Oh yeah, I've never seen that before. It does look very cool.
-
Welcome to Talking Time's third iteration! If you would like to register for an account, or have already registered but have not yet been confirmed, please read the following:
- The CAPTCHA key's answer is "Percy"
- Once you've completed the registration process please email us from the email you used for registration at percyreghelper@gmail.com and include the username you used for registration
Once you have completed these steps, Moderation Staff will be able to get your account approved.
Top 50 Hub Worlds: What's all the Hubbub?
- Thread starter Baudshaw
- Start date
-
- Tags
- bub? hubba hubba
Hell yeah. Super stoked to see this place. The conceptual underpinning of FFL2 held young JBear's attention like few others. A giant beanstalk that can take you from a world where everyone is giant to a world where they have dragon racing kicked ass then, and it kicks ass now. I still remember carefully pouring over the maps in issue 27 of Nintendo Power, looking at all the cool places that beanstalk would take me.
Nintendo Power was soo good. We had no idea we were so lucky.
Number 28: Dracula’s Castle
Game: Castlevania Portrait of Ruin
Nominated by: @Torzelbaum (#12), @Kirin (#13), and @Lokii (#14)
My familiarity: 1/10
Looking at it like this, there seems to be a ridiculous amount of stairs. Imagine trying to live here!
Gameplay: This castle is home to 4 portraits (City of Haze, Nation of Fools, Sandy Grave, and Forest of Doom) that each take you to different areas. There's also plenty of extra connecting areas, as well as 4 remixed portraits that can be unlocked after you progress further.
Story: This castle was summoned right during World War 2, making it an extremely interesting setting among the Castlevania games. After going to all the portraits and slowly creeping up towards the castle, you can finally open the final room and confront Dracula.
Do they integrate?: Definitely, there's so much detail here (and stuff that I've missed) that it feels like a proper world in itself, despite being just a castle.
Game: Castlevania Portrait of Ruin
Nominated by: @Torzelbaum (#12), @Kirin (#13), and @Lokii (#14)
My familiarity: 1/10
Looking at it like this, there seems to be a ridiculous amount of stairs. Imagine trying to live here!
Gameplay: This castle is home to 4 portraits (City of Haze, Nation of Fools, Sandy Grave, and Forest of Doom) that each take you to different areas. There's also plenty of extra connecting areas, as well as 4 remixed portraits that can be unlocked after you progress further.
Story: This castle was summoned right during World War 2, making it an extremely interesting setting among the Castlevania games. After going to all the portraits and slowly creeping up towards the castle, you can finally open the final room and confront Dracula.
Do they integrate?: Definitely, there's so much detail here (and stuff that I've missed) that it feels like a proper world in itself, despite being just a castle.
Issun
(He/Him)
Too bad there was never another game before or since that did this.
Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
I've got news for you!
Number 27: Somniel
Game: Fire Emblem Engage
Nominated by: @Baudshaw (#3), @Violentvixen (#13), @JBear (#21)
My familiarity: 10/10
“Only Sommie rules this blessed place- pray to them, or you’ll be gone without a trace.”
Gameplay: The Somniel’s utility grows as you play the game. At first, it’s only a way to find ingredients and build supports with your units. Then, you can access shops and forges. You can further increase supports with various activities; you can also use ingredients to make meals that boost your units’ stats. There’s also an arena that allows you to increase your units’ levels, and Sommie, who just… follows you around, menacingly.
Story: The Somniel was established and ruled by Lumera for thousands of years. It’s generally detached from the rest of the plot, except for the final chapter, where you have to access a portal from the Somniel.
Do they integrate?: It’s difficult to transfer the “battle preparations” of old Fire Emblem into something diegetic. The Somniel does this the best of any FE game, perfectly striking a balance between conciseness and extravagance. Although, I wonder how everyone got up here in the first place?
Somniel vs Garreg Mach Monastery: Garreg Mach undoubtedly fits into the game's world and story better, and that's why it's more popular and higher up the list. Even still, I prefer the Somniel for the more refined gameplay and the better-looking visuals.
Game: Fire Emblem Engage
Nominated by: @Baudshaw (#3), @Violentvixen (#13), @JBear (#21)
My familiarity: 10/10
“Only Sommie rules this blessed place- pray to them, or you’ll be gone without a trace.”
Gameplay: The Somniel’s utility grows as you play the game. At first, it’s only a way to find ingredients and build supports with your units. Then, you can access shops and forges. You can further increase supports with various activities; you can also use ingredients to make meals that boost your units’ stats. There’s also an arena that allows you to increase your units’ levels, and Sommie, who just… follows you around, menacingly.
Story: The Somniel was established and ruled by Lumera for thousands of years. It’s generally detached from the rest of the plot, except for the final chapter, where you have to access a portal from the Somniel.
Do they integrate?: It’s difficult to transfer the “battle preparations” of old Fire Emblem into something diegetic. The Somniel does this the best of any FE game, perfectly striking a balance between conciseness and extravagance. Although, I wonder how everyone got up here in the first place?
Somniel vs Garreg Mach Monastery: Garreg Mach undoubtedly fits into the game's world and story better, and that's why it's more popular and higher up the list. Even still, I prefer the Somniel for the more refined gameplay and the better-looking visuals.
Number 26: Mystic Ruins
Game: Sonic Adventure
Nominated by: @Beta Metroid (#9), @Aurelia (#12), and @Violentvixen (#15)
My familiarity: 1/10
“The Knuckles first lived here before us all…. but we hardly know the reason for their fall.”
Gameplay: In the Mystic Ruins, you have all the regular movement of the character, but there’s no time or ring system- you can just explore and talk to NPCs. It’s split into three areas: the Station, the Angel Island, and the Jungle. Each of these areas take you to a variety of more traditional Sonic courses.
Story: The Mystic Ruins was the original home of the Knuckles clan. It also has a connection to other Sonic games (which is quite surprising to me!) as we see a fallen Angel Island from Sonic 3 as a part of it. A large chunk of the game’s story takes place here, with the various characters vying for control of the Chaos Emeralds.
Do they integrate?: The gameplay is a bit unsure, since I’ve near played much of Sonic, but it seems like a well-designed area.
Game: Sonic Adventure
Nominated by: @Beta Metroid (#9), @Aurelia (#12), and @Violentvixen (#15)
My familiarity: 1/10
“The Knuckles first lived here before us all…. but we hardly know the reason for their fall.”
Gameplay: In the Mystic Ruins, you have all the regular movement of the character, but there’s no time or ring system- you can just explore and talk to NPCs. It’s split into three areas: the Station, the Angel Island, and the Jungle. Each of these areas take you to a variety of more traditional Sonic courses.
Story: The Mystic Ruins was the original home of the Knuckles clan. It also has a connection to other Sonic games (which is quite surprising to me!) as we see a fallen Angel Island from Sonic 3 as a part of it. A large chunk of the game’s story takes place here, with the various characters vying for control of the Chaos Emeralds.
Do they integrate?: The gameplay is a bit unsure, since I’ve near played much of Sonic, but it seems like a well-designed area.
Last edited:
Violentvixen
(She/Her)
The weird situp contests in Somniel to build some stat I can't remember are so dang bizarre. Also the ring polishing, which I feared would be really creepy interactions with the Emblems but turned out to just be awkwardly cleaning jewelry while someone cheers you on.
Yeah I loved the Mystic Ruins. Just beautiful (for the graphics at the time), a change in atmosphere from the previous hub
I am now curious if I heard the Mystic Ruins train announcements or the Station Square ones more. Probably the announcements in Station Square as I think the game made you spend more time there overall, but I really liked the Mystic Ruins so it's tough to say. I think I'd often make a point to come back to this area to save when done with a session.
Also good music, it was always fun to rush off the train and see how far you could run before the main part of the music kicked in.
I admit I'm still not quite following what this question is for this list, but if it's that it integrates with the game world overall, then this is a really good example of a hub. The area makes narrative sense, it clearly connects to other areas (the train station Aurelia and I are talking about), and level access/entrances within the hub flow well. I do admit it's been years so maybe there are some level entrances that are weird but I remember it working really well as a hub.
I played it last year and found that the level entrances flowed v well, the only issue is that in the jungle area, I got kinda lost advancing and getting the upgrade as Knuckles, but I’d chalk that up to playing the game at 4am lol
Otherwise I’d say that it was a really fun area to explore and was v straightforward and gives you a lot of room to experiment with characters abilities versus the other hubs, and has fantastic music + atmosphere.
I think that it is worth mentioning that the hub worlds in Sonic Adventure feel more like an extension of the game than something which is dramatically different. It’s kind of in a Mario 64 way where all of your abilities are available to learn in a less streasful environment. It’s kinda neat in that regard and I feel like it itnergrates into the main game very well.
On behalf of the rest of the team, you're welcome.
Huh??
Number 25: BSL Research Station
Game: Metroid Fusion
Nominated by: @Beta Metroid (#10), @Kirin (#12), @Patrick (#14)
My familiarity: 1/10
"An abandoned station with biomes in space- the X is something you really have to chase."
Gameplay: Once you enter the main elevator, the area has 6 sections themed around various real-world biomes. After completing all of them, you head to the operations deck to battle SA-X.
Story: Samus' mission here is to get rid of the X parasites that have inhabited the station. However, once Samus realizes there is a metroid facility in a secret part of the station, she intends to destroy. Adam tries to stop her, but in the end, she succeeds in destroying the station.
Do they integrate?: I guess so, it's pretty okay. At first, I assumed Metroid would have far less story, but there's actually some interesting lore going on here. But I know very little about Metroid, so I wonder how different it is from other games in the series, including the sequel, Metroid Dread.
Also, this image is really creepy.
Game: Metroid Fusion
Nominated by: @Beta Metroid (#10), @Kirin (#12), @Patrick (#14)
My familiarity: 1/10
"An abandoned station with biomes in space- the X is something you really have to chase."
Gameplay: Once you enter the main elevator, the area has 6 sections themed around various real-world biomes. After completing all of them, you head to the operations deck to battle SA-X.
Story: Samus' mission here is to get rid of the X parasites that have inhabited the station. However, once Samus realizes there is a metroid facility in a secret part of the station, she intends to destroy. Adam tries to stop her, but in the end, she succeeds in destroying the station.
Do they integrate?: I guess so, it's pretty okay. At first, I assumed Metroid would have far less story, but there's actually some interesting lore going on here. But I know very little about Metroid, so I wonder how different it is from other games in the series, including the sequel, Metroid Dread.
Also, this image is really creepy.
BSL is neat because it's a giant asteroid wholly retrofitted into being a space station. This is reflected in the design of about half of the sectors, and all the exterior shots of the station, but the game doesn't beat you over the head with this fact.
lol, Paul was on the Fire Emblem Engage english translation team.
That’s honestly really surprising
Number 24: Hyrule Field
Game: Ocarina of Time
Nominated by: @Patrick (#8), @Daikaiju (#12), @Johnny Unusual (#22), and @Kirin (#25)
My familiarity: 5/10
“Link’s back has a big strain- from rolling all over the terrain!”
Gameplay: A big, wide, open field for you to run (or roll) through to get to the other areas. Simplicity is the name of the game here.
Story: Would the capital of Hyrule Field be Lon Lon Ranch? Does this mean Malon is the undisputed ruler of it? Even in later iterations, this isn’t the most interesting part of the Zelda world.
Do they integrate?: Not really. While it does make the whole of Hyrule Kingdom seem grand and massive, it’s not really an interesting hub area by itself. That’s what I’m mainly judging these by, remember that.
Game: Ocarina of Time
Nominated by: @Patrick (#8), @Daikaiju (#12), @Johnny Unusual (#22), and @Kirin (#25)
My familiarity: 5/10
“Link’s back has a big strain- from rolling all over the terrain!”
Gameplay: A big, wide, open field for you to run (or roll) through to get to the other areas. Simplicity is the name of the game here.
Story: Would the capital of Hyrule Field be Lon Lon Ranch? Does this mean Malon is the undisputed ruler of it? Even in later iterations, this isn’t the most interesting part of the Zelda world.
Do they integrate?: Not really. While it does make the whole of Hyrule Kingdom seem grand and massive, it’s not really an interesting hub area by itself. That’s what I’m mainly judging these by, remember that.
Last edited:
Number 23: Kirby's Adventure Hub
Game: Kirby's Adventure
Nominated by: @Lokii (#4), @Johnny Unusual (#9), and @Patrick (#13)
My familiarity: 9/10
"The maker of this whole trope- at least, that's what I hope."
Gameplay: This is perhaps the first hub world of its kind. Kirby has the exact same abilities as they do in the regular levels. Kirby can walk around freely, fly around, and they even keep the same copy abilities they gained in the levels. it. The levels themselves are unlocked with cute little doors, plus there's extra bonus stuff.
Story: Well, it's a world made of food? I wish it looked tastier honestly.
Do they integrate?: In my opinion, yes, at least for its time. This was a large step forward in terms of gaming. In general, I feel like Kirby's Adventure is more like the first game in the series, almost. No hate to Dream Land, but this hub world really sets a lot of the foundations for the rest of the Kirby series.
Game: Kirby's Adventure
Nominated by: @Lokii (#4), @Johnny Unusual (#9), and @Patrick (#13)
My familiarity: 9/10
"The maker of this whole trope- at least, that's what I hope."
Gameplay: This is perhaps the first hub world of its kind. Kirby has the exact same abilities as they do in the regular levels. Kirby can walk around freely, fly around, and they even keep the same copy abilities they gained in the levels. it. The levels themselves are unlocked with cute little doors, plus there's extra bonus stuff.
Story: Well, it's a world made of food? I wish it looked tastier honestly.
Do they integrate?: In my opinion, yes, at least for its time. This was a large step forward in terms of gaming. In general, I feel like Kirby's Adventure is more like the first game in the series, almost. No hate to Dream Land, but this hub world really sets a lot of the foundations for the rest of the Kirby series.
Sadly, this is the last kirby hub, I kinda wanted to see Waddle Dee Town here
Also, here's what each one called the actual hub as:
Johnny Unusual called it "hub levels"
Patrick called it "hub area"
And Lokii has my favorite, with "them zones"
Also, here's what each one called the actual hub as:
Johnny Unusual called it "hub levels"
Patrick called it "hub area"
And Lokii has my favorite, with "them zones"
Number 22: Inkopolis
Game: Splatoon
Nominated by: @Baudshaw (#7), @Violentvixen (#8), and@WildcatJF (#10),
My familiarity: 6/10
"The trendy hub of all things squid- but no drinking here, you're just a kid!"
Gameplay: This is where you get all your Splatoon-related news, from either Callie and Marie or Pearl and Marina. Each game showcases a different part of the city, but they all provide similar services in differently named facilities. For example, the Booyah Base has been "renovated" into the Galleria.
Story: The central hub of most of the Inkling civilization, and it's a messy sight. If you look beyond the gentrified central parts, there's clashes everywhere with different groups seeking to vie control. The car-centric urban design and so much people moving to Splatsville has really caused a crisis among the Inkling youth...
Do they integrate?: A lot of it is based in Shibuya and modern Japanese culture, and I think it excels at this. Even if the lore is a bit barebones for such a wacky premise, I still like what Inkopolis adds to the universe.
Game: Splatoon
Nominated by: @Baudshaw (#7), @Violentvixen (#8), and@WildcatJF (#10),
My familiarity: 6/10
"The trendy hub of all things squid- but no drinking here, you're just a kid!"
Gameplay: This is where you get all your Splatoon-related news, from either Callie and Marie or Pearl and Marina. Each game showcases a different part of the city, but they all provide similar services in differently named facilities. For example, the Booyah Base has been "renovated" into the Galleria.
Story: The central hub of most of the Inkling civilization, and it's a messy sight. If you look beyond the gentrified central parts, there's clashes everywhere with different groups seeking to vie control. The car-centric urban design and so much people moving to Splatsville has really caused a crisis among the Inkling youth...
Do they integrate?: A lot of it is based in Shibuya and modern Japanese culture, and I think it excels at this. Even if the lore is a bit barebones for such a wacky premise, I still like what Inkopolis adds to the universe.
Number 21: Camp Whispering Rock
Game: Psychonauts
Nominated by: @Lokii (#1), @Falselogic (#8), and @Dr. Nerd (12)
My familiarity: 0/10
A perfect setting for a horror movie at night- but don't let the strange kids give you a fright.
Gameplay: Besides a few collectibles, this place doesn't have much gameplay purpose. In reality, a lot of the game's levels occur in the mental world, which is accessed through a secret in this camp.
Story: Built atop a massive deposit of Psitanium, the camp allows for psychic powers to be enhanced even further. It's here where children with special psychic abilities are trained to become Psychonauts.
Do they integrate?: I know nothing about this game, but I wonder if the eerieness of the game's story and characters translate into the setting of the camp itself. It looks like a faily normal summer camp to me. Otherwise, it seems to be pretty good.
Game: Psychonauts
Nominated by: @Lokii (#1), @Falselogic (#8), and @Dr. Nerd (12)
My familiarity: 0/10
A perfect setting for a horror movie at night- but don't let the strange kids give you a fright.
Gameplay: Besides a few collectibles, this place doesn't have much gameplay purpose. In reality, a lot of the game's levels occur in the mental world, which is accessed through a secret in this camp.
Story: Built atop a massive deposit of Psitanium, the camp allows for psychic powers to be enhanced even further. It's here where children with special psychic abilities are trained to become Psychonauts.
Do they integrate?: I know nothing about this game, but I wonder if the eerieness of the game's story and characters translate into the setting of the camp itself. It looks like a faily normal summer camp to me. Otherwise, it seems to be pretty good.