Summary
It’s not necessarily the goal of everyfantasy game, but developers typically want to immerse players in the worlds that they create. It doesn’t matter if it’s an original world or if it’s one adapted from another property, like a movie or an anime. Sometimes, exploring a known world in video game form is more mesmerizing since that interactivity is not a part of other media available.
Between classic consoles and current ones, there are manygreat fantasy worlds with interesting virtual landscapes to explore. Not all of them are open-world games either, as some of the smallest landscapes hold some of the greatest secrets. This list will rank some of these games based on how players can interact with their worlds and their overall quality.
Metroidvanias are all about explorationand discovery, and a great one to represent the genre as a whole isCastlevania: Dawn of Sorrow.The castle and its accompanying grounds are big, at least by 2D standards. There’s a lot to do, too, from finding and buying gear to copying monster abilities, which adds to that freeing feeling of discovery.
It’s one of the easierCastlevaniagames to get into, and it originally debuted on the DS, but t itoday is available on multiple consoles via theCastlevania Dominus Collection.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarotis the perfect game for longtime fans of the series. It starts during theSaiyan arc in the animeand ends during the Buu arc, plus there were DLC episodes from future series added later on. The game mostly focuses on Goku and his quest to become the strongest, but in an open-world action RPG format.
It allows fans to explore this series’ version of Earth, along with other worlds like Namek, like no other game has done before. While abridged in some instances, it’s a quality adaptation of the source material and has plenty of Easter Eggs for eagle-eyed players and anime fans alike.
Pokemon Legends: Arceusis a strange spinoff, but it’s also the firstPokemongame that allows players to explore an open world where they can capture Pokemon freely without having to battle every time. It’s a concept that fans had been dreaming of ever since thePokemon series debutedin Japan in 1996.
Pokemon Legends: Arceusis also a fun throwback, as it takes place in the past, unlike other games in the series, and it’s an isekai to boot. While there is;t much to do besides capturing Pokemon, it’s still a fun game to explore the world and find new creatures, just like aPokemongame should be.
Kingdom Hearts 3offers the most diverse set of Disney planetsin the series, from animated films likeTangledto live-action features likePirates of the Caribbean. While each planet ian’t an open-world area, they are bigger than what’s featured in previous entries.
LikeDragon Ball Z: Kakarot,Kingdom Hearts 3gave Disney fans a chance to dive into their favorite movies and experience them like they were new again. Besides the exploration aspects, it also boasts a more fully-featured combat system that always manages to keep things interesting, like Sora’s Keyblade transformations.
Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witchis a collaboration between Bandai Namco, Level-5,and Studio Ghibli. While the famous anime film company had worked on games before this,Ni no Kuniwas a new experience that saw them work with a lot more influence. From top to bottom, it feels like a Ghibli movie, from the character designs and music to the heartfelt narrative, and that was enough to get players excited to explore every inch of content in the game.
The gameplay is similar to thePokemongames of the era and offers players a world map to explore with tons of hidden secrets. It’s a throwback to the SNES and PS1 days and the heights of retro RPGs, which is when many fans fell in love with the genre.
Hogwarts Legacyhighlights a world that players can personally experience for the first time in a video game. While there were manyHarry Pottergamesbefore this,Hogwarts Legacyis the first original story, and lets players create their own Hogwarts student and attend the school throughout the year.
The grounds are vast, with lots of secrets and nods to the series to uncover. Beyond Hogwarts is a giant world just waiting to be discovered, be it on foot or on a broomstick, which is exactly what fans wanted for years, and hopefully, they can get a sequel one day as well.
Final Fantasy 9is a throwback to the beginnings of the series and features many returning elements, such as Crystals, bosses, and explorable areas. What makes it stand out beyond the nods to the series' past is that the world feels more dense and lived in when compared to other games, saided by the numerous races that all exist within each kingdom.
What truly makes the game fun to explore, though, is the Chocobo Hot and Cold mini-game. Players can use tablets to figure out areas in the world totake their Chocobowhere they can find treasure chests, This is an involved process. It adds way more flavor to the world, and fans might argue that this is one of the best mini-games in the series because of this interaction.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wildis going to be a hard game to top for the series, and for open-world games as a whole. There’s no way to recapture just how deeply thrilling it is to start exploring this version of Hyrule on the Switch.
The game and console experiences are joined at the hip, which almost single-handedly made 2017 a banner year for video games. Sure, it’s another open-world game, but it adds so much to the genre, like being able to safely glide from great heights or the ability to climb nearly every surface, which opens up nearly endless exploration possibilities. To callThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wildgroundbreaking would be an understatement.
