History Main / GreenHillZone

[[AC:Unsorted]]
* Besaid Island in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' being the first location in Spira, and having a tropical feel.
* New Bodhum -003 AF-, where ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2'' starts, is an idyllic seaside town with lots of greenery and hills. It ''is'' populated by a large number of monsters, but then again, it's located on Gran Pulse.
* Two of the ''VideoGame/GuildWars'' starting zones are this type of terrain: Pre-searing Ascalon and Shing Jea island.
* ''VideoGame/GuildWars2'' has Queensdale, Metrica Province and Caledon Forest -- the human, asura and sylvari starting zones, respectively.
* ''VideoGame/{{Gunner}}'' begins in some grassy field, with some bushes you can interact with, before proceeding into the more urban area.
* In ''VideoGame/JablessAdventure'', the first area you encounter is the green fields outside the town. Ironically, it may be one of the harder areas in the game, as you start off with few health points and no weapon--and the path to the weapon has a number of erratically-moving bird enemies.
* The first sector in ''VideoGame/{{Jumper}} Three''. Sector 5 is the [[HappyRain rainier version]] of this.
* Destiny Islands from ''KingdomHearts'' provides the tropic-themed DoomedHometown [[KidHero Sora]] starts up from. It's all downhill from there on.
* The idyllic Twilight Town from ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'' provides a more urban setting, though our resident KidHero steals a moment of blissful peace atop a literal green hill before eveything goes wrong for him. [[AvertedTrope The place isn't doomed, though, and can be revisited]].

* Geolyte from ''VideoGame/{{Meteos}}'' is the planet/level that best resembles Earth (the rest of the planets are an aversion of AllPlanetsAreEarthlike) and is usually the first level in Star Trip mode. What's worth noting is that while it doesn't have any special quirks like later levels, Geolyte isn't necessarily the easiest.
* Freeware ''VideoGame/NinjaSenki'' has Scenes 9 and 10, which entirely take place in the tree tops of the large forest. Interestingly, the platforms aren't natural but are the result of enemy [[TheGoomba Red Ninjas]] using [[InvincibleMinorMinion automatic circular saws]] on the trees. You even get to see some trees with the bark cleanly stripped off the trunk.

* ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarOnline'' Episode 1 starts you off in the forest area, filled with mostly harmless mooks.
* Parum in the ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarUniverse'' series. Its improbably idyllic, GhibliHills-esque nature is actually lampshaded and justified in ''Phantasy Star Portable'': it's all artificially created. All of Parum's ''real'' wilderness was destroyed in the backstory's 500-year-long war between the races.
* ''VideoGame/PlanetExplorers'' has the lush, green Plains biome.

* In ''VideoGame/PsychoFox'', despite its name, Zone 1 (Mystical Mountains) fits this trope.

* The first world in ''VideoGame/{{Scribblenauts}}'' is in a forest.

** Thorntail Hollow in ''VideoGame/StarFoxAdventures''.

* The Savannah world of ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountryTropicalFreeze'' which is actually the third world and not the first.

* The first two levels of the ''VideoGame/BinaryBoy'' are set in a peaceful grassy field, during midday and at dusk, respectively.
* ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong64'' has JungleJapes, a basic tropical forest themed level where you first learn about many game mechanics and acquire basic moves.
* The green, temperate Ascadian Isles in ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind'', in very great contrast with the Bitter Coast swamps, or even worse, ''the Ashlands and [[LethalLavaLand Molag Amur]]''. Also subverted in the Grazelands, dotted with rogue Ashlanders and Daedric shrines full of insanely powerful monsters, with the occasional monster out in the wild.
* Falkreath Hold in ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'' appears to be a relatively peaceful boreal forest surrounded by wartorn mountains, tundra, swamps, and glaciers.
* The Grassy Plains from ''VideoGame/FantasyLife'' are literally the first area with any enemies that gets unlocked.
* All of the Rook Islands in ''VideoGame/FarCry3'': They're green and vibrant, have a tropical theme and yet it's full of EverythingTryingToKillYou.

* ''VideoGame/ShovelKnight'', as a tribute to the classic 8-bit platformers it was based on, starts in one of these, a level known as "Plains of Passage."

** Warm Fuzzy Plains in ''PaperMarioStickerStar''.

[[AC:Unsorted]]
* The first two levels of the ''VideoGame/BinaryBoy'' are set in a peaceful grassy field, during midday and at dusk, respectively.
* ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong64'' has JungleJapes, a basic tropical forest themed level where you first learn about many game mechanics and acquire basic moves.
* The green, temperate Ascadian Isles in ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind'', in very great contrast with the Bitter Coast swamps, or even worse, ''the Ashlands and [[LethalLavaLand Molag Amur]]''. Also subverted in the Grazelands, dotted with rogue Ashlanders and Daedric shrines full of insanely powerful monsters, with the occasional monster out in the wild.
* Falkreath Hold in ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'' appears to be a relatively peaceful boreal forest surrounded by wartorn mountains, tundra, swamps, and glaciers.
* The Grassy Plains from ''VideoGame/FantasyLife'' are literally the first area with any enemies that gets unlocked.
* All of the Rook Islands in ''VideoGame/FarCry3'': They're green and vibrant, have a tropical theme and yet it's full of EverythingTryingToKillYou.
* Besaid Island in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' being the first location in Spira, and having a tropical feel.
* New Bodhum -003 AF-, where ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2'' starts, is an idyllic seaside town with lots of greenery and hills. It ''is'' populated by a large number of monsters, but then again, it's located on Gran Pulse.
* Two of the ''VideoGame/GuildWars'' starting zones are this type of terrain: Pre-searing Ascalon and Shing Jea island.
* ''VideoGame/GuildWars2'' has Queensdale, Metrica Province and Caledon Forest -- the human, asura and sylvari starting zones, respectively.
* ''VideoGame/{{Gunner}}'' begins in some grassy field, with some bushes you can interact with, before proceeding into the more urban area.
* In ''VideoGame/JablessAdventure'', the first area you encounter is the green fields outside the town. Ironically, it may be one of the harder areas in the game, as you start off with few health points and no weapon--and the path to the weapon has a number of erratically-moving bird enemies.
* The first sector in ''VideoGame/{{Jumper}} Three''. Sector 5 is the [[HappyRain rainier version]] of this.
* Destiny Islands from ''KingdomHearts'' provides the tropic-themed DoomedHometown [[KidHero Sora]] starts up from. It's all downhill from there on.
* The idyllic Twilight Town from ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'' provides a more urban setting, though our resident KidHero steals a moment of blissful peace atop a literal green hill before eveything goes wrong for him. [[AvertedTrope The place isn't doomed, though, and can be revisited]].

* In ''VideoGame/MapleStory'', these levels are Maple Island and Lith Harbour.
* Geolyte from ''VideoGame/{{Meteos}}'' is the planet/level that best resembles Earth (the rest of the planets are an aversion of AllPlanetsAreEarthlike) and is usually the first level in Star Trip mode. What's worth noting is that while it doesn't have any special quirks like later levels, Geolyte isn't necessarily the easiest.
* Freeware ''VideoGame/NinjaSenki'' has Scenes 9 and 10, which entirely take place in the tree tops of the large forest. Interestingly, the platforms aren't natural but are the result of enemy [[TheGoomba Red Ninjas]] using [[InvincibleMinorMinion automatic circular saws]] on the trees. You even get to see some trees with the bark cleanly stripped off the trunk.
* Blue Lagoon in ''VideoGame/{{Pangya}}'', and Pink Wind to an extent. Averted with Blue Water, which is Blue Lagoon with more obstacles interfering with shots, most notably the rock pillar on hole 6.
* ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarOnline'' Episode 1 starts you off in the forest area, filled with mostly harmless mooks.
* Parum in the ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarUniverse'' series. Its improbably idyllic, GhibliHills-esque nature is actually lampshaded and justified in ''Phantasy Star Portable'': it's all artificially created. All of Parum's ''real'' wilderness was destroyed in the backstory's 500-year-long war between the races.
* ''VideoGame/PlanetExplorers'' has the lush, green Plains biome.
* In all main series ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' games, the first area outside the player character's hometown is a grassy area with low level trainers and ComMons. The tutorial and first several races in ''VideoGame/PokemonDash'' take place on a series of lush, green islands.
* In ''VideoGame/PsychoFox'', despite its name, Zone 1 (Mystical Mountains) fits this trope.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Rift}}'', the first Guardian leveling zone outside the NoobCave is one. And it's swarming with [[TheFairFolk nasty faeries]].

* The first world in ''VideoGame/{{Scribblenauts}}'' is in a forest.
* ''VideoGame/ShovelKnight'', as a tribute to the classic 8-bit platformers it was based on, starts in one of these, a level known as "Plains of Passage."
* The first world in ''VideoGame/SigmaStarSaga'' is the [[SingleBiomePlanet Forest Planet]].

* Corneria in the ''VideoGame/StarFox'' series.
** Thorntail Hollow in ''VideoGame/StarFoxAdventures''.

* This is a common theme for the earlier levels in ''SuperMonkeyBall''.
* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros Brawl'' has a stage called Green Hill Zone, from the Sonic game, and it fits visually; however, the dips, hazards and collapsing middle make it quite complicated. The stage Battlefield fits this trope better. [[VideoGame/SonicLostWorld Windy Hill]] from the ''[=WiiU=]'' game fits the trope as well. There is a large windmill with platforms on it on the right side, but that's pretty tame compared to most stages.
* Wonderland in ''VideoGame/ThemeParkWorld'', which takes place entirely in a lush grassy field.
* Acme Acres in several ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' video games, including the NES game of the same name, ''Babs' Big Break'' for the Game Boy, and ''Scary Dreams/Buster's Bad Dream'' for the Game Boy Advance. In particvular, ''VideoGame/TinyToonAdventuresBustersHiddenTreasure'' for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive has two of these examples. The first is in the grassland levels, which have few level hazards, and enemies such as clones of Roderick Rat, Shrews riding balls (from the short, "To Babs or Not to Babs" from the TV series episode, "Weirdest Story Ever Told"), and Ravens that [[ProducePelting drop apples]]. The second is in the forest levels, which have pipe-like trees, ziplines, and wrecking balls Buster can use as platforms, as well as enemies such as The Wolverine (from the episode, "Buster and The Wolverine"), and Tomato-Throwing Trolls (from the short, "Day For Knight" from the episode, "Brave Tales of Real Rabbits").
* ''VideoGame/TitanQuest'' at first appears to play this straight, but as the game progresses it turns out most of the environments are actually fairly pretty and welcoming.
* Lampooned in ''Webcomic/ToothpasteForDinner'' on October 18, 2009: Water, ice and lava are OK for later world themes, but the first world must always be just "outside world".
* ''{{VideoGame/Warcraft 3}}'' begins with the human campaign, the first part of which takes place in green and pleasant farming country before progressing to some noticeably more hostile environments.

* Bunny Hop Meadow from ''VideoGame/WonderDog''.
* In ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', Mulgore (starting area for Tauren), Elwynn Forest (Humans), Eversong Woods (Blood Elves) and Azuremyst Isle (Draenei) are straight examples, being lush, green rolling hills, with varying degrees of forest cover and untamed wilderness. The Lost Isles for the Goblins on the other hand are more [[JungleJapes tropical]] (complete with exploding volcano). Meanwhile the Night Elf areas have a more LostWoods flavor. The other starting areas are quite different. Some other areas such as the Arathi Highlands and Hillsbrad Foothills qualify.

* The first two levels of the ''VideoGame/BinaryBoy'' are set in a peaceful grassy field, during midday and at dusk, respectively.

* The planet that the player, Colonel Lifeson crash-lands his ship on is this in ''TheCrystalKey''. He even comes back to it later with a stolen alien ship and lands right behind his own craft.
* ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}}'':
** Act I of ''VideoGame/DiabloII'' takes place in the forested areas between the Rogues' encampment and their Monastery.
** Act I of ''VideoGame/DiabloIII'' takes place in and around New Tristram, which was a farming community [[EverythingsDeaderWithZombies before being overrun with the walking dead.]] That may not sound very friendly, but considering that the subsequent zones are a [[ThirstyDesert burning desert,]] a [[GrimUpNorth frozen wasteland,]] and [[spoiler: the war-ravaged ruins of Heaven,]] the gloomy rain-soaked New Tristram seems positively welcoming.
* ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong64'' has JungleJapes, a basic tropical forest themed level where you first learn about many game mechanics and acquire basic moves.

* The green, temperate Ascadian Isles in ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind'', in very great contrast with the Bitter Coast swamps, or even worse, ''the Ashlands and [[LethalLavaLand Molag Amur]]''. Also subverted in the Grazelands, dotted with rogue Ashlanders and Daedric shrines full of insanely powerful monsters, with the occasional monster out in the wild.
* Falkreath Hold in ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'' appears to be a relatively peaceful boreal forest surrounded by wartorn mountains, tundra, swamps, and glaciers.

* The Grassy Plains from ''VideoGame/FantasyLife'' are literally the first area with any enemies that gets unlocked.
* All of the Rook Islands in ''VideoGame/FarCry3'': They're green and vibrant, have a tropical theme and yet it's full of EverythingTryingToKillYou.
* Besaid Island in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' being the first location in Spira, and having a tropical feel.
* New Bodhum -003 AF-, where ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2'' starts, is an idyllic seaside town with lots of greenery and hills. It ''is'' populated by a large number of monsters, but then again, it's located on Gran Pulse.

* ''VideoGame/{{Gex}}'' Enter the Gecko had the Toon TV levels which were [[TrappedInTVLand also]] parodies of ScrewySquirrel cartoons and had [[SmallReferencePools copious]] ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' references.
* Two of the ''VideoGame/GuildWars'' starting zones are this type of terrain: Pre-searing Ascalon and Shing Jea island.
* ''VideoGame/GuildWars2'' has Queensdale, Metrica Province and Caledon Forest -- the human, asura and sylvari starting zones, respectively.
* ''VideoGame/{{Gunner}}'' begins in some grassy field, with some bushes you can interact with, before proceeding into the more urban area.
* In ''VideoGame/JablessAdventure'', the first area you encounter is the green fields outside the town. Ironically, it may be one of the harder areas in the game, as you start off with few health points and no weapon--and the path to the weapon has a number of erratically-moving bird enemies.

* In ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', Mulgore (starting area for Tauren), Elwynn Forest (Humans), Eversong Woods (Blood Elves) and Azuremyst Isle (Draenei) are straight examples, being lush, green rolling hills, with varying degrees of forest cover and untamed wilderness. The Lost Isles for the Goblins are more tropical (complete with exploding volcano). Meanwhile the Night Elf areas have a more LostWoods flavor. The other starting areas are quite different. Some other areas such as the Arathi Highlands and Hillsbrad Foothills qualify.

* Gaur Plains in ''{{VideoGame/Xenoblade}}''\

* Gaur Plains in ''{{VideoGame/Xenoblade}}''

* Gaur Plains in ''VideoGame/Xenoblade''

** In the time-traveling ''[[SonicTheHedgehogCD Sonic CD]]'', the Good Futures of Zones are generally garden-like paradises or clean hi-tech utopias completely devoid of enemies, with technology working in harmony with nature. They are also the easiest versions of the levels to pass through. The Bad Futures on the other hand are hideously polluted nightmares that are much more difficult to complete.
** The Labyrinth of the Sky from ''SonicLabyrinth''.
** ''[[SonicAdvanceTrilogy Sonic Advance 3]]'' is another exception. The first zone is Route 99, a city level. The Green Hill Zone comes afterward.

** Plant Kingdom in Sonic Rush Adventure is a mix of this and PalmtreePanic. As is Leaf Storm in ''SonicRush''
* The ''SpyroTheDragon'' games make use of this trope, with the exception of the ''Legend of Spyro'' games. In ''VideoGame/{{Spyro the Dragon|1998}}'', much of the Artisans homeworld and two of its subworlds are this; in ''VideoGame/Spyro2RiptosRage'', it's the Summer Forest homeworld; and in ''VideoGame/SpyroYearOfTheDragon'', it's the Sunrise Spring homeworld.

* The first level of ''VideoGame/{{Klonoa}}'' fits this exactly. Lush fields, simple gameplay, and overall idyllic. Klonoa 2's first level is an inversion, however: it's a rocky and cliffy area, set in the middle of a huge storm.

** ''[[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2 Sonic 2]]'' for the MasterSystem[=/=]GameGear is the earliest exception: its own Green Hill counterpart, imaginatively titled ''Green Hills'', doesn't appear until the fourth zone. It's hardly a warm-up level either; the third act contains a series of blind jumps which makes the player lose lives like water in a sieve.

** Yoshi Star Galaxy in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2'', with a dash of {{Prehistoria}}.

** Beanstalk Way from ''VideoGame/WarioWorld'', although it's the sixth of eight levels.

Compare PalmtreePanic, a beach-themed SisterTrope and LostWoods if there are significantly more trees than usual.

* Most ''Franchise/{{Kirby}}'' games start with a GreenHillZone type level; [[VideoGame/KirbysDreamLand Green Greens]], [[VideoGame/KirbysAdventure Vegetable Valley]], [[VideoGame/KirbySuperStar Peanut Plains]], and [[VideoGame/KirbysReturnToDreamLand Cookie Country]] are some examples. ''VideoGame/KirbyAndTheAmazingMirror'' averts Green Hill Zone as first level by having it's introduction stage take place in the [[BubblyClouds clouds]] but most of the hub world consists of nature themed areas.

* In ''VideoGame/PsychoFox'', despite its name, Zone 1 (Mystical Mountains) fits this trope fairly well.

* ''SuperSmashBros Brawl'' has a stage called Green Hill Zone, from the Sonic game, and it fits visually; however, the dips, hazards and collapsing middle make it quite complicated. The stage Battlefield fits this trope better.
** [[VideoGame/SonicLostWorld Windy Hill]] from the ''[=WiiU=]'' game fits the trope fairly well. There is a large windmill with platforms on it on the right side, but that's pretty tame compared to most stages.