I wish I lived in a video game. | 09/10/26

Have you ever played a game and thought to yourself, ”Man, this would be awesome to live in…”? I’m sure a lot of you have; I know I certainly have. For me, it’s always the older, less graphically impressive games that have me yearning for that fantasy.

The first time I really ever experienced this feeling was when I played Spyro the Dragon on the Playstation 1. Now, I have played the remastered version, and while I think they did an excellent job with the overall art direction, I just can’t help feeling there is something more whimsical and fantastical about the original. Perhaps it’s the skyboxes: those pastel pinks, deep blues, bright oranges…nothing beats Spyro’s skyboxes. And the environment- it feels like you’re stepping into a fairy’s domain. The buildings always had that storybook flair, and each homeworld had its own unique flavor. If I had to pick one to live in, it’d probably be the Magic Crafters world. The color palette certainly contributes to my fondness of this area, but I also love the fairies. Dream Weavers is a close second, though! Obviously, I would prefer to live in Spyro’s world after he defeats Gnasty (¯ . ¯;) But, sitting by those crystal waterfalls, smelling the pink tulips scattered around, watching the gems sparkle in the sunlight…PERFECTION.

Veering away from the fantastical, another game world that I always wanted to explore was Endless Ocean:Blue World. Yes, I am aware that scuba diving exists, however, EO always had that element of imagination sprinkled in. For example, swimming down 100 meters into an abyss with no submersible. Or, exploring an underwater castle while a giant, mythical Great White Shark peers in at you through the windows. OR seeing extinct or otherwise nonexistent ocean creatures right before your eyes. Now THAT is the kind of excitement I was hoping for in the new ip, Luminous, but that’s another conversation for a different day (ᓀ ᓀ) As someone who has never been to the ocean, and will probably never get to experience scuba diving myself, Endless Ocean: Blue World really helped to fulfill childhood me’s dream of being a marine biologist. Living on an island with serene vistas, exploring uncharted waters and finding buried treasures- that sounds like a pretty sweet life to me.

Out of all the games in the Mario franchise, Yoshi’s Island and Super Paper Mario had the most impact on me when I was younger. Especially Yoshi’s Island; it was the very first game I played on the Gameboy Advance. It has such a colorful and cute environment, and I genuinely wouldn’t mind living amongst the “bad” npcs (especially the Dayzees , one of my favorite mario enemy character designs ever). Having rainbow colored Yoshi’s as companions wouldn’t be a bad deal, either. The caverns were always my favorite portions of the maps; of course the music helped, but I love the crystals and waterfalls that are scattered throughout. I really do wish we could get a modern game with this kind of art direction again because it is beautiful. Yoshi’s Island truly is a special game in a special series, and the impact it has left on my mind is still very clear (-ω-、)

The final game I’d like to highlight is “Wii Sports:Resort”. Another game that isn’t necessarily fantasy, but Wuhu Island doesn’t actually exist, so my point still stands. WSR cannot be replaced by any new iteration that Nintendo comes out with, in my opinion. There was so much to do and so much fun to be had. I remember playing the Island Flyover game constantly because I was that invested in touring the island. I’m not really a sporty person, but I think it would be super fun to live in a place where activities were constantly being held and you could spectate to your heart’s content. Maybe I’m just pining to go to an actual resort. Wii Sports:Resort’s opening is also one of the most iconic game openings ever…we really don’t get fed like we used to TwT

There are so many games that have given me this feeling of want before, but I thought I would just share this little selection with you all. Maybe I’ll end up doing a part two in the future? We shall see. Either way, I hope you enjoyed this little mini-article as much as I did writing it ^^

(PS. Today's featured music is the Spyro the Dragon OST. NOT ONLY is the game itself peak, but the music is as well, and still remains one of my favorite OSTs to this day.)