Best Location

[Sephiroth]

Yasha's Mountain. I wish there would be more to explore of it.

[Cloudane]

Another vote for the Steppe. Part of it is probably from the absolute glee of reaching it and thinking "yay! So there is something like an overworld!", but it's just a very scenic place and it's very calming just picking out a character and watching their hair blow around in the breeze.

IMO, Gran Pulse wasn't big or emphasised enough in the main game, and Cocoon was full of corridors.

[Loony BoB]

Gotta say that the Springs were lovely, too. A very small locale, but a gorgeous one.

[Raistlin]

The optional area in Pulse with the destroyed city at the end. It was probably the only zone in the game that I was thinking 'hey, this is kind of cool'.

Oh! Um, the Paddrean Archaeopolis, or something like that (there's a waystone there). Yeah, that was pretty cool.

[finaloblivion]

i love the sulyya springs, it's absolutely awesome to just stand and watch. though ive definitely had plenty of places where ive just stood and watched, this was the one that's stuck out the most besides the green forest - you could look out past the cliff and see cocoon sprawling out underneath you. greatness.
although was i not the only one a little mad to find that (SPOILER)the fal'cie in the springs was called bismarck, and not leviathan?! it totes should've been leviathan. is a sea creature and everything.

[Hipp777]

Ok but I cant find anywhere how the Blip youre suppose to fight him!! Ive looked everywhere killed all enemies, heard something about looking at flowers that I will try. There has to be a way to fight this thing. Lightning sez lure it on dry land. How? What? Befumbled -Hipp-

[Loony BoB]

Pretty sure you can't fight him. Possibly something they were hoping to do later on but didn't. But then, there are other fal'Cie that you can't fight, so you never know.

[Hipp777]

It is a very nice place I agree, music is nice too. I was just confused at the cutscene. Ive been running around for days on Pulse circle circle circle doing Cieth stone missions. Scared to leave pulse because I don"t know if you can come back.

[Ezme]

You can go back before you head into orphans cradle. I did that and went and got the growth egg because there is the most amazing leveling spot in all FF's ever in the terrescets where a 15min run can get you something like 320,000 CP

[Hipp777]

Thank You so Much

[Xurts]

I loved the area right after the forest Sazh and Vanille treck through. I can't remember what it was called. There's the cliff and the waterfall, and you can see for miles into the distance. FF13 has some of the most amazing scenery I've ever seen in a game. I've just stopped and stared so many times throughout the story.

I don't know how you can say the linear maps discourage you from looking at the scenery. It's because of the linearity that the landscapes could be made so beautiful. It's literally the exact opposite, you're supposed to notice the scenery as you're progressing.

[Eagle299]

I'm gonna go with The Archylte Steppe. Not only was it breath takingly beautiful to look at, but its what I wished the rest of the game had been like.

[Jessweeee♪]

Oh man, as far as map design goes I hate the Steppe. It's pretty to look at though!

I liked pretty much any place that Sazh and Vanille went to.

[Yliette]

I haven't reached Gran Pulse yet. But on Cocoon it'll have to be the Sunleth Waterscape. I was captivated by the lush greenery and the view of the sea.

Second would the Gapra Whitewood.