My Top Fictional Video Game Destinations

Escapism is one of the best parts of a video game, and it is made even more satisfying when the world you are exploring in is beautiful. Video games often get a lot of criticism for their violence, but people also need to take a step back and realise just what a positive impact visiting beautiful fictional landscapes can have on people, too. 

While my list could go on forever, I have decided to compile a list of just some of my favourite fictional video game destinations that I wouldn't mind visiting. Take a look below!

Whiterun

There's a lot of places in Skyrim that would be amazing to visit, but Whiterun has some truly stunning views. Whiterun is a major city in Skyrim, a major commercial hub that has plenty of foot traffic. 

Animal Crossing 

The Animal Crossing series is always been one of my go-to's when I just want to relax, or cheer myself up. Everything in the world is pleasant, pretty, and oh-so-cute! If I was able to, I could imagine myself spending my future retirement in a place like that.

Isle Delfino

A holiday destination for Peach and Mario in Super Mario Sunshine, Isle Delfino is such a sunny, pleasant looking place that I wouldn't mind spending a holiday on, either! Featuring a theme park, a sandy beach, a peaceful bay, a bustling plaza, fishing port, volcano, and a small village, there's plenty to do here.

Koholint Island

Like a lot of places on this list, it is best to imagine that you are visiting them after the bad guys have been taken care of (or, before they have arrived to cause mischief). The fictional dream land of Koholint Island in The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening would be a beautiful place to visit! Framed by a massive egg atop Mount Tamaranch, it is made up of a quaint villages, swamp and pond areas, a beautiful beach, and prairies, and caves. I cannot wait to see how this all looks in the Switch remake!

Hyrule

Serving as the setting for many Zelda games, Hyrule is a beautiful land filled with deep forests, tall mountains, deserts, vast lakes, cities, villages, and temples. The landscape changes considering on where about's you are playing in the Zelda timeline, but the beauty remains consistent! 

Albion

The land of Albion changes a fair bit throughout the Fable series, but one thing remains among each map - it is a pretty stunning place. From the cobbled streets of Bowerstone, to the gorgeous countryside of Oakfield, it would be wonderful to visit here.

Toussaint

Ah, Toussaint is definitely easy on the eye, and is perhaps the most picture-perfect place on this list, in my opinion. Included as a destination on The Witcher 3's 'Blood and Wine' DLC, Toussaint is famous for it's wines, so what better way to enjoy this beautiful landscape than to sit back and take it all in with a glass at hand? 

Columbia 

The first of two Bioshock destinations to feature on my list, Columbia is a stunning city in the sky that would be delightful to visit if the whole place didn't go to pot! The steampunk architecture, combined with the bright and breezy feel is rather pleasing. 

Rapture

Taking away the splicers, and transporting it back to its heyday would make Rapture a pretty wonderful place to visit. The combination of glaring neon lights, a city infrastructure, and the natural beauty of the deep sea would be jaw-dropping to witness. Imagine staring out of the wide windows of one of the buildings you are in to see a massive blue whale swim past, for example?

Stardew Valley

Stardew Valley is a cute, quaint looking place that would be perfect to visit if you are looking to de-stress, escape a hectic lifestyle, and take some downtime. 

What would your dream destinations be? Let me know on Twitter!

The Animal Crossing Birthday Calendar is So Cute!

Animal Crossing is one of my favourite series. It's a series I dip into frequently, as it never fails to make me smile, and is a fantastic game to play when you are looking for something relaxing, and less taxing. What can be more relaxing than talking to cute animals, and completing simple tasks like fishing, bug hunting, and fruit collecting?

I was happy to see that just before Christmas, Nintendo had released a printable Animal Crossing 'birthday calendar' on the My Nintendo store. Purchased for 80 Platinum Points, this calendar includes the birthdays of a collection of Animal Crossing villagers, so you can load up Animal Crossing New Leaf on any of these days, and help the villagers to celebrate their birthdays! Sent as a PDF, you'll then get the choice to print it out and create your own calendar - something I plan to do soon.

In the meantime, here's a few of the graphics and birthdays you'll see in a few of the months.

The calendar can be purchased with points on the My Nintendo store here. 

Review: Castaway Paradise

Die-hard Animal Crossing fans have been begging Nintendo for a new addition to Nintendo's popular series for years now. Happy Home Designer, Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival, and the mobile game, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp tried to wet the appetite of fans, but ultimately, still left them wanting more. 

Thankfully, Stolen Couch Games' Castaway Paradise does a pretty good job at filling the gap. But, is it enough? Keep reading to find out!

My Japan Haul!

So, now my Japan travel diaries are out of the way, I intended to upload a video where I shared everything I bought out in Japan.

Sadly, I had some technical difficulties with my phone, so the clips I recorded couldn't be salvaged as apparently they had errored. Great! So, here's a photo of my haul instead. I forgot to include my silk Koi bomber jacket into the photo (but you can see this below in a separate image), and two Tsum Tsums - a bumblebee Piglet, and a Sleeping Beauty one, but everything else is present!

Here's that bomber jacket I mentioned above. I bought this in Harajuku!

Thanks for reading all of my Japan honeymoon blogs. I had such an amazing time, and would definitely urge any of you to check out that country. You'll love it!

8-Bit Girl x

Games I Relax With

Things have been pretty hectic for me in the past few months, so I don't really seem to find myself having much free time. However, overworking has been making me pretty stressed out, and I guess it's probably a good time to remind myself that I should be having some times of relaxation, too. 

So, here's favourite 'relaxing games' I seem to resort to whenever I need to just need to switch off from the world a little bit. 

What I've Been Playing Lately...

So I have been busy as of late with a mountain of weekly freelance writing work as well as my full time job. I'm also in the process of packing for a move (one of two in the coming months!), so gaming has been on the back burner a little, as has my streaming over on my YouTube channel.

However, last night I realised that it is about time I have a bit of free time to myself among all of this, so I got in some gaming. Sadly I haven't got Fallout 4 yet and haven't got an Xbox One for Rise of the Tomb Raider (*sobs*), but I will be playing them thanks to my boyfriend and fellow Geek Mash member Casey who has both (woo!).

So, here's what I've been playing in the meantime.

Visiting Nintendo World, New York

Photo courtesy of Nintendo World Store's website.

From the 24th to the 31st July, I was in New York on holiday with my family. It has been on my list of dream holidays for years, so I was so pleased to find out that my parents had surprised me by booking it up! (Thanks Mum and Dad!)

Being a Nintendo fan, I HAD to visit Nintendo World of course. Situated in the Rockefeller Plaza in New York, it was admittedly a little tricky to find at first as it wasn't as glaringly sign posted as the Lego Store nearby was. The Nintendo World logo is actually pretty subtle! After finally finding it, we went in and picked up a few bits. Here's some of the photos of the store, along with some merchandise I bought. 

If you ever get to visit New York, definitely take a trip into Nintendo World, the only Nintendo shop in the world (and no, Japan does not have one. They have a Pokemon Centre instead, surprisingly).

Remembering Satoru Iwata

The games industry recieved some sad news this week. 

Nintendo President Satoru Iwata passed away at the age of 55 after a long battle with cancer on the 12th July. 

Iwata was truly a key name in the gaming industry, helping to develop games in the Super Smash Bros, Kirby and Pokemon series as a programmer at HAL Laboratory before joining Nintendo in 2000. In May 2002, Iwata succeeded Hiroshi Yamauchi as the company's President. It was under his direction that Nintendo pursued the development of the Nintendo DS and Wii consoles in 2004 and 2006, the DS becoming one of the most successful handhelds of all time. 

National Cat Day: Some of Gamings Notable Kitties!

Today is National Cat Day, a day dedicated to finding cats "forever homes", with an aim to encourage adoption of cats rather that purchasing one from a pet shop/breeder. 

As a cat lover myself (here's my one, Jessie), I have decided to take this opportunity to celebrate some of gamings notable kitties!

Do you have a favourite gaming cat that didn't make the list? Let me know in the comments!

Big the Cat & Blaze the Cat: Sonic Adventure, Sonic Heroes

Rover, Animal Crossing

Cat Mario, Peach, Luigi & Toad: Super Mario 3D World

Cheshire Cat: Alice, Alice Madness Returns

Catwoman: Batman Arkham Asylum 

The Khajiit: The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim

King: Tekken

Evil the Cat: Earthworm Jim

And to finish off, give these cat-themed videos a watch!

What I Have Learned from Animal Crossing: New Leaf (In Screenshots)

It has been over a year now since Animal Crossing: New Leaf was released on the Nintendo 3DS, and I am still enjoying it! It is definitely one of my most played games, especially on the 3DS.

Here is what I have learned from my countless times playing it, divided up into different categories. They capture my immature (come on...most of you who have played this game resort to this at some point!), cute, and downright weird moments with my animal villagers.

1. Hot Drinks & Books Are Essential

2. The Villagers Have Their Weird Moments

3. Kapp'n Has A Good Heart

4. Immaturity in Animal Crossing is a Given

5. Romance Definitely Isn't Dead!

6. New Leaf Has Its Pretty Moments

7. Playing With Friends Is A Lot of Fun

8. Think Positive!