10 Video Game Fast-Travel Methods We Didn’t See Coming
Teleporting has never been so amusing.
Does anyone else have a ridiculously intimidating video game backlog?
Nowadays we’re picking up new games at an exponential rate, buying two or three more before we’ve even finished the one we're on. We start to look for ways to cut down on playtime, a way to help make that infinite battle against the dreaded monster backlog just that little bit easier to conquer, and one of those ways is through fast-travelling.
Obviously fast-travelling often has a negative effect on the gaming experience. It can be quite disorientating to be suddenly uprooted and instantly dumped in a completely different environment, but when done well, truly immersive fast-travel can maintain world immersion while simultaneously cutting down the extra play time that you could be spending on your next big obsession.
So let's look at video games that offered both convenience and entertainment.
10. Flying - Pokemon
In the world of Pokemon, every time you travel through an area, you can discover something new. Some Pokemon only appear at night, some are super rare, some items that were once hidden might suddenly catch your eye.
That being said, wading through that enormous patch of grass for the millionth time to be stopped by hordes of Pidgeys far too low level to even be worth battling does start to feel repetitive - even in a game defined by its repetition.
Luckily, around half-way through the campaign, generally, you’ll learn the move ‘Fly’. In the original Pokemon games, it was a HM (or Hidden Machine) that had to be taught to a Pokemon as one of their four moves. In Pokemon Let’s Go, your partner Pokemon is able to utilise a tiny airship and you can take to the skies without needing to sacrifice a move slot.
Flying around the world of Pokemon on the backs of your teammates is glorious, especially in Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, where you can control your Mega Latios or Latias and land in whichever city you liked.
It was also incredibly immersive, provided you ignore the fact that it works with Doduo.