Highlights

  • Queen's Blood is the top FF7 Rebirth mini-game, offering a challenging card game with a killer theme song and potential for future DLC.
  • Chocobo Race surprises as a full-fledged Mario Kart-like game within FF7 Rebirth, boasting multiple maps and gear for high replay value.
  • The piano mini-game, while challenging, provides extensive creative potential and replayability, making it a standout among FF7 Rebirth's side activities.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is a triumph, staying true to the spirit of the first game while expanding on it in significant, explosive ways. Even though FF7 Rebirth fell short of sales expectations, its massive open-world, astounding soundtrack, and well-presented narrative make it a must-play for PlayStation owners.

And, of course, one can't discuss Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth without touching on its gameplay variety. Combat may be the bread-and-butter of the gameplay loop, but Rebirth takes every opportunity to provide novel ways to engage with the game, mainly through a plethora of rewarding mini-games. Indeed, it's hard not to be surprised each time one of these ambitious side activities makes its debut. That said, some are better than others.

The following tier list is evaluating repeatable mini-games that revolve around new gameplay mechanics. Thus, set pieces like Barrett's minecart shooting gallery in North Corel or the Musclehead Colosseum will not be included.

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S Tier

Queen's Blood

Queen's Blood is the best FF7 Rebirth mini-game, hands-down. The in-universe card game is easy to learn and hard to master, the center of one of the game's best side quests, and has a killer theme song to boot. If FF7 Rebirth eventually gets a Queen's Blood DLC that offers improvements and additional features, then it's easy to see the mini-game remaining relevant for years to come.

Chocobo Race

When Chocobo GP flopped in 2022, no one could have predicted that a Final Fantasy version of Mario Kart would make a comeback, but that's exactly what happened with Chocobo Race. The side activity is almost a full game in and of itself, complete with multiple maps, special abilities, and stat-altering gear, all of which set the stage for incredible replay value.

Piano

It's definitely one of the harder mini-games to master, but the creative potential offered by FF7 Rebirth's extensive piano mini-game is hard to deny. Through this optional activity, Rebirth provides players with a fully functional virtual piano, which makes it more replayable than perhaps any other mini-game in Rebirth.

A Tier

Fort Condor

It can be tough and even a bit unfair at times, but Fort Condor's straightforward, strategic gameplay and appropriately retro art style make it one of the most endearing and satisfying mini-games on offer. Its biggest flaw is that there's not more of it.

Gears and Gambits

Gears and Gambits is another tactical FF7 Rebirth mini-game that's remarkably similar to Fort Condor, designed around building up special abilities and strategically positioning units in an effort to bring down an enemy force. Like Fort Condor, there's some randomness involved, but when things line up, it's just good, simple fun.

Glide de Chocobo

Glide de Chocobo is one of FF7 Rebirth's toughest mini-games. Nevertheless, the challenge is fair, the flying mechanics are fun, and earning top rank on all the mini-game's levels is immensely gratifying.

Galactic Saviors

Like Chocobo Race, Galactic Saviors is a great Gold Saucer diversion, giving players a bit of sci-fi action in the form of an enjoyable, if a bit easy, arcade spaceship shooter. Its novelty and visual splendor help it stand out amidst Rebirth's other great mini-games.

Run Wild

Akin to a pared-down Rocket League, Run Wild is a chaotic, often hilarious distraction, and one of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's best uses of Red XIII outside combat.

Jumpfrog

Once again, FF7 Rebirth appears to be taking some inspiration from another popular game. In the case of Jumpfrog, clear parallels can be drawn between it and Fall Guys, though the former is naturally far more restrained. Its simple mechanics coupled with its ridiculous premise make it one of FF7 Rebirth's most pleasant surprises.

Dolphin Show

Wave Racer with dolphins sounds great on paper, but it's even better in practice. Dolphin Show is Rebirth at its best: it's silly, fast, and flashy.

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B Tier

Junon Parade

Junon Parade's greatest strength is its bombastic and campy presentation, but it's a bit bland from a gameplay perspective. Aside from organizing a loadout, the mini-game boils down to an extended quicktime event, making it more forgettable than it could have been.

Crunch-Off

Crunch-Off is the new version of FF7 Remake's pull-up mini-game, and as such, it's fairly predictable fare for returning players. It's essentially another long quicktime event, but with enough wrenches thrown into the mix to keep it from getting stale or too easy.

G-Bike

Another new-and-improved Remake mini-game, G-Bike is a good time, if fairly repetitive and generally uninspired. It's fun, but lacks the creativity, depth, and charm of the game's best side activities.

Hustle de Chocobo

This is perhaps the most straightforward mini-game of the bunch. Hustle de Chocobo is a no-frills, enjoyable time trial, but it's hard to justify playing it over Chocobo Race.

Pirate's Rampage

Pirate's Rampage is just about as standard as a video game side activity can be. There's certainly fun to be had with it, but at the end of the day, it doesn't stand out from other run-of-the-mill shooting galleries.

C Tier

Moogle Mischief

FF7 Rebirth's Moogles get a bad rap, but criticism of their recurring mini-game is warranted. Moogle Mischief can sometimes be more annoying than fun, as it revolves around a herding mechanic that toes the line between frustrating and boring.

Cactuar Crush

Cactuar Crush is a basic combat challenge whose only real novelty is a time limit and specific enemy weaknesses and resistances. Like Moogle Mischief, these systems can combine to be grating.

Desert Rush

Desert Rush is yet another returning Remake mini-game, though this one should perhaps have remained in the past. It's not a disaster, but getting its top rank requires a lot of trial and error, and with its main gameplay involving little more than spamming the attack button, it definitely leaves a lot to be desired.

3D Brawler

This Punch Out-inspired mini-game has a few things going for it, mainly the homage it pays to the original Final Fantasy 7. Ultimately, though, it turns out to be dull, lacking the complexity, creativity, and mechanical crunchiness of other mini-games.