Minigames
With the main thing Hamaguchi wanted to show me behind us, we're nearing the end of this portion of the demo. However, he wants to give me an idea of what to expect with one of his favorite sidequests. Back at the Crow's Nest, Hamaguchi guides Cloud and the party in the direction of a piano, but on the way, he walks past a man talking about a card game. While Hamaguchi remains tight-lipped about the mechanics, in talking with the team, I learn that it's a strategic card game that Cloud will be able to compete in across the region. Different NPCs provide varying degrees of challenge to players, but the team hopes players will enjoy the deck-building aspect of this minigame. We eventually arrive at the piano. Through exploration, Cloud can find sheet music for compositions within the Final Fantasy VII world. He can then sit at a piano and play the music. This rhythm-based minigame has you use the analog sticks to play the required notes, plus some of the buttons to change octaves and keys. It looks extremely intricate in its highest form, but that's nothing compared to what Hamaguchi shows me next, as he goes to freeplay mode, where players can play whatever they want on the piano using the in-game mechanics.