Final Fantasy 7 Revelation Wants Minigames To Feel Like A Choice Again

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's minigames were polarizing when they were first introduced, and for Final Fantasy 7 Revelation, Square Enix has reworked how it will "deliver" them to players. One of the main complaints with Rebirth's minigames was the sheer volume of them and how completing them was mandatory to unlock rare Materia or Gold Saucer dates with certain characters.

Speaking to GameSpot, series director Naoki Hamaguchi confirmed that while minigames will return, most of them will be optional and they'll offer items for character customization as rewards instead of items that buffed characters in combat, like in Rebirth.

"We did notice the variety of feedback that we received about the minigames and their quantity, and we were aware of that," Hamaguchi said via a translator. "At the same time, the remake series is a sort of homage to the original Final Fantasy 7 game. When we set upon creating Revelation, it was really never our intent to produce or decrease the number of minigames, and we were more so thinking how can we best deliver these games to the players today."

"And we felt that if the minigames were optional, yet they were heavily tied to character growth, and that you would have to play them in order to let your character grow some more, it would feel less optional. So in Revelation, we took care to lighten that necessity a bit more, to make it easier for players to play the minigames of their own will. So it might be tied more to characters, and players who want to customize the characters more--and are more interested in that part of the gaming experience--can feel free to engage more in the minigames. Whereas people that might want to kind of strengthen and delve more into the battle experience, we have more of that specifically tied to the battles."

Not only was there a first look at Final Fantasy 7 Revelation at Summer Game Fest Live this week, but we also got to see plenty of the game in action when Hamaguchi and Vincent Valentine's voice actor, Matthew Mercer, showed off a preview of the game.

Square Enix has built on the foundation of Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Rebirth, but this time, players can experiment with the new FITS gear to unlock unique abilities and expand their strategic options when taking on powerful foes. One other big change is Sephiroth himself, as the primary antagonist of Final Fantasy 7 has a new actor breathing life into him.