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Top Ten Most Beautiful Areas in Console Gaming
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I’ve decided to switch gears for a little bit, and try my hand at lists here on Examiner. Over the years I’ve spent with video games, the long hours put in completing quests, exploring levels, and wandering about in a daze after all was said and done, I’ve seen a lot of really wonderfully crafted worlds. Realms that make me think “I really wish I could just spend a whole day exploring that place on my own.”
These are my top ten, in my personal opinion.
Warning: This list may very well contain spoilers, as some areas appear late in certain games.
10) Earthbound (SNES): Magicant
Magicant, the realm created for the main character, Ness, via the Sound Stone after collecting all 8 melodies from the various “My Sanctuaries” scattered across the lands in this grand RPG hit for the Super Nintendo. The land is constantly changing colors whenever an NPC character is spoken to, houses have furnishings drawn upon the walls, and they function as if they were real, people speak in odd dream riddles, and memories take form as playful children and your own family. Huge vegetables sprout out of the ground, and trees grow with checkered markings. It’s the kind of place I’d love to go to when I was feeling creative or nostalgic, or maybe just when I’ve stayed up three nights in a row and I start getting tired with reality altogether. Also, within this realm someone sells Magic Pudding. I mean there is no need for any other excuse to visit Magicant other than magical pudding, am I right?!
9) Soul Blazer (SNES): Leo’s Painting
Near the beginning of the game, you face your first major boss within this very abstract realm inside a painting made by an important character. When you equip Leo’s brush, the painting sucks you inside and you find yourself within this abstract and whimsical work of art. Platforms spread out over an azure blue sky below with clouds that race by at unimaginable speeds. Marble floors and pillars lie sideways, and moving red carpets with gold trim push you in all directions. Lovely green and white tile floors matched with the random cubist statuary walls and busts tucked into the narrow hallways give this area a refined, yet dangerous look and feel. This is the kind of place you’d love to show off to your relatives and artist friends.
8) Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (Sega Genesis): Angel Island Zone 1
From the very beginning of Sonic’s third game, you are greeted quite briefly by a sandy beach that leads into a dense rainforest before Knuckles bursts out and knocks you senseless, putting a solid damper on any first impressions. You then are left to race through the green lushness of the island’s natural beauty, hanging vines, fan palms, coconut trees, a real tropical paradise filled with hidden grottos and secret false walls that would provide any vacationing tourist with plenty to do. Not to mention the waterfalls and small pools of water scattered about the area, giving it a very refreshing and sparkling beauty. I’d love to walk around this area barefoot, feeling the wet grass under my feet, and plucking the coconuts right off the trees. Alas, if only the place existed and was protected from all tourists and corporations, as well as insane scientists who end up burning the whole area in a maddened homicidal fury over a blue hedgehog.
7) Shadow of the Colossus (PS2): Kuromori’s Tower
In this expansive world, you hunt humongous giants in order to revive your lost love. The eighth colossus, named Kuromori, hides out in a huge inverted tower. The stairwells carved into the rock walls encircle a small green patch of land all the way at the bottom. It’s perfect for a giant that loves to climb everywhere, but even better for a hideaway from the intense summer sunlight. The shadowed stairwells seem to climb and descend for miles before emptying out into the courtyard below, offering barred windows along the way for air to circulate and cool the already dank interior. A large beam of sunlight spills downward into the gaping hole, illuminating the stone arched doorways at the very bottom. Of course time and the elements take their toll on all things, leaving a gaping hole in the middle of one of the walls, giving the whole tower that delightful ancient ruins atmosphere.
6) Legend of Mana (PS1): Lumina
Now I ask you, who in their right mind can resist a spooky dark city, enshrouded by eternal moonlight and heavily populated by teddy bear like creatures who speak their own adorable language? Not a single soul who ever in their lives collected any plush toy, I say. Sure other people live here too, a centaur and a siren, and a man with a puzzle piece for a face, but the Dudbears are who really would bring in the tourists. The city itself doesn’t offer more than its somewhat sad and dark appearance with cold stonework and winding pathways and staircases that are illuminated only by lamps burning in the eternal night. However it does offer a calm feeling of solitude and silent dignity as it stands alone on the map. I would most likely come here when I wished to relax after a long day, and unwind with a cold cider. Even darkness can have its own pretty light; you just need to search for it.
5) Super Mario 64 (N64): Wing Mario Over the Rainbow
There is literally nothing more than clouds here, and that is exactly why it is so pretty and attractive, a clean blue sky and nothing around for miles except a few floating platforms, shimmering rainbow arches, and the clouds that connect them. Of course the only way to really get around in this area is a magical cap with white wings that grants temporary flight, but who would argue? Definitely the place you’d come to escape your daily woes and the family. Or a nice area for calm sweet meditation, I mean you can’t get any more quiet than thousands of miles up in the sky, correct? I’d probably visit here once, if not twice, daily. The view is amazing.
4) The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask (N64): The Astral Observatory
How would you feel about walking through a dark, torch-lit, giant spider infested sewer? Not very excited about that concept huh? What if I told you it was pretty much the only way to reach this amazing observatory? You’re probably thinking who in the world would design such a place. Well I don’t know that answer but you’d probably cease to care once you climbed a spiral ramp into the most colorful and shiny scientific room known to man. The floor is just saturated in the brightest and warmest colors available, and complimented by mirror-like walls that seem to disappear in a cool shadow shimmer. A lovely bright blue stone is on display under a clean glass case, and a kind old man dressed in a deep blue robe offers you a look through the most bizarrely shaped telescope you’ve ever seen. Now if we took field trips to this place as kids, we’d probably all have ADHD by now, but we’d sure as hell know our astrology.
3) Halo (XBOX): The Silent Cartographer
Kind of surprising to see a First Person Shooter on the list, isn’t it? Well this little island in the middle of the gigantic ring world sea has just a fantastic little beach. Couple that with the sprawling rock walls and the lush grasses that lead up into forests that hide secret caves, as well as an army of aliens that are willing to wipe out an entire species in the name of their faith and you have this darling location. I mean, I’m sure AFTER all the fighting was over with and the blood was washed away by the waves and the eventual rains it would look good as new right? So don’t pooh pooh this one just yet. Lots of narrow hallways and dimply lit passages hidden inside the island offer exploration activities, but you should be careful not to fall into the dark pits located inside. I don’t know who their interior designer was but I’m certain they’re in the middle of a huge lawsuit right now. Not even one railing or warning sign either. Anyway, I’m sure lots of people would appreciate the view at the top of the island, just miles and miles of ocean all around.
2) Super Mario Sunshine (Nintendo GameCube): Noki Bay
Trust me I had the worst time deciding which area in this game to choose. The whole game is so gorgeous, but I’ll save that for another review. Three spires shooting up out of the vast sea topped with what look like seashells offer an interesting viewpoint of the steep cliff side this area is located in. The area itself is actually very small in diameter, but the real glory of this inlet is all the secret paths and doors inside the cliff itself! Not to mention a wondrous waterfall that spills out from the very top of the wall. For the diving enthusiast, there is a whole undersea grotto to explore, complete with nooks and crannies cut right into the stone, offering up a treasure trove of sparkling golden coins just begging to be collected. For the climbing fans, the stone platforms hidden in the damp shade above the surface offer a wonderful sanctuary from that relentless sun, just be careful, the whole area is very slippery with the sea spray. I’d love to swim here all day long, the crystal waters offer a splendid view of the depths below, and the shady pools are perfect for that noonday heat wave.
1) Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (XBOX 360): Mankar Camoren’s Paradise
What better way to spend a vacation then in someone else’s idea of paradise? You have stone pathways, lovely statues of demons and demigods, lush flora that radiate magical energy, forests of pines, white stone arches, and of course horrific monsters chasing half naked and defenseless men and women around to kill and eat them. Just right! What? Too morbid? Pfft, you have no idea what you’re talking about. Sure their screams for mercy and of horrid mutilation might become somewhat irritating after a while, but that isn’t keeping you from moving to a different part of the area and taking in all the wonderful natural beauty, right? Well, all violence aside, the area is just gorgeous, especially in early afternoon when the sun alights upon the stone bridges and arches and leaves you with a feeling of certain inner peace and reflection. Definitely my weekend home for sure, that is if I didn’t need to use a wicked book from a demon lord in order to enter it.
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