Sometimes you just need to sit back and smell the pixelated roses.
These are the best nature-themed video games.
Final Fantasy 5 freshened up the crystals plot by adding a more nuanced environmental message to it.
The crystals are being exploited by humanity for their power, much like resources are in real life.
As the crystals get exhausted and shatter, the world draws closer to collapse.
The scarcity of resources drives humanity to war, however, leading to the suffering of the Titans.
When a Titan dies, the world suffers: entire ecosystems collapse, threatening the existence of humanity itself.
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This symbiotic relationship is the fulcrum on which the game’s plot balances.
While Xenoblade Chronicles 2 carries a lot of other themes, the undercurrent is always about saving the planet.
The only hope for humanity to survive is to rejuvenate the world they live in.
6Wild Arms 3
Nature has always been a central theme in thedesert landscapeof Wild Arms.
Even the seas no longer hold water.
Dhaos' motivation for fighting against the protagonists is to revive his home planet.
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The overuse of mana, derived from the World Tree, caused Dhaos' planet to collapse.
When he came to Aselia, he saw the same thing happen.
Despite his warnings, the kings of Aselia kept draining the environment, driving Dhaos to extreme measures.
Even Cress' party sympathizes with Dhaos' drive to save both his planet and theirs.
It is a world that is slowly, surely, and forever under threat.
This is the future that humanity, with its exponential gorging of nature, has built for itself.
It has chased the other sentient species away, hunted Hydras to near-extinction, and left no ground untouched.
And all it achieved was extinction.
The game’s logo acts as a gauge of nature’s health.
Onthe title screen, it shows metal and machinery encroaching on the once-wooden sign.
The post-game logo shows the logo with its greenery restored, symbolizing that nature is healing.
Tales of Vesperia is an unabashed pushback against that mentality.
But as Barret learns, the planet dying is no excuse for harming innocents.
