Final Fantasy VII Remake takes a small portion of the original game, the Midgar chapter, and expands it into a full title more fleshed out than most other RPGs. One way it expands upon the iconic city and its inhabitants is through the side quests. However, not all of these are created equal.
While completionists will certainly want to do all of these as they come, and doing so will help better prepare the party for the story encounters, some of them are downright boring. For those only looking for the best of the best, five of the quests presented below will tickle their fancy, while the other five are best avoided.
10 Best: Colosseum And Battle Simulator
It would not be an RPG without some sort of battle arena, and Final Fantasy VII Remake comes with three. The first one encountered is in the Wall Market. Cloud and Aerith have to engage with it for the story, and more bouts open up shortly afterward.
Later on in the Shinra Building, the party has to prove themselves in a virtual arena. Once again, more battles open up after the story event. After beating the game, replaying Chapter seventeen opens up a new arena shortly after starting it.
9 Annoying: "Nuisance In The Factory"
A common theme throughout the boring quests is how they simply require the player to go somewhere, slay a monster, and then return to the quest giver. This trend starts with "Nuisance in the Factory."
Cloud and Tifa head to a secluded part of the Midgar slums where a shopkeeper asked the two to destroy some Drakes. After defeating them, the shopkeeper hands them their just reward. It doesn't add anything to the world and only serves to net some experience points.
8 Best: "Burning Thighs" And "Wavering Heart"
These two are paired up because they are essentially the same minigame. In "Burning Thighs" Cloud competes with sportsmen in the Wall Market's gym to see who can do the most squats.
The latter quest has Tifa do the same, only with pull-ups. Tifa's challenge is slightly harder, however. The squats and the athletes' poses are a callback to the original, where whenever somebody said they were exercising, their animation would be a curious-looking squat.
7 Annoying: "Rat Problem"
The store owner with a clear crush on Tifa tasks the party with taking care of some Rats and retrieving a lost item of his. First, one has to kill the rats, then leave, return to the shopkeeper, and finally once again kill the other, more powerful rats who come by.
It is a Chapter Three mission, so one would expect simple jobs from the opening parts, but that doesn't make them any more entertaining.
6 Best: "Lost Friends"
This one may have a little bias from the cat lovers. A little girl, Betty, asks Cloud for help tracking down three of her cats. Cloud is bothered by tackling such a simple request, but helps in order to increase his reputation.
What makes this simple fetch quest more engaging is the lack of waypoints, forcing players to rely on clues to find the three white felines scattered throughout Sector Seven. They are not particularly hard to find, however, and usually turn up while on the way to other quests.
5 Annoying: "Corneo's Secret Stash"
"Corneo's Secret Stash" would be in the other category if it were not for one pesky detail. The end of the quest has players going into the sewers to find the last of the crime boss's treasure.
However, if one does all the quests at the beginning of Chapter Fourteen, they will run around scratching their heads, wondering where the sewer entrance is. Only later in the chapter does the area become accessible, but the game does not inform the player of this.
4 Best: "Power Of Music"
Betty once again asks the player to acquire some music to lift the spirits of the recent refugees from Sector Seven's collapse. The three songs are scattered throughout Wall Market, and each one activates a small cutscene upon playing on the jukebox.
The best one has to be the old man in the business suit who starts dancing, showing the young girl how one is really supposed to move to the music.
3 Annoying: "Just Flew In From The Graveyard"
This one activates after "Nuisance In The Factory," and has one traversing through the same environment, only this time unlocking a new door and slaying a Cerulean Drake.
It was not too entertaining the first time, and going through again yields diminishing returns. At least Cloud is treated to a Star Bangle for his troubles.
2 Best: "Battle Intel Reports"
Chadley asks the player for help collecting battle data in order to craft new Materia. Many of these are achievable while going through the campaign the first time.
Slightly changing one's playstyle to accomplish these adds an extra layer of fun to an already deep battle system. On top of that, the player is handsomely rewarded for their efforts.
1 Annoying: "Weapons On A Rampage"
A terrified Midgar resident asks for help destroying pieces of Shinra machinery who attacked him. The player must simply search the Scrapyard Back Alley until they find all of these robots and dispose of them.
The only saving grace of these simple battle side quests comes from how entertaining the combat is, both visually and mechanically. If it was not so engaging, then "Weapons on a Rampage" would be a complete waste of time.