Final Fantasy is a long-running JRPG series that has captivated players for decades with its incredible world-building, memorable characters, and engaging storytelling. The series is rife with amazing content across the board, leading players to spend hours upon hours in each game as they uncover everything each mainline game has to offer.
In addition to its main storyline, Final Fantasy games also offer a wealth of side content in the form of mini-games, hidden quests, and unique optional areas, providing players with countless hours of exploration and adventure. However, some of the side content can be quite frustrating, with difficult challenges and hidden requirements that can make completion a daunting task.
8 Netting A Time Of 0 Seconds In The Chocobo Race – Final Fantasy 10
Final Fantasy 10 is notorious for having some of the most mind-numbing side content that players need to get through to get each character's ultimate weapon. While some challenges aren't all that hard, there are others that will make players tear their hair out.
Such is the case with the Chocobo Race in the game, where players somehow need to get a time of 0 seconds by taking as many balloons as possible during the run. While possible, it's still a downright chore, and most players would end up hating this otherwise adorable bird after spending hours on this accursed minigame.
7 Getting Steiner's Best Weapon, The Excalibur II – Final Fantasy 9
Final Fantasy 9 is a great video game that many people consider to be one of the very best in the series. The game features many great secrets, but one particular challenge that perplexed players to no end is the speedrun they needed to initiate to get Steiner's ultimate weapon.
Players need to reach the final dungeon in 12 hours, which is downright impossible without a guide. Even if players attempt this challenge, they'll be missing out on a ton of great content along the way.
6 Beating All the Best Triple Triad Players – Final Fantasy 8
Triple Triad is a great card game that many players absolutely love to play in Final Fantasy 8. The music is a banger and the mini-game itself is complex without being too overbearing, making for a perfect distraction in every way.
That being said, engaging in the quest associated with this card game may be a bit too much for casual players who just want to dabble in Triple Triad instead of getting really into it. The matches against more experienced Triple Triad players are extremely challenging and will ideally take multiple tries to get through before players finally get a taste of victory.
5 Competing In The The Wall Market Gym – Final Fantasy 7
Final Fantasy 7 is a game that is chock-full of interesting minigames. This includes the squatting challenge that players need to complete to get a part of Cloud's drag outfit so that he could infiltrate Don Corneo's mansion.
This minigame is pretty hard as is, and trying to get the best wig involves attempting the hardest challenge of the bunch. It's far from a relaxing endeavor and most people would hate having to memorize a combination that they need to input with great finesse time and time again.
4 Getting All Of Mog's Dances – Final Fantasy 6
Final Fantasy 6 features a large ensemble cast, including the only instance where a moogle could be recruited as a party member! Mog is a pretty versatile character, with his dances being quite fun to watch and damaging to boot.
To help him learn all of his dances, players have to fight with Mog across several environments. This can prove to be quite an annoying endeavor, especially with one of his dances being permanently missable if players don't head to either Lethe River or Serpent Trench in the World of Balance!
3 Dodging 200 Lightning Bolts – Final Fantasy 10
Out of all the challenges that players need to accomplish to get every character's ultimate weapon in Final Fantasy 10, this one is easily the worst one of the lot. Players will find the Thunder Plains to be a bit of a nuisance at first...until they realize the challenge that awaits them here.
To get the Venus Crest for Lulu's ultimate weapon, players have to dodge a whopping 200 lightning strikes in a row with no breaks in between! It's a challenging endeavor made even worse by the fact that players have to count the number of dodges mentally before moving to a different area and getting their hard-earned reward.
2 Playing Chocobo Hot And Cold – Final Fantasy 9
Final Fantasy 9 features an expansive side quest that can be quite irritating to attempt, called Chocobo Hot and Cold. Players have to control Choco and make him dig for treasure across several locations in-game, uncovering Chocographs along the way.
These Chocographs serve as clues for players to head to a particular point on the world map to find treasure and drive the quest forward. It's a mind-numbing activity that most people would prefer to avoid altogether, which is a shame since they miss out on a lot of valuable content as a result.
1 Pretty Much Every Fetch Quest – Final Fantasy 15
Final Fantasy 15's side quests may be numerous, but the vast majority of them boil down to soulless fetch quests that are a pain to complete. The task is boring and was clearly put into the game to pad out the runtime, and nothing else.
It doesn't help that the few curated side quests in the game were either built to be shown as a preview or have a brand tie-up, which is just shameless. Final Fantasy 15 has its fair share of detractors, and the lack of quality side quests is one of the biggest reasons why this is the case.