History Main / AwesomeUnderwaterWorld

** Until you get to the [[NarrativeFiligree dozens of pages of the narrator describing the taxonomy of his dinner]], and [[DontLikeDontRead if you find that boring]], [[HumorMode why are you reading Jules Verne]]?

For related underwater tropes, see WaterIsAir, ThisLooksLikeAJobForAquaman, FlyingSeafoodSpecial, and UnderTheSea. Subtrope of SceneryPorn. Compare OceanOfAdventure. Contrast AtlantisIsBoring.

* While it's true that comics writers often have trouble making ComicBook/{{Aquaman}} and [[ComicBook/SubMariner Namor]] interesting (as mentioned in the trope AtlantisIsBoring), there have been notable aversions.

* ''VideoGame/CivilizationBeyondEarth'' starts with AtlantisIsBoring, then subverts it in the ''Rising Tide'' expansion pack. Most factions can traverse in water, but it has little to offer, and ''RT'' expands its role by making certain resources obtainable underwater, and colonies and other structures can be built on water. It also adds newer aquatic alien lifeforms.

[[folder:Real Life]]
* Any oceanographer would tell you that RealLife oceans are far from [[AtlantisIsBoring boring]].
[[/folder]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Abzu}}'' is a beautiful example of this. You play an anonymous individual going through beautiful and varies areas of the ocean, seeing various underwater fauna (including supposedly ''extinct'' ones) and even the ruins of a lost civilization. Furthermore, this is the SpiritualSuccessor to ''{{VideoGame/Journey}}'' (while not made by the same company, Abzu was conceived and created by that game's art director, Matt Nava, and scored by its composer, Austin Wintory.) You just take in the beautiful sights with no fears of drowning and trying to figure out the mystery of what you are exploring.

** It's underwater, there are various runs on the sea bottom, but underwater physics are nonexistent, and weapons not so different from land weapons. The denizens of the sea bottom are Gillmen, the first or second "alien" species you will encounter in TFTD. More precisely, they are an Earthly species and have prostrated themselves before the Aliens in exchange for their miserable hides (and a slice of the surface world, once it's conquered).

* ''Franchise/StarWars: VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' has the [[SingleBiomePlanet water planet]] of Manaan, inhabited by the FishPeople race known as Selkath. The entire surface of the planet is covered in water, with the only surface settlement, Ahto City, serving as the planet's capital. It also serves as a ParadisePlanet as the architecture is stunningly beautiful as a result of the Selkath's environmentalism and [[TruceZone savvy negotiations]].

** Rick Veitch's 2003 run on Aquaman was pretty good, too. This was partially due to the work Peter David did over the previous decade and partially Veitch's addition of a sword-and-sorcery undertone (c'mon, he's a ''king'' named ''Arthur''). Tad Williams amped the fantasy elements UpToEleven in his run in 2008.

* ''VideoGame/{{Okami}}'' loves showing off its beautiful art style of the game and it is taken UpToEleven in the Dragon Palace, inspired by the Japanese mythos as noted above. It includes many emotional moments and the boss fight leading up from the events is against a malicious doppelganger.

* In ''WesternAnimation/OnyxEquinox'' the underworld is invisioned as looking like an undersea realm, filled with dreadful coral-like structures and jellyfish-like spirits. This is based on Mayan associations of water with the underworld.

* ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'': In "[[Recap/SamuraiJackS1E9JackUnderTheSea Jack Under the Sea]]", while it's somewhat played with in that the Triseraquins complain that since their city was sunk they haven't received any visitors, as they seem to be the only people under the sea, the underwater realm itself is lushly portrayed as beautiful and full of strange life (there's a rather nice sequence during Jack's trip devoted to showing just how much weird stuff there is down there), and there's certainly plenty going on to keep Jack busy in Oceanus itself.

* ''WesternAnimation/BigBlue'' follows the adventures of the crew of the Calypso, who explore and protect a colorful and diverse ocean full of sights and life... as well as dangers that threaten it!

* ''VideoGame/XComTerrorFromTheDeep'' is partly aversion, partly straight playing. It's underwater, there are various runs on the sea bottom, but underwater physics are nonexistent, and weapons not so different from land weapons. The denizens of the sea bottom are Gillmen, the first or second "alien" species you will encounter in TFTD. More precisely, they are an Earthly species and have prostrated themselves before the Aliens in exchange for their miserable hides (and a slice of the surface world, once it's conquered).

*** The last part is somewhat justified in that the soldiers are likely carrying a hundred pounds of metal in the form of armor, weapons and ammo.

** In ''VideoGame/BioShock2'', there are segments where you can leave the city and travel the ocean floor to reach another part of Rapture. Big Daddies have self-contained air supplies; Splicers don't. These segments are ''deliberately'' boring in order to [[BreatherLevel give players some time to catch their breath between bouts of action]]. These levels are [[SceneryPorn spectacularly beautiful]] too.
* Ocean class planets in the ''VideoGame/MasterOfOrion'' series work exactly like planets not entirely submerged in water.
** Subverted in ''Master of Orion II'', a race with ''Aquatic'' ability gain more benefit from ocean planets or those with "wet" environments other than Gaia (Tundra, Swamp, Terran). At no time do they ever exceed the food productivity or maximum population of Gaia worlds at similar levels of development.

* Pretty much inverted in ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'', where (reflecting real life wildlife) there are more Water-types than any other type. They are also extremely diverse, as the Water-type has been paired with every other type in the game:
** Note that this only applies to fishing; surfing and (to a lesser extent) diving are both extremely monotonous.
** ''VideoGame/NewPokemonSnap'' has a reef level and a underwater level and both have some pretty gorgeous graphics and an array of water-types. There’s things like the massive Wailord, swimming Mantine, singing Primarina and Lapras and bullying Sharpedo, and the predators like Frillish actually drag away Magikarp and others for a meal. The underwater level also has a cave alternate path where you can find Lugia.

* ''VideoGame/{{Spyro 2|Riptos Rage}}'' had a level half-set in an underwater cavern, half in a huge ocean city, and entirely underwater.

** Yet in a way it's played straight. Mechanically, it's just any other zone, except everything "flies".
* ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter Tri'': the ocean is full of beautiful marine life [[EverythingTryingToKillYou that wants to kill you]].
** There actually are underwater ruins in the game that you get to visit. They serve as the backdrop, armaments included, for the battle with the FinalBoss, the Ceadeus. Special note must be taken in that said FinalBoss [[spoiler:is what brought said ruins underwater in the first place, and threatens to repeat this with Moga Village above]].

* Vashj'ir, ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'''s first fully underwater zone introduced in ''Cataclysm'', is one of the most colorful zones in the game thanks to abundant use of coral reefs. It is divided in three subzones, roughly correlating to kelp forest, tropical reef and deep-sea. Overall, Vashj'ir at least subverts the most common signs of this trope. The zone is varied, has interesting races, a story that doesn't seem like it belonged above the water and was definitely created with swimming in mind. And yet, players ''still'' complained, making it one of the least favorite zones of ''Cataclysm'' -- not because it was boring, but because 3D movement underwater was disorienting and too different from the rest of the game.
** Plus the very first spell you get takes care of the breathing issues, and after a quest you get your very own seahorse mount.
** Something about being able to swim ''over'' the entire zone if you so choose makes it feel less threatening to some players. True, you can fly over the land-based zones on your flying mount, but when you're underwater, you're always kind of flying. It seems like most humans have a tendency to think of sea level as "home", which is high above the action in the case of underwater gameplay.
** It helps that one of the lead designers for the game is a former marine biologist.

* ''VideoGame/{{Abzu}}'' is a beautiful example of this. You play an anonymous individual going through beautiful and varies areas of the ocean, seeing various underwater fauna (including supposedly ''extinct'' ones) and even the ruins of a lost civilization. Furthermore, this is pretty much the SpiritualSuccessor to ''{{VideoGame/Journey}}'' (while not made by the same company, Abzu was conceived and created by that game's art director, Matt Nava, and scored by its composer, Austin Wintory.) You just take in the beautiful sights with no fears of drowning and trying to figure out the mystery of what you are exploring.

* Several cultures invision the underworld as being underwater. Examples include the Celts, the Mayas and Aboriginal Australian cultures in the Worrorra complex.

* ''Blue Planet'' focuses on a mostly water-covered planet named Poseidon that was discovered on the other side of a stable wormhole. Part of what makes the setting exciting is all the strange alien ''things'' lurking beneath the waves, but there's plenty of loving detail beyond that, and the setting makes extensive use of real oceanography.

* Pretty much inverted in ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'', where (reflecting real life wildlife) there are more Water-types than any other type. They are also extremely diverse, as the Water-type has been paired with every other type in the game.

** ''VideoGame/NewPokemonSnap'' has a reef level and a underwater level and both have some pretty gorgeous graphics and an array of water-types. There’s things like the massive Wailord, swimming Mantine, singing Primarina and Lapras and bullying Sharpedo, and the predators like Frillish actually drag away Magikarp and others for a meal. The underwater level has a cave alternate path where you can find Lugia.

* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1942'': For a while in the silver age there was a fascinating merpeople town in the waters right off Paradise Island. The town itself was hidden under a bit of false seafloor by a giant clam entrance making it underwater and underground and was the site of near constant parties and dances, frequently attacked by ''underwater centaurs''.

* ''Sea Hunt,'' which was quite popular in the '60's. Lloyd Bridges played sea diver Mike Nelson, and he took on a new dangerous assignment of one sort or another each week, encountering seafaring crooks, Soviet spies, a sunken ship carrying nerve gas, sharks, alligators, and even a [[NotTheNessie fake sea monster]].

* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' actually makes very good use of underwater settings. The first 3D outing, ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' introduced diving and later walking and breathing underwater. Every 3D game after except ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker The Wind Waker]]'' would use it (the ocean is an in-universe symbol of death, and the land of Hyrule trapped beneath the waves is suspended in an air bubble), and even ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames Oracle Of Ages]]'' had essentially an entire other overworld under the ocean because you can transform into a merman.

[[quoteright:350:[[Film/Aquaman2018 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/aquaman_atlantis.jpg]]]]

-->-- '''Sebastian''', "Under the Sea", ''WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989''

For related underwater tropes, see: WaterIsAir, ThisLooksLikeAJobForAquaman, FlyingSeafoodSpecial, UnderTheSea. Subtrope of SceneryPorn. Contrast AtlantisIsBoring.

->''Just look at the world around you, right here on the ocean floor\\
Such wonderful things surround you, what more is you lookin' for?\\
Under the sea, under the sea\\
Darling it's better, down where it's wetter, take it from me''
-->-- "Under the Sea", ''WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989''

Darling it's better, down where it's wetter, take it from''

Down here it's better, down where it's wetter, take it from''

->''"The seaweed is always greener in somebody else's lake''\\
''You dream about going up there, but that is a big mistake."''
-->-- ''WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989'', lyrics to "Under the Sea"

* Creator/HPLovecraft was terrified of (among other things) the ocean, and ended up creating a mysterious, terrifying world where the seas held [[TimeAbyss ancient secrets and]] [[EldritchAbomination monsters]], providing inspiration for non-boring ocean-related stuff for years to come. So awesome in the Biblical sense of the word (meaning terrifying.)

* ''VideoGame/CivilizationBeyondEarth'' starts with AtlantisIsBoring, then subverts it in the ''Rising Tide'' expansion pack. Most factions can traverse in water, but it has little to offer, RT expands its role by making certain resources obtainable underwater, and colonies and other structures can be built on water. It also adds newer aquatic alien lifeforms.

* ''VideoGame/{{Spyro 2|Riptos Rage}}'' had an ''entire level'' set underwater - half in an underwater cavern, half in a huge ocean city!

** Creator/PeterDavid's run on ''Aquaman,'' is often lauded as an example, in which Aquaman became a badass with an extensive supporting cast, complicated cosmology, and lengthy story arc.
** Aquaman as LITERALLY 'King of the Seas' makes for a potentially fascinating badass backstory character, too. Imagine if he has access to enough military power, for example, to limit or stop oceanic cargo transport, for example, or to interdict the movement of national navies.
** Rick Veitch's 2003 run on Aquaman was pretty good, too. This was partially due to the work Peter David did over the previous decade and partially Veitch's addition of a sword-and-sorcery undertone (c'mon, he's a ''king'' named ''Arthur''). Tad Williams amped the fantasy element UpToEleven in his run in 2008.
* [[ComicBook/SubMariner Namor's]] Atlantis features plenty of underwater machines and strange sea life. While the political elements [[YoYoPlotPoint often repeat themselves]] (Namor keeps being elected king, abdicating for various reasons, doing superhero stuff on the surface, returning to Atlantis or a remnant made of his most loyal followers, rinse and repeat), it's still a classic part of Marvel's mythos and keeps being revisited. He is one of Marvel's oldest superheroes and his ByronicHero elements maintain him a cult following. As of recently, he has also quarreled with other superstates (such as Black Panther and Wakanda as well as Doctor Doom and Latveria.)

* ''Franchise/TheLittleMermaid'' franchise's prequels were able to maintain a fairly interesting underwater setting. While [[WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989 the first film]] took place on land a lot (it was kind of a given, since the story it was adapting was about a mermaid becoming human), [[WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaidIIReturnToTheSea the sequel]], [[WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaidArielsBeginning prequel]], and [[WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid 1992 spin-off TV series]] were far more focused on the underwater adventures.