History Main / SoiledCityOnAHill

** ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'': The titans of fire defeated their predecessors, the stone dragons, and lorded over humanity atop literally titanic castles. Then King Gwyn got paranoid about his human vassals wielding dark magic and cursed them with the [[RevenantZombie Darksign]], driving them insane and accidentally spreading a fire-quenching disease that engulfed the fire-worshiping world. The three games are about exploring the ruins of their long-gone glory in a desperate attempt to save what remains.

* The Kingdom of Zeal in ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger''.

* As Jill Valentine herself notes in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil3Nemesis'''s intro, Raccoon City, a town controlled by [[MegaCorp Umbrella]] first ends up as ground zero of a zombie outbreak, before getting [[NukeEm nuked]] into a crater to halt the spread.

* In ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil3Nemesis'', Raccoon City, a town controlled by [[MegaCorp Umbrella]] first ends up as ground zero of a zombie outbreak, before getting [[NukeEm nuked]] into a crater to halt the spread.

* The Kingdom of Boletaria in VideoGame/DemonsSouls used to be called "Heaven on Earth" by those who visited it, as its knowledge of soul arts allowed them to do feats thought of as miraculous by others. But then, a hop, a skip, and a suicidally depressed king later, and [[EldritchAbomination The Old One]] was summoned to eradicate all human life on Earth. Again. This resulted in the kingdom being enveloped in a mist that turned much of its populace into soul-thirty demons, and will eventually spread through the whole world.

* The Kingdom of Boletaria in VideoGame/DemonsSouls used to be called "Heaven on Earth" by those who visited it, as its knowledge of soul arts allowed them to do feats though of as miraculous by others. But then, a hop, a skip, and a suicidally depressed king later, and [[EldritchAbomination The Old One]] was summoned to eradicate all human life on Earth. Again. This resulted in the kingdom being enveloped in a mist that turned much of its populace into soul-thirty demons, and will eventually spread through the whole world.

* In the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' novel ''Discworld/MovingPictures'', this sort of divine retribution is rumoured to be what happened to the civilisation that once existed around Holy Wood Hill. It's been suggested that if the gods wreaked hideous vengeance on corrupt and depraved cities, they'd certainly have done it to Ankh-Morpork by now, but it's possible they did and no-one noticed the difference.

* The Mont Granier landslide (in the night between November 24–25 of 1248) is the most destructive European landslide. It razed five villages (and partially destroyed two others) in Savoy. An explaination from the era was that the landslide was a divine punishment against a man who just expelled a local community of monks to live at their former place (coincidentally, said monks took shelter in a small church of the area, which was spared from the destruction). Said "divine punishment" killed more than 5,000 people to hit a single one...

The name refers to [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_on_a_hill the City on a Hill]], an early symbol of American {{Utopia}}.

* Coruscant in the ''Franchise/StarWars'' prequels shows signs of this, as does the Old Republic generally. At least, according to the Empire's propaganda. To be fair, the fact that they could and circumstances surrounding their willingly voting in the empire and its new and oppressive system does, ironically, illustrate it nicely. The fact that it eventually [[spoiler:gets blown to pieces by the First Order's secret weapon in ''Film/TheForceAwakens'' drives the point home even further]].

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* Coruscant in the StarWars prequels shows signs of this, as does the Old Republic generally. At least, according to the Empire's propaganda. To be fair, the fact that they could and circumstances surrounding their willingly voting in the empire and its new and oppressive system does, ironically, illustrate it nicely.

* ''ComicBook/{{Nightwing}}'': Blüdhaven is wiped out when [[ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis the Society]] drops Chemo on the center of the city.

** Also, in [[Literature/BookOfRevelation the Book of Revelation]], the world gets a lot more rotten before [[ApocalypseWow it's destroyed during the end time.]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Enderal}}'': Ark is a zealous theocratic city-state that practices caste systems, religious fundamentalism, and isolationist policies. The end result was a sprawling undercity that houses thousands, if not millions, of starving, worm-infested beggars and cultist mobs right below a nobles district that cares more about appearing virtuous than being virtuous. The whole continent around Ark is a mess due to their isolationist policies and dogmatic laws, as bandits roam the roads while the priest-guards refuse to do more than dummy practice. Near the ending, an army of disgruntled ex-priests and fanatic atheists marched on the overcity to raze it, while the undercity was either flooded with neurotoxin by the city watch or also purged by the army. And then The Cleansing happened.

* The ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' universe in general is this. Capitalists vs Communists got so out of hand that both sides became extremist caricatures and the world got nuked over real good.

** Columbia from ''VideoGame/BioshockInfinite''. Sure it's a beautiful city. Sure it has beautiful parks, gorgeous architecture, boys and girls play in the streets together, and it's literally flying in the sky so everyone feels special and privileged. But it relies on slave labor, constantly indoctrinates its citizens, and revels in genocide. And ultimately, the elitists used eldritch portals to see the future, saw the worst totalitarian governments in history, and are trying to ''emulate them'' with American motifs, while the anarchists seek to burn the city down and become sky pirates. All while the middle class are fleeing from brutal purges coming from both groups, who in turn are being hunted down by their AntiChrist / AndJohnWasAZombie FallenHero and the [[RebelliousPrincess crown-princess]][[PersonOfMassDestruction -turned-interdimensional-witch]]. And ''they're'' being hunted by a giant angry bird monster who doesn't give a crap about how much destruction he's causing with his rampage. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Also, sales taxes are at a staggering]] ''[[TaxmanTakesTheWinnings 50% of all profits]]''. Not so fun being the 'chosen ones', is it?

* This is what ultimately ends up happening to the World of Mana in ''Anime/CrossAnge'' due to the hubris of its creator, Embryo, although he is the one who initiates its destruction when he decides to create a new world in his disgust with the present one. Its inhabitants are guilty of complacency and overdependence on Mana, as they by and large have no ability to think for themselves due to Mana's effects, leading them to immediately turn on Princess Angelise Ikaruga Misurugi after they find out she is a norma, a race instinctively despised by them, in the first episode. By the time she encounters a few of them as the world is falling apart, they [[EntitledBastard angrily demand she help them]], which, after all the crap she has been through, including them earlier cheering for her public execution, she breathlessly rejects and scares off with a few gunshots, thus leaving them (not to mention her sister who also turned on her) to survive in the aftermath after Ange and her comrades save the world and are transported into the real earth to live in peace.

** Rapture in [[VideoGame/BioShock1 the first game]] was by all appearances a highly successful attempt to create an [[UsefulNotes/{{Objectivism}} objectivist]] haven where the [[TheSparkOfGenius brightest]] and [[SelfMadeMan boldest]] of humanity could thrive [[TheUnfettered unfettered]] from the WretchedHive- at least until the [[DidntThinkThisThrough people who moved to the bottom of the ocean to do whatever they wanted]] turned on each other. The city has been torn apart by a war between Ryan and Atlas, and the only ones left are [[GeneticEngineeringIsTheNewNuke insane splicers]] only interested in finding more ADAM, and a few remaining individuals [[SoleSurvivingScientist trying to undo what was done]], [[CrazySurvivalist too crazy to leave]], [[TheStarscream trying to take over the ruins]] or holed up in private sanctums [[TheyCalledMeMad doing things even Rapture's]] [[SerialKiller loose laws frowned upon]] in private playgrounds or just [[DancingInTheRuins enjoying the show]].

** Columbia from ''VideoGame/BioshockInfinite''. Sure it's a beautiful city. Sure it has beautiful parks, gorgeous architecture, and the honour system in use at shops. But there's a price to that pretty. And it is ugly.

A city or civilization that is destroyed after growing so [[WeHaveBecomeComplacent complacent]], [[LookOnMyWorksYeMightyAndDespair hubris-laden]], and/or [[WretchedHive corrupt]] that it is [[ItIsBeyondSaving beyond redemption]]. Usually the agent of destruction is [[BoltOfDivineRetribution divine retribution]] or [[TheScourgeOfGod a scourge of God]] but also can be the result of [[CallItKarma karmic justice]], [[GaiasVengeance nature's revenge]], [[KnightTemplar Knights Templar]], or even [[HanlonsRazor human]] [[FinaglesLaw error]].

** Ba Sing Se, capital of the Earth Kingdom, was once the greatest city in the ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' world. But over time, thanks to EvilChancellor Long Feng and his SecretPolice, it has degenerated into an Orwellian dystopia where {{brainwashing}} abounds, poor people are kept in segregated neighborhoods, and people are forbidden to even mention the war that's been raging outside the city for a hundred years. And just when Long Feng was arrested and things were starting to look up, [[spoiler:Princess Azula of the Fire Nation infiltrated Ba Sing Se, got the SecretPolice on her side, and finally captured the city and the entire Earth Kingdom]]. Unusually for this trope, though, [[spoiler:Ba Sing Se was never actually destroyed. At the end of the series, it was retaken by the Earth Kingdom, and the SecretPolice was brought under heel]]. The final scene in the series has [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments the heroes relaxing in Iroh's tea shop in the city, while Aang and Katara kiss outside]].

Compare with AfterTheEnd, CataclysmBackstory, AndManGrewProud and {{Gotterdammerung}}. Also compare ViceCity, whose a city has never been destroyed despite being similarly infested with crimes.

* The Allagan Empire of ''Videogame/FinalFantasyXIV'' is revealed to be this. Once a technologically advanced society with a literal [[CrystalSpiresAndTogas Crystal Spire]], its emperor made a DealWithTheDevil in a bid for more power, causing him to seal Bahamut into [[ThatsNoMoon Dalamud]] and use him to power said crystal spire to fulfill his end of the bargain; the attempt created a massive earthquake that wiped their civilization out. The Fractal Continuum museum in their artifical FloatingContinent of Azys Lla (the only other place of Allagan origin besides Dalamud that survived their fall) highlights their arrogance and Azys Lla itself shows how far they'd fallen before the Earthquake hit.

* Sunnydale on ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' was doomed from the start, ''founded'' to be an epicenter of a Hellmouth and its citizens meant to be prey for demonic beings. Buffy's biggest accomplishment in early seasons, it seems, is to make the citizens realize the danger, even as it gets worse. Eventually, in the seventh season, supernatural activity becomes worse than ever, and the human populace finally have the sense to evacuate. Soon after, the showdown between the Scooby Gang and the [[BiggerBad First Evil]] in the SeasonFinale (the last season shown on television) results in the town being obliterated, reduced to a smoldering crater as the Hellmouth is closed.

Compare with AfterTheEnd, CataclysmBackstory, AndManGrewProud and {{Gotterdammerung}}.