10 Games With the Best Mini-Games

Featured 02/13/2021 in ftw

Mini-games aren't really the core reason we pick up the main game, but a fun mini-game can offer a bonus game-within-a-game that we can enjoy for a few minutes. Sometimes, however, these mini-games can be so enjoyable they eclipse the game itself. The following games have mini-games that are arguably just as good as the game they're attached to.

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1. The Mario Party series is arguably the most beloved example of a game defined by its mini-games. Every round, you and three other players engage in a randomly selected mini-game. Many players find the chaotic antics of these mini-games more engaging than the actual board game itself. It's easy to forget that Mario Party even has a main game at all.
2. Sonic had a rough time adjusting to the 3D landscape, but one thing universally beloved by all critics of the blue blur today is the Chao Garden

3. The Witcher III introduced players to Gwent, a card-game so popular that the developers even released it as a separate game. While no one will argue that Gwent is somehow superior to the main game, it is a fun and complete deck-building game similar in style to Hearthstone.
4. Shenmue is famous for several mini-games throughout the experience. Arguably, the most memetic and memorable of them all is the forklift racing game. It functions like an arcade racer -- which, considering Yu Suzuki's background, makes sense. Only thing is...you race a forklift. It's absurd, but also part of Shenmue's endearing world that it builds around you.
5. Final Fantasy X is the first of the magical RPG franchise to make it to the Playstation 2. Final Fantasy is known for its mini-games, and, while many are fine, few are as unusual as Blitzball. Blitzball is a surreal sports RPG that takes place inside a giant floating water orb. You can recruit players, build a team, and ultimately earn rewards for your success in-game. It's definitely a slower-paced activity, but, if you're interested, it can easily make you forget there's a world to save outside your bubble.
6. Ape Escape as a franchise has a lot of strange minigames, but few mini-games are as endearingly bizarre as Ape Escape 3's Mesal Gear Solid. The game functions as a crossover between Ape Escape and the Metal Gear Solid series. On the surface, it plays much like a Metal Gear Solid game, with its stealth-centric gameplay. However, it also adds a heavy dose of ironic humor and joyous irreverence. It's accompanied by Metal Gear Solid 3's own Ape Escape centric mini-game, Snake vs. Monkey.
7. Red Dead Redemption 2 lets you play poker. Poker is, naturally, one of the most widely played games around, but it has a particular history in the western genre, where cowboys and crooks just sit around saloons playing cards. The game is just a part of Red Dead Redemption 2's tribute to the old west, allowing you to live out every corner of your cowboy life. Also, it's poker, which is just a fun game to play under normal circumstances.
8. Remember when you could gamble in Pokemon games? From the very first game, you could go to the slot machine and gamble your money. Whether it was in Celadon City or Goldenrod City, you could gamble away your earnings in order to win prizes -- such as Porygon, the infamous Pokemon partially responsible for giving kids seizures back in the late-90s. For many kids during the 90s, this was the closest we'd get to Atlantic City.
9. The Final Fantasy games introduced Chocobo racing as a core component of the franchise back in Final Fantasy VII. Since then, it has been brought into multiple games in the franchise, from X to XV. Chocobo racing mechanics are sometimes iffy. Arguably, FFVII takes an almost Chao-Garden approach to Chocobo racing, while later entries try to ground it more in RPG mechanics and reality. The minigame proved so popular it even received a Playstation spin-off, creatively titled...Chocobo Racing.
10. If you play a Yakuza game...yeah, you know what? It's impossible to select ONE Yakuza minigame. As far as we're concerned, much like Mario Party, the whole game is so full of minigames you can pick one out of a hat, and it would be worthy to be on this list. So what is it? Shogi? The batting cage? Managing a business? Disco dancing? To date, we have yet to find a better fishing minigame than the Yakuza franchise. When people argue games like Legend of Zelda -- or, worse, Sonic Adventure -- have good fishing mechanics, just remember: in Yakuza, you can literally catch sharks!

1. The Mario Party series is arguably the most beloved example of a game defined by its mini-games. Every round, you and three other players engage in a randomly selected mini-game. Many players find the chaotic antics of these mini-games more engaging than the actual board game itself. It's easy to forget that Mario Party even has a main game at all.
2. Sonic had a rough time adjusting to the 3D landscape, but one thing universally beloved by all critics of the blue blur today is the
Chao Garden

3. The Witcher III introduced players to Gwent, a card-game so popular that the developers even released it as a separate game. While no one will argue that Gwent is somehow superior to the main game, it is a fun and complete deck-building game similar in style to Hearthstone.

4. Shenmue is famous for several mini-games throughout the experience. Arguably, the most memetic and memorable of them all is the forklift racing game. It functions like an arcade racer -- which, considering Yu Suzuki's background, makes sense. Only thing is...you race a forklift. It's absurd, but also part of Shenmue's endearing world that it builds around you.

5. Final Fantasy X is the first of the magical RPG franchise to make it to the Playstation 2. Final Fantasy is known for its mini-games, and, while many are fine, few are as unusual as Blitzball. Blitzball is a surreal sports RPG that takes place inside a giant floating water orb. You can recruit players, build a team, and ultimately earn rewards for your success in-game. It's definitely a slower-paced activity, but, if you're interested, it can easily make you forget there's a world to save outside your bubble.

6. Ape Escape as a franchise has a lot of strange minigames, but few mini-games are as endearingly bizarre as Ape Escape 3's Mesal Gear Solid. The game functions as a crossover between Ape Escape and the Metal Gear Solid series. On the surface, it plays much like a Metal Gear Solid game, with its stealth-centric gameplay. However, it also adds a heavy dose of ironic humor and joyous irreverence. It's accompanied by Metal Gear Solid 3's own Ape Escape centric mini-game, Snake vs. Monkey.

7. Red Dead Redemption 2 lets you play poker. Poker is, naturally, one of the most widely played games around, but it has a particular history in the western genre, where cowboys and crooks just sit around saloons playing cards. The game is just a part of Red Dead Redemption 2's tribute to the old west, allowing you to live out every corner of your cowboy life. Also, it's poker, which is just a fun game to play under normal circumstances.

8. Remember when you could gamble in Pokemon games? From the very first game, you could go to the slot machine and gamble your money. Whether it was in Celadon City or Goldenrod City, you could gamble away your earnings in order to win prizes -- such as Porygon, the infamous Pokemon partially responsible for giving kids seizures back in the late-90s. For many kids during the 90s, this was the closest we'd get to Atlantic City.

9. The Final Fantasy games introduced Chocobo racing as a core component of the franchise back in Final Fantasy VII. Since then, it has been brought into multiple games in the franchise, from X to XV. Chocobo racing mechanics are sometimes iffy. Arguably, FFVII takes an almost Chao-Garden approach to Chocobo racing, while later entries try to ground it more in RPG mechanics and reality. The minigame proved so popular it even received a Playstation spin-off, creatively titled...Chocobo Racing.

10. If you play a Yakuza game...yeah, you know what? It's impossible to select ONE Yakuza minigame. As far as we're concerned, much like Mario Party, the whole game is so full of minigames you can pick one out of a hat, and it would be worthy to be on this list. So what is it? Shogi? The batting cage? Managing a business? Disco dancing? To date, we have yet to find a better fishing minigame than the Yakuza franchise. When people argue games like Legend of Zelda -- or, worse, Sonic Adventure -- have good fishing mechanics, just remember: in Yakuza, you can literally catch sharks!

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The Mario Party series is arguably the most beloved example of a game defined by its mini-games. Every round, you and three other players engage in a randomly selected mini-game. Many players find the chaotic antics of these mini-games more engaging than the actual board game itself. It's easy to forget that Mario Party even has a main game at all.

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