History Main / TheLostWoods

A common element of these levels is that, as the name suggests, they will be very easy to become lost in. This can be achieved by simply making the area very large, with lots of branching and winding paths with identical areas to confuse the player. Trees and other vegetation may also be placed as barriers growing across paths and may need to be burned or cut away to progress, or thick fog may further complicate pathfinding. If the Lost Woods are also an EnchantedForest in-universe, they will have more obviously supernatural obstacles in place; a popular variant has players [[UnnaturallyLoopingLocation redirected to the forest's entrance or center]] if a wrong turn is taken when the path branches. The layout of the level could also be built around the existence of warp points to further disorient. Traversing the area often requires following specific instructions or figuring on the "trick" that points the player in the right direction.

** ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames]]'':

** ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages]]'': The Fairies' Woods, which are ordinarily quite easy to navigate. However, on your first visit, you'll be forced to play a Hide 'n' Seek game with the eponymous fairies -- for the duration, the woods become an UnnaturallyLoopingLocation, with each screen chaotically leading into others. You later return to rescue your animal friend after the fairies accidentally trap him in the woods.
** ''The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons'': The Lost Woods return, this time in the middle of Tarm Ruins. They're another example of the "every part of the woods looks the same" version -- successfully navigating through them requires [[FourSeasonsLevel shifting the seasons as you progress in specific directions]]. Following the alternate directions you're given at the end of the ChainOfDeals gets you an upgrade to your sword instead.

** ??VideoGame/EtrianOdysseyIIHeroesOfLagaard'': The first four strata in this game and the remake ''The Fafnir Knight'' (each based on a season, thus carrying over a SeasonalBaggage), as well as the BonusDungeon, are of this kind:

** The Emerald Grove in the original game and the remake ''Millennium Girl''. It's pretty rudimentary in terms of gameplay, but serves as a starter place for explorers willing to delve into the depths of the Yggdrasil. It is overrun by wolves led by the stratum's boss (Fenrir).
** The first four strata of ''Heroes of Lagaard'' and the remake ''The Fafnir Knight'' (each based on a season, thus carrying over a SeasonalBaggage), as well as the BonusDungeon:

** Waterfall Wood and Porcelain Forest in ''The Drowned City''. The former is a lush, lively forest brim with beautiful floral life and waterfalls. There are muddy tiles that halve the explorers' movement, which becomes troublesome when dodging F.O.E. that can walk over them just fine (thus having twice as much movement as you do). The Porcelain Forest, meanwhile, is an enchanted ecosystem with gates that teleport explorers from one spot to another, as well as spaces that cannot be drawn in the map nor do they allow any sort of annotation.
** Lush Woodlands and Misty Ravine in ''Legends of the Titan'' (by extension, this also applies to their respective overworld whereabouts, Windy Plains and Scarlet Pillars, plus the mini-dungeons located in them).

** Tutelary Forest and Untamed Garden in ''Beyond the Myth''. The former is a dense forest with strange gizmos that have to be manipulated in order to progress; you first deal with statues that, upon being broken, open doors located at a distance within their same axis (as if there were invisible wires connecting them); you later deal with statues that instead move a stone barrier from one spot to another, allowing you to enable a path while also blocking another. The latter stratum is a more futuristic variant that was conceived in a terraformed area beyond the planet's stratosphere, and thus it's equipped with devices that turn off gravity; this stratum also brings back the WrapAround concept from the fourth game's Misty Ravine, though its existence is for a different reason this time around.
** ''Etrian Odyssey Nexus'', being a MegamixGame, brings back some of the forest strata seen in previous games (namely Lush Woodlands, Waterfall Wood, Petal Bridge and Ancient Forest). The Small Orchard MiniDungeon returns as well, and new mini-dungeons based on the forest-related main strata are added (Alpha Plains, Untrodden Basin, Blossom Bridge and Buried Castle).

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV''' has Black Shroud, with [[HiddenElfVillage Gridania]] deep within. The ''Stormblood'' expansion adds the Rak'Tika Greatwood, a denser forest home to the [[TheSacredDarkness Night's Blessed]].

* ''VideoGame/TinyToonAdventures'': Stages 3-1 and 3-2 take place in a dense forest with thick tree trunks and branches that can be used as platforms. The local bestiary is plentiful and hostile, and includes black hedgehogs that roll into the player's character, owls that feint onto them on sight, and squirrels that run fast. The second level has a creepier atmosphere, featuring trees with menacing grim faces that can unleash swarms of bats, as well as beehives from which bees come out to attack. Uniquely, there are no carrots to collect in these levels, but green apples; regardless, Hamtom will still accept them when you trade them for extra lives.

** ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons]]'': The Lost Woods return, this time in the middle of Tarm Ruins. They're another example of the "every part of the woods looks the same" version -- successfully navigating through them requires [[FourSeasonsLevel shifting the seasons as you progress in specific directions]]. Following the alternate directions you're given at the end of the ChainOfDeals gets you an upgrade to your sword instead.

* ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' has the Roofed Forest biome, marked by the presence of dense, old growth trees thanks to the biome's Dark Oaks, which possess thick, wide canopies that form unbroken roofs overhead with only small gaps to let in the light. [[FungusHumongous Giant Mushrooms]] are present as well, and together with the thick canopy ensure that the forest floor is always dark enough for mobs like [[EverythingsDeaderWithZombies zombies]] and [[DemBones skeletons]], which [[WeakenedByTheLight burn in the sunlight]], to take shelter in it during the day. A Roofed Forest may also contain a Woodland Mansion, a strange building inhabited by the hostile Illagers.
* ''VideoGame/TheTwilightForest''. This ''Minecraft'' mod adds a strange and wondrous dimension where it's always dusk, but never fully day or night. Across the land, there are massive trees that create a multi-layered canopy, which look as fantastical as they are majestic. This is carried to their rendition of dark forests, shadowy woodlands wit incredibly thick canopies. What light that comes from the permanent dusk in this dimension is utterly unable to penetrate the thick leaves, leaving the ground as dark as the deepest caves threading through the world, spawining numerous monsters.

* ''VideoGame/WorldOfMana'': Nearly every game has at least one of these, owing to the series' central environmental theme. The most pristine, ancient and undisturbed of these forests usually is home to the game's [[WorldTree Mana Tree]] plot device.
** ''Seiken Densetsu''/''VideoGame/FinalFantasyAdventure''/''VideoGame/SwordOfMana'' had the sacred land Illusia, located atop an unreachably high plateau and being home to the game's [[WorldTree Mana Tree]]. There's also the Mushboom Forest, a dense, deciduous woodland named for the hostile mushroom-creatures that live it its southern section.
** ''Seiken Densetsu 2''/''VideoGame/SecretOfMana'' had ''several'' of these, with playable areas being small parts of bigass undeveloped forest land covering vast stretches of the world map. The [[WorldTree Mana Tree's]] forest is located on the island of Pure Land, inaccessible from the water because of high cliffs, and inaccessible from the air because of dense clouds that never clear. With its deceptively peaceful zen-like music, Pure Land actually [[EverythingTryingToKillYou has some of the most difficult normal enemies in the game]].
** ''VideoGame/TrialsOfMana'':
*** The Sanctuary of Mana, actually set apart from the main world map and occupying a separate space. It's a maze-like area that is home to -- you guessed it, the [[WorldTree Mana Tree]]. Later in the game, the layout becomes even more maze-like.
*** The game has [[OneOfTheseDoorsIsNotLikeTheOther a forest maze]], Lampbloom Woods, that hides a HiddenElfVillage; the correct trail is marked by glowing flowers at night.
*** In Charlotte/Kevin's routes, the final dungeon is hidden beyond the [[TheMaze Jungle of Illusion]], and the maze must be navigated by listening to the sound that plays when you pick a path.
** ''VideoGame/LegendOfMana'': Vadise lives in such an ancient forest, and the first time you go through it, Larc sniffs out the correct direction. (In subsequent visits, you're on your own.)
** ''VideoGame/DawnOfMana'': The HiddenElfVillage on the Island of Illusia where Keldy grew up is in such a forest, and you discover that it, in turn, is sitting on the [[WorldTree Mana Tree]], which also happens to hold [[SealedEvilInACan shadows from Malvolia]].

* ''VideoGame/ShadowHeartsCovenant'': The Black Forest BonusDungeon. Listen to the flowers and you'll get through... but remember that you want to get ''out'' when you reach the last junction, [[NonstandardGameOver or you'll never get out again]].

*** ''VideoGame/WarioLandSuperMarioLand3'' has Parsley Woods ([[SpellMyNameWithAnS or "Parsely Woods"]]; the spelling changes when you drain the lake).

* ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter'' has the Forest and Hills (renamed Verdant Hills in ''Generations'') in the [[VideoGame/MonsterHunter2004 first generation]] of games, Great Forest in ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterFrontier'' and ''[[VideoGame/MonsterHunterFreedom2 Freedom Unite]]'', Misty Peaks in ''Portable 3rd'' and ''[[VideoGame/MonsterHunter3Tri 3 Ultimate]]'', Everwood in the ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter4'' and ''4 Ultimate'' (notable for changing its layout upon each visit, so the Expeditions and quests set here rarely feel the same) and Ancient Forest ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterWorld'' (which has the added caveat of roughly half of it being [[TheWorldTree one giant tree]]). As a side note, despite Flooded Forest (third generation) and Primal Forest (fourth) having those names, they're actually BubblegloopSwamp and JungleJapes respectively.

* ''VideoGame/EldenRing'' has the Bower of Bounty, a midgame area located in the autumnal Altus Plateau that consists of a deep, foggy gulch inhabited by dozens of the disgusting [[BodyHorror Wormface]] enemies. Visibility is limited due to the area's natural shade and dense fog, meaning it's very easy to run into a whole pack of these freaks if you're not vigilant.
** Earlier in the game, we have the Mistwood in the starting area of Limgrave. A foggy forest filled with [[OurGoblinsAreDifferent demihumans]] and massive, ferocious [[BearsAreBadNews Runebears]], it's one of the more dangerous areas a new player might wander into at the start of the game, as the fog makes it very easy to aggro 2 or 3 Runebears at once, each of which is individually a BossInMooksClothing. It also houses some ruined temples, graveyards, and an elevator leading to [[EldritchLocation the underground Siofra River]].

[[WMG:[[center:[[AC:This trope is [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1650879771063291300 under discussion]] in the Administrivia/TropeRepairShop.]]]]]]

** When it comes to mods, few are as faithful to the idea of a mystic fairy-tale woodland as ''VideoGame/TheTwilightForest''. This mod adds a strange and wondrous dimension where it's always dusk, but never fully day or night. Across the land, there are massive trees that create a multi-layered canopy, which look as fantastical as they are majestic. This is carried to their rendition of dark forests, shadowy woodlands wit incredibly thick canopies. What light that comes from the permanent dusk in this dimension is utterly unable to penetrate the thick leaves, leaving the ground as dark as the deepest caves threading through the world, spawining numerous monsters.

** When it comes to mods, few are as faaithful to the idea of a mystic fairy-tale woodland as ''VideoGame/TheTwilightForest''. This mod adds a strange and wondrous dimension where it's always dusk, but never fully day or night. Across the land, there are massive trees that create a multi-layered canopy, which look as fantastical as they are majestic. This is taken UpToEleven with their rendition of dark forests, shadowy woodlands wit incredibly thick canopies. What light that comes from the permanent dusk in this dimension is utterly unable to penetrate the thick leaves, leaving the ground as dark as the deepest caves threading through the world, spawining numerous monsters.

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks'' has a brief area in the Forest Realm you have to navigate through, with intersections where you must look at the direction the nearby tree's branch is pointing to choose where to turn. Top it off with the last intersection in the puzzle being accompanied by a tree designed to point ''opposite'' of where you're supposed to go (a man from Whittleton does warn you about this, though). There's also the Forest Temple, which contains various rooms with toxic smoke that can only be cleaned with the Whirlwind.

** ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry3DixieKongsDoubleTrouble'': Kremwood Forest, the second world, is a woodland region, containing forested levels and a few TreeTrunkTour stages. One of the levels is notable for featuring a clear record by Brash, who gets upset if the Kongs beat it (it's easier said than done, due to the presence of bee swarms); another level has Ellie use her trunk to put barrels into water moats to cross them and avoid the predatory Nibblas who swim in them.

** ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountryTropicalFreeze'': There are two examples. Autumn Heights is a ForestOfPerpetualAutumn variant with unique features like falling leaves that can be used as platforms, chapels whose bells can be rung to trigger cetain effects, a MinecartMadness segment where the Kongs have to evade numerous trunks and round saws, and a cavern with lots of cheese. Much later in the gamere, the Kongs revisit a part of the Forest region from ''Returns'' once they return to Donkey Kong Island; the twist is that, like the rest of the island, it's now under an EndlessWinter, resulting in an abundance of gigantic snowflakes that are harmful upon contact.