Quote Originally Posted by Wolf Kanno View Post
IV - Mount Hobs, and Mount Ordeals (2)
V - North Mountain (though you do travel through it twice), Drakenvale (2)
VI - Narshe Mines, Mt. Kolts, Cave of the Espers, Zozo Mountain. (4)

Total = 8

VII - Mt. Corel, Mt. Nibel, Gaea's Cliffs, and the mountain in Wutai (4)
VIII - Dollet Satellite Tower Path (1)
IX - Gizamulke's Grotto, Aerbs Mountain, Pinnacle Rocks, Conde Pete Mountain path, Mount Gulug (5)

Total = 10

VI and CT are guilty of using mountains, but to CT's defense, it does a much better job actually making the mountains look aesthetically different by time period. But overall, the PSX generation of FF abuses mountain dungeons more more. Caves on the other hand...

Besides, what wrong with mountains? I happen to live up in the mountain regions and its beautiful, better than them sickly plains where you can see nothing for miles around.
Gizamulke's Grotto was a cave under a mountain, wasn't it? And the Dollet Satellite Tower path is pushing the definition of a mountain. It's like 3 screens total and it's within a town.

And mountains look pretty when you can see the sweeping views etc. Not when you're looking down on a 2D sprite map and can't figure out where the up ramp is.

Although the Calm Lands were very bland, admittedly. I think the problem with it was that X still had random battles. XII had several large flat areas and XIII obviously had the steppe, and they were very cool, what with big monsters roaming around making it a more interactive experience.

Also, I might have to admit to Wolf Kanno that I have started to like XII more and more in hindsight.