Shifting Sand Land: Difference between revisions

Provided you manage to enter the desert without having to accomplish some kind of [[Impassable Desert|quest]] beforehand, you'll have to deal with [[Quicksand Sucks]]. Also common are [[Sand Is Water|rivers and whirlpools of sand flowing into]] [[Bottomless Pits]]. Camel may be found around here, usually to ride. [[Aladdin (Disney film)|Watch out, they spit!]]. Flying carpets and dust devils are another common mode of travel. Be assured that you will going to a [[Temple of Doom]] at some point. The nongame varient is the [[Thirsty Desert]].

{{examples}}

* The Despair Desert in ''[[Alundra]]''.

* Desert Buttes of ''[[Backyard Sports|Backyard Baseball]]''. No quicksand, though, as it's a sports game.

* The Noise Dunes of Fantasy in ''[[Eternal Sonata]]''.

* Pretty much every ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' game has a Huge Desert somewhere.

** Bikanel Island in ''[[Final Fantasy X]]''.

** ''[[Final Fantasy XI]]'' has the Altepa Desert, a vast desert region with an elaborate system of ancient ruins just underneath the sand.

** The Lynari Desert in ''[[Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles]]'' is extremely large and requires purposefully sinking in quicksand in order to access the rest of the map. There are [[When Trees Attack|cactuar]], [[Snake People|lamia]], and scorpion enemies. In single player mode, the moogle companion is easily tired in the extreme heat of the desert.

* ''[[Golden Sun]]'' has a desert, where it eventually DOES become too hot for the group and they start taking damage unless they rest at an oasis. And the oases are magically hidden, to boot - you have to use a spell to see them.

** The sequel has another desert, although there is no heatstroke mechanic there. Instead, there's a monster that digs through the sand that must be lured into a certain area with judicious use of the "Pound" spell.

* The first stage of ''[[Gradius]] III''.

*** Part 2 kicks off in a desert as well, and has you face off against a titanic Scorpion robot.

** ''[[Mega Man ZX]]'' features a desert as well.

* Sector 3 - PYR in ''[[Metroid]] Fusion'' ([[Hailfire Peaks|also]] a [[Lethal Lava Land|lava level]]), and parts of Chozo Ruins (''[[Metroid Prime]]'') and Agon Wastes (''Prime 2: Echoes'').

* ''[[My Sims]]'' has a desert region, accessed by pickaxe.

** Teehee Valley in ''[[Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga]]'' is more or less this.

* Motavia in ''[[Phantasy Star]] I'' and ''IV''.

** ''[[Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire]]'' versions feature a desert area in Hoenn's Route 111, complete with fierce sandstorms (in fact, the desert cannot be crossed without obtaining a pair of Go-Goggles, leading to a rare case where [[Goggles Do Something|the goggles do SOMETHING]]), homicidal cacti, bizarre spinning artifact-creatures, and weird convergently-evolved-to-be-ant-lions things. There's also the Desert Ruins in the southern area of the desert, which house the sleeping legendary golem Regirock.

** Oh yes, and in ''Emerald'', there's the Mirage Tower that disappears into the sand once you get a fossil from it. Clearly a load-bearing fossil. Also, underneath the desert is the Desert Underpass where the other fossil that disappeared before in Mirage Tower becomes available.

** ''[[Pokémon Black and White]]'' have Resort Desert and Relic Castle, with the latter featuring quicksand you can fall through.

* Nearly all of ''[[Quest for Glory II]]: Trial by Fire''.

** Tabora is sort of a [[Hailfire Peaks|double dip]], as the caverns below the desert are filled with [[Lethal Lava Land|hot lava]].

* The Kharidian Desert in ''[[Runescape]]'', which is home to the former second biggest beast in the whole game. And you have to take water and light clothes to survive long enough there, mind you.

** ''[[Super Mario Galaxy]]'' has the Dusty Dune Galaxy, while [[Super Mario Galaxy 2|the sequel]] has the Slipsand Galaxy.

* Arabian Night from ''[[Wario Land]] 4'', Whoopsy Desert and Disturbing Tomb from ''[[Wario Land]]: Shake It'', and Pecan Sands from ''[[Wario World]]''.

* Similar to the ''Golden Sun'' example, ''[[Tales of Vesperia]]'' has a desert area where you have to find cacti that contain water for your party to fill their canteens with. When they run out of water, they start to take damage.

* A good 90% of the maps in ''[[Team Fortress 2]]'' used to be this, even including an Egypt-themed map. More recent maps, however, have focused on diversifying the themes, with more alpine and industrial landscapes.