theechrisfox
Member
I loved exploring towns of Qeynos and Freeport in EQ. They have that old school nostalgic charm that is hard to tarnish.
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Best towns to explore in RPGs?
- Thread starter nrvalleytime
- Start date
nrvalleytime
Member
I cannot recommend these towns enough. Seriously. Mentioned it in the OP, but there's something perfectly tranquil, relaxing, and restorative about this place. Even in Another World, this is the place that comes closest to feeling like home.
Edit - maybe it's just me, but great towns in games are a main reason I play RPGs. Without them, it just feels off, you know?
Novan Leon
Banned
I loved Rabanastre. I actually loved FFXII, period. It had flaws but it did so many things well. It's a shame it gets so much hate.
I also loved the towns from Grandia and Wild Arms (first one). I'm not sure if it qualifies as a "RPG", but FFXIV has one of the most beautiful worlds, with numerous towns, in a game to-date.
Another one that might not qualify, but I loved, was the city from Deus Ex: Human Revolution.
originalself
Neo Member
Megaton. Gotta love that nuke.
The Praiseworthy
Member
Midgar from Final Fantasy VII:
So huge... so dark and atmospheric, and so gloomy.
Never saw and probably never going to see a city like it.
So huge... so dark and atmospheric, and so gloomy.
Never saw and probably never going to see a city like it.
Athkatla in Baldur's Gate 2 felt well realized with plenty of different districts to explore. The inn in the slums is probably my favorite RPG inn as well.
Silvermoon in World of Warcraft has unparalleled atmosphere. It's just a shame that it's practically a ghost town (not counting the awkwardness that goes on there on roleplaying servers) and that Blizzard will probably never repair the damaged parts that have been there since Arthas' invasion in WC3.
Silvermoon in World of Warcraft has unparalleled atmosphere. It's just a shame that it's practically a ghost town (not counting the awkwardness that goes on there on roleplaying servers) and that Blizzard will probably never repair the damaged parts that have been there since Arthas' invasion in WC3.
Excellent choice.
nrvalleytime
Member
YES! Glad someone else realizes how incredible the towns in Legend of Dragoon were. Exploring them was pure joy for me. So many neat secrets to find.
Lost Odyssey was another one that had towns that were incredibly fun to explore. I especially remember the white seaside city whose name eludes me.
Aww yeah. Knowing there's another person with great taste on here warms my soul.
Amn in Baldur's Gate 2. Super dense, full of characters and sidequests. Can get lost in it for longer than some other games are in total before even continuing the main plot.
Zeal in Chrono Trigger. The first real taste of 12,000 BC.
Liberty City in GTA IV. There wasn't that much to do, but it was pretty great to drive around in, which was helped by the driving physics.
Edit: Athkatla was the name of the city, not Amn, as lazygecko noted.
Zeal in Chrono Trigger. The first real taste of 12,000 BC.
Liberty City in GTA IV. There wasn't that much to do, but it was pretty great to drive around in, which was helped by the driving physics.
Edit: Athkatla was the name of the city, not Amn, as lazygecko noted.
Sigil is such an incredible place BECAUSE it's fucked up beyond human comprehension.
Half the charm of Torment derives from the incredible setting that is Sigil.
i'm with you, it's one of a few times when i first played Skyrim i just stopped and looked around in awe
Something about Dali from Final Fantasy IX has always spoken to me. It was so small, but so quiet and relaxing. It's the kind of place I would take a vacation.
Glad we're on the same page, then. IX had some great towns: Alexandria, Lindblum, Dali, Clerya, TRENO, Daguerreo, Burmecia.
Begaria
Member
Almost every town in Ni no Kuni. They were themed by the ruler of the town, the towns were themed by the area they were in, the clothing of the citizens, and the citizens themselves were extremely diversified. On top of that, the party's clothing could change depending on the town they were in. The towns are either based on nursery rhymes or puns. There are also hidden treasure chests in every town, and they're not so big that you'd get lost in them or take forever to explore them. They're bright, colorful, and unique.
Ding Dong Dell
Themed entirely from the old nursery rhyme Ding Dong Dell (or Bell), with a Cat King, fish symbols all over the place, and cat citizens, this is the first town in the game and it's soooooo gorgeous.
Al Mamoon
The first time I saw the Cowlipha standing up in all her glory, my eyes balked. This city is themed after - you guessed it - cows. There are milk fountains (that you use to make cheese at one point), but since it's set in the desert, you'll see general desert clothing.
Castaway Cove
The first town where you get your town themed clothing! It's actually a law of the town to be wearing swimwear at all times.
Fairyground
Blimey, 'dis 'ere town is just full of life, 'ay cry baby buntin'? The amount of detail put into each shop, every unique fairy, and the absolute bizarreness that is the Fairy Mother is so over the top.
Hamelin
Another town themed after an animal - pigs! Everyone wears pig costumes, the soldiers wear pig themed armor, and the town is this dirty looking industrial city - a pigsty if you will.
Yule
The second town to get a costume change. Before you get the costume change, Oliver and company have this pretty cool shiver animation. The town's name is a reference to Yuletide (or I guess just Yule). Almost everything here is some kind of sasquatch.
I'm leaving Perdida off because it's not as cool as the other towns
Ding Dong Dell
Themed entirely from the old nursery rhyme Ding Dong Dell (or Bell), with a Cat King, fish symbols all over the place, and cat citizens, this is the first town in the game and it's soooooo gorgeous.
Al Mamoon
The first time I saw the Cowlipha standing up in all her glory, my eyes balked. This city is themed after - you guessed it - cows. There are milk fountains (that you use to make cheese at one point), but since it's set in the desert, you'll see general desert clothing.
Castaway Cove
The first town where you get your town themed clothing! It's actually a law of the town to be wearing swimwear at all times.
Fairyground
Blimey, 'dis 'ere town is just full of life, 'ay cry baby buntin'? The amount of detail put into each shop, every unique fairy, and the absolute bizarreness that is the Fairy Mother is so over the top.
Hamelin
Another town themed after an animal - pigs! Everyone wears pig costumes, the soldiers wear pig themed armor, and the town is this dirty looking industrial city - a pigsty if you will.
Yule
The second town to get a costume change. Before you get the costume change, Oliver and company have this pretty cool shiver animation. The town's name is a reference to Yuletide (or I guess just Yule). Almost everything here is some kind of sasquatch.
I'm leaving Perdida off because it's not as cool as the other towns
TranceKuja
Member
Burmecia, Realm of the Eternal Rain fom Final Fantasy IX. It's so sad and the music is so great.
nrvalleytime
Member
Probably should play this game soon. I know it's easy, but those towns beg someone to take a vacation there.
I dont have any pictures since i am at work, but i really like New Reno from Fallout 2 and Tarant from Arcanum.
Im suprised that there are not more mmo cities being mentioned but I always really liked kelethin from everquest, it was a tree city and probably responsible for more player deaths than any other city in any other game.
Im suprised that there are not more mmo cities being mentioned but I always really liked kelethin from everquest, it was a tree city and probably responsible for more player deaths than any other city in any other game.
nrvalleytime
Member
Not at all! That moment where you purchase the robot - loved it.
The Upper City in Taris.
Never before had such a location felt so alive. Looking up in the sky and watching the ships soar by made me feel like every individual vessel had its own story, journey, etc. Taris is proof that you dont need "Elder Scrolls" like scale to produce a world that feels alive.
It was the height of immersion, more so than any VR device could ever produce.
Never before had such a location felt so alive. Looking up in the sky and watching the ships soar by made me feel like every individual vessel had its own story, journey, etc. Taris is proof that you dont need "Elder Scrolls" like scale to produce a world that feels alive.
It was the height of immersion, more so than any VR device could ever produce.
SliceSabre
Banned
Termina from Chrono Cross.
Reading through this thread reminds me how limited towns are in general in RPG's. I mean, I do love them. They are fantastic to roam through and generally take a breather from the action, but there is always a sense that you only get to see little bits of the town, especially in locations that are supposed to be big cities.
I think the Imperial City in Oblivion did a decent job of feeling sizeable with an equally large amount of quests and things to do there.
But if I had to pick, I think my favourite would be Markarth, from Skyrim. I love the location, surrounded by mountainous valleys, rivers and passes on the extreme edge of the map. I love the architecture, which goes without saying. Its a beautiful place. And while it doesn't seem to be massively big, it has quite a lot of interior areas, many of which are pretty damn big. You can actually explore the city for quite a while and still discover new things on return visits. And to top it off, it also has some of the best quests in the game here, some very unexpected and quite awesome.
I think the Imperial City in Oblivion did a decent job of feeling sizeable with an equally large amount of quests and things to do there.
But if I had to pick, I think my favourite would be Markarth, from Skyrim. I love the location, surrounded by mountainous valleys, rivers and passes on the extreme edge of the map. I love the architecture, which goes without saying. Its a beautiful place. And while it doesn't seem to be massively big, it has quite a lot of interior areas, many of which are pretty damn big. You can actually explore the city for quite a while and still discover new things on return visits. And to top it off, it also has some of the best quests in the game here, some very unexpected and quite awesome.
FFIX was really pure magic in how well crafted it's cities were. I love everyone of theme, so justa couple of examples:
Treno
Lindblum (FF steampunk at its finest)
Bravely Default cities were wonderful artworks, shame there was close to none exploration:
The Witcher 2 had a couple of very beautiful towns, both very distinct, a unique artstyle ans OST and teh graphicz supporting them:
Vergen
Flotsam
Thank god looks like TW3 will be even better.
Others:
-Ni no Kuni's ones were lovely and oozed with Ghibli's signature style.
-FFXII Rabanastre and Arcadia felt like real living capitals, but even the smaller ones where all stylish.
Treno
Lindblum (FF steampunk at its finest)
Bravely Default cities were wonderful artworks, shame there was close to none exploration:
The Witcher 2 had a couple of very beautiful towns, both very distinct, a unique artstyle ans OST and teh graphicz supporting them:
Vergen
Flotsam
Thank god looks like TW3 will be even better.
Others:
-Ni no Kuni's ones were lovely and oozed with Ghibli's signature style.
-FFXII Rabanastre and Arcadia felt like real living capitals, but even the smaller ones where all stylish.
I found the towns in Oblivion to be incredibly underwhelming coming off of Morrowind. Probably has a lot to do with the insistence on every NPC being fully voiced, thus you get fewer NPCs with fewer things to say and it just makes the places feel deserted. In Skyrim it got even worse. I dread to think how things will end up in the next Elder Scrolls. We've passed a threshold here where voice acting for the sake of immersion in practice ends up accomplishing the opposite.
Coinspinner
Member
Lazulis, from the Last Story. All the usual RPG things, like quests, arena, fortuneteller, mysterious catacombs, etc, with a nice atmosphere. I loved finding items on the street, there was even a chaining system for it where any time you picked up an item it'd spawn a better one within a few steps that would disappear in shorter and shorter amounts of time. Also, slapstick. You and NPCs can bonk your heads on signs and you can make NPCs slip on fruit.
sublimit
Banned
From last gen i really loved the atmosphere of Lazulis Town from The Last Story.These screens unfortunately don't do the game justice.
Another town i also liked was the Seafront town form Nier.I love sunny sea towns in games.
Oh and Ni no kuni had some extremelly beautiful towns as well.
Another town i also liked was the Seafront town form Nier.I love sunny sea towns in games.
Oh and Ni no kuni had some extremelly beautiful towns as well.
The Elderscrolls 3: Morrowind
Balmora
It is a great looking town and most likely one of the first major towns you visit. It has a bunch of buildings for various factions, some of which you can join such as the Fighter's Guild or Thieves Guild. There are a lot of services available, many shops and trainers that you can find. There are plenty of quests and buildings to break into for fun.
I also want to point out that there are carefully placed items in Morrowind. For instance there is the Blade of White Woe which is very powerful. The blade can be stolen if you sneak or kill the guard near by. There is also a Glass Dagger in one of the shops, it is worth about 4000 gold but you can buy it for around 400 give or take depending on your bartering skills because the dagger's durability is almost at 0. Repairing this will allow you to sell it for a a tidy profit. Many little things like these is what makes Balmora and most towns in Morrowind stand out. Also, Balmora doesn't get Ash Storms like some of the other cities which is a huge plus in my books.
Balmora
It is a great looking town and most likely one of the first major towns you visit. It has a bunch of buildings for various factions, some of which you can join such as the Fighter's Guild or Thieves Guild. There are a lot of services available, many shops and trainers that you can find. There are plenty of quests and buildings to break into for fun.
I also want to point out that there are carefully placed items in Morrowind. For instance there is the Blade of White Woe which is very powerful. The blade can be stolen if you sneak or kill the guard near by. There is also a Glass Dagger in one of the shops, it is worth about 4000 gold but you can buy it for around 400 give or take depending on your bartering skills because the dagger's durability is almost at 0. Repairing this will allow you to sell it for a a tidy profit. Many little things like these is what makes Balmora and most towns in Morrowind stand out. Also, Balmora doesn't get Ash Storms like some of the other cities which is a huge plus in my books.
Wozzer
Member
Baldur's Gate.
It's the games title,
You get a huge physical map of it,
It's all anyone talks about,
You see its grand scale in the games map,
The game navigates you further from it,
You've got 5 CDs of content to get through..
The hype and anticipation is real, then it's multiple screen scale and wealth of accessible interiors can keep you busy for hours.
It's the games title,
You get a huge physical map of it,
It's all anyone talks about,
You see its grand scale in the games map,
The game navigates you further from it,
You've got 5 CDs of content to get through..
The hype and anticipation is real, then it's multiple screen scale and wealth of accessible interiors can keep you busy for hours.
I'll give it to the Witcher games - they aren't open-world, but they understand the importance of making a town/city feel fully explorable and not just this little slice of a much bigger area that you can never see. I like that. A lot.
And yes, The Witcher 3 seems to be following in that vein, except it *will* be open-world, which has me drooling.
I get where you're coming from, but I like scale. And there was nothing in Morrowind that compares to the Imperial City in terms of scale.
In terms of dialogue, I understand that having a lot of unique dialogue makes for a more interesting place, but I don't always want to have pages and pages of stuff to read from every person. It gets tiring. I also enjoy voice acting and feel it adds to the immersion. Text is fine for JRPG's and other RPG's with more old-school graphics, but in a 1st-person game that is aiming for an immersive experience, it feels decidedly out of place.
Dark_castle
Junior Member
Wall Market in FFVII is the most interesting town I can think of.
Gran Soren was very fun to explore. Jumping across rooftops, throwing pigs and people, good times!
Best game I haven't finished. Messed so much around with sidequests, monsters and stuff I finaly got tired and dropped it. But it's really good and I like Gran Soren too. I love jumping across rooftops and I really like how is it designed. You can get lost, there are some tricky places but in general it's easy to memorize how to go throught one of the "key" points of the city (like the Inn) to another (like the Castle, Pawn place...). The only place I have problems finding is the black market.
I really, really love Silvermoon in World of Warcraft. I don't know. The colour palette, the buildings. It looks so cool in my memories.
Dark_castle
Junior Member
Also the original Shadow Hearts first village is creepy as fuck with the man eating tribe and the atmosphere. Loved it.
Zozo in FFVI.
Zozo in FFVI.
PuppetSlave
Member
Whatever the village is called in alundra deserves a mention. Mostly because you get to know the people living there over the course of the game.
Makes it much more personal.
Makes it much more personal.
I'd add Wild Arms port town (or whichever was), because background music was godly.
So, so many to choose from. But some i have a fondess for are as
The Citidel (Mass Effect)
That's the original one, before EA took over Bioware. For some reason, it felt bigger and more explorable than the ones in 2 and 3.
Solitude (Skyrim)
Very open town/city, very much explorable. You could get lost in that city just from the number of paths you could go down (or up)
Imperial City (Oblivion)
Again, very much a maze like Solitude with the number of paths to explore and get lost down. I enjoyed exploring the place.
The Citidel (Mass Effect)
That's the original one, before EA took over Bioware. For some reason, it felt bigger and more explorable than the ones in 2 and 3.
Solitude (Skyrim)
Very open town/city, very much explorable. You could get lost in that city just from the number of paths you could go down (or up)
Imperial City (Oblivion)
Again, very much a maze like Solitude with the number of paths to explore and get lost down. I enjoyed exploring the place.
OP nails it with legend of dragoon. Well done.So there's some intense hate for the The Legend of Dragoon, and many people keep citing it an example of a poorly made, cheaply fashioned RPG that tries to copy FF VII.
Regardless of where you stand on the issue, it (along with Chrono Cross and FF IX) has some of the neatest towns to explore from that generation. There were hidden items everywhere, some enjoyable mini-games, and a feeling of deserved discovery when you happened upon a hidden route or street. They weren't extremely convoluted, but they were fun.
Plus, the pre-rendered backgrounds were absolutely gorgeous.
What RPGs (that are at least mildly critically approved) manage to do towns well? These are often the best parts of these games, and stories take a backseat to simply existing within these worlds. Show us pictures of these towns and explain why they're worth visiting.