Topic: The most iconic tree in gaming

@konicstar Sorry, I'm gonna have to disqualify this pick. Wood Man is tree-themed but that does not make him a tree per se. He lacks the iconic tree qualities necessary to enter the running.

But you're not wrong about his level theme though. Banger.

Deku Tree and Whispy Woods have my vote for sure.

I'll throw another one in just for fun:

Iifa, the Ancient Tree of Life from Final Fantasy IX

Reasons:

• Super important to the story of the game
• notorious for fans thinking it's the "Lifa" tree rather than "iifa"
• Interesting and iconic design
• literally has an elevator inside of it

I'm booing both of you, just in case you can't hear me in Pun Hell, but I'll indulge you.

I feel like the Erdtree of Elden Ring at least deserves a shout-out:

It's essentially an Yggdrasil analog, like the Mana Tree. I wouldn't vote for it over the Mana Tree, but it's beautiful and the lore behind it is cool (and Elden Ring's popularity is certainly undeniable), so I thought it should be nominated.

There's also the tree settlement of Cleyra from Final Fantasy IX, built into and on an enormous tree in the middle of a desert. Lovely, of mysterious origin, and important to the plot for multiple reasons. [I can't figure out how to make the images here normal-sized, so I'll post a link to a bigger size just beneath each one.]

https://i.imgur.com/FtgwFZw.jpeg

https://i.imgur.com/260hOV5.png

They have windmills and watermills and the entire tree is protected by a magical sandstorm:

https://i.imgur.com/YIQsfID.png

They even have a full inn and cathedral!

https://i.imgur.com/x597tue.png

https://i.imgur.com/K4PLTCN.png

But of all the nominations in this thread so far, the most iconic to me is still the Great Deku Tree.

Though as a JRPG fan, I gotta say I'm always happy to see the tree in the Nintendo Treehouse logo 😉.

-Edit- @charliecarrot Ah, you made a FF9 nomination as I was working on mine, nice!

Level 1 Entrance

Reasons:

• The tree that started it all
• Imitated by many, matched by no one
• Ate a whole dragon

What are the odds! I definitely second Cleyra. That's a super cool pick.

@Eel honestly this one makes the most sense. my vote goes to it bye bye great deku tree

My vote's on the oak minecraft tree. everyone's had to take one of them down their bare hands

@Eel I like this one. OG.

@charliecarrot It's awesome that FF9 contains within it not one, but TWO "very cool trees," haha. To be honest, I totally forgot about Iifa, but as you said, it's very important to the plot. I could easily argue that Iifa is ultimately more important than Cleyra (though not here, to avoid spoilers).

@MarkSeteth72 That's very true! Seems simple, but as far as "iconic" goes, Minecraft trees definitely qualify in my opinion.

Alright, I had a thought: should levels that take place inside trees be considered as candidates or not?

@N00BiSH I guess it depends on the "treeness" of the level. Like, is the level shaped and influenced by the fact that it's in a tree? Or does it just happen to be in a tree and it would function and look the same elsewhere? If it's the former, I'd vote yes. If it's the latter, no.

For example, the Elder Woods aka Castle Hein from Final Fantasy III.

The game calls it a castle, but there’s no denying that it’s a tree.

Agreed with @Mana_Knight and @OmnitronVariant with the Tree of Mana.

Thanks to Hiro Isono, Secret of Mana has the most beautiful box art in gaming history, and the game lived up to that promise.

I will nominate the tree from the Bitlands in Super Paper Mario

Reason 1: It's a cool pixel-y tree
Reason 2: If you played this game, you know exactly which tree I'm talking about, so it's iconic
Reason 3: You get to explore both the outside and inside of this tree
Reason 4: You have your first Dimentio fight inside this tree

Coconut tree in animal crossing new horizon.

Tail tree from 3d land because it got referenced and I have a bias since 3d land was my first mario game

@Atomic77 The conditions for entering the running include giving strong reasoning for your choice of tree. Otherwise I can't in good conscience allow it.

@AmanPikon Ah, a fellow 3D Land fan! Due to impartiality I can't truly give your pick the role, but I'm rooting for it nonetheless.