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RPGs tend to be composed of worlds that mimic the wide variety of conditions present in our own. The forest, the wintery north, the island arpeggio, the desert: any RPG worth its salt has a civilization or at least a dungeon representing each strict environmental type.

Since there are so many good ones to choose from, I'll be adding a new one of these Favorite Areas threads every week. The goal is to suggest which games do the best job of embodying that area type's atmosphere, in visuals, enemies, music, or whatever other factors you may find relevant. How well does the game make the particular environmental type feel both authentic and effective?

The inaugural area type is: Snowy/Tundra/Northern Areas! So what are your favorites?

Skyrim

Had to start with the obvious. A solid third, if not half, of Skyrim is snowy, and the game does it well. Visually, these areas are just stunning, and the music fits perfectly. The image above says more than I could. An excellent job of really bringing the environment to life.

FFVI: Narshe

Narshe, the city, is quite satisfying as an example of snow aesthetic: it combines an alpine-styled architecture with a steampunk-esque mining feel. It plays a significant part in the story as well (could you have any better setup than the march to Narshe and the conversation on the windy overlook?), and as a result the wintery atmosphere becomes intermingled with the memorable events. The large-scale assault on Narshe in the snow is a particularly exciting gameplay period, not least due to the fact that the savage natural elements contribute to its do-or-die posture, and exploring through the Caves of Narshe ( ) helps expand the atmosphere beyond the town proper.

FFX: Mount Gagazet

Though Macalania also has plenty of snow, I think most players would agree that FFX's better wintery area is Mount Gagazet, simply because of its considerably greater length. Part of what made FFX's treatment of the area good is its variation: you've got the foothills, where there are snowdrifts, followed by the heights, where it is snowing excessively, and ultimately the peak, where the snow has stopped and the sun is shining. Merging mountain with snow isn't uncommon, but it certainly adds to the effect; the cairns found along the way attribute to its danger, which is also effective, especially considering that it is one of the last areas of Yuna's pilgrimage. Finally, the music: mmm.

This post has been edited by Neal on 26th January 2013 16:49

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Ooh, I like this topic. So many games have ice stages / snowy areas, and think of the potential for beautiful screenshots! These are all games I played in the last three or four years, and I guess for that reason they stick out in my mind strongest.

Uncharted 2 - Heart of Ice


Heart of Ice has some of the most ingenious platforming in Uncharted 2, in a stage with no gunplay and a mute Sherpa as your only companion. If I were to rank every chapter in the Uncharted series in a grand list, Heart of Ice would make the top four.

Snowpeak Ruins - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess


Extremely unique for a Zelda dungeon. A drafty manor house inhabited by a loveable yeti couple, and the crux of dungeon exploration is obtaining ingredients for a soup to cure the lady yeti's cold. It's an interesting change of pace and looks great.

Snowy Mountains - Monster Hunter Freedom 2/U


This isn't a fair entry - I have put hundreds of hours into the Monster Hunter games since first picking them up in 2008, and the Snowy Mountains Peak is place near and dear to the hearts of any MHF2 player. It's your starting area, and for me it was where I learned the basics of the game. I haven't picked up MHF2 in at least a year, but I can still tell you which paths are sealed at night, where all the harvest points are, and the range areas for a Tigrex, Khezu, or Blangonga.

Journey


The snowy mountain area in Journey gives such a feeling of struggle and loneliness (especially if any companions drop out...) that it's genuinely moving. It's also gorgeous to behold.

This post has been edited by Neal on 26th January 2013 22:17

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These are a few I like.

Donkey Kong Country: Gorilla Glacier

This is one of my favorite platformers of all time. I love the background designs, snowfall and the crystal ice designs.





It's not realistic, but it's fun. The best is probably Skyrim.

There's another in Mass Effect, not Noveria but another smaller world in a blizzard that I can't find a picture of. But it was awesome.

This post has been edited by Neal on 27th January 2013 07:10

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Praise Be To Helix!

I'm really liking the idea of this topic.

I'm more of a classic gamer rather than going for the newer games hitting the market (this is more of a time and lack of will to spend the gas money on a game than anything else) so I'll go ahead and bring up an old favorite of mine.

Death Mountain of Chrono Trigger


The mountain seems like a shining jewel amid the battered landscape of the year 2300 AD and it draws the player's attention almost immediately. Though the heights are craggy and unnerving after a second glance, the simple fact that the mountain is blue and icy makes it a sight for sore eyes after the barren red and brown rock of a dying world.



With haunting music helping to illuminate a world of seemingly endless white, the area manages to convey a sense of loneliness that rips at the heart strings. That and pushing around the exoskeletons of your enemies around to use as ladders is good fun.




The adventure itself is crowned with a moment of joy after such a grim outlook for so long. It builds for the player a lifetime of romance and hope in one moment when it normally takes ages.

Ice dungeons and adventure areas tend to be my favorites in games and Chrono Trigger never fails to deliver.

This post has been edited by Neal on 4th February 2013 17:27

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I think one of the most memorable Arctic areas from video games is Shadow Moses island, from the Metal Gear Solid series..



The entire first game takes place there, within the space of one or two days, a continuous mission. In the days of the psx this attention to detail in some a small location really blew me away. The climate itself also affected the story and gameplay. Some examples are how your rations would freeze if you spent too long in the cold, your footsteps in the snow could draw guards' attention to you.. and the sniper duel in a blizzard was particularly memorable. Returning to the deserted base in MGS4 smacks of fanservice but was done well enough to evoke emotion in every fan I know.
~~

My personal favourite snowy locale is Snowhead from Zelda: Majora's mask (freakin' awesome though the manor house in Twilight Princess is).



AHH the mountain smithy, I remember trudging around here for ages with childish wonder, trying to find a way to unfreeze their hearth so they could work on Link's sword. Then the awesome experience of looking for the Goron race and trying to find out what troubles are plaguing the area, finding the tomb of the hero Darunia and soothing his restless spirit, allowing him to lend you his power...



I hope this has sparked some nostalgia, people. =]

oh and Death Pen.. yeah, the music in Mt. Gagazet just makes it, god damn.

This post has been edited by Neal on 4th February 2013 17:28

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You're always on the same page as me Blinge . When I first saw this topic, my immediate thought was Snowhead from Majora.

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Not a snow area, but more of an ice area where everything's frozen solid and slippery and there's no way around it but brute force:

The Graveyard of the Giants from La-Mulana.




I know, it's not as pretty-looking as stuff from Skyrim or FFX. I don't have my own screencaps of this area, but it looks roughly like this.

But it's one of the more frustrating areas in the game. Which might sound bad until you realize that it kinda matches the point of the area. It's contrasted with the Mausoleum of the Giants. In the Mausoleum, all the giants are respectfully posed, named, and described in a narrative. In the Graveyard, pieces of giant bodies litter the frozen cavern, no names are to be found, and nothing is offered any respect. The Mausoleum hints that some giants disagreed with what their leaders did...the dissenters may have ended up in the Graveyard.

This area is well-known for its slippery surfaces. No, you don't ever get boots that prevent slipping. You just have to brave through it. That's how this game works. (You have to take damage to water before you can get the Scalesphere too.)

This area is also notable because, unlike the typical high-pitched jingly music you get from snow/ice areas (such as this track from Metroid Fusion), you instead have a very deep, thick, heavy metal action track. Just imagine the cold air biting at your face. That's what it feels like.

This post has been edited by Glenn Magus Harvey on 5th February 2013 21:36

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Those are some really good nominations, Lasz! I had no idea Journey went into a snowy stage. When I get home this summer, that may likely be my first purchase.

Nice choice in DKC, Blitzsage - I'd forgotten about that one entirely, but now that you mention it I wholeheartedly agree. The number of different levels in the area also allows the game to cover a solid spectrum of incarnations of the snowy theme.

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Remembered another snow area that I really liked. Again, the area is decent, not too supremely awesome, but it's the music that really makes it memorable.

Unfortunately, the soundtrack still hasn't been ripped into a GSF (it's a GBA game), nor has it been released as an OST. For what it's worth, the music is by Jake "virt" Kaufman, who is best known for his soundtrack to Contra 4 and the Shantae series.

The music is just so calming and charming, with occasional tinges of sadness. It actually contrasts a bit with the rest of the soundtrack, but if it's to make this area contrast with the rest of the game, I see no problem with that. Not to mention that this is, in my opinion, by far the best track in the game. I fell in love with it the first time I heard it and I still think it's the best in the game.

That said, I can at least bring you screenshots:








This post has been edited by Glenn Magus Harvey on 5th February 2013 21:37

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Check the "What games are you playing at the moment?" thread for updates on what I've been playing.

You can find me on the Fediverse! I use Mastodon, where I am @[email protected] ( https://sakurajima.moe/@glennmagusharvey )

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The victor sacrificed the vanquished to the heavens

Icecap from Sonic 3, of course. Awesome intro, possibly Michael Jackson music, a bunch of clever scene changes, pretty graphics. Act 1 is probably the most linear Sonic level ever made though.


Snowy Valley from The Magical Quest Starring Mickey Mouse. Who the hell even remembers that? The things you can make platforms on look like Chaos Emeralds, but what are the pink bouncy things? The things you ride in look like some glass bowls my gran used to have. OK, it's a short filler level, but it looks and sounds good! Sorry, no good screenshots out there. You'll just have to watch the video or believe me.

Dreamfall has a bunch of snow going on - there's the iconic weird snow house featuring Bra-and-Pants Zoe™ but Marcuria is more interesting - you visited there in The Longest Journey when both the sky and the world were sunnier places. The snow helps capture the bleak fate that has befallen the place.

Big picture of Marcuria tower

Bully featured not so much a winter place, but a winter time: the game ran through a school year, and during winter, the town is covered in snow, and you can have snowball fights and do snowploughing jobs.


And obviously Skyrim, but everyone knows about that.

Metroid Prime has the Phendrana Drifts.



The entire area is pretty cool (no pun intended, but pun acknowledged). But for some reason I really like the name "Chozo Ice Temple".



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Check the "What games are you playing at the moment?" thread for updates on what I've been playing.

You can find me on the Fediverse! I use Mastodon, where I am @[email protected] ( https://sakurajima.moe/@glennmagusharvey )

Quote (Tiddles @ 6th February 2013 18:44)

Icecap from Sonic 3, of course. Awesome intro, possibly Michael Jackson music

I think my favorite part of playing Sonic 3 Complete 4 Dumbos was the Ice Cap Zone music, heh.

Blinge: What from game do those screenies come?

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Currently Playing : Final Fantasy V
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That would be Castle Crashers

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Quote (Tiddles @ 6th February 2013 17:44)

Yes. This was so awesomely done, and I didn't even think about it until you posted it, despite it being my desktop wallpaper for quite a while.

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I don't have pictures, but I'd like to maybe give a mention to MGS4's Shadow Moses section. Shadow Moses in MGS1 isn't really all that spectacular at the time, the snow really doesn't do that much than provide some mild obstacles. But coming back years later, in story and in real-life, well...

It just has this feel of being both decayed and a graveyard, but also frozen and preserved by the ice. It's as much an element of nostalgia and memories, but tied in with how the game is going at that stage, it really is something. Here's where it started. It could just as easily be where it ends too. And in a game that's been all about memories, retrospective, about Old Snake trying to just keep going even as his body is starting to give out, it's pretty effective. When you're pausing at seeing something, you're really in Snake's shoes for once. It's managed to really make your memories and the memories of the character properly sync up.

Say what you will about the MGS series, but it's always been good at that sort of thing. Maybe not so good at other things. But it certainly does make you feel a connection to the characters and makes you feel. Even a lowly surveillance camera falling off the bracket can cause veteran players to pause and ponder the memories for a second.

Many other games just can't quite make you feel like the character on that meta-sense.

Possible spoilers: highlight to view

We don't feel nearly as bad as Hope does when his mother dies: We just met her, she seems kind of dumb actually - zero hoots given. Hell, I laughed, actually. We can't really connect that well to a spiky-haired supersoldier with amnesia and a stupidly big sword all that well. It's tricky to feel the kind of feels a power-armoured super-soldier does fighting the final boss alien. And we also hopefully don't have much ability to connect with a man who stamps on turtles and keeps having his girlfriend kidnapped.

.

In a way, the snowy ruins of Shadow Moses aren't just memorable. They are a memory, and a well-done meta concept in a series that can admittedly sometimes take the meta too far. But this is one area where it nails it.




This post has been edited by Del S on 7th February 2013 17:29

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