Final Fantasy frivolities

[Torzelbaum]

In Final Fantasy games even if there is a pending apocalypse for you to stop or a god that you must kill you usually still have time to stop and smell the (wild) roses. So what are some of your favorite or most enjoyable diversions in Final Fantasy games. (These don't have to provide any in-game benefit or even be a part of the game's design.)

 

[Mogri]

5: Stupid kid me spent a lot of time grinding AP in the last area.

6: The Colosseum is addictive.

7: I lost many hours of my youth to Gold Saucer. Chocobo racing and snowboarding are the main culprits.

8: Triple Triad goes without saying here.

9: Chocobo Hot & Cold, of course.

10: I never did dodge the lightning or catch the butterflies, but I did complete the race in under 0 seconds.

12: I beat Yiazmat. In the original US release.

 

[Exposition Owl]

but I did complete the race in under 0 seconds.

wait

what

 

[FelixSH]

wait

what

Welcome to the strange world of acquiering the ultimate weapons in FF X. You can hut balloons or something during the race, which reduce your time. To get some ultimate weapon thing, you have to get below 0 seconds. Not exactly, it has to be less (I was there). And the balloons are semi-randomly distributed on the track, so you sometimes simply can't get enough.

Just never get the ultimate weapons, there are other trials that are as absurd, just in different ways.

Chocobo Hot and Cold is likely my favourite, and the hunts in FF XII seem to be pretty enjoyable, too. I do like playing Triple Triad and Tetra Master, but mainly because I like collecting all things of a set.

 

[Exposition Owl]

Ah, cool, that makes sense. I had been wondering how you could finish a race earlier than you started it.

 

[Mogri]

Ah, cool, that makes sense. I had been wondering how you could finish a race earlier than you started it.

Not only can you, you must do it in order to unlock Tidus's best weapon. It's one of the most complained-about pieces of the game.

 

[Daikaiju]

Yeah, my dad only unlocked Riku and Auron's weapons. We both agreed the other unlocks were unmitigated behemoth dung

 

[nataeryn]

I guess I should probably answer fishing in FF11. However, I don't know that I would say it was "enjoyable". It was a way to make enough money to support my expenses from leveling. I also worked on cooking, since the fishing would let you level up the cooking on the cheap. To this day, I'm unsure what mechanics i actually understood. I know day of the week affected it. I've heard that the direction you face mattered.
Otherwise, i guess my other answer would just be participating in the online economy and finding ways to eek out a living. I looked for ways to be creative and solve the money problem in unique but less fast ways.

The first time I played FF14, i really enjoyed crafting. It wasn't something that was specifically for making money and the level ups came fast enough that you don't have to make tons of junk. The actual mini game was fun in a simple, laid back way.

Back in the day on FF10, I did think the Blitzball was genuinely fun in the same silly laid back way.

 

[Torzelbaum]

Talking to Wells and Fountains* in 1. And reading the "description" for the Rat Tail.
Watching the dancing dwarves in 4.
Collecting Treasures in Tactics (but I think I only ever did that once).

*I guess. Whatever it is that is telling you that your face is dirty and that you should wash it.

 

[yama]

Filling out FF12's bestiary.

 

[jpfriction]

I lucked out and did the chocobo race in my first couple of tries in both of my playthroughs of FFX but dodging the lightning bolts may as well be impossible for me. I always lose it about halfway in. Ridiculous asks.

I wrung every morsel of content out of FFVII though, you better believe I was rolling around on my two gold chocobos rocking a set a maxed out master materia by the time I finally wandered into old seph’s bedroom to wake him up.

10 and up losing the freeform airship has always been a bit of a bummer to me. Nothing quite like flying around the world playing cleanup with your party of living gods.