History Main / DisconnectedSideArea

* ''VideoGame/{{Rayman 2}}'' includes a few level segments that aren't even accessible from the same level: about 20% of the second level in the game is only accessible through a level that doesn't appear until past the halfway-point.

** In ''VideoGame/OriAndTheWillOfTheWisps'', the starting zone, Inkwater Marsh, has an out-of-reach section that you can only get to via a DoorToBefore from the Luma Pools much later in the game, or with some precise Bashing and Dashing once you learn said abilities, though you still can't reach the Pools from this direction due to a one-way barrier. Baur's Reach also has a side area that connects to the upper right corner of Wellspring Glades, but can't be used to access the main part of the Reach at first since the shaft that otherwise connects to it is blocked by ice that you can only melt from the top side.

** In ''VideoGame/OriAndTheWillOfTheWisps'', the starting zone, Inkwater Marsh, has an out-of-reach section that you can only get to via a DoorToBefore from Luma Pools much later in the game. Baur's Reach also has a side area that connects to the upper right corner of Wellspring Glades, but can't be used to access the main part of the Reach at first since the shaft that otherwise connects to it is blocked by ice that you can only melt with the Light Burst.

** ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'' has a partial example in Wet-Dry World. The "town" section is isolated from the rest of the level, uses a separate set of water controls, and can only be easily accessed if you enter the level in a specific way - otherwise, you need to make a relatively difficult cannon shot. Also, though [[PunnyName Eyerock]] is nominally in the same area as the rest of the pyramid, it is sealed off from the rest of the pyramid and has a separate hidden entrance that is used to access it.

*** In ''OldWorldBlues'', the X-8 Institutional Test facility, whose second half is itself a disconnected side area of the first and has a window overlooking the Residential testing area, also has an alternate exit leading to a hidden side area of the Nightstalker kennels.

* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda''
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast''

** Used again in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]''

** In ''VideoGame/OriAndTheWillOfTheWisps'', the starting zone, Inkwater Marsh, has an out-of-reach section that you can only get to via a DoorToBefore from Luma Pools much later in the game.

* ''VideoGame/{{Runescape}}'' had a small island only a couple squares from the beach of Catherby. To get there, you have to travel across some mountains and then through a long and difficult underground dungeon.

[[folder:Adventure Games]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Rygar}}'' for the NES has an [[InsurmountableWaistHeightFence impenetrable wall]] at the beginning, beyond which you can see a much later part of the game.
* In ''VideoGame/SpaceQuest II'', you can see the second floor walkway from the moment you enter Vohaul's asteroid fortress, but there's [[MissingFloor no elevator button for that floor]]. You'll be taking a long side path to it, solving many puzzles along the way.
* The eastern part of the map in ''VideoGame/KingsQuestI'' is cut off by an [[SuperDrowningSkills uncrossable river]], so the only way there is being picked up by the Condor. To get back, you must go through a one-way underground passage and shrink yourself with an ''Literature/AliceInWonderland'' style MagicMushroom. [[UnwinnableByDesign Woe betide you]] if you go underground without the mushroom. Also, the cave containing the MagicMirror is sealed with a boulder, so you have to enter the back way through the well. If you defeat the dragon with a bucket of water, [[DoorToBefore he moves the boulder for you]].
* ''VideoGame/{{Riven}}'' has a number of these, such as the latter half of the Golden Dome on the first island, which must be accessed by the bridge from Crater Island until you activate a [[DoorToBefore Bridge to Before]]. The most extreme example is [[TheAlcatraz Prison Island]], which is completely isolated and out of sight from the other four islands, and must be warped to through the Fire Marble Dome PortalNetwork, [[HubLevel the hub]] of which is Gehn's Age. The section of Village Island with the Dome and the observatory chair (where the switch to the Wahrk Gallows is located) accessed by the maglev from Survey Island seems to be one of these, with a [[DoorToBefore Stairway to Before]] leading out of the Wahrk Idol, but there is a hidden switch that opens said stairway from the lower side.
* In ''VideoGame/TheSeventhGuest'', the art gallery has no physical connection to any of the other mansion rooms. Entry is through a portal in the floor of the main hall. In the sequel, it is entered through [[BookcasePassage a passageway in the grandfather clock]]. There's also the secret playroom reached through a miniature door in the doll room.
* ''VideoGame/{{Obsidian}}'' has a couple of these, both justified by being in dream worlds. One of them, set in a cube-shaped office building has one side that you can't walk onto using the ramps that change your gravity. You have to call the boss' phone for him to give you access to a WarpZone. And in the second dream realm, a control room in an oil tower has to be reached by [[ItMakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext flying through space]] after solving an elemental puzzle, with an elevator that takes you down to the hub that leaves without you once you get off, and without any way to call it.
* ''VideoGame/AlidaTheEnigmaticGiant'' has a small island with a greenhouse, separate from the main one where the giant guitar is. It has no entrances anywhere, and the way in requires using a vehicle that can teleport from the guitar to inside the greenhouse. Similarly, a tower has a LockedDoor that has to be opened from inside, and getting into the tower involves the same type of vehicle.
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** In ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'', the Gerudo Desert cannot be reached on foot like every other land-based area and must instead be traversed to with a giant canon at Lake Hylia. The only way to get out of the area is to warp out.

* The NES version of ''VideoGame/{{Strider}}'', being a {{Metroidvania}}-type game, has a number of these, including some only accessible from other levels (e.g., a tube in Australia warps you to a previously inaccessable part of Africa).

* ''VideoGame/{{Riven}}'' has a number of these. First of all, there's the section of Villagr Island with the Fire Marble Dome and the Wahrk Gallows switch that can initially only be accessed by the gondola on the back side of Plateau Island, until you open the DoorToBefore through the Wahrk Idol. Then there's the latter half of the Golden Dome on the first island, which must be accessed by the bridge from Crater Island. Finally, the [[TheAlcatraz fifth island]] that is isolated from the other four must be warped to through the Fire Marble Dome PortalNetwork, [[HubLevel the hub]] of which is Gehn's Age.

** The first shaft of the Fungal Wastes puzzlingly has a passage beyond an {{acid pool}} that is uncrossable due to an [[InsurmountableWaistHeightFence Impassable Head High Hole]], while on the other side, in Fog Canyon, you can hear Cornifer the cartographer humming, but your paths to him there are blocked by a [[ForceFieldDoor Shade Gate]] and a [[DoorToBefore one-way breakable wall]]. To pass the former, you need Isma's Tear, found in the Royal Waterways below the City of Tears, while the latter requires the Shade Cloak, found in the Abyss near the end of the game.

** The City of Tears' eastern sector is initially locked up and can only be reached from other areas such as the Royal Waterways and Resting Grounds. In turn, Eternal Emilitia's room and the Tower of Love are disconnected side areas of ''that'' area, reached via a door from Isma's Grove (itself a hidden side area of Royal Waterways) and the Love Key-locked door from Kingdom's Edge, respectively.

* ''VideoGame/{{Riven}}'' has a number of these. First of all, there's the section of Jungle Island with the Fire Marble Dome and the Wahrk Gallows switch that can initially only be accessed by the gondola on the back side of Plateau Island, until you open the DoorToBefore through the Wahrk Totem. Then there's the latter half of the Golden Dome on the first island, which must be accessed by the bridge from Crater Island. Finally, the [[TheAlcatraz fifth island]] that is isolated from the other four must be warped to through the Fire Marble Dome PortalNetwork, [[HubLevel the hub]] of which is Gehn's Age.

** The nearly completely dead [[https://youtu.be/sKWyH-e8M7o Kaleidoscope at the Hub]] mall in Des Moines, IA is divided into two atrium areas separated by 6th Avenue. Due to the second atrium being entirely vacant of businesses, its first floor entrance is locked and both that and the third floor are barricaded on the inside, so only the second floor is accessible as a passthrough for the downtown skybridge network.

** The only way to get to the library area in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil'' is to take the elevator from the basement, unless you get the passcode from Barry as Jill. This [[DungeonBypass bypass]] is in fact required to get the best ending in that scenario. In the remake, the main library door is jammed, so the only entry is through the balcony, which requires the Helmet Key from the guest house. In both versions, the fountain where you enter the Laboratory is in a disconnected area of the Courtyard, although accessed by different routes in each version. Ditto the Heliport, which would be directly connected to the fountain area, but the gate is welded shut.

* Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog

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* In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI'', in Hollow Bastion, you must go through an underground part of the castle and flip a bunch of switches to maneuver a bunch of different in-room gates to reach the switch that opens the castle's main doors. In the room of many gates and switches, there are two corners that are gated off with switches behind the gates. There is no way to open those gates and reach the switches. [[CaptainObvious Those particular switches are not needed to beat the game, luckily]].

* The brick section of ''VideoGame/TheGoonies 2'' is the very first in the game. There are several areas of it that don't seem to be accessible; they're even shown to be part of separate buildings, blocked off from the player's location by exterior walls. That's the path to the endgame, requiring the Ladder (one of the very last Magic Implements) to reach.

* The brick section of ''VideoGame/TheGoonies2'' is the very first in the game. There are several areas of it that don't seem to be accessible; they're even shown to be part of separate buildings, blocked off from the player's location by exterior walls. That's the path to the endgame, requiring the Ladder (one of the very last Magic Implements) to reach.

** For the longest time, [[Ride/DisneyThemeParks Disney's California Adventure]] (due to construction on a new ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars}}''-themed area) had required you to walk through the [[WesternAnimation/ABugsLife Flik's Bug Land]] area to reach the ''Series/TwilightZone'' Tower of Terror. There was no other way to reach the tower, but construction has now progressed enough that you can reach it through the Hollywood Studios land on the other side.