I feel like Bravely Default had a decently-sized World Map with an upper- right continent that was basically full of optional stuff. It had borders in one continent that were closed until you got permission to open them up. You couldn't travel the sea until you did something that enabled for you to so. In that way, the world map was affected by player agency despite being plot-based, and I usually like that kind of stuff. It was neato.
I
guess Final Fantasy VII and FF9 and any other game with a world-changing event which changes the world map tune, bars access from certain areas, or changes the geography in general does that too. It makes you care about the world a little more because you were always made to traverse the near-entirety of the landscape and discover certain things. Who knows, you could find a mystery enemy in the air when the game switches gears after a world-changing event, the geography could be entirely different (ex: Ultima Weapon and the Junon Area), you can no longer go to certain towns and you regret not having done so before (ex: Conde Petie), or you can no longer find an enemy that you used to use for steals or XP because they've either upgraded or they no longer exist.
I feel like with FFX/FFXIII's map design, I no longer seem to care about the world. As much as I adore FFX's penchant for world-building, the world's geography and changes themselves--outside of not being able to enter temples after the game's climax--isn't something that's overtly communicated to the player. You know that Kilika got destroyed, but you don't necessarily see the ramifications of it on the world map. You know that Home got fucked over, but you aren't really made to care for it outside of the plot. Those examples might not be good, but what about Macalania Lake, where you could have seen it on a theoretical world map, but then the ice got destroyed and you probably can't cross a certain area anymore. Lacking a world map probably destroys any sense of organic quality to the world, I guess, and merely renders areas to be setpieces as opposed of being part of one cohesive map for the player to think about.
I give Ni no Kuni lots of flak because I don't like it, but at least the World Map was filled with a lot of stuff. Yeah, the world map speed was crap, and running was as slow as molasses, and the world map size didn't feel like it complemented the game very much, but it had a lot of content that encouraged exploration. Granted, they were treasure boxes or mission markers, but hey, it had something to do. Final Fantasy VIII also exhibited this with UFO fights, draw points, and a bunch of other things.
I also felt like Terranigma handled its map supremely well. Despite being modeled from the real-world map, there are so many hidden treasures around the map that you are rewarded with by exploring. Whether it's a hidden town, a hidden resort area, a minigame area, treasure, an ability for you to build a bridge linking landmasses, etc. Terranigma truly had it all.
I think what I miss the most are multi-map worlds. I remember being blown away every single time a game did that sort of thing. SaGa 3, Chrono Trigger, and Final Fantasy IV being probably the more well-known experience with that. The maps had different things for the player to enjoy, and it was always a neat pleasure to explore something that's just completely different from what you'd previously experienced in some small way.
I like world maps when they actually
do something in terms of game design. Plunking them in there for the sake of having a world map just doesn't seem to workI feel like Orience is a poor example, simply for the sake of the towns essentially feeling like copy/paste, and the map seems filled with nothing. I don't particularly like it so far. :/
With that said, I feel as though world maps only work provided the navigation speed is sufficient (you don't want to move as slow as molasses on a map, or feel like you have to adhere to a stamina meter), have shit for you to do or a decent sense of scale, have an experience of change that makes the player regret for not having visited the area sooner, and just doesn't feel too big for its britches.
*This response paid for by Noi because he asked me to respond to it faster than I could process the question and come up with an actual good post for it. Sorry that this post ain't that great. I would have so much to say if I had time to sit down and think of countless examples.
But at least it's not complete trash like Last Rebellion.
I have no recollection of the event in question.
