I was going to say that too! They didn't just bring back one or two towns, the ENTIRE REGION! Add all of the characters from the first game making a return, and you've got one of the best callbacks, if not the best callback, in all of gaming!
Skyrim, with the Dragonborn DLC. Returning to Solstheim - the setting of Morrowind’s Bloodmoon expansion - was an incredible experience for me as a fan of the third Elder Scrolls title. The ashen landscape. The buildings. The flora and fauna. Even the music. It felt like getting a taste of what a TES III remake could have been.
Came here to say exactly this. Especially when you factor in the additional context those locations give you about the original Vault Hunters and the events of BL1, building the wider story and realising just how much Jack had been manipulating things from the very beginning.
Going back to Kanto in Pokémon GSC, revisiting Solstheim in Skyrim's Dragonborn expansion, seeing the Dantooine Jedi Enclave in KotOR II, seeing the Endar Spire in SWTOR, and going to Tatsumi Port Island in Persona 4 all come to mind.
Korriban in Kotor 2 as well, if you thought it was creepy in the first game, second game cranks it up to 11 somehow despite there not being as much to do there.
Kaer Morhen from Witcher 1 returning in Witcher 3 with tons of references to the events of the original game was always a nice lovely touch from CD Project
And till that point in the series there wasn't other sonic game that brought that stage back. Nowadays the franchise feeds itself on Green Hills lookalikes.
Super Metroid. They literally have you go back to the planet the first game took place on, with a very close recreation of the first few rooms from the original game
In Fallout 2 going back to Vault 13 through the Guardian of Forever and Sabotaging the water chip to make Fallout 1 happen. There’s a fun easter egg too as there’s a water chip sitting in one of the lockers in vault 13. Meaning all the dwellers had to do was look for one.
I love the feeling of going back to old locations from previous games in my favorite franchises. I especially love it when it's a little bittersweet. Like you're happy to be back, but there are still signs of how things changed both for the better, and in some ways for the worst.
Pokemon Gold and Silver. You beat that game's Elite Four, only to unlock the entire Kanto map from the original Red and Blue games. All on Gameboy hardware.
And with changes too, like cinnabar island is largely Destroyed and iirc Blaine is now basically a bit of a crazed hermit living in the burned out place where you find Moltres.
Dragon age inquisition has both Haven and Redcliff! Haven chantry becomes a sort of hub area, even tho we previously slaughtered a deranged cult in the very location in the first game. Also the first game’s protagonist discovers a secret path to a dungeon through the chantry, that is used in inquisition to bring your party to safety during an invasion
I actually really enjoyed returning to Baldur's Gate in BG3 more than I thought I would. Baldur's Gate 2 never touched down in the titular city and instead just continued the story from the first game without returning to it's locations, so coming back to the city in BG3 was amazing. Especially since it was so well-realized. As for your list, I totally agree with Dead Space 2. Going back to the USG Ishimura was such an "Oh shit!" moment.
"Super Mario Odyssey" taking you back to Peach's Castle from "Super Mario 64", and even to the skyscraper from the first "Donkey Kong", was really a nice touch.
If you guys do a commenter edition, I nominate Pokémon Gold and Silver, back on the GameBoy Color. And not just because Silver is to me what Kingdom of Amalur is to Ellen (not an excuse for her to go on a KoA rant, mind). When you get instructions to get to the Pokémon League, you’re immediately told you took your first steps in Kanto. At the time (I was only 7), I had no idea what Kanto was. After beating Lance and getting on the ferry, imagine my excitement when I found myself in Vermillion City and realized Kanto was the location of Red and Blue.
Specificly after you wake up glados and retrieve the dual portal gun to get back out of the incinerator you play though the last test chamber of portal 1 (the one where you just escaped burning to death) backwards
Shoutout to Ratchet and Clank 3 where you go back to Kerwan from the first game, and Ratchet Gladiator, where you go to Orxon, also from the first game. Both look a bit unlike their original game areas, possibly due to being different parts of the same planets. Veldin, however, is the same area in both the first and third games. You even see your old home destroyed by the war.
I can still remember the moment I realised, while playing Fable 2 for the first time, that the creepy swamp area Wraithmarsh was actually Oakvale from the first game, completely abandoned, haunted and overgrown by the surrounding Marsh. There's fantastic character lore in the game as to how and why this happened that I won't spoil, but that moment of 'huh why does this feel familiar.... wait' is fantastic game design and really cements the passage of time between the two games.
Going back to Sotenbori as Majima in Yakuza Kiwami 2 is very bittersweet for him. He's constantly reminded of all the trouble he went through in Yakuza 0, but it also allows him to meet Makoto again, even though she doesn't realise who he is
Another funny little nod to past gaming hardware appears in Metal Gear Solid 4 during the return to Shadow Moses. When you start to go to a lower level, Otacon stops you and reminds you to switch disc's just like in the original which prompts a hilarious dialog about blu ray discs.
Assassin's Creed revelations takes you back to Masiaf, that trailer was fire. Also RDR2 has like half of RDR1 map and I'm still baffled that R* didn't produce a remake with what they have.
Returning to Dantooine in Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 2/KotOR 2 was a very bittersweet experience. Especially towards the end when you visit the upper level of the Jedi Enclave ruins. The sorrowful music and atmosphere and the whole scene with the Jedi Masters and Kreia... it's all sublime!
I love that moment more in the Dark Side route, I think. You've hunted down all the Jedi masters, and you're going to finish off the rest of the order and... there's no one. It's a very... hollow feeling.
One of the biggest redeeming qualities to mass effect 3 was it’s DLC. Getting to play through the Omega DLC, revisit Afterlife in a completely different context with Aria as a teammate was INCREDIBLE ❤️
FFXIII-2, backtracking through The Vile Peaks and getting Twilight Odin was a blast. My favorite monster in the game was Don Tonberry, I gave him a lil halo and named him Grog. I love Flandit too :-)
It only happens briefly, but Outlast: Whistleblower is absolutely phenomenal at this. You start the game in the final area of Outlast, and about halfway through you make your way through some corridors that appear in Chapter 2 of the original, and at the very end, your way out of the asylum is the very first area that Miles explores in the original, only it's daybreak, the danger has passed, the birds are singing, and there's this beautiful cautiously optimistic music playing, as if to say "Yes! This is it! You did it! You got a happy ending, in an OUTLAST game!"
Oh! I remember that Sonic Green/Emerald Hills Zone from that like Sonic trivia video on either OXBOX or OXTRA. I love to see the subtle references/returning jokes.
I did like revisiting Monteriggioni in AC Brotherhood at the start as Ezio before we move to Rome, and getting to explore the town in the modern day as Desmond and recover some artefacts was a nice touch too. The town was really important in AC2 so it was great to see the inclusion in the sequel
Since someone else mentioned it, I’ll second Dragon Quest 3. When you find yourself in a new area and slowly realize you’re entered Alefgard (the setting of Dragon Quest 1) complete with remixed world music, the nostalgia hits HARD!
Just commented the same thing, it's even better when you beat it and realize you were actually the legendary hero Lotto that was mentioned in the beginning of Dq1, all these years and DQ3 is still my favorite
The Temple of Time from Twilight Princess. Hearing its theme and then realizing it was a full dungeon, and then getting severe arachnophobia from the boss.
@@Darkprosper Wouldn't even need to be a joke. As soon as I got the hang glider I made a break for Tarrey Town to see what was new there, followed by going to see if Link still had a house. The Rito and newspaper office could wait.
@OP Beezlebubisfly3211: You’re forgetting the abandoned town from Twilight Princess where you clear out moblins…..it’s suppose to be the ruins of Kakariko Town from OoT
When I realised Lurelin Villiage in BoTW, and later, ToTK was layed out identically to Outset Island from Wind Waker, it instantly became one of my favorite places in the games. Saving it from pirates and rebuilding it in ToTK was really fun. That Korok on the roof can stay gone, though.
And they better polish that for the PC too... I still think the Vol. 1 games are better, however. MGS2 was supposed to be the chronological endgame, after all, even if it was implied to be all a super effective VR simulation. Plus, MGS3 is peak Metal Gear.
Sneaking back into Dunwall Tower in Dishonored 2 is another one! You can even go and visit the Assassination Gazebo, see a nice little plaque set up for Jessamine.
I cried at Shadow Moses Island, and I thought of 10 years prior when I was with friends I hung out with daily, that I can't see that much anymore. The past that Snake revisits isn't his ...it's yours.
How about Breath of the Wild? Theres a lot of places that are straight out of Ocarina of time such as the Temple of Time and the Ranch ruins being Lon Lon Ranch. Theres even the Arbiters ground from Twilight Princess.
Finding Wraithmarsh in Fable 2 was such a memorable moment. When you realise the spooky place is actually the remains of Oakvale, the quaint home village from the first game
Anor Londo in Dark Souls 3? I still remember my first reaction. At first I thought wow they really added another one of those weird turning elevator/stair thingys. At the top I was like "wait a second..." and then the big fat letters ANOR LONDO appeared. Had such a big smile on my face back then. It's only a small area, but such a cool throwback. Also, RIP giant bro...
In Persona 4 Golden, you can ride your moped to the city from Persona 3 on day trips. Kinda breaks the theme of rural isolation that Persona 4 has going for it, but it's there.
Two exemples from more niche games : In System Shock 2, the final act brings you "back" to a virtual reality recreaction of the starting area of System shock 1 And in Descent 3, one level on the moon bring you back to the 1st level of Descent one.
Does DLC count too? - In _The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind's_ "Bloodmoon" DLC, you traveled to an island called Solstheim, whose snowy alpine climate was a stark contrast from Morrowind's ashen landscape. Then in _The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim,_ the "Dragonborn" DLC takes you to ... an island called Solstheim, but 200 years later where half of the island is now covered in Morrowind-like volcanic ash from the (ongoing) eruption of Morrowind's Red Mountain. (Aside: Both games later received re-releases with the DLC baked in from the start)
Not only the location but the music - in the southern half of the Dragonborn Solstheim, the music is the same as you would hear in Morrowind. Also there's a silt strider (making the whalesong-like silt strider noise), and a surviving Telvanni mage in one of their giant mushroom towers.
There's a touch of this in the newest zelda games (BotW and TotK). I know the exact same locations are used often among the roughly 9 million zelda games, but in these two specifically it was nice to be able to go and see things like the dilapidated version of Lon Lon ranch from Ocarina of Time.
I know it's technically not returning for Borderlands 2, since the whole game takes places there, but Pandora is still one of my favorite game settings ever made.
There was a moment like this in a game i loved as a kid that blew my mind. It was in the sequel to Jak And Daxter: The Precursor Legacy, Jak 2. Spoiler warning, at the beginning of the second game, you're teleported to a new, edgier, cyberpunk-ier location than the first game, called Haven City. A bit in to the game you go to a place called Dead Town where its revealed that youve been in the first game's setting the whole time... BUT IN THE FUTURE. The Sandover Village you spent time collecting precuror eggs and absorbing Eco like a sponge is now a decrepit deadzone filled with Metalheads (such an early 2000's enemy name). The time travel twist came out of nowhere, and the narrative looping and twists of those first 3 games cemented Naughty Dog as one of my favorite studios.
It might not count as iconic, but I remember getting a thrill when returning to certain locations in Dreamfall: The Longest Journey, that I had seen in the first game.
It's always great to see Masyaf in AC Revelations again 300 years after Altair's time. The cinematic trailer/intro is one of my favorites pieces of media in the AC series.
Yakuza/Like A Dragon/Judgement! You get to see the same cities (mainly Kamarocho and a few other places) throughout the years, from the 80's to present!
Gotta tell ya, Playing Super Mario Odyssey and entering the Mushroom Kingdom for the first time was a hit of nostalgia I hadn't expected. It wasn't EXACTLY the 64 layout, but darn it, I looked up at the skylight in the lobby and got rewarded, and that's pretty amazing. (someone already beat me to Pokémon Gold and Silver, but that's the biggest and best example I've ever played)
Going back to the Ishimura in Dead Space 2 is still to this day the most scared I’ve ever been in a game. I had to play through DS1 so many times to get the Platinum that I swore I’d never go back to that cursed ship. Then I get to that scene in DS2 and suddenly I’m Ozzy Osborne: “Oh No, No, Please God Help Meeeeeeee!”
I've seen two American police stations that were all marble and oak. Both took over buildings that couldn't be altered due to historical preservation, but no one else wanted.
Anor Londo and Lost Izalith in Dark Souls 3! The hit of nostalgia I felt when I went back to Anor Londo was great, and finding the Fair Lady and Quelana was a heartbreaking easter egg as well.
I loved seeing what my efforts in Fallout 1 had led to when we saw Shady Sands again in Fallout 2. Certainly a much better feeling than when I saw it again in the Fallout series.
Yeah it really sucks that Shady Sands got blown up in the Fallout series kind of wish they would retcon that hopefully the NCR are still alive the rangers are awesome.
It's a bit more obscure, but in Ace Combat 7 you revisit both Stonehenge and Farbanti from Ace Combat 04. The music in the Stonehenge mission is a version of the music from AC04, and as a longtime fan of the series it gave me chills.
Oh man. That Driver tutorial brings back memories, mostly of frustrated confusion but still, somehow, through rose tinted glasses, also nostalgic. Probably because 1999 was a much simpler time. I had no idea what slalom meant and tried blindly for hours to figure it out on my own just doing random tricks in the garage. This was in the days before the internet had became a resource for limitless information and also before everyone had the internet in their pocket, you had to use an actual computer to use the internet and I didn't have one so it took me several days before I was able to figure out what I needed to do in the tutorial to finish it. I remember asking people I knew if they knew what slalom meant. I don't remember who, at this point, 25 years later, but someone eventually was able to tell me what I needed to do.
I won’t lie, when I played resident evil 1 HD I didn’t even know the mansion was in he same layout as the one in 5’s flashback DLC but now I feel I need to go back and play both.
I loved the mechanical improvements to Dead Space 2. But it was also far less scary than its predecessor, relying mostly on jump scares. Returning to the Ishimura however, was perhaps the scariest part of the game. It was eerie and unsettling, and dials back the combat encounters so that you're feeling the tension of just moving around the Ishimura's cramped, familiar interiors.
I absolutely adored the mission in SWTOR where you save a squad of troopers in the ruins of the Endar Spire from KOTOR. It even gave you a moment where you get a nostalgia blast hearing the original KOTOR theme
I completed the original Driver tutorial on my very first go and carried on playing through the game. Some time later, I lost my Driver save - PS1 memory card died or something - and I was never able to complete the tutorial again. Those were the days!
I am absolutely shocked you guys didn't talk about the Jak and Daxter games, that was such a twist and at the same time a nice way of bringing you back home. All sorts of feels from that
I still remember the first time I played Persona 4 on the PS2 and arribed to a chat between the Investigation Team talking about the next school trip to a city called Tatsumi Port Island. When I heard that name I thought “Funny, it’s name is the same that Kanji’s last name”. But my surprise arribed when they mention the “Moonlight Bridge”. In that moment I realized that that city was the Persona 3 one. Till that moment I thought that it’s name was Iwatoday… xD After it came a nostalgic trip on some places we visited in Persona 3.
Spoiler for Dragon's Dogma 2: In the Unmoored World, aka Endgame area a player gets upon rejecting the "good ending", the sea is all gone and the Seafloor Shrine is revealed to be the ruins of an ancient city.... and the layout is EXACTLY the same as Gran Soren, the capital city of Gransys in the first game. The marketplace and shop windows, the Pawn Guild, the memorable stairs leading up to the noble quarter, the castle and it's throne room, dungeon, Aelinore's Tower.... and together with the hauntingly sad music, it really sends shivers down your spine and you finally begin to realise the game truly is a sequel.
My favourite was going back to trumbull valley in state of decay 2 just hit that nostalgia for me and the graphics and all the references just made it the best to me.
always love it when squeals allow you to go back to locations from previous games, loved how in gold/silver pokemon games you could go back to red/blue/yellow gen area after. how cool would a pokemon game be that let you go to all the different gen locations but we know that game will never happen
I forget the exact details because it was so long ago, but one of the original Space Quest games had Roger Wilco revisit a location from the previous game. They left the background location in classic 256 color resolution while Roger was walking around in new 1024 colors or whatever it was.
Space Quest IV: Roger Wilco vs the Time Rippers. Now if only somebody would make more of those games so another game you time travel to (Space Quest IX: Latex Babes of Estros) comes to be
I want that! And I want a new, modern Police Quest. It's because of Pursuit of the Death Angel that I know to grow a beard before I commit a crime and then immediately shave.
Going back to the old world in Monster Hunter World Iceborne. Not only did we get to see Castle Schrade in modern graphics, we also got a terrifying new flight against Fatalis.
FFX-2 brings you back to the temples, now with monsters, and Dark Aeons as bosses Dirge of Cerberus FFVII brings you back to Shinra Mansion, Train Graveyard and Shinra Building, the obligatory visited places of the world of FFVII.
Obviously not the exact same place, but going back to installation 04’s replacement in halo 3 is a nice callback. Especially with the Easter egg of the rooms you had to run through in 2 betrayals off the side, and the warthog run being the formation of silent cartographer
Going back to Kanto in Pokémon Gold/Silver was mind blowing for me as a kid
Exactly what I was going to bring up!
I feel like everyone forgets this one , it did rock my world when it happened
I was going to say that too! They didn't just bring back one or two towns, the ENTIRE REGION! Add all of the characters from the first game making a return, and you've got one of the best callbacks, if not the best callback, in all of gaming!
Absolutely. It felt like two games in one game 😭
This was my first thought!
Skyrim, with the Dragonborn DLC. Returning to Solstheim - the setting of Morrowind’s Bloodmoon expansion - was an incredible experience for me as a fan of the third Elder Scrolls title.
The ashen landscape. The buildings. The flora and fauna. Even the music. It felt like getting a taste of what a TES III remake could have been.
Seconded.
Seconded.
@@RekkaZaalthirded.
Spending time in a town that you helped build from the ground up 200 years earlier, although it was an Imperial settlement then.
I love how Solsthiem was Skyrim in Morrowind and Morrowind in Skyrim. Nice touch.
Borderlands 2 bringing you back to the Arid Nexus/Badlands was amazing
Came here to say exactly this. Especially when you factor in the additional context those locations give you about the original Vault Hunters and the events of BL1, building the wider story and realising just how much Jack had been manipulating things from the very beginning.
Fyrestone, my beloved. 🖤
So happy to see this comment! Wanted to say the same!
When I saw what jack did to Firestone that was probably the maddest he made me
@@azzrinickthegamingangel9121It was a dump, but it was OUR dump, dammit! 😡
Going back to Kanto in Pokémon GSC, revisiting Solstheim in Skyrim's Dragonborn expansion, seeing the Dantooine Jedi Enclave in KotOR II, seeing the Endar Spire in SWTOR, and going to Tatsumi Port Island in Persona 4 all come to mind.
Korriban in Kotor 2 as well, if you thought it was creepy in the first game, second game cranks it up to 11 somehow despite there not being as much to do there.
Kaer Morhen from Witcher 1 returning in Witcher 3 with tons of references to the events of the original game was always a nice lovely touch from CD Project
So iconic it made it into SoulCalibur VI, mind you.
Sonic Adventure 2: “Green Hill” is an unlockable level that takes you back to Green Hill Zone, but in 3D.
And till that point in the series there wasn't other sonic game that brought that stage back. Nowadays the franchise feeds itself on Green Hills lookalikes.
@@edaraujo2169 Wow. I actually did not know that.
The game gear games would like to have a word with "Mecha Green Hill" zone and "Green Hills" zone@@edaraujo2169
Honestly you could make entire list on times you returned to Green Hill zone
@@skeleman5883 yes. You can. Nowadays. SA2 Is the very first time!
My favourite is Civilization VI where you go back to the iconic location 'Earth'!
Eh, Earth isn't that great of a setting anyway, incredibly unoriginal. Definitely one of my least favorite fictional places.
And once again you have to face the most feared nemesis of them all - our nuclear Indian overlord!
I remember finding Earth while playing Spore. Good times.
Dark souls 3! I figured it out almost exactly when Anor Londo crept across the screen, so it was just made for an exhilarating epiphany.
Beat me to it bud
Going back to Anor Londo was absolutely amazing.
I don't see how this wasn't their first entry....
Such a beautiful way it was presented, at night with gentle snowfall.
Could also mark the DLC for Dark Souls 3 with Ashes of Ariandel which references another optional area in Dark Souls 1.
Super Metroid. They literally have you go back to the planet the first game took place on, with a very close recreation of the first few rooms from the original game
Then they subvert it by having a Chozo statue attack you, when you were expecting a free powerup.
@@jardex2275 And the Torizo PTSD of never trusting a single statue ever again even in recent games. 😆
I especially love it how you enter through the ruins of the escape route and the dead remains of the original Mother Brain room.
In Fallout 2 going back to Vault 13 through the Guardian of Forever and Sabotaging the water chip to make Fallout 1 happen. There’s a fun easter egg too as there’s a water chip sitting in one of the lockers in vault 13. Meaning all the dwellers had to do was look for one.
I love the feeling of going back to old locations from previous games in my favorite franchises. I especially love it when it's a little bittersweet. Like you're happy to be back, but there are still signs of how things changed both for the better, and in some ways for the worst.
Pokemon Gold and Silver. You beat that game's Elite Four, only to unlock the entire Kanto map from the original Red and Blue games. All on Gameboy hardware.
And with changes too, like cinnabar island is largely Destroyed and iirc Blaine is now basically a bit of a crazed hermit living in the burned out place where you find Moltres.
Dragon age inquisition has both Haven and Redcliff! Haven chantry becomes a sort of hub area, even tho we previously slaughtered a deranged cult in the very location in the first game. Also the first game’s protagonist discovers a secret path to a dungeon through the chantry, that is used in inquisition to bring your party to safety during an invasion
A shame the locations are really nothing like in the 1st game, even though it would have been easy to keep the layout for Redcliff if not for Haven
@@armelior4610I’m glad I’m not the only one to notice this. I didn’t recognise either.
I actually really enjoyed returning to Baldur's Gate in BG3 more than I thought I would. Baldur's Gate 2 never touched down in the titular city and instead just continued the story from the first game without returning to it's locations, so coming back to the city in BG3 was amazing. Especially since it was so well-realized.
As for your list, I totally agree with Dead Space 2. Going back to the USG Ishimura was such an "Oh shit!" moment.
"Super Mario Odyssey" taking you back to Peach's Castle from "Super Mario 64", and even to the skyscraper from the first "Donkey Kong", was really a nice touch.
If you guys do a commenter edition, I nominate Pokémon Gold and Silver, back on the GameBoy Color. And not just because Silver is to me what Kingdom of Amalur is to Ellen (not an excuse for her to go on a KoA rant, mind). When you get instructions to get to the Pokémon League, you’re immediately told you took your first steps in Kanto. At the time (I was only 7), I had no idea what Kanto was. After beating Lance and getting on the ferry, imagine my excitement when I found myself in Vermillion City and realized Kanto was the location of Red and Blue.
Awesome Video. There is also Portal 2 where you see the test Chambers from the first Portal again.
Specificly after you wake up glados and retrieve the dual portal gun to get back out of the incinerator you play though the last test chamber of portal 1 (the one where you just escaped burning to death) backwards
That's right.
And you will notice that the Fire Pit is out and the Fatal Toxic Liquid is gone.
Shoutout to Ratchet and Clank 3 where you go back to Kerwan from the first game, and Ratchet Gladiator, where you go to Orxon, also from the first game. Both look a bit unlike their original game areas, possibly due to being different parts of the same planets.
Veldin, however, is the same area in both the first and third games. You even see your old home destroyed by the war.
Never thought I would see Ratchet and Clank being mentioned here. Mad respect❤❤
I can still remember the moment I realised, while playing Fable 2 for the first time, that the creepy swamp area Wraithmarsh was actually Oakvale from the first game, completely abandoned, haunted and overgrown by the surrounding Marsh. There's fantastic character lore in the game as to how and why this happened that I won't spoil, but that moment of 'huh why does this feel familiar.... wait' is fantastic game design and really cements the passage of time between the two games.
The final DLC for Skyrim takes you back to the same island as the final Morrowind expansion 200 years later.
Going back to Sotenbori as Majima in Yakuza Kiwami 2 is very bittersweet for him. He's constantly reminded of all the trouble he went through in Yakuza 0, but it also allows him to meet Makoto again, even though she doesn't realise who he is
Was that the game where Majima still loved her and asked her now partner if he loved her,then told him to treat her right?
@@bryannicholls200Nah, that was 0. K2 is where you accidentally go into her massage parlor and then buy her a watch band.
Anor Londo in Dark Souls 3 and Kanto in Pokemon Gold/Silver immediately came to mind.
Going back to Shadow Moses gave me all of the feels.
Same. Took me back to being a teenager again.
Another funny little nod to past gaming hardware appears in Metal Gear Solid 4 during the return to Shadow Moses. When you start to go to a lower level, Otacon stops you and reminds you to switch disc's just like in the original which prompts a hilarious dialog about blu ray discs.
Assassin's Creed revelations takes you back to Masiaf, that trailer was fire.
Also RDR2 has like half of RDR1 map and I'm still baffled that R* didn't produce a remake with what they have.
Returning to Dantooine in Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 2/KotOR 2 was a very bittersweet experience. Especially towards the end when you visit the upper level of the Jedi Enclave ruins. The sorrowful music and atmosphere and the whole scene with the Jedi Masters and Kreia... it's all sublime!
I love that moment more in the Dark Side route, I think. You've hunted down all the Jedi masters, and you're going to finish off the rest of the order and... there's no one. It's a very... hollow feeling.
One of the biggest redeeming qualities to mass effect 3 was it’s DLC. Getting to play through the Omega DLC, revisit Afterlife in a completely different context with Aria as a teammate was INCREDIBLE ❤️
Yeah.
It's like the Afterlife was made for that big, climactic boss battle.
FFXIII-2, backtracking through The Vile Peaks and getting Twilight Odin was a blast. My favorite monster in the game was Don Tonberry, I gave him a lil halo and named him Grog. I love Flandit too :-)
It only happens briefly, but Outlast: Whistleblower is absolutely phenomenal at this. You start the game in the final area of Outlast, and about halfway through you make your way through some corridors that appear in Chapter 2 of the original, and at the very end, your way out of the asylum is the very first area that Miles explores in the original, only it's daybreak, the danger has passed, the birds are singing, and there's this beautiful cautiously optimistic music playing, as if to say "Yes! This is it! You did it! You got a happy ending, in an OUTLAST game!"
So glad that Driver tutorial really was so difficult. I feel much better about how many attempts it took me back in the day.
Ugh I feel like going back and playing the entire Bioshock series again. Why do you keep doing this to me OxBox!?!?!
Because a slave obeys
Oh! I remember that Sonic Green/Emerald Hills Zone from that like Sonic trivia video on either OXBOX or OXTRA. I love to see the subtle references/returning jokes.
I did like revisiting Monteriggioni in AC Brotherhood at the start as Ezio before we move to Rome, and getting to explore the town in the modern day as Desmond and recover some artefacts was a nice touch too. The town was really important in AC2 so it was great to see the inclusion in the sequel
Going back to Dantooine and Korriban in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2 and the Old Republic MMO. Good(?) times.
Good times!
Yep. Not to mention Ebon Hawk.
Since someone else mentioned it, I’ll second Dragon Quest 3. When you find yourself in a new area and slowly realize you’re entered Alefgard (the setting of Dragon Quest 1) complete with remixed world music, the nostalgia hits HARD!
Just commented the same thing, it's even better when you beat it and realize you were actually the legendary hero Lotto that was mentioned in the beginning of Dq1, all these years and DQ3 is still my favorite
The Temple of Time from Twilight Princess. Hearing its theme and then realizing it was a full dungeon, and then getting severe arachnophobia from the boss.
I think the earliest example of this that I remember was when Super Metroid returned to the burnt out Tourian and Brinstar of the OG.
In Zelda Breath of the wild you got to see the ruins of Lon Lon ranch and castle town from ocarina of time
They could add a cheeky joke about Tears of the Kingdom in there too.
@@Darkprosper Wouldn't even need to be a joke. As soon as I got the hang glider I made a break for Tarrey Town to see what was new there, followed by going to see if Link still had a house. The Rito and newspaper office could wait.
There's a lot more than that from all across the series. Then again it is still Hyrule
@OP Beezlebubisfly3211:
You’re forgetting the abandoned town from Twilight Princess where you clear out moblins…..it’s suppose to be the ruins of Kakariko Town from OoT
Plus you get the Master Sword from the ruins of the Temple of Time, both in Botw and Twilight Princess
When I realised Lurelin Villiage in BoTW, and later, ToTK was layed out identically to Outset Island from Wind Waker, it instantly became one of my favorite places in the games. Saving it from pirates and rebuilding it in ToTK was really fun. That Korok on the roof can stay gone, though.
I remember when "Escape From Monkey Island" came out, I was hyped for returning to Melee Island from the first game.
It was pretty haunting to see the original Oakvale in Fable 2, now a nightmarescape after the events of the first game.
fable 2 oakvale is definitely one i was hoping might be on this list
REX vs. RAY is probably the most fan-servicey thing ever, and it was *glorious.* Konami better get Pt. 2 of that collection released...
And they better polish that for the PC too...
I still think the Vol. 1 games are better, however. MGS2 was supposed to be the chronological endgame, after all, even if it was implied to be all a super effective VR simulation. Plus, MGS3 is peak Metal Gear.
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Peace Walker & other forgotten metal gear games should be (and better be) on the Master Collection Vol.2.
Arkham Knight taking you back to Arkham Asylum for the very end is too good to leave out of a video like this
"ga-rage quit", "estate of decay" DAMN I LOVE your puns! 😆
Sneaking back into Dunwall Tower in Dishonored 2 is another one! You can even go and visit the Assassination Gazebo, see a nice little plaque set up for Jessamine.
I cried at Shadow Moses Island, and I thought of 10 years prior when I was with friends I hung out with daily, that I can't see that much anymore. The past that Snake revisits isn't his ...it's yours.
How about Breath of the Wild? Theres a lot of places that are straight out of Ocarina of time such as the Temple of Time and the Ranch ruins being Lon Lon Ranch. Theres even the Arbiters ground from Twilight Princess.
Finding Wraithmarsh in Fable 2 was such a memorable moment. When you realise the spooky place is actually the remains of Oakvale, the quaint home village from the first game
I know it's DLC and all, but going back to Solstheim in Skyrim was a delight.
Anor Londo in Dark Souls 3? I still remember my first reaction. At first I thought wow they really added another one of those weird turning elevator/stair thingys. At the top I was like "wait a second..." and then the big fat letters ANOR LONDO appeared. Had such a big smile on my face back then. It's only a small area, but such a cool throwback. Also, RIP giant bro...
In persona 4 you go on a school trip to the town/school from persona 3.
That was cool for me
Especially the king's game in the club. Also love the reverse visit on the female route of p3p to Inaba.
In Persona 4 Golden, you can ride your moped to the city from Persona 3 on day trips. Kinda breaks the theme of rural isolation that Persona 4 has going for it, but it's there.
Two exemples from more niche games :
In System Shock 2, the final act brings you "back" to a virtual reality recreaction of the starting area of System shock 1
And in Descent 3, one level on the moon bring you back to the 1st level of Descent one.
The fun joke of “ yes...that kinda thing” is hilarious
Visiting Eden Prime in Mass Effect 3 was mindblowing!
Also the Normandy SR-1 in the Mass Effect 2 crash site DLC, despite how heartbreaking it was.
@@phantommangagirl If legion appeared in that mission that game would be perfect!
Yea..... For a price, because EA.....
Does DLC count too?
- In _The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind's_ "Bloodmoon" DLC, you traveled to an island called Solstheim, whose snowy alpine climate was a stark contrast from Morrowind's ashen landscape. Then in _The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim,_ the "Dragonborn" DLC takes you to ... an island called Solstheim, but 200 years later where half of the island is now covered in Morrowind-like volcanic ash from the (ongoing) eruption of Morrowind's Red Mountain.
(Aside: Both games later received re-releases with the DLC baked in from the start)
Not only the location but the music - in the southern half of the Dragonborn Solstheim, the music is the same as you would hear in Morrowind. Also there's a silt strider (making the whalesong-like silt strider noise), and a surviving Telvanni mage in one of their giant mushroom towers.
"Does DLC count?" The thumbnail for this video is DLC.
There's a touch of this in the newest zelda games (BotW and TotK). I know the exact same locations are used often among the roughly 9 million zelda games, but in these two specifically it was nice to be able to go and see things like the dilapidated version of Lon Lon ranch from Ocarina of Time.
I know it's technically not returning for Borderlands 2, since the whole game takes places there, but Pandora is still one of my favorite game settings ever made.
My favorite sequel that brought us back to an iconic location is Outside Xtra, returning us to the illustrious OXbox studios, where magic happens.
There was a moment like this in a game i loved as a kid that blew my mind. It was in the sequel to Jak And Daxter: The Precursor Legacy, Jak 2. Spoiler warning, at the beginning of the second game, you're teleported to a new, edgier, cyberpunk-ier location than the first game, called Haven City. A bit in to the game you go to a place called Dead Town where its revealed that youve been in the first game's setting the whole time... BUT IN THE FUTURE. The Sandover Village you spent time collecting precuror eggs and absorbing Eco like a sponge is now a decrepit deadzone filled with Metalheads (such an early 2000's enemy name).
The time travel twist came out of nowhere, and the narrative looping and twists of those first 3 games cemented Naughty Dog as one of my favorite studios.
It might not count as iconic, but I remember getting a thrill when returning to certain locations in Dreamfall: The Longest Journey, that I had seen in the first game.
It's always great to see Masyaf in AC Revelations again 300 years after Altair's time. The cinematic trailer/intro is one of my favorites pieces of media in the AC series.
Going back to Shandow Moses and Rapture were fantastic, probably my favourite two.
Yakuza/Like A Dragon/Judgement! You get to see the same cities (mainly Kamarocho and a few other places) throughout the years, from the 80's to present!
Gotta tell ya, Playing Super Mario Odyssey and entering the Mushroom Kingdom for the first time was a hit of nostalgia I hadn't expected. It wasn't EXACTLY the 64 layout, but darn it, I looked up at the skylight in the lobby and got rewarded, and that's pretty amazing. (someone already beat me to Pokémon Gold and Silver, but that's the biggest and best example I've ever played)
Going back to the Ishimura in Dead Space 2 is still to this day the most scared I’ve ever been in a game. I had to play through DS1 so many times to get the Platinum that I swore I’d never go back to that cursed ship. Then I get to that scene in DS2 and suddenly I’m Ozzy Osborne: “Oh No, No, Please God Help Meeeeeeee!”
The RPD used to be some kind of museum before it was converted into a police station. Hence the fancy look.
It is also designed by the same architect as the mansions hence the weird puzzle locks ect.
That's pretty cool.
Reminds me of the fact that my hometown's city hall used to be a bank. It even still has the bank vault with the giant door.
I've seen two American police stations that were all marble and oak. Both took over buildings that couldn't be altered due to historical preservation, but no one else wanted.
Going back to Anor Londo in Dark Souls 3 was a big moment for me. Also, seeing Earthen Peak in shambles during the Ringed City DLC was very cathartic.
Anor Londo and Lost Izalith in Dark Souls 3! The hit of nostalgia I felt when I went back to Anor Londo was great, and finding the Fair Lady and Quelana was a heartbreaking easter egg as well.
"Ship just got real." If I didn't know better, I'd suspect the hand of pun-obsessed Ellen in the writing here! 🤣🤣🤣
I loved seeing what my efforts in Fallout 1 had led to when we saw Shady Sands again in Fallout 2. Certainly a much better feeling than when I saw it again in the Fallout series.
Or going back to Vault 13 in Fallout 2 and sabotaging the water chip.
Yeah it really sucks that Shady Sands got blown up in the Fallout series kind of wish they would retcon that hopefully the NCR are still alive the rangers are awesome.
@@rmcgowa1987 NCR remnants are seen at the end of the series, fighting the Brotherhood.
It's a bit more obscure, but in Ace Combat 7 you revisit both Stonehenge and Farbanti from Ace Combat 04. The music in the Stonehenge mission is a version of the music from AC04, and as a longtime fan of the series it gave me chills.
Oh man. That Driver tutorial brings back memories, mostly of frustrated confusion but still, somehow, through rose tinted glasses, also nostalgic. Probably because 1999 was a much simpler time. I had no idea what slalom meant and tried blindly for hours to figure it out on my own just doing random tricks in the garage. This was in the days before the internet had became a resource for limitless information and also before everyone had the internet in their pocket, you had to use an actual computer to use the internet and I didn't have one so it took me several days before I was able to figure out what I needed to do in the tutorial to finish it. I remember asking people I knew if they knew what slalom meant. I don't remember who, at this point, 25 years later, but someone eventually was able to tell me what I needed to do.
No love for Dark Souls 3??? You get to return to *the* iconic location of the series: Anor Londo
Not to mention THE Firelink Shrine, though you'd hardly recognize it.
don't forget the Dreg Heap also actually Earthen Peak
List is a joke without DS3
I won’t lie, when I played resident evil 1 HD I didn’t even know the mansion was in he same layout as the one in 5’s flashback DLC but now I feel I need to go back and play both.
I loved the mechanical improvements to Dead Space 2. But it was also far less scary than its predecessor, relying mostly on jump scares. Returning to the Ishimura however, was perhaps the scariest part of the game. It was eerie and unsettling, and dials back the combat encounters so that you're feeling the tension of just moving around the Ishimura's cramped, familiar interiors.
man i love when every yakuza game returns to kamurocho
I thought it was a pretty neat moment late in Borderlands 2 to go back to the Arid Badlands and see how Hyperion's mining destroyed the place.
You can even come across a robot copy of one of the earlier sidequest bosses, and he even drops a recreation of that boss' unique weapon.
I absolutely adored the mission in SWTOR where you save a squad of troopers in the ruins of the Endar Spire from KOTOR. It even gave you a moment where you get a nostalgia blast hearing the original KOTOR theme
If you could have that franchise ready by Saturday that would be great!
And I'm going to need you to come in Sunday too!
Pokémon Gold/Silver bringing us back to Kanto
Borderlands 2 takes you back to Fyrestone, the starting area in Borderlands 1, where you meet Zed, CL4P-TP, and T.K. Baha
I don't know if it qualifies, but exploring old locations in Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks was awesome too.
I completed the original Driver tutorial on my very first go and carried on playing through the game. Some time later, I lost my Driver save - PS1 memory card died or something - and I was never able to complete the tutorial again. Those were the days!
Surprised Skyrim’s Dragonborn DLC isn’t mentioned, even though it takes us back to Solstheim from Morrowind’s Bloodmoon DLC.
I am absolutely shocked you guys didn't talk about the Jak and Daxter games, that was such a twist and at the same time a nice way of bringing you back home. All sorts of feels from that
I still remember the first time I played Persona 4 on the PS2 and arribed to a chat between the Investigation Team talking about the next school trip to a city called Tatsumi Port Island.
When I heard that name I thought “Funny, it’s name is the same that Kanji’s last name”. But my surprise arribed when they mention the “Moonlight Bridge”.
In that moment I realized that that city was the Persona 3 one. Till that moment I thought that it’s name was Iwatoday… xD
After it came a nostalgic trip on some places we visited in Persona 3.
Spoiler for Dragon's Dogma 2:
In the Unmoored World, aka Endgame area a player gets upon rejecting the "good ending", the sea is all gone and the Seafloor Shrine is revealed to be the ruins of an ancient city.... and the layout is EXACTLY the same as Gran Soren, the capital city of Gransys in the first game. The marketplace and shop windows, the Pawn Guild, the memorable stairs leading up to the noble quarter, the castle and it's throne room, dungeon, Aelinore's Tower.... and together with the hauntingly sad music, it really sends shivers down your spine and you finally begin to realise the game truly is a sequel.
My favourite was going back to trumbull valley in state of decay 2 just hit that nostalgia for me and the graphics and all the references just made it the best to me.
always love it when squeals allow you to go back to locations from previous games, loved how in gold/silver pokemon games you could go back to red/blue/yellow gen area after. how cool would a pokemon game be that let you go to all the different gen locations but we know that game will never happen
Excellent reference to carcinization! One point to Outsidexbox house
I forget the exact details because it was so long ago, but one of the original Space Quest games had Roger Wilco revisit a location from the previous game. They left the background location in classic 256 color resolution while Roger was walking around in new 1024 colors or whatever it was.
Space Quest IV: Roger Wilco vs the Time Rippers. Now if only somebody would make more of those games so another game you time travel to (Space Quest IX: Latex Babes of Estros) comes to be
I want that! And I want a new, modern Police Quest. It's because of Pursuit of the Death Angel that I know to grow a beard before I commit a crime and then immediately shave.
Piloting the Metal Gear was a fantastic feeling.
*Thanks for the Content!*
Returning to Hekseville in Gravity Rush 2 is one of my favorite moments in any game, it feels like coming home
Going back to the old world in Monster Hunter World Iceborne. Not only did we get to see Castle Schrade in modern graphics, we also got a terrifying new flight against Fatalis.
FFX-2 brings you back to the temples, now with monsters, and Dark Aeons as bosses
Dirge of Cerberus FFVII brings you back to Shinra Mansion, Train Graveyard and Shinra Building, the obligatory visited places of the world of FFVII.
Obviously not the exact same place, but going back to installation 04’s replacement in halo 3 is a nice callback. Especially with the Easter egg of the rooms you had to run through in 2 betrayals off the side, and the warthog run being the formation of silent cartographer
Deus Ex: Invisible War ends on Liberty Island, where the original Deus Ex begins.
They didn't mention that in MGS4, before you return to Shadow Moses, you have a playable flashback/dream in PS1 style graphics 😄
Shadow moses was the instant one that came to my head, so I’m happy with this list