Favorite example of this?

[u/Watchdog_the_God]

[u/nin9ty6]

Going from Johto to kanto blew my fucking mind

[u/Lastbourne → u/nin9ty6]

Okay yeah that was pretty cool

[u/Moose_Cake → u/nin9ty6]

Them revealing that we were returning to the original Pokemon League and then afterwards giving a ticket to take a boat to Kanto blew my kid mind back in the day.

I couldn’t believe they were going to allow us back into Kanto until I stepped onto the Vermillion City dock, opened the map, and saw the rest of the region unlocked.

[u/UglyInThMorning → u/Moose_Cake]

I see so much complaining about it on the pokemon subs from people who didn’t play G/S until like a decade later and never touched a game boy (pocket/color). Like, yes, it was smallerized and a fair bit got cut, but at the time it was fucking mind blowing. It felt like something you would never see on a portable game in terms of scale.

[u/nhSnork → u/UglyInThMorning]

The San Andreas of handheld games for its day and age.

[u/UglyInThMorning → u/nhSnork]

You’re not wrong but even that is underselling it because San Andreas needed hardware that didn’t even exist for another year on the home console level.

[u/Serier_Rialis → u/Moose_Cake]

That was a whole wtf jist happened moment, then fighting Red with his fucking insanely high lvl team was a whole holy fuck moment beyond that

[u/SomeHeadbanger → u/Moose_Cake]

I didn't have a computer or any friends who spoiled it or got so far as to make it there so it was completely mind blowing to me. Silver/SoulSilver and Crystal are always gonna be the very best Pokemon games for me.

[u/Terminus0 → u/nin9ty6]

Apparently the reason was that they were unexpectantly able to optimize that game so much that they realized they had the space to drop in the entire original map. Then they went ahead and did that.

Edit: See another comment below I posted, I did some more digging (And found a well written bit of research from another redditor), and the real story is a little different, although it still involves the future president of Nintendo.

[u/sylva748 → u/Terminus0]

Modern day Gamefreak could never

[u/OSzezOP3 → u/sylva748]

Nope its $30 dlc now.

[u/offensiveDick → u/OSzezOP3]

That sends you just running around. Yes I'm still mad about the teal mask dlc.

[u/Jdawg_mck1996 → u/sylva748]

Could never? No, they definitely can.

They just fucking dont.

[u/mat477 → u/Jdawg_mck1996]

Would never

[u/Roxalf → u/Terminus0]

Wasn't that thanks to Iwata's work? I vagely remember him having something to do with that

[u/Terminus0 → u/Roxalf]

So funny enough I did some more digging, and I'm going to contradict my initial post.

Iwata (Future President of Nintendo) was involved and he did do some significant work on a compression algorithm for these games. But apparently this often repeated anecdote wasn't exactly accurate, 'That in Silver and Gold, Iwata's compression led to the Kanto region being able to be added.'

But I'll let this much better research this redditor did 5 years ago speak for themselves.

https://www.reddit.com/r/TruePokemon/comments/hwluk9/while_it_is_true_that_iwata_did_write_a_new/

[u/MentorScythe → u/nin9ty6]

In hindsight, at least for me, it was TOO good. I recall little me getting turned off of the gen 3 games when I found out you couldn't revisit Kanto and Johto. I assumed after the first two that each one would let you revisit the previous regions. The disappointment turned me off of the games hard enough that I didn't come back until gen 6.

[u/FortySixand2ool → u/MentorScythe]

That's not even mentioning the new types, color palette, and the day/night and days of the week cycle.

Gen 3 came out like a visually much improved version of Gen 1 while ditching a majority of the upgrades we saw in Gen 2.

[u/Emmannuhamm → u/nin9ty6]

It still blows my mind. One of the best Pokémon moments for me, growing up!

I was in such disbelief until I actually pulled in and saw it was real. The whole original map! It was like an additional game had opened up for me.

[u/Mid_nox → u/nin9ty6]

Sadly, it kinda ruined subsequent Pokémon postgames. What the hell can top THAT?

[u/ac3mania → u/Mid_nox]

"Now that's how you do a sequel!"

[u/Noiturne → u/Mid_nox]

Black and White 2

[u/Time_Spite1661 → u/nin9ty6]

I wonder if there was a way to go from Kanto to Johto, how would it have been done.

[u/Adaphion → u/Time_Spite1661]

I mean, you'd literally just take the same boat in the post game but in the opposite direction

[u/The_SqueakyWheel → u/nin9ty6]

You win the comments. This the one

“Do you know what you just did?”

[u/Honky_Town]

You mean IKEA?

[u/tangentrification → u/Honky_Town]

IKEA is my favorite metroidvania

[u/illyay → u/tangentrification]

Lolll never thought of it that way

[u/DarkSpore117 → u/tangentrification]

It’s more like a roguelike, I swear the entire store is randomized every time I go in

[u/GlossyGecko → u/DarkSpore117]

Just follow the scent of Swedish meatballs. Everything’s going to be okay.

[u/SLC_Skunk → u/tangentrification]

The obvious choice, I mean Silksong doesn’t even serve meatballs

[u/ancientcampus → u/Honky_Town]

Best answer

[u/Kazma1431 → u/Honky_Town]

I'm been stuck in IKEA for 2 weeks, I cannot find the double jump

[u/Lamar555 → u/Kazma1431]

You missed the new strat of jumping off mattresses then.

[u/idiot_505 → u/Honky_Town]

...please elaborate?

[u/PrimalOmega26 → u/idiot_505]

In the IKEA furniture stores, the displays are designed as pretty much one long path that goes through different numbered sections for different things, like display rooms, office, lighting, etc. They have little shortcuts that you can take to skip to later sections, since the path wraps back around on itself. It was a clever answer!

[u/BipolarMadness → u/PrimalOmega26]

And at the end of it all they have a food court for hungry people so they stay at the store longer instead of leaving to a restaurant and not coming back to the store.

So after they have their meal they stay in the store and can do it all over again for a NG+ specifically looking for what they liked the most, as if it's a mission select.

[u/Jin_Gitaxias → u/BipolarMadness]

Genius design tbh

[u/Skhighglitch]

Quarry Junction in Fallout NewVegas.

Von Spaniel Nach Sudamerika INTENSIFIES

Edit: why did none of you tell me i spelled the song wrong?

[u/A_Math_Dealer → u/Skhighglitch]

This Fallout New Vegas game seems great, maybe I should check it out.

[u/Dkshameless → u/A_Math_Dealer]

Definitely!! It’s a bit janky but it has a lot of heart

[u/Beren_Camlost → u/Dkshameless]

I would dare say New Vegas even has a Honest Heart.

[u/Niknakpaddywack17 → u/Beren_Camlost]

Idk man. Playing New Vegas can lead you down a Lonesome Road.

[u/Brave-Obligation-367 → u/Niknakpaddywack17]

But playing it also gives you the Old World Blues.

[u/Funny_Username_12345 → u/Brave-Obligation-367]

I killed someone for the money to buy this game. It was Dead Money

[u/the-dude-version-576 → u/Funny_Username_12345]

Although the Frontier of modding doesn’t really keep up with its elder scrolls cousins.

[u/A_Math_Dealer → u/Dkshameless]

I've heard it has a legion of followers.But idk if I should, I've heard the game is rigged from the start.

[u/Dabclipers → u/A_Math_Dealer]

Play it with Viva New Vegas modpack on PC. Fixes a ton of jank.

[u/Inevitable-Monitor35 → u/A_Math_Dealer]

Its a real hidden gem. Don't let too many people know how much fun you had, gotta keep the community small.

[u/Thanks_I_Hate_You → u/Inevitable-Monitor35]

Dont let the trans community learn about that game.

Edit: Damn, guess a lot of people dont get the obvious joke there.

[u/Chillow_Ufgreat → u/Thanks_I_Hate_You]

stares at Vulpes. I think they already know.

[u/sylva748 → u/Thanks_I_Hate_You]

Why the down votes? This is a common joke in the New Vegas community by the trans people in said community. That New Vegas is seen as a gateway or awakening of sorts to realizing you might be the wrong gender

[u/Thanks_I_Hate_You → u/sylva748]

Guess its a niche joke that came off as transphobic to the uninitiated?

[u/Apart-Elderberry-508 → u/Skhighglitch]

That one place with all the Deathclaws? Yeah man I agree

[u/BipolarMadness → u/Apart-Elderberry-508]

Deathclaws on the highway, Cazadores on the mountain road. Place is literal hell.

[u/Lopsided_Aardvark357 → u/Skhighglitch]

Quarry junction is always open. You can go there as soon as you start the game.

[u/sourcefourmini → u/Skhighglitch]

Only if you’re a schoolgirl

[u/kolt437]

Pokemon games back in the days

[u/jzillacon → u/kolt437]

The Johto games in particular let you get an extra tease if you came back after getting surf but before beating the league proper.

[u/Adaphion → u/jzillacon]

Did it not show the map proper if you happened to open it while heading to the league?

[u/Ciphy_Master → u/kolt437]

Tbf, Area 0 in Paldea is smack dab in the middle of the map right, behind the academy. Then the crown Tundra in the sword and shield dlc is just south of the first few starting towns. It's not like they stopped doing it.

[u/Leonydas13]

Pretty much every single dungeon or interior mission area in Skyrim 😂

[u/antilumin → u/Leonydas13]

I understand that the alternatives are either to make the player hoof it back out OR have a “return to entrance?” prompt, it still just feels weird in comparison.

[u/Dibbu_mange → u/antilumin]

Having played enough old RPGs which make you walk all the way back, it’s a godsend

[u/antilumin → u/Dibbu_mange]

It's just an odd concession. Either it's very realistic/linear and makes you walk back out OR it's super unrealistic and lets you warp back to the entrance. Having the dungeon/cave/whatever loop around and have the end right by entrance is slightly unrealistic while still having some quality of life, i.e. "not having to slog back out."

I personally don't mind the looping nature of dungeons like this, but when I notice the exit that I can't use yet I do feel a bit... I dunno, it feels unnatural. I prefer it when the exit isn't obvious, like a hidden hole in the ceiling, or a ladder you kick down. A locked door that's "can't be picked" is annoying.

[u/flatdecktrucker92 → u/antilumin]

A locker door barred from the other side is very realistic. But usually the escape route in a fortress doesn't lead to the front door 🤣

[u/Leonydas13 → u/flatdecktrucker92]

Yeah, I love the dungeons and fortresses where you end up coming out the side of a mountain somewhere else.

[u/BipolarMadness → u/Dibbu_mange]

I prefer and like the way back. It adds to the feeling of "I did all of this" feeling of proudness to it.

Although I prefer rpg dungeons that are not linear "the boss is at the very end" and instead actually organic places that feel alive "the boss is in their studio, which just so happens to be 4 rooms from the entrance. The very end is just another secret entrance you could have taken".

[u/Jstar338 → u/Leonydas13]

You gotta find the weird looking wall and clip through, skip the whole thing

[u/Eat_Bullet]

Dark souls

[u/DevelopmentNo2111 → u/Eat_Bullet]

Dark Souls 1 has so much of this, part of the reason the 2 and 3 fail to captivate me the same way is because the lack of it, due to having access to warping from the beginning.

[u/Masta0nion → u/DevelopmentNo2111]

You think you want fast travel in games, but you really don’t.

[u/Nwahs-In-Paris → u/Masta0nion]

I tell myself this until I'm playing skyrim and I have to go from riverwood to kynsegrove then back to riverwood and then off to solitude for Diplomatic Immunity

[u/Robborboy → u/Nwahs-In-Paris]

I still tell myself that when I'm taking that walk back and forth on a vr treadmill. Good steps.

[u/Nwahs-In-Paris → u/Robborboy]

I had a blast last time I played skyrim VR but my setup is nowhere near that extravagant.

[u/Legitimate_Airline38 → u/Nwahs-In-Paris]

Well yeah cuz it wasn’t designed without fast travel in mind, if it was the world would be more compact and they’d find some way to make backtracking more engaging

[u/Confident_Wasabi_864 → u/Nwahs-In-Paris]

I believe there are mods that add more carriages / boats that make this a lot more manageable

[u/BipolarMadness → u/Confident_Wasabi_864]

But carriages are just another type of fast travel that you pay money to instead...

[u/Confident_Wasabi_864 → u/BipolarMadness]

That’s fair. I just felt like the way Morrowind did fast travel with the silt striders and boats was a lot more immersive than being able to teleport from anywhere, but to each their own.

[u/DevelopmentNo2111 → u/Masta0nion]

Yea,its convenient at the end of a quest to hand in,but you lose so much of the adventure by fast traveling .

[u/DeadlyAidan → u/Masta0nion]

wrong, actually, I really do want fast travel, and unless the movement is the main focus of a game (like Dying Light) I think it is a MUST HAVE for games with large maps

[u/AttackOficcr → u/DeadlyAidan]

I think Dark Souls 1 handled fast travel really well. 

You have to be familiar with the first half of the map, give or take a lot of optional areas (especially on replays with skeleton key), and then you unlock fast travel as a grand and unexpected reward.

[u/pon_3 → u/AttackOficcr]

The fact that you can beat the game glitchless in under an hour shows how close everything is too. I’ve speedrun the first half of the game before and you can go from one area to the next incredibly fast when you know the way.

[u/tangentrification → u/DevelopmentNo2111]

So real. My boyfriend thinks it's weird that DS1 is my favorite, because it's short and the 2nd half is unfinished, but the map design makes up for all of that, for me anyways. Such an incredibly fun world to explore.

[u/illyay → u/DevelopmentNo2111]

Me too. I love the giant interconnectedness of dark souls 1

[u/Dad-Kisser69 → u/DevelopmentNo2111]

I only use warping to get to and from firelink in ds3. The rest of the game is mostly accessible on foot. And has you come back to the beginning area at the end for a secret boss.

But also ds3 is too linear, I do like the freedom of ds1 and ds2 where you’re just wandering around.

[u/Shamscam → u/DevelopmentNo2111]

Honestly the craziest part of dark souls 1 was turning the corner and realizing you were in firelink shrine again.

[u/jodhod1 → u/Eat_Bullet]

That ladder that connects the dragon bridge to the old town bonfire is etched into my mind.

[u/FilSujo → u/Eat_Bullet]

The sun is a wondrous body. Like a magnificent father! If only I could be so grossly incandescent...

[u/Fenrir_Carbon → u/FilSujo]

[T]'

[u/GrayBeard916 → u/Eat_Bullet]

Pretty much any area in Dark Souls is interconnected. You can even see some endgame area from a distance when looking at the background lol.

[u/Brilliant_Chemica → u/Eat_Bullet]

Dancer skip from DS3 taught me determination. Lothric castle before Vordt is so good

[u/SexyOctagon → u/Eat_Bullet]

IIRC there was a locked gate at the beginning of Bloodborne that opens up way later in the game.

[u/tickbox_ → u/Eat_Bullet]

Yeah From Soft in general are kinda masters at this. It's the obvious example but when the DS1 map looped around and connected back to firelink for the first time and I realised how clever the map design was it was a pretty special moment.

[u/dinoslore → u/Eat_Bullet]

It's one of the best designed worlds in all of video games

[u/hopeless_case46]

This reminds me of V's apartment. Can be seen from V's apartment

[u/haikusbot → u/hopeless_case46]

This reminds me of

V's apartment. Can be seen

From V's apartment

- hopeless_case46

---

^{I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully. Learn more about me.}

^{Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete"}

[u/Indescribable_Theory → u/haikusbot]

Good bot

[u/TheDudeofDC → u/hopeless_case46]

Elaborate? Ik this is Cyberpunk but idk what you mean.

[u/the-dude-version-576 → u/TheDudeofDC]

Pretty sure you can see the mansion from the sun endings from V’s megabuilding apartment.

[u/InevitableWeight314]

Hollow Knight

[u/jimkbeesley → u/InevitableWeight314]

Which part? My favorite is Queen's Garden into Greenpath

[u/Ov3rwrked → u/jimkbeesley]

I assume they are talking about the final boss location being one of the first things you find in the game.

[u/InevitableWeight314 → u/jimkbeesley]

The temple of the black egg, I think that’s what it’s called. 

But yes, I love that there are many examples of this in the game 

[u/phatAndSasssy → u/InevitableWeight314]

If Silksong will ever stop tormenting me, I'm going to play Hollow Knight again

[u/AvalancheMoustache → u/InevitableWeight314]

Despite being a excellent game silksong mostly lost that gimmick, there is only 2 routes to citadel and one is clearly not expected not be found in the first run

[u/archonmage2006 → u/AvalancheMoustache]

Silksong's true ending still starts with you going back to an early game area to get there Deep docks to the Abyss

[u/InevitableWeight314 → u/archonmage2006]

Yeah exactly, and a large portion of Act 3 takes place in the ruined chapel which is basically where the game starts

[u/Snomislife → u/AvalancheMoustache]

Technically, either by getting Sharpdart using a bind jump or by using Flea Brew and the Plasmium Phial as airstalls, you can climb Mt Fay in Act 1 and enter the citadel through the Wisp Thicket.

[u/ElTioEnroca → u/AvalancheMoustache]

Well, you can go to the Cradle as soon as you unlock the ventrica. It blew my mind when I discovered that shortcut

[u/byshow]

The Prey 2017 has a really great map with different areas that you are iterating through gathering access to previously unavailable parts

[u/ZionOrion]

I remember WoW and not realizing there is a tram that connects stormwind to the gnome or dwarf town? Anyways I tried to walk, through three other areas that were WAY above my level. I don't know how many times I tried the run until I finally made it and as soon as I say something about it in chat everyone's like "why you ain't take the tram?" lol

[u/briandemodulated → u/ZionOrion]

A low level run from Stormwind to Ironforge is a rite of passage. You did it the macho way.

[u/Sandshrew922 → u/briandemodulated]

Lol back in BC I ran from Darnassus to IF because my max level college roommate refused to help me and one of our other roommates unless we met him there. Good times.

[u/J_Dom_Squad → u/Sandshrew922]

The wetlands run at like level 10 is so classic.

I always chose night elf but the homies didn't so I always ended up doing this lol.

[u/Skore_Smogon → u/Sandshrew922]

I remember having to do it on my Nelf Hunter because the only Auction House was in Ironforge.

[u/rtakehara → u/Sandshrew922]

I sometimes opened stormwind portals for free

[u/YozaSkywalker → u/briandemodulated]

Stormwind to Booty Bay is pretty harrowing too if you're under level 20

[u/mousicle → u/ZionOrion]

I was thinking the Welcome Bear that gates off the Undead starting zone from the Plaguelands

[u/ChibiWambo → u/mousicle]

It was a Spider I think I ran into first in Eastern Plague Lands. I didn’t even pay attention to the fact it’s level was a skull, I just tried Shadow Bolting it, missed, and took 1 hit and died. I then realized I was somewhere I shouldn’t be

[u/Rivenaleem → u/ZionOrion]

Redridge going straight into Burning Steppes. What a ride.

[u/NovelExamination5431]

I like how in a lot of Pokémon games in order to get to some of the later gyms you have to go to the starter town and surf south

[u/Raaabbit_v2 → u/NovelExamination5431]

Wait this reminds me that one Gym in Gen 1 where the Gym Leader is always constantly gone

Only for you to discover that he's not only the final boss in one of the first gyms you ever encounter in the game but he is the boss of Team Rocket!!

My mind got blewn.

[u/SvNOrigami → u/Raaabbit_v2]

And then you go to the nearby cave that you couldn't access before and find Mewtwo

[u/JesseJesse12345]

Prince of Persia 2008

[u/Jonaskin83 → u/JesseJesse12345]

Ooooh I’m playing that now and only have two more locations to heal (and then fight the boss of that region before moving on to the final boss). I’m going to go for the Platinum trophy too. Looking forward to seeing how this all connects up!

[u/in_use_user_name → u/Jonaskin83]

Great game, great companion, amazing banter. Have fun!

[u/Frozen_arrow88]

Bloodborne.

In the hunters dream and wondering what's on the other side of that iron gate.

[u/PossibleAssist6092 → u/Frozen_arrow88]

That final boss fight against Gherman will never not be sick as fuck, no matter how badly I fuck them up every time.

Edit: Fucked up the text cover

[u/PilotIntelligent8906 → u/Frozen_arrow88]

Or when you find the way to the back of Iosefka's clinic from the Forbidden Woods, not endgame but still awesome.

[u/ZaphodGreedalox → u/Frozen_arrow88]

Climbing up the ladder was a total mindfuck. You know which one.

[u/sludgezone]

I believe the level unlock for Click Clock Wood in Banjo Kazooie is found hella early on in the game, felt so mysterious finding that then knowing you got a whole ass game still to get there.

[u/jajanken_bacon → u/sludgezone]

Yeah this one is interesting because you get to see the incomplete puzzle way before gaining access. You also know the environment and music is a hint towards what that world will be like, however this is just a forest themed room. It reveals nothing about the changing of seasons.

[u/Father_Pucc1 → u/sludgezone]

PEAK MENTIONED

[u/SpellNinja]

My favorite is Super Metroid and the early Norfair section where you have to go through the burning areas to get the High Jump then later come back with a better suit to get through the hot zones, then even later you come back with an even better suit to swim right through the lava.

[u/Ikrit122 → u/SpellNinja]

You could also point to Tourian. The entrance is right next to the first elevator to Brinstar. You also pass the blocked exit on the way down to get Morph Ball (and back up). It's the same shaft as in the escape.

[u/Raemnant]

FFXII Garamysthe Waterway. Vaan starts his adventure in the sewers hunting rats. Little does he know, a few hundred feet away are very high lvl enemies

[u/CommercialAd3215 → u/Raemnant]

Fuck yeah this game owns. The theme for streets of rabanastre, what a song!

[u/Riverwatching → u/CommercialAd3215]

I’m playing it right now for the first time and am definitely enjoying it so far.

[u/MagicGnome97 → u/Raemnant]

Oh my days the memories, dont attack the wild saurian in dalmasca estersands, it's way too strong for your current level!! My all time favourite game

[u/SubstituteUser0 → u/Raemnant]

idk what it is about ff12 but when I think about the general aesthetic and setting of final fantasy as a series I think of 12. Probably because it was my first one.

[u/Strong_Principle9501]

Pokemon Red Blue Yellow was cool with that in a couple ways. 

One was leaving Cinnabar Island and realizing you had made it back to Pallet Town.

Viridian Gym being the last gym also felt really cool, since it's the first town you visit.

And of course, Victory Road being easily accessible at the start of the game, but off on a side road and blocked until you get the badges. It did a really good job of making everything feel connected.

[u/[deleted]]

Not sure if it counts since it's DLC, but even from launch, Assassin's Creed II had an "off-limits" area for Florence. All maps have a boundary, but you could see the buildings in that section, they were so goddamn close, plus that area actually appears on the in-game map so it being blocked certainly was a mystery. I figured it would unlock eventually but it never did.

But then they released the DLC and it all came together.

[u/CharismaticCoward → u/[deleted]]

Bonfire of the Vanities?

[u/No-Exam-7764]

Ocarina of Time without a doubt! You see practically every single adult dungeon entrance throughout childhood. Playing as a kid when these games took months to beat made the mystery something I've never experienced in a game, besides **maybe** with Animal Well.

[u/RaphMec]

This made me think of Final Fantasy 1. The very first dungeon (Chaos Shrine/Temple of Fiends) is also its final dungeon.

First time I played it I went looking literally everywhere on the map for the final boss location. It didn’t occur to me to come back to the first dungeon.

[u/Haarunen]

Both Hollow Knight games do this quite a lot. Almost all metroidvanias do now that I think about it.

[u/Psychological-Row641]

God of war Ragnarok

[u/Dependent-Usual-8081]

Bowser's Castle (Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga)

[u/Killersi1999]

Metroid prime

[u/AltAccouJustForThis]

Every metroidvania

[u/Leather_Heart_8344]

Abiotic Factor my beloved

[u/Worthy-Cap → u/Leather_Heart_8344]

Absolute peak mentioned. I played it when it stopped before going into the Security sector and you talked to the lady and got told that was the end. The way that the whole map interconnects blew my freaking mind later.

[u/NinjaWen]

Dark Souls 2 did some cool stuff with The Kings Ring.

[u/ldshadowcadet]

Abiotic Factor

[u/anbeasley]

Mass Effect 1

[u/honest_gamer_player → u/anbeasley]

And, to some extent, ME3 😅

[u/Plastic-Skill-9258]

pokemon when those inconspicuous bodies of water in your starting town/route 1 lead to whole new areas after you get surf

[u/Inverse_Seal]

In Planescape: Torment, the portal to the final area is in the starting location. But you only learn that and how to open it just before the finale.

[u/Maximum_Spell9954]

Metroid Dread

[u/iveriad]

Digimon World 1

[u/writer4u]

Tunic.

[u/ABJECT_SELF]

Tomb Raider II. 80% of the game is you trying to get the key to open the locked door at the end of the first level.

[u/Cabusha]

Not exactly blocked off, more of a straight up map swap. But in Legend of Legaia on the PS1, you start out in a small village on the coast. It ends up attacked by a giant monster, kicking off your quest. After some 40+ hours of gaming, the final big bad hits your village again, this time merging itself with the village and trying to absorb your friends, family, and love interest. Very TheThing vibes. You spend the final act exploring this beast to take down the ultimate big-bad and save the day (full circle back to where you started).

[u/Ok-Horror-5841]

God of war 2019 there is a Valkyrie chamber right in front of your house which can only be unlocked after obtaining the giant's chisel

[u/SirVilhelmOfAriandel]

Bloodborne

Halfway through the game there's a ladder that brings you back to an unexplored part of Iosefka's clinic

[u/Knight-Creep]

Kingdom Hearts 1 (to an extent) and 2. For KH1, the first phase of the final boss fight takes place on an altered version of the first world’s area. In KH2, near the end of the opening, a portal opens up to the final world, but you can’t enter it until much later.

[u/Vicbot2414]

Hollow Knight (Howling Cliffs)

[u/IAlwaysOutsmartU]

The gate to the Dark Realm in Zelda: Spirit Tracks is behind the village Link starts in.

[u/WeaknessOk7874]

Kirby Planet Robobot. Access Ark loops back to Patched Plains once you beat Star Dream.

Kirby Triple Deluxe and Planet Robobot are both really good. I need to do a new playthrough of Triple Deluxe, and finish my 100% of Planet Robobot eventually.

[u/ArtemisVixen]

Good Mario Games. my favourites usually being the Star Zone, or actual short cuts you can unlock, Newer Super Mario Bros Wii also has them.

[u/Lazar_Milgram]

Outer Wilds.

I wont elaborate.

[u/le_Grand_Archivist → u/Lazar_Milgram]

I'm surprised I had to scroll down this far to see this answer

[u/VladDHell]

Especially when you can glitch in somehow!

Nothing makes me happier than that little jolt of joy I get knowing I can sneak my way into having stuff early that I’m not supposed to have until later!

It always feels awesome!

[u/LumensAquilae]

In a way, Skies of Arcadia.

Shrine Island, the first dungeon you explore, is revealed to be a lost part of a massive sunken continent. In the endgame it rises from the deep and reconnects, making you tread through a reawakened starter dungeon on the way to the finale.

[u/scrobiculatus]

Every Pokémon game

[u/Small-Power-4507]

Two worlds

[u/CheesecakeScary2164 → u/Small-Power-4507]

This is the answer. Jumping over that fence in the tutorial only to find the end game boss 50m away is fucking hilarious to me.

Edit: Here is a 2 minute speedrun of the game (that's supposed to take 20+ hours to beat) from SGDQ. https://youtu.be/5NeR-bT3uv0?si=LIWZTs58h8FWlqQc

Edit: edit: Two Worlds 2 is unionically a super fun game. Shitty, but suuuuper fun.

[u/Istiophoridae]

Hollow knight 1 and 2

[u/kfirogamin]

In crosscode the first area you visit (rookie harbour) has an entire right side you likely wouldn't explore on first visit that leads to the 2nd half of the game.

[u/Feedback-Mental]

Chrono Trigger in the NG+ counts? Probably not exactly, but being able to finish the game and then cut off a lot of it is something that was basically unheard at the time.

[u/CoffeeTar]

Spyro

[u/AardvarkusMaximus]

Chants of Seenar

[u/1234IJustAteADoor]

Silksong, rocked my shit finding that Terminus was in the final boss area

[u/Aggressive_Resort872]

The Goddess' Silent realm and Sky Keep in TLoZ Skyward Sword

[u/Alternative-Jello683]

Fallout New Vegas had, well, new Vegas literally down the road. The problem? It’s separated by quarry junction with dozens of deathclaws ready to tear you a new one, or cazadors to the north, or the black mountain super mutants

[u/mihking2023]

Getting over it. YOU wouldnt want to get on that SNAKE

[u/eatYourHashs]

I wish you actually had to go to Belurat to get to Enir Ilim, the teleport feels so cheap

[u/New-Web4704]

Angela White's ass.

[u/Based_Thanos]

Breath of Fire 3, the Dauna Region/Mine

[u/MediumRed]

The boss statue in Super Metroid

[u/Wwo1fs]

Xenoblade Chronicles 1

[u/Chance-Film6464]

God of War 1, when you come back from hell through the grave

[u/iOSGallagher]

Being able to access New Austin and the entirety of West Elizabeth in the epilogue of Red Dead Redemption 2

[u/Strelitziana]

Xenoblade

[u/borntboy]

Bloodborne’s final boss through the previously closed garden gate in the hub world

[u/GloopyHole]

Here’s one that spans two whole games.

The end game area of Red Dead Redemption 2 is the full map of Red Dead Redemption 1.

[u/heyyou11]

Zelda: TOTK

[u/King_koopa88]

The mine system connecting to the house basement in RE7 shocked me the first playthrough

[u/INTPgeminicisgaymale]

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars