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{{trope}}
[[File:
In an [[RPG]], the time will eventually come when you've done all you can on the continent you start out on. Since you know that you're eventually going to have to visit every location on your [[Fantasy World Map]], there's nothing to be done for it except to head to the nearest [[Port Town]] and find someone to ferry you to the next continent so that you can continue with the adventure.
The game will usually require you to perform some sort of [[Fetch Quest]] before it will let you
This is also sometimes a major mode of transport around the [[World Map]], allowing you to travel across the world map much faster (possibly free of [[Random Encounters]]!). In this case, it will inevitably become obsolete once you acquire your [[Global Airship]] later on (unless you can still navigate and dock the boat [[Bubblegloop Swamp|in areas]] [[The Lost Woods|too dense]] for the Airship to make a
{{examples}}
== Anime and Manga ==▼
* Being based on an [[RPG]], ''[[Pokémon (
==
* [[Sinbad the Sailor]] was famous for having a shipwreck almost every time he sailed, but each wreck led to a huge adventure before he could return home.▼
== Theatre ==▼
* The entire plot of [[Shakespeare]]'s ''[http://www.yarnivore.com/francis/archives/000405.html Pericles, Prince of Tyre]'' revolves around an improbable number of shipwrecks as characters travel from place to place. While not directly related to
* [[PDQ Bach]]'s ''The Abduction of Figaro'': At the end of first act of the opera, the protagonists set sail, and immediately their ship is seen sinking in the mother-loving sea.▼
== Video Games ==
* ''[[The Legend of Zelda the Wind Waker (Video Game)|The Legend of Zelda the Wind Waker]]'', which is set in a Hyrule that has long since been flooded and has turned into the Great Sea. Played straight at the beginning of the game, where the King of Red Lions won't let you board until circumstances are met (getting a sail, getting the pearls), but after that, you're free to go where ever you want.▼
** ...[[But Thou Must!|Except where the King of Red Lions says you can't]].▼
* ''[[Civilization]]'' is a [[
* The ''[[Europa Universalis]]'' also doe this, as you'll need transport ships to ferry your armies to islands and other continents, as well as faraway countries (it's a lot faster and more convenient than having to slog it on foot through a bunch of foreign provinces).▼
===
▲* ''[[The Legend of Zelda:
▲** ...[[But Thou Must!|Except where the King of Red Lions says you can't]].
=== Adventure Game ===
* The ''[[Monkey Island]]'' series uses this trope often, unsurprisingly as it is a pirate series set in the Caribbean. In each game the player has to look for a ship at some point in order to leave the first island.
* ''[[The Longest Journey]]'' has a boat that the player character has to take over the sea. Naturally, it sinks before you reach your destination, but this time it's all because of you (and it turns out to be a good thing eventually, for you anyway).
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* Subverted in ''[[King's Quest VI]]'': Due to the [[Evil Chancellor]]'s machinations, the ferry has ceased to operate. The reason for Alexander to board it anyway is to hear the unemployed ferryman tell him of a [[Warp Whistle|magic map]] that can take him between the islands.
=== First
* Every major mission in ''[[
▲* Every major mission in ''[[Deus Ex (Video Game)|Deus Ex]]'' required to you take a boat or a helicopter to get to the next one. There is a point where if you don't do an event, {{spoiler|your helicopter blows up}}. However, it's a moot point by that time, as you're already at the final area. It really just depends on how much you like {{spoiler|the pilot, and how much you wanna hear some hilariously poorly acted dialog. Saying "A bomb." in a monotone voice was one of the ''Deus Ex'' fan favourites}}.
** The way the boat/helicopter worked required to have a player finish saying a line of dialog before the trigger happened. However, pirate copies released had unimportant audio (and sometimes, all audio) removed from the game due to connection speeds at the time, causing pirates to be in an [[Unwinnable]] situation. Obviously, dialog that never started can never finish. With cheating, the game could be finishable, but not very enjoyable, as this affected all the Infolink conversations, making it very hard to know what you're supposed to be doing.
* Despite being an FPS and not an RPG, the elevators in ''[[
▲== Four X ==
▲* ''[[Civilization]]'' is a [[Four X]] example. On the standard maps, you'll meet some of the other civilizations on your continent; you'll need to learn how to build ocean crossing units to meet the rest (and take their land).
▲* The ''[[Europa Universalis]]'' also doe this, as you'll need transport ships to ferry your armies to islands and other continents, as well as faraway countries (it's a lot faster and more convenient than having to slog it on foot through a bunch of foreign provinces).
== Interactive Fiction ==▼
▲=== Interactive Fiction ===
* A lone boat can be found on a riverbank in the text-based ''[[The Hobbit]]'' game. As soon as Bilbo gets into it, it'll start moving, even if Thorin or Gandalf has used that turn to climb back out.
===
* ''[[World of Warcraft]]'' has many boats for cross continental
▲* ''[[Runescape]]'' takes this literally
▲* ''[[World of Warcraft]]'' has many boats for cross continental travel -- woe the traveller with low RAM or a shaky internet connection, though, because the loading screens that result often leave the player stuck on the boat, unable to get off at their destination.
** Another amusing bug would cause the character to spawn into the zone after the boat had moved on, either dumping into the ocean thousands of yards offshore or, with the Horde airships, dropping you from a perilous height.
** During a period in 2005 when bugs were causing the boats to spawn improperly, Blizzard removed them from the game and replaced them with "Captain Placeholder", an NPC who teleported players between continents on request.
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* The main way to get around the [[Vice City|Rogue Isles]] in ''[[City of Villains]]'' is by ferry. A few zones in ''[[City of Heroes]]'' are accessed mainly by boat as well.
=== Platform Game ===
* ''[[Spyro the Dragon]]'' games had transports that took you between worlds (and involved [[Loads and Loads of Loading]]) but you often couldn't get on them unless you'd done something (rescued a certain amount of Dragons/Dragon Eggs, had a certain amount of Gems, defeated a boss, etc.)
=== Real Time Strategy ===
* The demo campaign in ''[[
▲* The demo campaign in ''[[War Craft]] III'' involves Thrall taking some orcs and getting on a boat, promptly crashing it on an island and recruiting a tribe of trolls there before being chased off the [[Load-Bearing Boss|sinking island]].
** Of course, Thrall fixes his boats, and sails to the continent of Kalimdor, which he... crashes into. Orcs don't seem to be big on sailing.
=== Role Playing Game ===
* Arguably overused in ''[[Star Wars]]: [[Knights of the Old Republic]] II'', where ''four'' space ships with the player onboard end up being gunned down and crashing. One of them is the [[Global Airship]], which actually crashes twice throughout the game.
* Some ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' games give you control of the boat, and some don't. They all have one at one point or another, though.
** ''[[
** ''[[
*** And actually getting back on the boat is ''necessary'' to get Aerith's last limit break, at least {{spoiler|while she's still alive.}}
*** ''[[
** Every ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' game, in fact, has a boat that, for some reason, doesn't do what it's supposed to do, or does it in the most roundabout way possible. The only exception is the original ''[[
*** You still get random encounters though, involving everything up to and including Pirates, Flying Sharks, and random horrors of the deep.
** ''[[
** ''[[
*** The trope is initially subverted when the party leaves the first continent originally using underground tunnels. They don't
** ''[[
** One exception is ''[[
* You had control of the boat in ''[[Breath of Fire III]]'' as well.
* ''[[Vandal Hearts]]''
** ''[[Vandal Hearts]] 2'' has this... but without the boat. {{spoiler|The hero, in fact, flings himself through a closed window into the water.}}
* ''[[Romancing
** Also later on {{spoiler|If you completed the First mummy quest, when you leave the port on the same boat with the merchant selling the corpse on to Melvir, the Mummy will come back to life that night and wreck havoc on the passengers of that boat, failing to inform them makes the fight with the mummy harder since every victim it attacks turns them into the undead, said merchant is the first to die though so you have to fight one other zombie regardless}}
* ''[[Lunar Silver Star Story Complete|Lunar: The Silver Star]]:'' Alex and his friends
* Done in every game in the ''[[
* ''[[
** ''[[
* In ''[[
* The original ''[[Wild
** It eventually gets destroyed by a [[Bonus Boss]] and is ironically fixed for your use by the Captain's rival.
** ''[[Wild
* In the original ''[[Baten Kaitos]]'', Kalas and Xehla used commercial ferries to cross between continents until they saved Diadem, after which the King lent them the use of his personal cruiser as thanks. In the [[Prequel]], Verus gives you the high-tech ''Sfida'' ship after you begin working for him.
* The main characters of ''[[Fire Emblem]]: Blazing Sword'' enlist the help of good-hearted [[
* The original ''[[
** The first game actually closed with Isaac's party Getting On The Boat to set off to find the other two lighthouses. They later meet up with Felix's party in the second game. What exactly happened to Isaac&company, and their boat, following the first game's end is never explained.
** Of course, in the second one, a good part of the plot is centered around your boat. {{spoiler|Meet at the boat, why won't the boat work, who has a boat, fix the boat, take the boat, the boat is stolen, the boat is that guy's, we need the thing to make the boat go, our boat can't go that way right now (twice), your boat needs wings, your boat needs a cannon...}}
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* ''[[Ultima IV]]'' is one of the strongest aversions to this trope. Not only can you reach many of the important places in the game without ships, but once the ships appear, acquiring one is a matter of letting one come to shore and winning an easy battle against its crew. Since the pirates spawn continuously, you can keep stealing their ships and build your own private navy, and it is common to jack a ship just to cross a short distance with less hassle. The game essentially treats ocean-going vessels as quick, disposable transportation, the way ''[[Grand Theft Auto]]'' treats cars. The only requirement to get a ship is to reach level 4, which does not take much time.
** In ''[[Ultima IX]]'', you will travel between islands in a ship piloted by the story's love interest. Near the end of the game you also learn to sail the ship yourself.
* This is a staple of the ''[[
* In the first two ''[[Paper Mario (
* ''[[
* In ''[[
* In ''[[
* In the ''[[Sonic Chronicles]]'' RPG, you're frequently hustled onto the (space) ship and on to the next zone upon beating a boss, with the ship usually disabled immediately when you arrive.
* The first three islands in ''[[Albion]]'' are left this way. Before you can do that you must solve a Murder Mystery, Fetch Quest and Racial Conflict fueled by a [[Government Conspiracy]]. The fourth island has a teleporter and a [[Barrier Maiden]] who can use it.
* Inverted in ''[[The Elder Scrolls]] III: [[Morrowind]]''. The game starts as the player is a prisoner on a boat headed to the titular province, once there you get off the boat and it goes away. Smaller boats offer some local transportation as well, but they're more of a [[Warp Whistle]].
* While the boat in ''[[
** And Mr. Briney's boat serves as Ye Boat for the [[Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire
** Actually ''subverted'' in the [[Pokémon Red and Blue
* Common in the ''[[Phantasy Star]]'' series, although given the sci-fi fantasy setting the "boat" is as likely to be a hovercraft, ground-based tank or sandcrawler that serves effectively the same purpose, although you still get [[Random Encounters]].
** In ''[[Phantasy Star]] III'', your [[Transforming Mecha|cyborg party member Wren]] becomes this when you find the right parts. He can also turn into a submarine, which is only needed to access one undersea dungeon.
* ''[[Shining Force]] 2'' uses a boat fairly early as a point of no return, but the whole town goes with you and resettles on the new continent. After that, you'll have to acquire a raft, a "caravan", and a fancy precursor airship to access the more advanced areas.
▲== Anime and Manga ==
▲* Being based on an [[RPG]], ''[[Pokémon (Anime)|Pokémon]]'' uses boats for inter-region transport quite a bit, though there's only been one sinking (the episode "Pokémon Shipwreck", naturally).
▲* [[Sinbad the Sailor]] was famous for having a shipwreck almost every time he sailed, but each wreck led to a huge adventure before he could return home.
▲== Theatre ==
▲* The entire plot of [[Shakespeare]]'s ''[http://www.yarnivore.com/francis/archives/000405.html Pericles, Prince of Tyre]'' revolves around an improbable number of shipwrecks as characters travel from place to place. While not directly related to [[Get On the Boat]] as a [[Video Game Tropes|Videogame Trope]], it shows that the device is still [[Older Than Steam]].
▲* [[PDQ Bach]]'s ''The Abduction of Figaro'': At the end of first act of the opera, the protagonists set sail, and immediately their ship is seen sinking in the mother-loving sea.
== Web Comics ==
* ''[[RPG World]]'' parodied this, as with every other RPG trope.
* Played straight in ''[[Our Little Adventure]]''. The first Magicant piece is not on the island Julie and her friends were on, so they went back to Huckleton and jumped on a ship to one of the main continents.
{{reflist}}
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