Minigame

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A "beachstickball" minigame in A Short Hike A Short Hike Screenshot 4.png
A "beachstickball" minigame in A Short Hike

A minigame (also spelled mini game and mini-game, sometimes called a subgame or microgame) is a short game often contained within another video game. A minigame contains different gameplay elements and is often smaller or more simplistic than the game in which it is contained.

Contents

Some video games consist entirely of minigames which tie into an overall theme, such as Olympic Decathlon (1980). Minigames can also be used to represent a specific experience, such as hacking, lock picking, or scanning an area, that ties into a larger game.

Minigame compilations

Some games are made up of many minigames strung together into one video game, such as Nintendo's WarioWare series (which are called microgames in the series), Universal's Video Action , David Whittaker's Lazy Jones and the mobile game Phone Story . Some similar games specifically developed for multiplayer are considered party games, such as the Itadaki Street series by Square Enix and Nintendo's Mario Party series. In party games, minigames usually involve performing an activity faster or collecting more of a specified item than other players to win.

Examples

The Final Fantasy series includes minigames in every entry, since the first Final Fantasy (1987), in which a 15 puzzle in the form of an Easter egg can be uncovered by entering a specific sequence of inputs while piloting a ship. It was added into the game by programmer Nasir Gebelli despite it not being part of Squaresoft's original game design. [1]

The PocketStation for PlayStation and VMU for Dreamcast accessories allowed the user to download minigames from the main console onto the pocket device, and often then sync progress in the minigame back on to the console. Two examples of this include the Chocobo World minigame inside Final Fantasy VIII . [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<i>WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgames!</i> 2003 video game

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<i>WarioWare: Smooth Moves</i> 2006 video game

WarioWare: Smooth Moves is a party video game developed by Nintendo SPD and Intelligent Systems. The game was published by Nintendo for its Wii video game system in Japan in December 2006, and in Europe, North America, and Australia in January 2007. It is the fifth game in the WarioWare series of games, and the only game in the series to be physically released for the Wii. Like its predecessors, WarioWare: Smooth Moves is built around a collection of microgames that last about five seconds each, and which require that the player hold the Wii Remote in specific positions. The game offers the microgames to the player in rapid succession, by first instructing the player to hold the Wii Remote in a specific manner, and then showing them the microgame. The microgames are divided into several stages, each of which loosely connects the microgames with the help of a story. Additionally, this was the first spin-off Mario game to be released for the console.

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<i>Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobos Dungeon</i> 2007 video game

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Game & Wario is a 2013 party video game developed by Nintendo and Intelligent Systems and published for the Wii U console, named after LCD Game & Watch titles. It is the eighth installment in the WarioWare series and part of the larger Mario franchise. The story stars Wario and his friends, who take advantage of a newly released video game console with two separate screens by making games for monetary gain. Game & Wario consists of 16 minigames that exclusively utilize the Wii U GamePad and its functions. Additional modes and collectibles are also unlockable. The majority of the minigames are single-player, although some are designed for multiplayer only.

<i>WarioWare Gold</i> 2018 video game

WarioWare Gold is a minigame compilation developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS family of video game consoles. The ninth installment in the WarioWare series, it was released in PAL regions in July 2018, and in North America and Japan the following month. The game's plot follows the greedy Wario who has organized a gaming tournament for a large cash prize, with the ultimate goal of claiming the money for himself. Meanwhile, various other WarioWare characters deal with other problems which play out in the form of short stories.

<i>WarioWare: Get It Together!</i> 2021 video game

WarioWare: Get It Together! is a party video game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It is the tenth installment in the WarioWare series, following WarioWare Gold (2018) for the Nintendo 3DS. The game was released worldwide on September 10, 2021 and sold 1.34 million copies worldwide. It is the final game in the WarioWare series to feature Charles Martinet as the voice of Wario before his retirement from voicing the character in 2023.

References

  1. "インタビュー『FINAL FANTASY I・II ADVANCE』". Dengeki (in Japanese). 2004.
  2. FFVIII PocketStation Opens Up Chocobo World Archived 2012-03-21 at the Wayback Machine , IGN, July 15, 1999