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freshfeeling[It was decided in roughly November of 2023 that GameFAQs once-loved Top 10 Lists feature was being phased out. I had written a few lists between 2009 and 2012 and generally engaged with that community a fair bit, so I figured I would cross-post my lists on this site over ten years later, backdated. You may still be able to view the original version here.]
At some point in my childhood I realized there were quite a few games where I explored an oversized version of a regular single-family dwelling. Most of them were pretty good - there was a certain "close to home" vibe that these games give that contributes to the fun factor. If you haven't caught on yet, in this list I will not be discussing the largest castles or mansions, but rather middle-class homes of an unusual scale.
#10: Micro Machines (NES)
There have been many Micro Machines games on a wide variety of platforms. Of course, if they were going to let you race these tiny cars on a racetrack or around a city it wouldn't be any different from other racing games. By re-creating the places where you might actually play with Micro Machines such as a house or a classroom these games present a somewhat novel experience. Although the racing itself is standard fare, the gigantic household items you race around provide an interesting environment.
#9: Harley's Humongous Adventure (SNES)
Harley is a young scientist who has fallen victim to his own shrink ray, which has now exploded. He has to travel around his home to find pieces of his shrink ray. Every few stages, his mutant lab rat will show up and try to stop him. Fortunately Harley is armed with various small household items including marbles, nails, thumbtacks, rubber bands and firecrackers. Harley moves very quickly so this game can be hard to control, but it can actually be fun. Unlike some of these games its oversized house does not attempt to be realistic, as you can tell by the plates floating in mid-air and the deadly soup cans opening on their own in the first level.
#8: Monster in My Pocket (NES)
As a part of an early-90s media and toy franchise, Konami produced this well-animated sidescroller. You have a choice of playing a very small vampire or a miniature Frankenstein's monster. Several areas of the Miles family home can be traversed in the first few levels before the monsters hit the street, including a cool trip down a flight of stairs in the first level and a battle in a freezer at the end of the second level. The enemies mostly consist of actual little monsters rather than household pests.
#7: Mister Mosquito (PS2)
This early PS2 game provided lots of great big human rooms for you to explore as a mosquito. The gameplay experience itself is objective-based and... very weird. You need to suck blood from a family member in each stage. The rooms are large, each with distinctive furniture and there is some degree of interaction with the environments. This helps to keep this otherwise very repetitive game a bit more interesting. The environments and the ability to explore them are well done, but the game itself sure gets dry quickly.
#6: Final Fantasy Legend II (GB)
In this game, SaGa II in Japan, there is a point where monsters have entered the body of your friend, Ki. Luckily, there are rumors that the giants know of a way to become tiny so that you can enter your friend's body and beat the bad guys. If you visit the Giants' World and talk to Johnny, he can give you a tip about entering the giants' homes and climbing on their bookshelves. On an enormous table in an abandoned giant's home, you will find an item called "micron" that will allow you to enter your friend's body to destroy the monsters.
#5: Tom and Jerry (NES)
There are many Tom & Jerry games, but this one is the first and, in my opinion, best. It has a few references to the show, including Jerry getting stuck in a floating bubble (used to reach high ledges) and Jerry covering himself in disappearing ink. Playing as Jerry armed with marbles, you explore a basement, a kitchen, a rooftop, a living room (including an NES) and a bathroom. The stages are detailed and quite large, scrolling both vertically and horizontally. Your enemies consist mostly of insects, with Tom appearing as a boss at the end of each stage.
#4: Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (GB)
In order to enter his own castle to reclaim it from Wario, Mario requires six golden coins. One of them is hidden inside a gigantic house known as the Macro Zone. The areas you can actually explore are fairly limited: the front yard, an non-descript living room with a fireplace, and some kind of library with tiny spikes and conveyor belts. The main enemies of the Macro Zone are different types of ants, with a very pointy mouse guarding the Macro Zone's golden coin.
#3: Battle Bugs (PC)
This game is a semi-RTS, released the same year as the original WarCraft: Orcs & Humans. It is a fun game where you control various species of insects with distinct abilities as they struggle to control discarded foodstuffs in and around a human household. There are lots of obstacles and large objects reminding you of the scale of this game. If I had one complaint, it's that the game provides you with a team of insects for each mission, preventing you from creating your own customized army to best deal with the task at hand.
#2: Little Nemo: The Dream Master (NES)
In stage 5, Nemo dreams about his own house. In order to clear this level, you will need to explore several areas of the house, including the kitchen, attic and basement. Unfortunately Nemo imagines himself being only inches tall, so he will need to dress like a bee and ride on a mouse (with an inexplicable hammer) in order to reach these difficult-to-access areas and find the necessary keys. Eventually you will find the exit, fittingly atop Nemo's giant bed. Watch out for flying creatures that shoot eyeballs and monkeys that throw stacks of plates!
#1: Katamari Damacy (PS2)
The Prince himself is very puny, so it is not surprising that in the first few levels of Katamari Damacy you need to explore a house that appears enormous at the time, picking up miniscule objects such as dice, ants, candies, pushpins and cookies to make your katamari bigger. The biggest threats in these large environments are mice and spiders. Eventually you move up so that cats and dogs are your biggest problems. Then people. Then cars. Then huge men in tights fighting sea monsters. By this point, of course, you can roll right over that house that you spent so much time exploring at the start of the game.
Most of these games are older ones. Perhaps because of the graphical detail necessary to create an enlarged home this type of game is considered difficult to produce, or perhaps a house's contemporary nature is considered boring and unmarketable. I can think of very few newer games that could make this list, besides perhaps the Army Men games on PS2 and DS. I think these games made an impression on me when I was young because I found the idea of my own home from a smaller perspective interesting, and I still do. Exploration begins at home!
