Most Iconic Starter Towns In Video Games

Summary

• Small towns like Riverwood in Skyrim offer nostalgia, easy quests, and tranquil vibes to players.
• Pallet Town in Pokemon Red & Blue is a humble starting point, symbolizing the charm of “humble beginnings.”
• Goodsprings in Fallout: New Vegas provides a safe haven with generous inhabitants and fresh water for players in the harsh wasteland.

Most people, if not everyone, have a childhood home. Even if that home no longer exists, has changed beyond recognition, or was destroyed by an evil sorcerer looking to put down any prophecized heroes in the crib, they live forever in memory.

Video games, too, have their fair share of memorable starting towns where players can learn the controls and early game mechanics and get used to the NPCs’ uncanny valley effect, depending on the game’s release date.

A Friendly Town That Doesn’t Get Immediately Destroyed

Just as every Skyrim player is gently corralled into the stealth archer archetype (because cheesing certain fights with ranged stealth is the only way to win, stealth perks are drastically overpowered, and because stealth is the most effective skill for every faction), it takes a great deal of effort to avoid visiting this serene little locale at the start of a new playthrough: Riverwood.

The three Standing Stones are on the way, and it would be a shame to miss out on those bonuses. Then there’s all that loot from Helgen that needs selling off. There’s also that easy dungeon nearby. And who would turn away the hospitality of a fine Nord home, given the chance? Riverwood always feels like home, thanks to its tranquil vibes and friendly faces (unless the player happens to kill one beloved chicken, in which case all Oblivion breaks loose).

Pallet Town – Pokemon Red & Blue

It May Only Be Three Buildings And A Patch Of Grass, But It’s Home

Pallet Town is the quintessential video game starter town, offering just enough to introduce players to the world of Pokemon without overwhelming them. With only a handful of buildings and a population small enough to fit on a single bus (not that any motorized vehicles could navigate the tall grass blocking the only route out), it perfectly captures the charm of “humble beginnings.”

While Pokemon features many memorable starter towns, Pallet Town stands out as one of the most iconic. Its name, inspired by the idea of a “blank canvas,” is an auspicious portent of the color-themed towns and diverse Pokémon ahead that players are sure to encounter on their journey. The town’s motto is even “Shades of your journey await,” which seems suspiciously specific.

Ordon Village

Getting A Long Farewell To The Comforts of Home

Both games have elements of childhood wonder and weighty maturity, but Twilight Princess is, in many ways, a grown-up version of Ocarina of Time. It stars an adult Link in a similar starting location as Ocarina, with both serving as a safe zone to learn the game.

However, unlike Kokiri Village, which successfully emulates the nostalgic and surreal experience of coming back home after years away only to realize that nobody there grew up and that everything feels small, Ordon Village feels lived in, rustic, and somewhat more dynamic than the play area of unaging fairy children. This might be, in part, thanks to Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto’s last-minute change to the opening, in which three days of tutorial content were added to help ease players in, including more time with Ordon’s memorable residents.

Goodsprings – Fallout: New Vegas

The Ideal Place To Get Shot In The Face And Buried Alive

The Wasteland in Fallout: New Vegas is an unforgiving place at the best of times. The generosity of Goodsprings’ inhabitants is what makes this town stand out in a desert of pain. A doctor mends up the Courier after they take a tumble into an early grave (for free, to boot), and everyone in the town is eager to help them get on their feet.

Sure, the town may be a little run down and occasionally under attack, but the town has its rustic charms, and no matter what hits Goodsprings, it always finds a way to bounce back. Plus, true to its name, it is an excellent source of fresh water, something that Fallout players who run on Hardcore Mode will appreciate all the more.

Thick With Intrigue But Easy To Leave Behind

The Elder Scrolls series has many meme-worthy and memorable openings. Many Morrow-boomers will have memorized the spiel from Jub, the Imperial guards, and Socucius Ergalla at the opening of Morrowind, just as most Sky-babies will be able to run off the opening dialogue of Skyrim. Character creation ends as soon as players exit to Seyda Neen, but the town itself is where the game really begins, and it does a great job of showing players what to expect on their adventures.

Fargoth (and his missing ring problem) helps teach players about the consequences of choice during quests, buying and selling, and the open-ended nature of decision-making in Morrowind. In a wonderful example of game design restraint and respect for player agency, players are never stopped and forced to engage in any of the town’s drama, such as the caper of the missing tax collector and his lover, Fargoth’s nightly secret, the nearby slave den, or Vodunius’ dilemma, and are completely free to wander past it all, dipping in only if a story piques their interest.

Oakvale – Fable

The Ideal Place To Grow Up And Learn Some Hard Life Lessons

Video games, especially those with a grand adventure as their backbone, rely on giving their players a sense of progress. There might be no greater feeling of growth than that seen in Fable, one of the few games that use the novelty of growing from childhood to adulthood as a catalyst for player choice and character development.

Of course, the tragic killing of the main character’s family and community, being the inciting incident for the story, requires that their town of Oakvale be as idyllic as possible before its demise. Oakvale serves as a great tutorial area where players can complete quests for their obnoxious neighbors and learn how to play in the process.

Outset Island – The Legend Of Zelda: Windwaker

May As Well Be Called “Get Off Your Hiney Isle”

Wind Waker‘s first island might also have one of the most overt “this is the tutorial area” names in all of gaming. Outset Island is a picturesque place, complete with lush greenery, quaint homes, cozy music, and a surprisingly robust sense of community for such a tiny population.

It’s the kind of place a family could spend every day fishing, exploring, and trying not to fall off the bridges connecting its cliff faces. However, as peaceful as Outset Island seems, destiny calls in the form of a giant squawking bird and the kidnapping of Link’s sister, Aryll, prompting Wind Waker‘s hero to trade his sleepy, pastoral life for a grand seafaring adventure.