Mini-games have been a staple of video games for years. Examples such as the car-smashing bonus stage of the Street Fighter series or Mortal Kombat's button-mashing interlude Test Your Might having become instantly recognisable. Indeed, some games within games have become iconic in themselves - Geometry Wars originally lived inside Project Gotham Racing 2’s garage.
Games within games can be incorporated in several ways to varying effect. Some are used diegetically to elaborate on a game's world, such as Hideo Kojima’s self-referential tapestry in the Metal Gear series, while others serve as tributes to success stories past, like Namco’s inclusion of Galaga in Tekken's loading screens. Some games, such as Vanquish, Flower and Rayman Legends, even feature playable credits. The following serve as an appreciation of some of the more imaginative examples of mini-games.
Alex Kidd in Miracle World
A logical starting point as the oldest game on this list, Alex Kidd in Miracle World allows players to live out timeless Japanese schoolground settler Jankenpon (or Rock, Paper, Scissors to those of an Occidental persuasion) in glorious 8-bit. Somewhere between mini-game and boss battle, Alex plays the game in best-of-three matches against various henchmen of arch enemy Janken the Great. While not particularly skill-based or even fun compared to the bosses in other platformers of the era, Alex Kidd’s janken battles are memorable for their off-kilter sense of humour.
Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
A fair few Japanese RPGs feature some variant of gambling, but no series pulls it off with the flair of the Dragon Quest series. Several games in the series incorporate casinos, but it is Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King for the PS2 that sees their most extensive use to date; the towns of Baccarat and Pickham offer moreish slot machines, roulette and bingo games. This year's Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, from the same developer, pays tribute to this tradition with the lovingly-cel-shaded Tombstone Trail casino, an avaricious undead haunt lorded over by skeletal croupiers in fetching top hats.
Grand Theft Auto V
GTA V has a slew of mini-games and pastimes so polished they could almost pass as separate releases, but it is Righteous Slaughter 7, the prime online pastime of protagonist Michael de Santa's entitled millennial spawn Jimmy, that’s the most memorable. This is the only unplayable entry on this list, Rockstar North casts an absurdist eye on the masturbatory excesses of military shooters, and by extension, the FPS genre in general. The combat plays out at eye-searing framerates as young male gamer Jimmy quickscopes his prey with glee, while shouting a torrent of abuse down the headset that is too much even for his criminal father, who sighs defeatedly while wondering where his son went wrong.
Shenmue
Shenmue is still unique among adventure games in the way that it captures mundanity and minutiae of small town Japanese life in the 80s. Teenager Ryo Hazuki, can spend his days indulging in myriad pastimes in the town of Dobuita, including visits to the YOU arcade, which features painstakingly detailed recreations of two popular Yu Suzuki coin-ops from the period - bike racer Hang-On and parallax shooter Space Harrier. The inclusion of these fully playable games within the then-technical feat of Shenmue served as a fitting representation of Yu Suzuki's Sega heritage, as well as just how far he had come.
Super Smash Bros. Melee and Brawl
A fan service goldmine, Super Smash Bros. Melee and Brawl are lent extensive replay value by the cornucopia of unlockables on offer, which can sate even the most obsessive-compulsive player. In Melee for the Gamecube, character trophies can be amassed through gambling in a coin lottery where the more coins put in increases the player's chances of securing a new figurine. Its sequel Brawl for the Wii has a more skill-based alternative in Coin Launcher, a shooting game where coins can be launched at moving targets to collect trophies and stickers which can be lovingly arranged on display tables and in scrapbooks.
No More Heroes 2
Arguably Suda 51's best game, No More Heroes 2 offers a ruthless deconstruction of some of the less savoury aspects of geek culture, as embodied by central character Travis Touchdown. Travis is shown to be a fan of Bizarre Jelly 5, a vertical-scrolling shmup in the Touhou mould featuring a cast of shrill Japanese schoolgirls whom Travis covets like the desperate ecchi obsessive he is.
Featuring seizure-inducing anime cutscenes replete with worrying levels of pants-flashing fan service, Bizarre Jelly 5 succeeds as a parody because it is so spot-on in its depictions of these types of anime shows and the often errant perception of their fans. No More Heroes 2 is also notable for its side-jobs, most of which play out as amusing retro games that help to mask the banal nature of Travis’s work; personal favourites among these include Man the Meat, where Travis must fry steaks to perfection lest he face the wrath of the customer’s fork in his face, and Bug Out, an extermination game involving Travis, a vacuum, and a scattering of wee beasties.
Animal Crossing
In the days before both the Virtual Console and the retro renaissance kicked off, Animal Crossing offered playable NES cartridges among its exhaustive collection of tat for the Villager to stockpile. These are available as part of the Japanese N64 original and the more well-known Gamecube instalment, but were sadly absent from all subsequent versions. In a similar fashion to Yu Suzuki's Shenmue, they serve as a quaint reminder of Nintendo's heritage and early successes, offering titles such as Excitebike, Donkey Kong and Golf alongside more obscure examples such as Clu Clu Land.
Tatsunoko vs Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars
This terrific Wii fighter delivers twofold on the bonus front, featuring an unlockable mini-game within a mini-game. After defeating arcade mode, the credits play out over a bizarre platforming segment; players control silhouettes of the villainous trio from 70s anime Yatterman pedalling furiously via tandem bike to the tune of Offenbach’s Infernal Galop (unless you win with Megaman's Roll, who is shown flying on her broom instead). Collecting letters from the names in the credits gives currency to spend on goodies but in the tradition of late-night infomercials, that's not all - collecting golden letters from the names to spell out 'Thank you for playing' will unlock Ultimate All-Shooter, a manic top down run-and-gun effort for up to four players.
The VMU
Sega’s fondly-remembered but ill-fated console Dreamcast was a novelty at the time for its take on the traditional memory card, the VMU, which had a screen, D-pad and buttons, allowing it to be carried on the go as a handheld. The feature was underutilised, but there were two games in particular that used it well. In Sonic Adventure, the VMU could be utilised in a training game called Chao Adventure which turned it into a makeshift Tamagotchi, allowing collectible pets called chao to be trained up on the go. Venerated RPG Skies of Arcadia meanwhile, featured Pinta’s Quest, a simplistic miniature RPG which allowed for the transfer of collected gold to the Dreamcast save file.
Final Fantasy VIII
The Final Fantasy series makes wide use of mini-games, such as the Gold Saucer events from VII and Blitzball from X, but it is the addictive pastime of Triple Triad from Final Fantasy VIII that stands out. This card capture game is introduced with a basic rule set which can later be modified as Squall and co. meet NPCs from other areas who play by their own regional rules, opening up added depth and complexity. So well-integrated is Triple Triad that there is even a spell which can be used against enemies to collect the cards associated with them, as well as a side-story involving the Queen of Cards, a character who can help to spread rules among the different regions and aid in the pursuit of rare cards.
Pokémon X and Y
The latest iterations in the Pokémon series mix things up with a slew of touch screen mini games, the most prominent being Pokémon-Amie, a Nintendogs-lite pet trainer used to increase affection ratings with the titular creatures. They can be fed Poké Puffs, petted and played with to varying degrees of success (try rubbing a Slugma), while, in a nice touch, the 3DS camera’s facial recognition tools can be used to make happy faces at your Poképets, making you look slightly wrong if playing on public transport.
The World Ends With You
Cult DS classic The World Ends With You brings up particularly nostalgic playground memories, as the inclusion of Tin Pin Slammer allows me to relive the day I lost my near-entire Pogs collection to a devious classmate. This time however, I can win them back vicariously and with gusto as a stylishly dressed Shibuya youth. The game of Tin Pin involves knocking over opponent’s pins using slammers to collect points, and there are over 300 in the game to collect overall, which is arduous but entirely worth it - especially if you have ever felt the sting of life as a suffering Pogs has-been.
Ewen Hosie is a freelance writer based in Scotland, and he would love to hear about your favourite mini-game experiences on Twitter or IGN.
More...
Games within games can be incorporated in several ways to varying effect. Some are used diegetically to elaborate on a game's world, such as Hideo Kojima’s self-referential tapestry in the Metal Gear series, while others serve as tributes to success stories past, like Namco’s inclusion of Galaga in Tekken's loading screens. Some games, such as Vanquish, Flower and Rayman Legends, even feature playable credits. The following serve as an appreciation of some of the more imaginative examples of mini-games.
Alex Kidd in Miracle World
A logical starting point as the oldest game on this list, Alex Kidd in Miracle World allows players to live out timeless Japanese schoolground settler Jankenpon (or Rock, Paper, Scissors to those of an Occidental persuasion) in glorious 8-bit. Somewhere between mini-game and boss battle, Alex plays the game in best-of-three matches against various henchmen of arch enemy Janken the Great. While not particularly skill-based or even fun compared to the bosses in other platformers of the era, Alex Kidd’s janken battles are memorable for their off-kilter sense of humour.
Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
A fair few Japanese RPGs feature some variant of gambling, but no series pulls it off with the flair of the Dragon Quest series. Several games in the series incorporate casinos, but it is Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King for the PS2 that sees their most extensive use to date; the towns of Baccarat and Pickham offer moreish slot machines, roulette and bingo games. This year's Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, from the same developer, pays tribute to this tradition with the lovingly-cel-shaded Tombstone Trail casino, an avaricious undead haunt lorded over by skeletal croupiers in fetching top hats.
Grand Theft Auto V
GTA V has a slew of mini-games and pastimes so polished they could almost pass as separate releases, but it is Righteous Slaughter 7, the prime online pastime of protagonist Michael de Santa's entitled millennial spawn Jimmy, that’s the most memorable. This is the only unplayable entry on this list, Rockstar North casts an absurdist eye on the masturbatory excesses of military shooters, and by extension, the FPS genre in general. The combat plays out at eye-searing framerates as young male gamer Jimmy quickscopes his prey with glee, while shouting a torrent of abuse down the headset that is too much even for his criminal father, who sighs defeatedly while wondering where his son went wrong.
Shenmue
Shenmue is still unique among adventure games in the way that it captures mundanity and minutiae of small town Japanese life in the 80s. Teenager Ryo Hazuki, can spend his days indulging in myriad pastimes in the town of Dobuita, including visits to the YOU arcade, which features painstakingly detailed recreations of two popular Yu Suzuki coin-ops from the period - bike racer Hang-On and parallax shooter Space Harrier. The inclusion of these fully playable games within the then-technical feat of Shenmue served as a fitting representation of Yu Suzuki's Sega heritage, as well as just how far he had come.
Super Smash Bros. Melee and Brawl
A fan service goldmine, Super Smash Bros. Melee and Brawl are lent extensive replay value by the cornucopia of unlockables on offer, which can sate even the most obsessive-compulsive player. In Melee for the Gamecube, character trophies can be amassed through gambling in a coin lottery where the more coins put in increases the player's chances of securing a new figurine. Its sequel Brawl for the Wii has a more skill-based alternative in Coin Launcher, a shooting game where coins can be launched at moving targets to collect trophies and stickers which can be lovingly arranged on display tables and in scrapbooks.
No More Heroes 2
Arguably Suda 51's best game, No More Heroes 2 offers a ruthless deconstruction of some of the less savoury aspects of geek culture, as embodied by central character Travis Touchdown. Travis is shown to be a fan of Bizarre Jelly 5, a vertical-scrolling shmup in the Touhou mould featuring a cast of shrill Japanese schoolgirls whom Travis covets like the desperate ecchi obsessive he is.
Featuring seizure-inducing anime cutscenes replete with worrying levels of pants-flashing fan service, Bizarre Jelly 5 succeeds as a parody because it is so spot-on in its depictions of these types of anime shows and the often errant perception of their fans. No More Heroes 2 is also notable for its side-jobs, most of which play out as amusing retro games that help to mask the banal nature of Travis’s work; personal favourites among these include Man the Meat, where Travis must fry steaks to perfection lest he face the wrath of the customer’s fork in his face, and Bug Out, an extermination game involving Travis, a vacuum, and a scattering of wee beasties.
Animal Crossing
In the days before both the Virtual Console and the retro renaissance kicked off, Animal Crossing offered playable NES cartridges among its exhaustive collection of tat for the Villager to stockpile. These are available as part of the Japanese N64 original and the more well-known Gamecube instalment, but were sadly absent from all subsequent versions. In a similar fashion to Yu Suzuki's Shenmue, they serve as a quaint reminder of Nintendo's heritage and early successes, offering titles such as Excitebike, Donkey Kong and Golf alongside more obscure examples such as Clu Clu Land.
Tatsunoko vs Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars
This terrific Wii fighter delivers twofold on the bonus front, featuring an unlockable mini-game within a mini-game. After defeating arcade mode, the credits play out over a bizarre platforming segment; players control silhouettes of the villainous trio from 70s anime Yatterman pedalling furiously via tandem bike to the tune of Offenbach’s Infernal Galop (unless you win with Megaman's Roll, who is shown flying on her broom instead). Collecting letters from the names in the credits gives currency to spend on goodies but in the tradition of late-night infomercials, that's not all - collecting golden letters from the names to spell out 'Thank you for playing' will unlock Ultimate All-Shooter, a manic top down run-and-gun effort for up to four players.
The VMU
Sega’s fondly-remembered but ill-fated console Dreamcast was a novelty at the time for its take on the traditional memory card, the VMU, which had a screen, D-pad and buttons, allowing it to be carried on the go as a handheld. The feature was underutilised, but there were two games in particular that used it well. In Sonic Adventure, the VMU could be utilised in a training game called Chao Adventure which turned it into a makeshift Tamagotchi, allowing collectible pets called chao to be trained up on the go. Venerated RPG Skies of Arcadia meanwhile, featured Pinta’s Quest, a simplistic miniature RPG which allowed for the transfer of collected gold to the Dreamcast save file.
Final Fantasy VIII
The Final Fantasy series makes wide use of mini-games, such as the Gold Saucer events from VII and Blitzball from X, but it is the addictive pastime of Triple Triad from Final Fantasy VIII that stands out. This card capture game is introduced with a basic rule set which can later be modified as Squall and co. meet NPCs from other areas who play by their own regional rules, opening up added depth and complexity. So well-integrated is Triple Triad that there is even a spell which can be used against enemies to collect the cards associated with them, as well as a side-story involving the Queen of Cards, a character who can help to spread rules among the different regions and aid in the pursuit of rare cards.
Pokémon X and Y
The latest iterations in the Pokémon series mix things up with a slew of touch screen mini games, the most prominent being Pokémon-Amie, a Nintendogs-lite pet trainer used to increase affection ratings with the titular creatures. They can be fed Poké Puffs, petted and played with to varying degrees of success (try rubbing a Slugma), while, in a nice touch, the 3DS camera’s facial recognition tools can be used to make happy faces at your Poképets, making you look slightly wrong if playing on public transport.
The World Ends With You
Cult DS classic The World Ends With You brings up particularly nostalgic playground memories, as the inclusion of Tin Pin Slammer allows me to relive the day I lost my near-entire Pogs collection to a devious classmate. This time however, I can win them back vicariously and with gusto as a stylishly dressed Shibuya youth. The game of Tin Pin involves knocking over opponent’s pins using slammers to collect points, and there are over 300 in the game to collect overall, which is arduous but entirely worth it - especially if you have ever felt the sting of life as a suffering Pogs has-been.
Ewen Hosie is a freelance writer based in Scotland, and he would love to hear about your favourite mini-game experiences on Twitter or IGN.
More...
