Tales of Symphonia
Tales of Symphonia is an action RPG title that first appeared on Gamecube. In the game Lloyd Irving and crew embark on a journey to save the world of Sylvarant. Along the way, in a town called Altamira, there is a casino where there are a few fun mini-games to enjoy! It should be noted, however, that the casino feature was not added until the re-release on PS2.
The first mini-game is your standard fare slots. This is probably the easiest way to make chips at this casino, if you care to purchase any of the exclusive items in the casino store. Your other option at the Altamira Casino is blackjack. While more challenging than slots, this game is more rewarding as it requires as much skill as it does luck. Prizes at the casino include the lucrative Devil’s Plaything, and the forget-me-not which lets you re-watch the games cutscenes. Too bad when you win big you only win virtual chips, unlike Real Money Online Blackjackwhere the prizes are real!
Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver
The Pokémon franchise has embraced mini-games since the release of Red/Green/Blue and and the inclusion of the Celedon City Game Corner where you could spend hour upon end not even catching a single Pokémon, and instead trying to catch a lucky streak on one of the many slot machines. With Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, we were introduced to a new mini-game in the Pokémon universe called Voltorb Flip.
Voltorb Flip can be found found in the Goldenrod and Celedon Game Corners, and has similarities to the card flip Game Corner mini-game found in the original Pokémon Gold and Silver games. Basically, Voltorb Flip can be described as a cross between Picross and Minesweeper where the player is tasked with flipping cards that either feature a number, or the dreaded Voltorb. Flipping a number will give the player that many coins on the initial flip, and multiply the total by the number flipped for each other number revealed.
Flipping a Voltorb means gameover, however, so watch out!
The World Ends With You is a cult classic amongst many gamers, and with good reason. The art style is fantastic, and holds up today even with its low-res DS visuals. The dual screen gameplay is totally unique, and had yet to be replicated even today.
One overlooked gem of TWEWY was the mini-game Tin Pin Slammer, a game that can be played by up to four people using the local wireless functionality of the DS. The objective of the game is to use your pins to knock off you opponents pins from the table using your stylus. The game has been likened to Sumo, and is actually quite fun if you can get a few buddies together, each with their own Nintendo DS systems.
Also of note in TWEWY is the Mingle Mode feature that is often seen as a precursor to Street Pass. Mingling with Nintendo DS’s that are also running Mingle Mode will exchange “ESP’er” contacts, and grant you access to the ESP’er’s shop from which you may purchase some of their items. Mingling with Nintendo DS systems running any other application with wireless communication such as Pictochat will add a “Civvies” contact which rewards the player with 3-20 PP.
No More Heroes 2 for the Nintendo Wii is easily one of the most fun titles available for Nintendo’s little white box. Quite possibly the best work from famed video game designer Sudo 51, No More Heroes 2 contains a rather bizarre mini-game title Bizarre Jelly 5 that features scantily clad women in a vertical scrolling shoot em up. Sound crazy? Well that’s because it is!
Players could easily sink as much time in the mini-game, as in the main campaign itself. Even though the mini-game may only be a stage long, and there’s a maximum amount of points that can be scored, it is still a whole lot of fun, and a great diversion from the main game.
While Animal Crossings inclusion on this list might be a cheap answer, there is no denying the appeal of unlocking and playing NES titles. Having access to these oft forgotten titles in 2002 was unprecedented at the time. In later Animal Crossing titles, Nintendo would leave out the addition of NES game, as they would go on to release the Virtual Console and subsequently start charging for these games individually.
Some of these NES games could won via Tom Nook’s lottery, while others were obtained as promotional codes from Nintendo. Others, such as Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda could only be had by more nefarious means, as Nintendo never officially released these in-game items to the public.