Every Costa Del Sol Minigame In FF7 Rebirth, Ranked Least To Most Fun

Costa del Sol is home to a wide variety of minigames in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, and there’s no way to make it through the area without playing at least some of them. As a tropical beach getaway, it’s not surprising that Costa del Sol has a lot to do, even if the original FF7 didn’t pack as much into the area. As is the case with most side content, however, not every entertainment option in Costa del Sol is equal.

Visiting the beach in Costa del Sol is a mandatory part of the main story progression, and doing so requires proper outfits for the party. Luckily, these can be acquired through tickets that can be earned for completing challenges in a festival event. Anyone wanting to hurry on to the Gold Saucer can pick a few of the most promising minigames to play, while those interested in grabbing all six pieces of FF7 Rebirth swimwear need to spend a little more time mastering all the activities.

7
Wheelie Rendezvous Isn’t Much Of A Game

Easily one of the most disappointing minigames

Wheelies are a memorable point of attraction in Costa del Sol, as these Segway stand-ins are a fun way to run around town a bit faster than normal. There’s something innately charming about seeing Cloud employ a mall cop’s mode of transformation without deviating from his typical stony expression. For all that Wheelies bring to the table, however, the Costa del Sol minigame Wheelie Rendezvous doesn’t manage to come up with any memorable way to translate one of FF7 Rebirth‘s coolest mounts into game form.

The basic objective of Wheelie Rendezvous is simple — round up the several Wheelies strewn about Costa del Sol and return them to their proper parking spots. It’s part Where’s Waldo and part just riding Wheelies around, but neither of these elements offer any particularly interesting challenge. Although it shouldn’t take long to complete for those just trying to get through the area, anyone looking for the unique pleasure of a memorable minigame isn’t going to find it in Wheelie Rendezvous.

6
Cactuar Caper Makes For A Better Hunt

Originally introduced in FFVI, the creature has since become one of the franchise’s mascots

Like Wheelie Rendezvous, Cactuar Caper is about hunting down several things in Costa del Sol, but it’s a more interesting and challenging version of the idea. A map marks the vague location of several spots where Cactuar illustrations can be found, and Aerith needs to grab some photos of them to prove that she’s completed the search. The Cactuars range from obvious to cleverly tucked away, so it requires a bit more care than running around to pick up Wheelies.

The NPC story running alongside Cactuar Caper is a bit less interesting than the Johnny-adjacent narrative in Wheelie Rendezvous, but Aerith and Tifa can have a couple of charming interactions that add some extra value. Although Cactuar Caper’s simplicity means that it’s unlikely to stand out as a favorite, there’s just enough going on to make it a decently attractive Costa del Sol minigame.

5
Crunch-Off Is Memorably Challenging

Easily one of the best minigames

Crunch-Off doesn’t fall into the same category as other Costa del Sol minigames, as it’s located in a gym outside the bounds of the actual city and has no part to play in acquiring swimsuits. Even so, it’s a minigame attached to the whole Costa del Sol experience, and gym leader Jules shows up briefly in town, inviting the party to drop by. For anyone who played FF7 Remake, Jules is likely a welcome re-appearance as a memorable figure but also a fearsome threat in the realm of exercise.

Building on Remake‘s push-up and pull-up challenges, the Crunch-Off has Tifa challenge various gym-goers to a sit-up race. The adaptive triggers make this workout a real one, at least for fingers, and defeating Jules to claim the Champion Belt can be a grueling challenge. It also requires a strong sense of timing, as the rhythmic prompts continue to accelerate in speed after disappearing from the screen.

It’s definitely fun in its way, but conquering the Crunch-Off in FF7 Rebirth isn’t for the faint of heart. Since the game is rarely all that challenging in combat, nabbing the Champion Belt might not have the same appeal as unlocking alternate costumes. The Crunch-Off is a fun and interesting diversion, but it’s hard to call it a Costa del Sol must.

4
Piano Concerto Adds Stakes To A Great Minigame

They actually included a fully functional instrument in the game

The piano minigame is one of the best gameplay inclusions in FF7 Rebirth, and Piano Concerto leverages this excellent mode for a targeted challenge. While most piano spots have no particular stakes, allowing Cloud to sit down and practice a song as much as he wants until he can earn an A-rank or star, the Costa del Sol minigame requires a performance in front of a crowd that doesn’t allow retries. It’s still possible to practice endlessly before the show, but once Tifa elects to start the performance, there’s no more mercy to be found.

“Tifa’s Theme,” the song required for the Costa del Sol performance, ups the level of challenge from the easy-to-master track “On Our Way” from Junon. Granted, the way it simplifies the original tune might be the biggest thing that could throw off an attempt, but ensuring an A in the performance can still require a bit of practice. The minigame also features another appearance from Wall Market icons Madam M and Andrea Rhodea, following up on their appearance on the cruise to Costa del Sol.

Going purely off of the quality of the piano minigame, it would be a clear Costa del Sol standout, but the fact that it’s a recurring feature throughout FF7 Rebirth makes it less of a unique draw. All the same, it’s a fun challenge, and it’s nice for Tifa to have a chance to display her own piano skills when Cloud usually gets to steal the show.

3
Run Wild Gives Red XIII A Spotlight

Even without turbo, it’s a minigame worthy of Rocket League’s legacy

Run Wild continues a trend of oversized soccer ball games that Rocket League has helped to propel for nearly a decade, tasking Red XIII with scoring goals against other animal challengers. It’s certainly less high-octane than Rocket League, but the FF7 Rebirth attempt gets the basic physics right. Although it’s technically a minigame for Aerith in terms of the ticket allotment, Run Wild is also a rare chance for Red XIII to get in on the side content action.

Run Wild is both a significant shake-up from normal gameplay and easy to master, so there’s not much reason to skip it. Coming back for another trial in the arena when the Rendezvous in Costa del Sol side quest unlocks additional challenges makes it a bit more interesting in terms of difficulty, although it’s ultimately still pretty simple to clear. As one of the most bespoke Costa del Sol minigames, Run Wild comes out ahead of several of its competitors.

2
Card Carnival Offers Queen’s Blood Trials

For all card game fans, here’s a feast

A Queen’s Blood minigame is almost cheating, as the card game that appears consistently throughout FF7 Rebirth is a robust and exciting experience on a level that’s hard to compete with. Card Carnival takes the game and offers a few spins on it, focusing on a chess puzzle-like approach that asks for solutions to specific board scenarios. It’s not hard to solve Card Carnival’s puzzles with some thought or trial and error, but it is the first significant shakeup to the format of the game.

Despite its obvious winning qualities, the fact that it’s just another chapter in a recurring saga of Queen’s Blood challenges does make it hard for Card Carnival to claim the Costa del Sol throne. Its more interesting qualities are also advanced upon at the Gold Saucer, with some more unique and difficult trials making the Card Carnival feel more like a tutorial for the exciting part. Still, though, it’s Queen’s Blood. It’s good.

1
Pirate’s Rampage Is A Robust Shooting Gallery

Yes, they even added a first-person shooter game

As a shooting gallery near the beachfront, Pirate’s Rampage feels the most like an attraction that might actually exist, and it’s imaginative and polished enough to use that foundation well. Various wooden cutouts of Final Fantasy enemies pop up on and around a pirate ship set, and accurately gunning them down will rack up points for some intense high score possibilities. Accurately is very much the key word, as the percentage of shots that hit acts as a multiplier for the final score, heavily punishing a spray and pray attitude.

Returning for a second go at mastery in Rendezvous in Costa del Sol updates Pirate’s Rampage to a fairly fearsome difficulty, at least for anyone trying to get the highest possible rank. Turning off the adaptive triggers might make squeezing the trigger easier, and switching from right to left hand or vice versa could help if either trigger is inconsistent at high speeds. Pirate’s Rage is definitely one Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth minigame worth mastering just for the love of the game, and the fun flavor helps make it a general Costa del Sol highlight.