While the meat and potatoes of most JRPGs are found in combat and story situations, that doesn’t mean you have to get to everything by just walking.
Particularly in JRPGs with larger, wide-open maps, it definitely pays to have an alternate means of traversal, both to get around faster and to just help keep you engaged with the game over long, quiet periods.
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The days of dull icons and black screens are long gone.
Various JRPGs employ different kinds of mechanics and vehicles to move you quickly and impressively from point A to point B. These include some manner of hoverboard, a rideable animal, or even a giant, transforming robot.
If you absolutely have to trek across a large, mostly empty space, you could do worse than doing it with one of these methods.
10Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
Magic Parkour
Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
From the beginning of the series, every subsequent Kingdom Hearts game has gradually expanded on the role of traversal and mobility. Starting with the simple glide in the first game, a combination of faster glides and air dodges in the second game took things to the next level.
Things really came to a head inKingdom Hearts 3Dwith the introduction of Flowmotion, a subsystem of magically-enhanced jumping, sliding, and free running. By simply dodging into a wall or solid object, Sora and Riku can send themselves flying in just about any direction at high speed.
You can bounce off walls, slide up and down rails, flip off of poles, and so much more. Not only that, but any Flowmotion move can be chained into a powerful AoE attack, which is great when all of your other commands are on cooldown.
9Tales Of Berseria
Geoboardin’
Tales of Berseria
While older entries in the Tales series have their fair share of overworld traversal mechanics, likeboats and airships, there wasn’t much in the way of field or dungeon travel. They were pretty cramped confines, after all, so there was no real reason to have them.
InTales of Berseria, though, there is a faster way to get around: the Geoboard. This weird slab of rock can be ridden around on like a surfboard thanks to the natural power of the Earthpulse. Not only is it way faster than walking, but it can also be used to defeat weak enemies instantly.
Amusingly, according to a skit, the Geoboard draws its power from a companion malak, Bienfu, in this case. Ergo, while it’s a fast and easy means of travel for Velvet and company, for Bienfu, every use of the Geoboard is like running a marathon.
8Dragon Quest XI
Finders Keepers
Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of An Elusive Age - Definitive Edition
We can pretty much all agree that one of the biggest selling points of any Dragon Quest game is itsdistinctive monster designs, yes? It stands to reason, then, that the best way to make any additional mechanic appealing is to tie it into those monsters.
Thus, we have monster mounts inDragon Quest XI. After defeating certain monsters, they may leave behind vehicles or animals, which you’re able to co-opt for your own traversal needs. These include a Skullrider’s six-legged revenant, a Headless Rider’s horse, and even an Eggsoskeleton’s entire mechanical body.
Different mounts have different abilities, like jumping, climbing, and gliding, so finding one may help you to uncover some nifty treasures. The only rule is that you’re able to’t take them beyond the area you found them in.
7Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance
Supernatural Rail Grinding
Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance
In the original version ofShin Megami Tensei V, traversal was decently fun and convenient thanks to the Nahobino’s inherent speed and agility. Even so, those maps were pretty large, and it wasn’t always convenient to manually run all over the place.
Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeanceaddressed this hiccupwith the introduction of the Magatsu Rails, demonic coils that sprout from the ground for you to grind along. These rails serve to connect two specific points on the map, which makes them incredibly useful shortcuts, not to mention quite a spectacle.
While some Magatsu Rails are only meant to get you around faster, some serve to connect you to otherwise inaccessible secret areas. You should always ride the rails when you see them, either for profit or just for fun.
6Pokemon Sun & Moon
Every Possible Way To Ride A Pokemon
Pokemon Sun and Moon
We’ve been hitching rides on Pokemon since the very first games in the series. Thanks to moves like Fly and Surf, they’ve always got us where we need to go, though not in a particularly dissimilar manner from just walking.
The first Pokemon game to go a little further with the concept wasSun & Moonand its Ride Pokemon system. At any time, you may call up one of several Poke Rides, not unlike calling an Uber, summoning a specially-trained Pokemon to your location for transport.
Every Ride Pokemon handles different kinds of obstructions. There’s the usual stuff like a Lapras to carry you over water, as well as more specialized Pokemon like a Mudsdale for riding over rocky terrain or a Machamp to carry you over rocky cliffs. There’s even a jet-powered Sharpedo that swims faster and can smash through rocks.
5Metaphor: ReFantazio
“He’s Riding A Sword, Mom!”
Metaphor: ReFantazio
Not long after the protagonist arrives in Grand Trad inMetaphor: ReFantazio, he remembers the prince’s enchanted sword holstered on his hip. On Galica’s suggestion, he decides the best use of this magical artifact is to ride it around like a skateboard.
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From gigantic trees to floating cities, the world of Metaphor: ReFantazio is packed full of fascinating landmarks to admire.
Whenever you’re in a town or city in Metaphor, you can whip out the flying sword and start cruising around. You can’t use it in dungeons, unfortunately, but it does make it easy to get around a large city like Grand Trad, and you look cool doing it.
What’s really entertaining about the flying sword, though, is that if you’re riding it, incidental NPC dialogue will change. As you fly by, the townsfolk will remark with awe, confusion, and concern at this random Elda boytearing up the streets on a magical sword.
4Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth
Surf Those Streets
Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth
Compared to when Segways first became a thing, personal weight-based transport has become a lot more common, not to mention affordable. Apparently, it’s so affordable that they just give them out to any random tourist in Hawaii.
InLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, a chance run-in with a haggard inventor, unlocks the Street Surfer, a battery-powered personal vehicle that Ichiban can hop onto at any time.
It’s faster than walking, naturally, but it’s also got an auto-cruise function that will automatically carry you to any pinned spot on your map.
You can alsocustomize your Street Surferwith various paint jobs and wheels. Of course, buying all those customizations, not to mention charging the battery, ain’t cheap. Maybe getting this thing for free isn’t such a blessing after all…
3Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
You Can Already Hear The Song
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
Chocobo riding has been a mainstay element of the Final Fantasy series since its earliest days, providing a fast and convenient means of overworld travel, always accompanied by their earworm of a theme song.
The more recent Final Fantasy games have fleshed Chocobos out a bit more than just “walking but faster,” and this is best observed inFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth.
In Rebirth, Cloud and company can summon their Chocobo mounts from anywhere in the field to get around a little faster. However, to summon a Chocobo, you first have to tame the local wild Chocobo for that particular region. It’s a bit of a chore, but it makes you appreciate your feathered friends more.
Not only can Chocobos cart you around, but nearly every region’s Chocobo has a special traversal ability. In Junon, for instance, your Chocobo can climb right up sheer rock surfaces, while over inCosmo Canyon, your Chocobo can glide through the air.
2Rune Factory 4
Hitch A Ride On Your Monsters
Rune Factory 4 Special
One of the major mechanics inRune Factory 4is taming and conscripting monsters. Just about any random monster can be befriended with a gift and cared for to raise their affection for you.
Once a monster likes you, they’re willing to give you a ride pretty much anywhere. Smaller monsters can’t fit you, but any other monster of sufficient size can be ridden, which both makes you move faster and lets you use certain unique attack abilities.
Amusingly, since all monsters carry you on top of themselves, this can lead to some entertainingly bizarre riding situations. Taming and riding a Pomme Pomme, for example, will have you perched on their head while they roll around on the ground.
1Xenoblade Chronicles X
Everything’s Better With Transforming Robots
Xenoblade Chronicles X
It is an indisputable scientific fact that all things are objectively better with the inclusion of giant robots. Look it up. Giant robots called Skells are the central theme ofXenoblade Chronicles X, which is awesome, but there is a way to make them slightly more awesome: transformations.
Every Skell model has its own alternate vehicle mode, which you may shift into or out in the field if you want to move a little faster. Depending on the weight and size of the Skell you’re using, the vehicle it turns into will be slightly different.
Lighter Skells like Formula or Verus transform into massive motorcycles, while heavier Skells like Mastema and Amdusias transform into beefy, four-wheeled tanks. Whichever Skell you’re using, just flipping modes while you’re out and about, is immensely satisfying. It’s kind of like a really big fidget toy.
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Venture into the world of travel anime with titles like Kino’s Journey, A Place Further than the Universe, and Mushishi.
