Well, folks, it’s that time of year again. That time when the summer is coming to a close and for many of us in the teen-early twenties bracket it means we have to stop sleeping until 12 and actually get our act together. Whether you’ve had a summer full of adventure or one of relaxation and long hours spent in your cave binging on your steam library and Netflix, I do hope you’ve all enjoyed it. But for those who wished that their adventure was a little more… well, adventurous, I have to ask, if given free reign to visit anywhere you’ve ever encountered on a screen or a page, where would you most want to go? I’ll tell you what, while you figure out your answers, I’ll give you a couple of examples.
The Gold Saucer – Final Fantasy 7
This is a given. If you ask anyone who’s played Final Fantasy 7 ‘Where do you wanna go?’ this is always the first response, and for good reason too! The Gold Saucer is more or less a well deserved break from the hardship your party faces where you can just indulge yourself amidst arcade games, chocobo races and cute little dates on the gondola ride. It might not be everyone’s favourite moment in Final Fantasy 7, because let’s face it, there are many, but the moment that you first spy the Gold Saucer after getting that cable car from Coral is a memorable one filled with wonder and excitement. How could you not want to spend some time in there?
Costa Del Sol – Final Fantasy 7
Yeah, for all the problems Gaia might have faced, I have to admit to wanting to holiday in quite a lot of it. In fact, I’m struggling not to turn this entire list into ‘Why Gaia is the perfect world and we should all just move there’. That said, Costa Del Sol really does deserve a spot on this list. Not only is it a perfect example of a brilliant beach holiday, it’s Hojo approved! Any place that you can relax on the beach with your lab coat, a coconut shell drink and a swarm of sun kissed beauties, all while the world is literally ending, is a place I wanna go. This place is literally so nice and so relaxing that people forgot they were about to be smushed by a meteor. Try doing that in Ibiza!
Macalania Woods – Final Fantasy 10
Okay, at this point I’m admitting I have a problem. But I blame Squeenix, if they didn’t make such beautiful worlds, I wouldn’t have to include them so much, dammit! If there’s two things that I always love looking at in game art it’s foliage and ice, and Macalania combines both of those in the most beautiful way possible. The entire place is just peaceful and sparkling and downright breath taking, not to mention magical to boot! When Yuna and Tidus have their moment in Macalania Lake, they basically chose the most beautiful, perfect place possible for their love story to come to a head. If I could spend 10 minutes in this place I’d just stand there slack jawed and enjoying the pretty lights and twinkling sounds for as long as I could before the hypothermia kicked in, and even then I probably wouldn’t mind.
Steelport – Saints Row The Third
Okay, so this one made the list not for its stunning visuals or tourist attractions, but more for what it represents. In reality, Steelport would be the equivalent of New York. And sure, I can go visit New York if I scraped together enough cash, but it wouldn’t be Steelport. Why? Because Steelport is the literal representation of a no holds barred sandbox for you to play in. Wanna drive around in a tank? Done. Wanna force people into an uncontrollable groove with a spontaneous dubstep gun block party? Done! Do you want to run around beating up cat mascots and then drive a car shaped like your best friends head while it sprays fire out the front?! Done and done! Steelport has no rules, or at the very least their rule enforcers are incredibly ill prepared to deal with you. Even their mayor seems totally okay with people causing chaos in their city, he joins in at one stage! Hanging out with the Saints in Steelport would be goddamn epic! Plus, just think of the souvenirs you’d bring back… You know which ones I’m talking about!
The Citadel – Mass Effect
When it comes to curiosity about not only space travel, but alien life, there’s no better place you can go than the Citadel. The Citadel is a melting pot of literally every species known to the universe, all brought together on a giant space station filled with shops, clubs and maybe even some fish in the lakes? So many people, when they go away, talk about immersing themselves in another countries culture and learning new things about not only the people around them but themselves. Try immersing yourself in literally every culture possible at once. On the Citadel, there’s next to no chance of you ever being bored because there’s always someone new to meet who can introduce you to their species and their customs. Where else can you get so much diversity so easily?
So there’s my list folks, did I share any of your dream destinations? Let us know in the comments and tell us where you’d want to go more than anywhere else!
