With the world ending in less than a week, I thought it would be appropriate to pay homage to my top 5 favorite worlds, atmospheres, and environments in video games. Of course, this list is not extensive in the slightest as it merely reflects upon what few games I’ve actually had the chance to play, and I’m sure there are an assortment of fantastical realms that I’ve yet to tread upon. Still, I would still like to invite you to five different worlds that I find are quite pretty to look at and/or would be fun to live in. So pack your bags and join me as I take you on a whistle-stop tour around to these five beautiful and generally awesome places.

Mild plot spoilers ahead.

#5 Earth – Terranigma (SNES)

That’s right. Our very own planet made it on to this list. In this action-RPG, you follow a young boy named Ark as he sets off to resurrect the Earth after it is destroyed by God and the Devil. You know, a typical Wednesday in the underworld. Throughout the course of the game, Ark is able to restore the continents, nature, technology, and mankind itself.

While the environment itself is not entirely breathtaking (though granted still pretty), the fact that it is by your hands that the Earth is reviving adds a very personal connection to it. As the player, you essentially become creator, savior, and the guardian of the reborn planet, and you’ll quickly develop a tight bond with it as if it you were raising your very own child.

Civilization has been restored but still requires a bit of  law enforcement.

#4 Twilight Town – Kingdom Hearts II (PS2)

From what I hear from most people, this area of the game is not very popular simply for the fact that it slowed the player’s progress to the real meat of the game. For me however, Twilight Town is probably my favorite area in the entire game. It has a nice European feel from the architecture, a calming sunset, and absolutely no association with vampires. There was also something that was just so inviting and “home-y” about the whole place, from the familiarity that you got from Roxas’s group of friends to the sense of adventure you felt by exploring the huge town.

Some of the funnest parts of the game for me was just riding around on the skateboard and just living life with Roxas. Unfortunately, this made the realization of Twilight Town being a fabricated reality that much more crushing. To learn that all the friends you had and the memories you made were all a lie was simply devastating, for both Roxas and for the player.

I’ve never had sea-salt ice cream before, but I imagine it must taste rather bittersweet.

#3 El Nido – Chrono Cross (PS1)

I’ll say it right now: I’m a sucker for areas near the water. This goes for both in video games and in real life. The entirety of Chrono Cross is set in an isolated archipelago called El Nido, and I like to think that this game had an impact on my decision to pursue the oceanographic studies. The developers at Squaresoft were definitely successful in their mission of creating a lively atmosphere with an abundance of varied geographical features. This is especially impressive given exceptionally small size of the game’s overworld (traveling between the two dimensions makes up for this though).

With how much traveling you have to do, the game ensures that you never get bored. There are always interesting places to see in El Nido and alternate versions of them waiting in the parallel dimension. From volcanoes, coral reefs, and tropical refugia to fortresses, seaside hamlets, and a futuristic dystopia, Chrono Cross has it all, and it does an amazing job of portraying each region.

Stunning backdrops, inspired by Mediterranean architecture.

#2 Unova – Pokemon Black 2 & White 2 (NDS)

Let’s be real. 99% of us have wondered what it’d be like to live in the world of Pokemon, and 100% of us know the answer: it’d be freaking awesome. You can go on an adventure with your friends and any Pokemon you want, and since it’s a kids game, safety isn’t really an issue. Besides, the criminals that do exist are dumb and weak enough to be dealt with my children anyway.

All of the Pokemon games have neat worlds with a bunch of cool places, so I arbitrarily chose the newest region because it has the most Pokemon, interactive features, and areas to visit (I actually couldn’t really decide on one region because they’re all so cool). The new Unova also has Humilau City, which is another seaside area. In fact, it’s a town that literally floats on top of the water, and the houses have see-through floors!

B2W2 pictures have too much ice, so I used this picture.

#1 Gaia – Final Fantasy IX (PS1)

Final Fantasy IX perfectly encapsulates the spirit of the series and is the ultimate throwback to the original games on the NES. This game takes the fantasy elements that existed in the early games of the series and fully realizes their potential in glorious 3-D. The world of Gaia is a fairly massive one, and is home to medieval metropolises, sinister forests, twilit canyons, and expansive oceans. The main attractions of Gaia are its five major cities, each with its own distinct personality. These include the proper matriarchal Alexandria, the boisterous technological Lindblum, the corrupt sleepless Treno, the realm of eternal rain Burmecia, and the mysterious city of illusion Cleyra.

I’ve always found it interesting when cities themselves develop their own personae, thereby becoming just as alive and dynamic as any of the other characters. This goes to show that life and the idea of sentience may be more abstract than we may think. While these cities aren’t technically living organisms, that doesn’t mean they can’t suffer like living things do. This is a very big theme that Final Fantasy IX plays with, and the developers try to prove this point in equally big ways (those who have played the game know what I’m talking about).

Lindblum, the center of invention and flight.

As I said before, this is a list that is far from being extensive and very narrow in scope. Games that didn’t quite make it are Mother 3, Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, and Paper Mario, to name a few. The Zeal Kingdom from Chrono Trigger would have been on this list too, but I limited myself to one game per series. I’ve also seen plenty of screenshots of a lot of recent JRPG’s that I’ve never played but that have really cool looking worlds, such as the Atelier, Tales, and Star Ocean games. Looking back at the list, a lot of my choices feel the same (like how they’re all from JRPG’s), but I guess that gives you a look into what my taste in atmospheres is like!

That being said, what are your favorite video game worlds?

B.W.