Highlights

  • Square Enix is gearing up to release the third installment of the FF7 Rebirth trilogy, promising a mix of old and new gameplay elements.
  • The snowboarding mini-game, a highlight of the original FF7, is expected to make a return with modern upgrades to enhance the player experience.
  • By following the successful evolution of mini-games like G-Bike in FF7 Rebirth, the next installment can improve snowboarding mechanics while staying true to its roots.

It's only a matter of time before Square Enix unveils its follow-up to Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth—a game that will round out the FF7 remake trilogy. Whenever this third game does release, it will be interesting to see what elements of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth it retains versus how much it reinvents and remixes.

That said, it's probably safe to assume that part three will follow its predecessor's approach to mini-games. FF7 Rebirth is replete with side activities, many of which introduce new gameplay mechanics. Whether this abundance of mini-games is a boon or a hindrance to the overall experience is a subject of some debate, but Square Enix's ambition in this area cannot be denied: most of these mini-games offer radically distinct experiences and are certainly preferable to the copy-paste activities that are so prevalent in the open-world genre. Additionally, several mini-games, like 3D Brawler and Fort Condor, are fleshed-out versions of their 1997 counterparts, making them a pleasant surprise for fans of the original game. This is something that Rebirth's follow-up should seek to replicate.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Mog House
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Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3 Should Take a 'Less is More' Approach With One Feature

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth has received universal acclaim from both critics and fans alike, but there's one feature its sequel should ease up on.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3 Is Perfectly Positioned to Upgrade the Snowboarding Mini-Game

Snowboarding Is a High Point of the Original Final Fantasy 7

In the 1997 Final Fantasy 7, Aerith's famous final scene is chased by a trip to Icicle Inn, a snow-shrouded town in the northernmost continent of the planet. In this town, players can engage in an upbeat, high-speed snowboarding mini-game—a stark change in mood, considering the story beat that precedes it. Though the contrast between death and cheerful, intense snowboarding is somewhat bizarre, the emotional whiplash is perfectly in line with Final Fantasy 7's broader tone, and so this snowboarding mini-game is often considered one of the original's best, most memorable moments.

The original snowboarding mini-game also features one of the best musical scores of the original 1997 game—just one of many earworms that came out of FF7 .

All of that is to say that snowboarding will almost certainly appear as a mini-game in the next Final Fantasy 7 remake chapter, and it will be important for Square Enix to get it right. Iconic though it may be, snowboarding is certainly among the more dated aspects of the original FF7, not only because of its visuals and presentation, but also mechanically, as it mostly boils down to swerving past a series of obstacles, with little in the way of more advanced moves or unexpected twists. When Rebirth's sequel rolls around, it can maintain the tonal significance of the original snowboarding mini-game while elevating its gameplay.

How Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3 Can Improve Snowboarding

The Gold Saucer in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is home to a number of revamped and reimagined mini-games from the original 1997 game, including G-Bike, which is a good example of an elegant mini-game evolution. The new G-Bike mini-game shares the fundamentals of its 1997 counterpart, but with a few notable improvements and additions, such as the ability to ride on walls and a chargeable spinning move that can clear groups of enemies. It also adds some modern considerations, like sword combos instead of basic, static slashes, that improve its overall gamefeel.

This sort of iterative approach would be perfect for the snowboarding mini-game. Fundamentally, it shouldn't see too many changes, and Square Enix should take care not to jump the shark in terms of visuals or setpiece design, but additional mechanics, such as sharper drifting, better midair maneuverability, and tricks could go a long way toward making snowboarding feel more modern and satisfying. If the next Final Fantasy 7 remake can honor the original snowboarding activity while making such meaningful improvements, then it could easily be an S-tier mini-game.