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I believe the Death Mountain focuses on height and dangers related to making it atop (I can easier picture platformers in this regard), if picking examples from, say, Final Fantasy again, I could probably name Mt. Nibel of FFVII, it seems a bit different. I thought that maybe there was a trope, that not necessarily focuses on dangerous canyons (I pretty much believe those areas might as well be devoid of canyons, they might as easily be savannahs, I guess), rather on the nature of their terrain as opposed to greenery. You know, kind of overlapping with Mordor (only not as grim and black) or Polluted Wasteland (only not really polluted, but somewhat naturally barren). This type of land often comes up in RP Gs, always in, um..shades of orange.
Edited by ultima-e OBJECTION!Thirsty Desert covers the Darker and Edgier desert settings; might be what you're lookng for. If not, looks like there might be room for a "rocky wasteland usually with canyons and rocky pillars" trope.
The criteria for Green Hill Zone is mostly the "green" part- its often tropical or forested, but it can just as easily be a lush grassland. Basically that one level you always start out on where the dominant color is green and everything is slightly less deadly.
Edited by Scorpion451The Thirsty Desert trope seems about right, thank you! True, it's kind of emphasizes surviving aspect, which is commonly neglected in JRP Gs, but overall fits. I'm not sure there's much room for a separate trope left, so I'll stick to this one, thanks! c:
OBJECTION!

There are so many tropes on the subject, I'm getting confused, but I still don't seem to find it.
There must be something for when there's a barren ochra-coloured continent in JRPG, but not a Shifting Sand Land, rather with canyons, not deserts. Usually opposed to vast grasslands (which are often the first continent of the game). The best example would be The Forgotten Continent of Final Fantasy IX and many more in Final Fantasy or Tales Of. I mean, you know how there's often a set of a green continent, a white icy one, and this ochra one.
And what would the trope for the grasslands be, for that matter? I'm not sure Green Hill Zone applies, it implies something tropical, as far as I understand. Thanks in advance! c: