at the end (Chains are horrid, and the "Random" rule was effectively a death sentence) but I love collecting things, and I enjoyed tracking the cards down and doing the bigger sidequest involved with it. Plus, Shuffle or Boogie. I could listen to that for hours. The hacking minigames in BioShock were quite fun for me as well: simple yet occasionally frantic, with good rewards for finishing. Namely automated turrents, bots, or opened doors for prizes. The Anaconda minigame in Timesplitters 2 was fun as well...it was just Snake, but the background music was catchy. I'm not sure I'd consider collosseum modes minigames as much as I would sidequests, but if they did count, I'd include pretty much every single one I've ever played, for their assorted cameos and superbosses.
Least favourites...I have too many of these. Blitzball from Final Fantasy X is probably the biggest one. Whilst chocobo racing was annoying, there wasn't much of it. Blitzball required hours of time, and AI varied from pathetic (Rondos) to aggravatingly competent (Al Bhed Psyches) and the views made controlling the characters difficult at the best of times. The less said about Kingdom Hearts' awfully designed and numerous minigames (Gummi Ship missions and Ice Cream Beat are the two biggest offenders) the better, as well. Red Light/Green Light in Tales of Symphonia, where the kids liked to boot you out of the way at the least opportune moment, was infuriating, especially as it carried Genis' best weapon as the prize. Also, anything slot machine or poker related. If a game has a casino, and you have to go in there for trophies or weaponry, it's bound to be an absolute disaster...
