Yeah, I'm actually playing this now... Strange that it took me a year to get there.

Anyways, I've been levelling up my party like crazy and trying to find easy ways to get Gil and what not, and I heard somewhere that there's a minigame you can play whilst you're aboard the ship by pressing a certain combination of buttons... But I have no idea how to do it. (I've tried the three different methods suggested, but nothing happens.) Anyone heard of this, or is it just a myth for gullible players like myself?

Was FF I even capable of handling mini-games?

:D

While aboard the ship (after defeating the pirates), press X and O 50 times.

The thing is that you have to hit them at the same time or it won't register. This is the fastest way to earn gil in FF1 in FFOrigins. Remember not to beat the 1st place slot.