Mini-games! Enough Already!

I love a good RPG. KOTOR I, the Final Fantasy Series, Legend of Mana, Fables. I love the twists and turns of the story, seeing how the characters go from young and inexperienced to heroes ready to save the world from impending doom. I love seeing the betrayal, the romance, the action, the loss… I don’t love the mini-games.

Don’t get me wrong. A mini-game can be a fun break from the major storyline, a change to just goof around. The mini-games in Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask are a lot of fun. When the game designers decide to make the mini game part of the plot and force it on you, that enjoyment goes down the drain.

I didn’t buy this game to play inane claw games, or to try to race around and hit ten posts before they all shut down! I didn’t buy this game to race on a motorcycle and hit people, or to try to shot down annoying starships before I can move onto the next part of the game. I didn’t buy this game to play some stupid aquatic ball game or toboggan race.

A mini game often detracts from the overall game play by disrupting the flow. They come at the most inopportune moments, dramatic situations requiring some kind of resolution – but they require a skill set different from the one that the gamer has been using for the rest of the gameplay. It goes from turn based to real-time hitting and dodging. It goes from controlled combat to a helter skelter conveyer belt. It goes from selecting your target and attacking to full mouse controlled First Person Shooter. Card games. Ski runs. Space battles. Aqua-ball. So many games NOT the game I want to play.