Top 50 Hub Worlds: What's all the Hubbub?

[Daikaiju]

Dang, Kattelox didn't even make it in?

1. Paris, Sly Cooper 2
2. Jueno, Final Fantasy 11
3. Kattleox Island, MegaMan Legends
4. The Bastion, Bastion
5. Mount Olympus, Apotheon
6. Ankh-Morpork, Discworld series
7. Carona, Threads of Fate
8. Rogueport, Paper Mario TTYD
9. Toad Town, Paper Mario The Origami King
10. Toad Town, Paper Mario
11. St. Mystere, Professor Layton and The Curious Village
12. Hyrule Field, Legend of Zelda OoT
13. Peach's Castle, Super Mario 64

 

[Kalista]

1. The End of Time, Chrono Trigger
2. The Bastion, Bastion
3. Limsa Lominsa, Final Fantasy XIV
4. Crateria, Super Metroid
5. Hotel Krat, Lies of P
6. Whispering Rock Psychic Summer Camp, Psychonauts
7. Crossroads, HyperRogue
8. Firelink Shrine, Dark Souls
9. Star Road, Super Mario World
10. Focus Tower, Final Fantasy Mystic Quest
11. Princess Peach's castle, Super Mario 64
12. Snaxburg, Bugsnax
13. Orgrimmar, World of Warcraft
14. Central Executive, Control
15. Torchlight, Torchlight
16. Detroit, Deus Ex: Human Revolution
17. Stonemarket, Thief
18. Astral Express, Honkai: Star Rail
19. Sanctuary III, Borderlands 3
20. The plaza (does it have a name??), Hyper Light Drifter

I'm most pleased that Hotel Krat made the master list, I was seriously impressed with that game's hub even if it didn't quite beat my auld nostalgic faves in my estimation. I didn't really think anybody else would know HyperRogue, haha.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

This was a topic that kind of confounded me because while I get the idea, I was not even familiar with the term hubworld prior to this. And even then, I feel like a lot of the games I play either don't have them or I don't think about them much. But I was able to get a list together.

1. Princess Peach’s Castle (Super Mario 64)
2. Dirtmouth (Hollow Knight)
3. The Falcon (Final Fantasy VI)
4. The Blackjack (Final Fantasy VI)
5. The Odyssey (Super Mario Odyssey)
6. Space Rig 17 (Deep Rock Galactic)
7. The Lookout (Dragonball Fighterz)
8. The End of Time (Chrono Trigger)
9. Hub Levels (Kirby’s Adventure)
10. Gruntilda’s Lair (Banjo-Kazooie)
11. Sanctuary (Borderlands 2)
12. The Normandy (Mass Effect)
13. Normandy 2 (Mass Effect 2)
14. Warden’s Party Camp (Dragon Age Origins)
15. Observatory (Super Mario Galaxy)
16. Timber’s Island (Diddy Kong Racing)
17. Little Ship (Lethal Company)
18. Ebon Hawk (Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic)
19. Xavier’s Mansion (X-Men Legends)
20. Stark Tower (Marvel Ultimate Alliance)
21. Windy (Conker’s Bad Fur Day)
22. Hyrule Field (The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time)
23. Main Base (Void Crew)
24. Village (Hammerwatch)
25. That House (Phantasmaphobia)

I don't know if everything counts. Some are literally more vehicles but they feel closer to a home and connect you to the places in the game so I felt like it was correct. That said I will defer to smarter men then me.

Thanks @Baudshaw for starting the list. He did an amazing job, even with so much going on. I completely sympathize not being able to continue and think considering this is your first time, you did great. If you ever want to collab and let me do the heavy lifting, I'm down. And that's so much for @Lokii for finishing it and bringing it to a conclusion. It means a lot that we are still doing this things. For whatever reason, these lists mean a lot to me an I love to see them continue!

 

[Torzelbaum]

I feel like a lot of the games I play either don't have them or I don't think about them much.

Same here.

Here's my list:

1. Chrono Trigger
2. SEGA Mega Drive and Genesis Classics
3. Skate or Die!
4. Diablo
5. The Guardian Legend
6. Bastion
7. The Addams Family (from the 16 bit era)
8. Capcom Arcade Stadium
9. The Final Fantasy Legend
10. Super Mario 64
11. Lego Star Wars: The Video Game
12. Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
13. X-Men Legends
14. Cave Story
15. Chakan: The Forever Man

 

[JBear]

I always hate the hyperbolic "Nobody must have played [insert personal fave here] or else it would be on this list" posts, but... I really wish more people played Deep Rock Galactic, because Space Rig 17 kicks all kinds of ass and absolutely deserves a mention. (I see that @Johnny Unusual also voted for it up there, so it probably came close.)

It wasn't my #1, but it was certainly the most fun hub on my list. It's where you hang out with your pals between bug-stomping missions, and there's just a ton of stupid shit to get up to, from dunking barrels through an exploding hoop or setting up pick-up soccer games with portable goalposts to shutting off the gravity or getting drunk at the bar on drinks that can alter your size and shape and rocking out to the jukebox. It's just an endless delight. Don't forget to tip the robot bartender! ROCK AND STONE!

A few others from my list that didn't make it:
Dalaran (World of Warcraft) - A magic city full of travel portals floating in the sky made for a fun place to hang out while waiting for your raid to start.
The Shadow Tower (Shadow Tower) - It's just a big decaying tower where you start at the top and need to make your way to the bottom, but it's dark and weird and feels endless, and I loved descending it.
Finch House (What Remains of Edith Finch) - A fun weird mish-mash of an old house serves as a fun space to navigate as you learn about the folks that lived there and travel into their memories.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Don't forget to tip the robot bartender! ROCK AND STONE!

For Carl!

 

[Falselogic]

1. Cyclops - Subnautica
2. Isle Delfino - Mario Sunshine
3. End of Time - Chrono Trigger
4. Comet Observatory - Super Mario Galaxy
5. Astera - Monster Hunter World
6. Kamura Village - Monster Hunter: Rise
7. Lake of the Dead - Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver
8. Camp Whispering Rock - Psychonauts
9. Sigil - Planescape: Torment
10. The Citadel - Mass Effect Series
11. S.S.V. Normandy - Mass Effect Series
12. Skyhold - Dragon Age: Inquisition
13. Fortress of Doom - Doom Eternal
14. Highwind - Final Fantasy VII
15. XCOM Headquarters - XCOM
16. Dirtmouth - Hollow Knight
17. Megaton - Fallout 3
18. Undercity - World of Warcraft
19. Firelink Shrine - Dark Souls 3
20. Firelink Shrine - Dark Souls
22. Hunter's Dream - Bloodborne

 

[spines]

looking at my list and being reminded that, after numerous entries where i thought "oh, i didn't think of that because it had [x] quality i don't associate with the term" i definitely put a hub world here that would run into the same thing. honestly could've put in some more same/adjacent series hubs that made the list on here (like splatoon and fromsoft) except that i didn't want to put too many similar ones in here, which...uhh, i swear doesn't apply to saga in the same way because the three i put on here are all totally different from each other in usage and aesthetics

21 Nekomaneki Village (Shiren the Wanderer [5]: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate)
20 Laboratory (The Lost Mind of Dr. Brain)
19 Rift (Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin)
18 End of Time (Chrono Trigger)
17 The Junction (SaGa Emerald Beyond)
16 The Sky (The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword)
15 Valencia Island (Everblue 2)
14 Splatsville (Splatoon 3)
13 Sawayama Z5 Powerlance Menu (Last Call BBS)
12 Lemming Island (Lemmings 2: The Tribes)
11 Gemity (Star Ocean: Till the End of Time)
10 Bherna Village (Monster Hunter Generations)
9 Drill Land (Mr. Driller Drill Land)
8 Tristram (Diablo)
7 Myst (Myst)
6 "Overworld" (Dustforce DX)
5 Koorong (SaGa Frontier)
4 Princess Peach's Castle (Super Mario 64)
3 Historia Crux (Final Fantasy XIII-2)
2 Sky Pillar (SaGa 2/Final Fantasy Legend 2)
1 The Nexus (Demon's Souls)

genuinely, now that i've played dragon quest 2 and more fully understand horii's fascination with portals, i would've put end of time higher. lmao. but i also knew it would do really well so i didn't feel that inclined to push it up too high. needless to say i'm completely satisfied with this top 3, maybe i'll never agree this much again. the nexus really is, to me, as much a microcosm of the game as peach's castle for mario 64, full of the game's secrets and tricks, and setting up a mysterious and otherworldly tone so well. and the castle, of course, is the first, last, and biggest stage of the game, simple at first but with many surprises that reveal themselves as you explore the playground that it is.

historia crux i obviously put mostly for the music...it's a glorified menu, albeit there's aspects of the way it's presented i definitely enjoy. koorong reaches most but not all of saga frontier's regions and is fully of wild npcs, shops, story developments, and even dungeons. the dustforce overworld is another mini version of the game, where you reach more and more stages by doing harder movements through it, and they created it to replace an old and awkward system of keys and stuff. drill land is also a menu but it's the extra stuff that aren't game stages that really pump up the charm. bherna was just me choosing my favorite monster hunter town, lol. and i still love gemity for being both so3's minigame zone and having teleporters to most other returnable areas of the game. and the reflected neon lights on the ground everywhere

and myst...is the surrealistic adventure that will become my world

 

[Violentvixen]

Thank you to Baudshaw and Lokii for a very fun list!

I'm kinda shocked no one else thought of Wii Fit/Wuhu Island?

Everything else that didn't make the list makes sense to me.

1 The Citadel Mass Effect Series
2 Home Legend of Mana
3 My Castle/Barracks Fire Emblem Awakening, Fire Emblem Fates, Fire Emblem Genealogy of the Holy War
4 Clan Mansion/Town Oreshika
5 Wuhu Island Wii Sports, Wii Fit U, Pilotwings Resort
6 Garreg Mach Monastery Fire Emblem Three Houses
7 Whiterun Skyrim
8 Inkopolis Splatoon, Splatoon 2
9 The Tower Destiny
10 Peaceville The World Is Your Weapon
11 Haversack Hill Backpack Hero
12 Capital City Elder Scrolls Online
13 Somniel Fire Emblem Engage
14 Pioneer 2 Phantasy Star Online
15 Mystic Ruins Sonic Adventure
16 Mimiga Village Cave Story
17 Casselburg Adventure Bar Story
18 Station Square Sonic Adventure
19 Myst Island Myst
20 Peach's Castle Mario 64, Mario Rabbids, probably another Mario game I'm not thinking of
21 Clock Town Zelda Majora's Mask
22 House of Hades Hades
23 Villa Auditore Assassin's Creed Series
24 Delfino Plaza Mario Sunshine
25 Bowser's Castle Mario is Missing

 

[Issun]

Thanks for running this!

1. Blackwell Academy (Life is Strange)
2. Majula (Dark Souls II)
3. City Ruins (NieR: Automata)
4. The Bastion (Bastion)
5. Peach's Castle (Super Mario 64)
6. Firelink Shrine (Dark Souls)
7. The End of Time (Chrono Trigger)
8. Possum Springs (Night in the Woods)
9. Starship Mario (Super Mario Galaxy 2)
10. Roivas Mansion (Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem)
11. The Nexus (Demon's Souls)
12. Rogueport (Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door)
13. Limgrave (Elden Ring)
14. The Observatory (Super Mario Galaxy)
15. Mimiga Village (Cave Story)
16. Traverse Town (Kingdom Hearts)
17. Termina (The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask)
18. Firelink Shrine (Dark Souls III)
19. Hunter's Dream (Bloodborne)
20. Focus Tower (Final Fantasy Mystic Quest)

Look at that, I did put End of Time on my list after all! Must have missed my name in the entry up there.

 

[Aurelia]

Wait, did everyone have Peach's Castle on their lists?

I did because its honestly a v cool and memorable hub world. But it's at #10 for me because I feel like there's hub worlds with more vibes than it. Still very cool to explore and platform in though!

My list:

1. Dark Souls 2 - Majula
2. Chrono Trigger - The End of Time
3. Sonic Adventure - Station Square
4. Demon's Souls - The Nexus
5. Bloodborne - Hunter's Dream
6. Phantasy Star Online - Pioneer 2
7. Monster Hunter Tri - Moga Village
8. Majora's Mask - Clock Town
9. Isle Delfino - Mario Sunshine
10. Mario 64 - Peach's Castle
11. Phantasy Star Portable 2 - Little Wing
12. Sonic Adventure - Mystic Ruins
13. Dark Souls - Firelink Shrine
14. Final Fantasy XVI - Hideaway
15. Persona 3 - Dorms
16. Persona 5 - Cafe Leblanc
17. Sakura Wars 2019 - Grand Imperial Theater
18. Monster Hunter Rise - Kamura Village
19. Final Fantasy X - Airship
20. Final Fantasy XIV - The Waking Sands
21. Sonic 06 - Soleanna
22. Dark Souls 3 - Firelink Shrine

I'll say that after sending my list, I kept thinking of cool hub worlds I could have put down and forgot! so yeah, maybe my ranking would be different now lol. I will also defend Soleanna saying that it is such a vibe even if it is in Sonic 06 and feels completely unfinished.

 

[JBear]

I didn't post my full list earlier, but I also voted for the Pioneer 2 for PSO, which makes at least 3 of us. I'm surprised it didn't rank!

 

[Mogri]

If Peach's castle is a hub world in SM64, is Dracula's castle a hub world in Portrait of Ruin?

 

[Torzelbaum]

If Peach's castle is a hub world in SM64, is Dracula's castle a hub world in Portrait of Ruin?

I felt that it was and Baudshaw didn't say it was against the rules when I sent him my list.

12. Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin

 

[Kirin]

Drac's PoR Castle actually made the final list, didn't it?

No, wait everyone, you absolute fools: this is the fake number 1. You're all going to feel so foolish when Loki reveals that the real #1 is the Interdimensional Hole Of Pancakes from The Good Place.

... which I actually had on my list:

*01. Myst Island - Myst
*02. The End of Time - Chrono Trigger
*03. Peach's Castle - Super Mario 64
04. Earth - Katamari Damacy
05. The Neitherlands - The Magicians
*06. Star Road - Super Mario World
07. The Pod - Little Big Planet
*08. Traverse Town - Kingdom Hearts
09. Hollow Bastion - Kingdom Hearts II
10. Happy Garland - Steambot Chronicles
11. Holiday Door Forest - Nightmare Before Christmas
*12. BSL Research Station Hub - Metroid Fusion
*13. Drac's Castle - CV Portrait of Ruin
14. Mirror World - Kirby and the Amazing Mirror
*15. The Tower - FF Legend / SaGa
16. Throne - Kill Six Billion Demons
17. The Astral Plane - D&D, etc
18. The Interdimensional Hole Of Pancakes - The Good Place
19. World 9 Warp Zone - Super Mario Bros 3
20. Attic Library - Odin Sphere
*21. The Blackjack - FFVI
22. The Museum - Namco Museum
*23. Tristram - Diablo
24. Teleport Boss Rooms - Mega Man franchise
*25. Hyrule Field - Zelda OoT

I also struggled with coming up with things to fit the list as I felt like I just haven't played a ton of games with hubs (though I'm seeing some in other lists that I forgot, like XIII-2's Historia Crux from spines up there) so I filled it out with some very borderline cases and things from movies and TV.

Katamary Damacy's Earth and other home planets are really just glorified menus you can walk around, but they're cute and have a lot of that vibe factor. Neitherlands is a straight-up portal world also connected to a reality-spanning library, but I assume not a lot of people have watched the show (or read the books I guess). Little Big Planet's Pod is another one that's basically a fancy one-screen menu, but earns a lot of points for how much you can build and decorate it yourself.

Happy Garland, though, is a fantastic home base town absolutely bursting with things to do.

 

[JBear]

... which I actually had on my list:

(So did I.)

 

[Torzelbaum]

In case you've never played it, here's what the 'hub' is like in Skate or Die!

And here's what the Jam level looks like:

 

[WildcatJF]

There were so many I missed, haha. But this is what I submitted:
1) Peach's Castle (Super Mario 64)
2) Garreg Mach Monastery (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)
3) Robot Master Select Screen (Mega Man series)
4) The Lighthouse (Beyond Good & Evil)
5) The End of Time (Chrono Trigger)
6) Crescent Isle (Skies of Arcadia)
7) Silent Hill (Silent Hill 2)
8) Stella's Boat (Spiritfarer)
9) Carrington Institute (Perfect Dark)
10) Inkopolis/Inkopolis Square/Splatlands (Splatoon series)
11) Dunan Castle (Suikoden II)
12) Police Station (Resident Evil 2)
13) Lazulis City (The Last Story)
14) Avenger (XCOM 2)
15) Metro City (Street Fighter 6)

Thank you Baudshaw and Lokii for a super fun popularity contest!

 

[Baudshaw]

My list is certainly has quite some obscure and personalized stuff, with some of them being from games I haven't played much of.

My top 1 is my pfp, which I love so much that it's partially the reason why I started it in the first place.


1.Aviary Village, Sky Children of The Light
2. Peach's Castle, Super Mario 64
3. Somniel, Fire Emblem Engage
4. Jubilife Village, Pokemon Legends Arceus
5. Monastery, Fire Emblem 3 Houses
6. Waddle Dee Town, Kirby and the Forgotten Land
7. Mos Eisley Cantina, Star Wars: The Complete Sage
8. Inkopolis, Splatoon
9. Delfino Plaza, Super Mario Sunshine
10. Gruntilda's Lair, Banjo-Kazooie
11. Camp, Minecraft Dungeons
12. Termina Field, Majora's Mask
13. Splatsville, Splatoon 3
14. Comet Observatory, Super Mario Galaxy


Thanks all of you for responding to this list and creating a fun top 50!

 

[Torzelbaum]

The following entries from my list are certainly stretching the limit of what could be considered hub worlds but I still like them. They have some nice skeumorphism (Scott Forstall be damned).

Capcom Arcade Stadium

SEGA Mega Drive and Genesis Classics