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Top 50 Hub Worlds: What's all the Hubbub?
- Thread starter Baudshaw
- Start date
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- Tags
- bub? hubba hubba
Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
I really liked Dirtmouth. It's an understated and lonely little place, very moody. It changes, not necessarily filling out as heavily as some games but it's a place I like to come back to.
Also, it reminds me of Dartmouth.
Also, it reminds me of Dartmouth.
NUMBER 36: Toad Town
Game: Paper Mario 64
My familiarity: 3/10
Nominated by: @Beta Metroid (#6) and @Daikaju (#10)
"Toads congregate and work around here- but Peach gets her own castle, so unfair!" (it's only a half rhyme...)
Gameplay: There's a massive amount of utility here. Most notably, there's a warp pipe that takes you straight to your house. There's also a Shroom Grocery, a Dojo, and some more obscure stuff such as Club 64.
Story: There's too little to work with here. It used to be a a bustling town right next to Peach's Castle, right until Bowser attacked.
Does it integrate?: The amount of story is too little to tell, but the gameplay carries it onto this list.
Game: Paper Mario 64
My familiarity: 3/10
Nominated by: @Beta Metroid (#6) and @Daikaju (#10)
"Toads congregate and work around here- but Peach gets her own castle, so unfair!" (it's only a half rhyme...)
Gameplay: There's a massive amount of utility here. Most notably, there's a warp pipe that takes you straight to your house. There's also a Shroom Grocery, a Dojo, and some more obscure stuff such as Club 64.
Story: There's too little to work with here. It used to be a a bustling town right next to Peach's Castle, right until Bowser attacked.
Does it integrate?: The amount of story is too little to tell, but the gameplay carries it onto this list.
NUMBER 35: The Tower (what a name!)
Game: Destiny
My familiarity: 1/10
Nominated by: @Patrick (#7) and @Violentvixen (#9)
"An important place for the Vanguard to stay- the Last City wasn't built in a day."
Gameplay: There's an absolute smorgasbord of things to do here, as you can see from the map above. What's interesting is that it's one of the few hubs that has multiplayer, supporting up to 16 players. It's one of many hubs in Destiny, but this tower is probably the most iconic.
Story: Destiny lore is... I'll try my best with this one. It's a defensive structure located in the final bastion of humanity, guarded by the Vanguard, and it was subsequently attacked and destroyed. By Destiny 2, it was fully in ruins.
Does it integrate?: I know very little about this place, but I really think it does. The amount of facilities and defenses in this area makes sense, given that it's protecting all of humanity. There's also the Speaker, an important character who gives important legendary items.
Game: Destiny
My familiarity: 1/10
Nominated by: @Patrick (#7) and @Violentvixen (#9)
"An important place for the Vanguard to stay- the Last City wasn't built in a day."
Gameplay: There's an absolute smorgasbord of things to do here, as you can see from the map above. What's interesting is that it's one of the few hubs that has multiplayer, supporting up to 16 players. It's one of many hubs in Destiny, but this tower is probably the most iconic.
Story: Destiny lore is... I'll try my best with this one. It's a defensive structure located in the final bastion of humanity, guarded by the Vanguard, and it was subsequently attacked and destroyed. By Destiny 2, it was fully in ruins.
Does it integrate?: I know very little about this place, but I really think it does. The amount of facilities and defenses in this area makes sense, given that it's protecting all of humanity. There's also the Speaker, an important character who gives important legendary items.
NUMBER 34: Star Road
Game: Super Mario World
My familiarity: 9/10
Nominated by: @Kirin (#6) and @SabreCat (#9)
"A ring of worlds that's hard to hate- but is it just strategy guide bait?"
Gameplay: Ooh, this one is quite controversial. All 5 of the Star World levels are quite forgettable for me. They're not really that interesting, and the secrets needed to find it are just... so ridiculous. Although the general theming and concept is cool, I feel like this place was just meant to sell strategy guides.
Story: None. Literally none. It's a secret, so there's not even any blurbs in a strategy guide or anything. It's the Mario World area with the least going on.
Do they integrate?: Nope, not really. There's not even much story or gameplay in this area, so it's hard to claim they work together. My biases are really showing here...
Game: Super Mario World
My familiarity: 9/10
Nominated by: @Kirin (#6) and @SabreCat (#9)
"A ring of worlds that's hard to hate- but is it just strategy guide bait?"
Gameplay: Ooh, this one is quite controversial. All 5 of the Star World levels are quite forgettable for me. They're not really that interesting, and the secrets needed to find it are just... so ridiculous. Although the general theming and concept is cool, I feel like this place was just meant to sell strategy guides.
Story: None. Literally none. It's a secret, so there's not even any blurbs in a strategy guide or anything. It's the Mario World area with the least going on.
Do they integrate?: Nope, not really. There's not even much story or gameplay in this area, so it's hard to claim they work together. My biases are really showing here...
Haha, I obviously enjoy Star Road more than you, but that's fine. Sure, it's plot-light (okay pretty much plot-nonexistent) but that applies to most things in early Mario games. I feel like it was a pretty cool expansion of the Warp Zone / Warp World concept from the games that came before. Instead of a simple set of pipes, you get a whole little world with its own levels to bop around and open up new shortcuts, with multiple directions of entry being possible. And as for integrating, "a bunch of levels in the sky with extra-weird settings and mechanics" doesn't seem far off-brand for Mario at all to me. They may almost seem a little ROM-hacky now, but as one of the first things I played on a SNES, I remember thinking some of these levels were pretty out-there and cool!
Edit: Actually, I just realized I'm partly thinking of the Special World levels, that are a whole other world that's just gated by the Star Road. Still, I stand by the Road itself as a cool expansion of what a hub-type warp area in Mario could be.
Edit: Actually, I just realized I'm partly thinking of the Special World levels, that are a whole other world that's just gated by the Star Road. Still, I stand by the Road itself as a cool expansion of what a hub-type warp area in Mario could be.
I didn't think much about the hub-type warp areas, to be honest. I feel like Star Road is different from them, since it's the only one that could reasonably be considered a hub, as compared to the pipe shortcuts from before. I do understand why you placed it quite high; it must've been very surprising for first-time players.
I just played through Super Mario World - on both SNES and GBA. Star Road is great - it serves as a shortcut directly to the last boss, a convenient way to get back to the little power up zone in Donut Plains, a way to introduce more Yoshi colors/powers, and it also leads to a cool post-game area with extreme challenges, and finally it rewards you with a palette change for the entire game. I feel like it being optional and separate from the rest of the game makes it more special, not less.
Violentvixen
(She/Her)
I played a lot less of Destiny than it feels like other people did but the Tower is a huge part of the first game. It's a hub where you can just putter around and where Important Plot happens and I like that, it makes the place feel more real.
Star Road didn't occur to me. I think it's a great experimental area of the game but dunno if it would have made my list.
Star Road didn't occur to me. I think it's a great experimental area of the game but dunno if it would have made my list.
Number 33: Crescent Isle
Game: Skies of Arcadia
Nominated by: @WildcatJF (#6) and @Dr. Nerd (#9)
My familiarity: 0/10
“A crashed ship is just the start- now a bustling town, with you as the heart.”
Gameplay: These islands are founded by Vyse, and can be upgraded with a bit of gold and some crew members. To leave the island, you’ll need 100,00 gold to get the Delphinus, which can be acquired in a many number of ways.
Story: I know basically nothing about this story, but the characters have a heartfelt conversation around the fire on this island. Thank goodness for LP archives…
Do they integrate?: It’s certainly an interesting concept, with a crashed ship being the basis for a large town. I think it’s not a bad area to relax and hang around.
Game: Skies of Arcadia
Nominated by: @WildcatJF (#6) and @Dr. Nerd (#9)
My familiarity: 0/10
“A crashed ship is just the start- now a bustling town, with you as the heart.”
Gameplay: These islands are founded by Vyse, and can be upgraded with a bit of gold and some crew members. To leave the island, you’ll need 100,00 gold to get the Delphinus, which can be acquired in a many number of ways.
Story: I know basically nothing about this story, but the characters have a heartfelt conversation around the fire on this island. Thank goodness for LP archives…
Do they integrate?: It’s certainly an interesting concept, with a crashed ship being the basis for a large town. I think it’s not a bad area to relax and hang around.
Crescent Isle is such a great hubworld. Not only does it serve a story purpose when Vyse is shipwrecked for a period, but it then becomes a base of operations that is both customizable and expandable as players recruit more crew members. Having a homebase really makes the second half of the game elevate as the stakes raise; characters get to talk with Vyse about the plot, the crew has a operations room to discuss objectives, and there's a liveliness and vigor that Skies does so well here. When it goes under assault late in the game, it becomes personal.
To me, it definitely stands as one of a favorite in the entire medium.
Skies of Arcadia desperately needs a remaster! And the random encounter rate lowered.
Number 32: The Citadel
Game: Mass Effect (I'll just go with 1)
Nominated by: @Violentvixen (#1) and @Falselogic (#10)
My familiarity: 1/10
"The galaxy's capital, ruled by a few- built long ago, it's far from new."
Story: The Citadel is extremely old, built in an unknown age, but it was adapted into a space station. It was adapted into a galactic government, although the full extent the Citadel controls is unknown. The Citadel has parts that can destroy the Reapers, although it gets damaged as a result of this.
Gameplay: There's a lot of things to do here, from main quests to side quests. I don't know much about Mass Effect's gameplay, but it seems that a large portion of the game is centered around here.
Do they integrate?: It looks so beautiful, both inside and outside, that I have to give this a yes. It just looks so wonderfully designed, with the almost flower-like shape and natural interior contrasting with the technological origin.
Game: Mass Effect (I'll just go with 1)
Nominated by: @Violentvixen (#1) and @Falselogic (#10)
My familiarity: 1/10
"The galaxy's capital, ruled by a few- built long ago, it's far from new."
Story: The Citadel is extremely old, built in an unknown age, but it was adapted into a space station. It was adapted into a galactic government, although the full extent the Citadel controls is unknown. The Citadel has parts that can destroy the Reapers, although it gets damaged as a result of this.
Gameplay: There's a lot of things to do here, from main quests to side quests. I don't know much about Mass Effect's gameplay, but it seems that a large portion of the game is centered around here.
Do they integrate?: It looks so beautiful, both inside and outside, that I have to give this a yes. It just looks so wonderfully designed, with the almost flower-like shape and natural interior contrasting with the technological origin.
Violentvixen
(She/Her)
I could write so much about the Citadel. I just love it and was heartbroken when 2 no longer let you roam around with as much freedom as 1, but they kept building the details so I ultimately didn't mind. There was so much going on and it was so alive with things that had nothing at all to do with me or the plot of the game. Just beings living their lives, they still had to pay their rent and go to their jobs even if there was a war, it felt so much more realistic than a perfect town in an RPG that has shops that seem to only have things I need and no one else does.
Which reminds me, the music is also surprisingly ominous for a series hub world. I remember back when we ran the relaxing music thunderdome it was noted that a lot of the nominations were town themes since those are the "safe" areas of so many games. Yes, it's not an active battle zone and you don't have a gun, but there's still so much to keep you on your toes here.
But ultimately what I really I have to share is one of my favourite scenes in the series. It has a riff on what @Adrenaline posted near then end if you take the option to miss the shot:
And if you played the Citadel DLC, it's a shame what happened to the sushi place.
Which reminds me, the music is also surprisingly ominous for a series hub world. I remember back when we ran the relaxing music thunderdome it was noted that a lot of the nominations were town themes since those are the "safe" areas of so many games. Yes, it's not an active battle zone and you don't have a gun, but there's still so much to keep you on your toes here.
But ultimately what I really I have to share is one of my favourite scenes in the series. It has a riff on what @Adrenaline posted near then end if you take the option to miss the shot:
And if you played the Citadel DLC, it's a shame what happened to the sushi place.
Number 31: Starship Mario
Game: Super Mario Galaxy 2
Nominated by: @Lokii (#2) and @Issun (#9)
My familiarity: 5/10
"It's a Citadel for the Mario Bros... with a grassy head and a big dirt nose."
The scale looks very off with this image, but maybe it's better in-game.
Story: After defeating ripoff Petey Piranha, you visit a planet commanded by Lumas. After using your first Power Star, you get control of the ship. Progressing through the game allows for other characters to visit, including Rosalina once you've fully completed the hardest level.
Gameplay: This spaceship can be used to travel between galaxies. Once you die and get a Game Over, you respawn at this spaceship.
Do they integrate? There's so little actual stuff here, but I still like the "mario charm" shown by this spaceship. It's goofy and wacky while still feeling grand and epic.
Game: Super Mario Galaxy 2
Nominated by: @Lokii (#2) and @Issun (#9)
My familiarity: 5/10
"It's a Citadel for the Mario Bros... with a grassy head and a big dirt nose."
The scale looks very off with this image, but maybe it's better in-game.
Story: After defeating ripoff Petey Piranha, you visit a planet commanded by Lumas. After using your first Power Star, you get control of the ship. Progressing through the game allows for other characters to visit, including Rosalina once you've fully completed the hardest level.
Gameplay: This spaceship can be used to travel between galaxies. Once you die and get a Game Over, you respawn at this spaceship.
Do they integrate? There's so little actual stuff here, but I still like the "mario charm" shown by this spaceship. It's goofy and wacky while still feeling grand and epic.
Issun
(He/Him)
I only ever played through Galaxy 2 once but I absolutely loved it and if there's only one older Nintendo game that hasn't been ported to Switch that I want above all others, it's this one. Probably my second favorite mainline Mario after World.
Starship Mario itself isn't as impressive as the hub in its predecessor, but it's shaped like Mario fer cryin' out loud, and it's just neat.
Starship Mario itself isn't as impressive as the hub in its predecessor, but it's shaped like Mario fer cryin' out loud, and it's just neat.
It's a space ship shaped like his own dang head! In the narrative it flies from stage to stage but in practice it works more like a hub (complete with growing features and population as the game goes). My favorite bit are the striking skyboxes for each zone which progressively move further and further out into the universe, starting with the clouds of a planet's atmosphere to vistas of whole galaxy clusters and event horizons.
The Citadel is a great pick that I didn't think of. I agree that it got worse with each successive game (along with the games themselves >_>), but it did a lot of world-building and went a long way towards making that setting feel real. It's unique interior views were also very clearly inspired by another hub that I did vote for and hope still to see.
Number 30: Traverse Town
Game: Kingdom Hearts
Nominated by: @Kirin (#8) @Issun (#16), and @Dr. Nerd (#18)
My familiarity: 0/10
“All for one little town to see?”
“One for all whose worlds ceased to be.”
Story: Kingdom Hearts’ story is… so I’ll be as brief as possible. It's basically a refuge for everyone who lost their home worlds. A bunch of well-known Disney characters stay here, including Jiminy Cricket.
Gameplay: The town is separated into 3 districts, all with differing levels of danger. The first has your classic arrangement of stores, the second is a bit more wacky with a gizmo shop and 101 Dalmatians area, and the third has a house that is claimed by Leon.
Do they integrate?: I imagine it would be an interesting place to actually live in. It would never get boring, with the Disney residents and mystical architecture.
Game: Kingdom Hearts
Nominated by: @Kirin (#8) @Issun (#16), and @Dr. Nerd (#18)
My familiarity: 0/10
“All for one little town to see?”
“One for all whose worlds ceased to be.”
Story: Kingdom Hearts’ story is… so I’ll be as brief as possible. It's basically a refuge for everyone who lost their home worlds. A bunch of well-known Disney characters stay here, including Jiminy Cricket.
Gameplay: The town is separated into 3 districts, all with differing levels of danger. The first has your classic arrangement of stores, the second is a bit more wacky with a gizmo shop and 101 Dalmatians area, and the third has a house that is claimed by Leon.
Do they integrate?: I imagine it would be an interesting place to actually live in. It would never get boring, with the Disney residents and mystical architecture.
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Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
Ah, yes, I remember this one. Haven't played it in forever but it's a good one. I only played the first and every time I see something about subsequent games my feelings are like this...
Ah, that's a nostalgic tune.
Anyway yeah, it's been forever for me too, but it's got that nice music and a nice design palette, and I remember it being a good environment to test out new abilities before taking them out to the field as it were, in addition to all the usual hub features.
Anyway yeah, it's been forever for me too, but it's got that nice music and a nice design palette, and I remember it being a good environment to test out new abilities before taking them out to the field as it were, in addition to all the usual hub features.
Number 29: The Pillar of Sky
Game: Final Fantasy Legend 2
Nominated by: @spines (#2) and @JBear (#3)
My familiarity: 0/10
“A heavenly spire on sky’s brink- it’s quite like the first one, don’t you think?”
Gameplay: Each world has a pillar that you can climb, and is used to progress through the game. There are 10 of them, and they all link together via the Celestial World (although some are locked until you progress further).
Story: It connects the “ground of the existing towels to the Celestial World.” For this, I looked at the manual, and it’s a great throwback to when games used to do that, but there's not much else here.
Do they integrate?: This hub is incredibly basic, but it’s good for what it offers at the time. I wonder if there’s a version of this game that’s on other platforms; it would be cool to see these towers in better quality.
Game: Final Fantasy Legend 2
Nominated by: @spines (#2) and @JBear (#3)
My familiarity: 0/10
“A heavenly spire on sky’s brink- it’s quite like the first one, don’t you think?”
Gameplay: Each world has a pillar that you can climb, and is used to progress through the game. There are 10 of them, and they all link together via the Celestial World (although some are locked until you progress further).
Story: It connects the “ground of the existing towels to the Celestial World.” For this, I looked at the manual, and it’s a great throwback to when games used to do that, but there's not much else here.
Do they integrate?: This hub is incredibly basic, but it’s good for what it offers at the time. I wonder if there’s a version of this game that’s on other platforms; it would be cool to see these towers in better quality.