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Even though it's one of the most highly rated games of the entire generation, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth still receives criticism for its unapologetic focus on side content.
More specifically, the second game in the remake trilogy is utterly packed with minigames — activities that can, on occasion, sap the adventure of any and all intensity.
In my opinion, some of these minigames are really good fun — like the chocobo racing — but others are downright tedious, and I do think they cripple the game's pacing a few too many times.
The question, then, is whether direct sequel Final Fantasy 7 Revelation will retain this focus on minigames. After all, the stakes at this point in the story are extremely high, and so having Cloud and the gang partake in an endless stream of optional activities might seem a bit misguided.
Fortunately, we have the answer to that question from director Naoki Hamaghuchi himself.
Answering a rather direct query from Automaton, he basically says that Revelation will not skimp on minigames — but, they will be better signposted, showing potential rewards upfront so that uninterested players can simply avoid them.
Hamaguchi explains: "One thing we’ve done is to make the rewards system much clearer. In FF7 Revelation’s side content, we’ve made it immediately obvious what you’ll get from participating."
"For example, you’ll know if an activity awards Materia, items to buff your characters, or something unrelated to battle, like character skins."
Okay, so what if a minigame you can't be arsed with is offering something crucial to buffing your favourite character in combat? Well, Hamaguchi's thought about that as well.
He continues: "More than in previous instalments, we’ve made it so that you don’t have to engage with minigames if you don’t want to. For example, when it comes to minigames tied to battle progression, players who wanted to focus on combat ended up feeling forced to play them."
"To address that, minigame rewards are now largely unrelated to combat progression. Instead, they offer things like character skins and customisation options, so that only those who want to play them are encouraged to do so."
To me, this immediately sounds like a big step in the right direction. I spent bloody ages grinding through minigames in Rebirth because I felt compelled to see if any powerful equipment was on offer. In hindsight, I just ended up feeling frustrated with the necessary time investment — it wasn't worth it.
But what if you like the minigames and enjoy playing through them, but the grind's a pain in the bum?
Well, as it turns out, Revelation will offer a difficulty setting specifically for minigames, lessening the need to become obsessed. What's more, you'll be able to outright skip a minigame if it's doing your head in.
Hamaguchi concludes: "We’ve made a number of improvements aimed at minimising frustration. In that sense, we’ve done everything we reasonably can. We won’t reduce the number of minigames, but we will continue making every effort to ensure as many players as possible can embrace them."
How do you feel about this? Were you okay with the number of minigames in Rebirth, or did they drive you mad? Tediously creep towards a chocobo in the comments section below.