Line #8 Main/HoverSkates


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11	[[quoteright:299:[[Franchise/{{Gundam}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dom_hover_boots_5.png]]]]
12	[[caption-width-right:299:The [[HumongousMecha MS-09 Dom]], equipped with downward-facing thermonuclear jet engines for all your hover-skating needs.]]
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14	Hover skating is the ability to coast along as if skating, but without actually touching the ground. This can be an ability that a character can use, an item that they can equip, or a built-in function of a {{Robot}}, {{Cyborg}}, or HumongousMecha. Usually, hover skates will act like foot-mounted hovercraft: they'll propel the user forward as well as lift them up (so no need to spend muscle power to move, like normal skates) and they'll be able to float over things that wouldn't normally support the user's weight (like water). On the flip side, this means they'll generally be unable to lift more than a few inches off the ground.
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16	Hover skates combine the best parts of both {{rollerblade\|Good}}s and {{Hover Board}}s; like rollerblades, they let you move your feet independently (allowing for a greater array of fancy footwork) but have all-terrain capability provided by hovering. Since hover skates are usually securely fastened to your feet, you don't run the risk of falling off like you can with a HoverBoard, either. From a narrative perspective, they're useful to writers since they allow many of the useful properties of {{Flight}} (high speed regardless of terrain, moving across water or other fluid surfaces), but the strict altitude limit means that the heroes can't just bypass all their problems by flying over them.
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18	Compare RollerbladeGood and HoverBoard. Contrast RocketBoots (which allow for full-on {{Flight}}). When a HumongousMecha has hover skates, it may be a type of HoverMecha. Often a form of PowerFloats. See also GhostlyGlide, for a similar type of movement used to make something seem supernatural or otherworldly.
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22	!!Examples
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24	[[foldercontrol]]
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26	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
27	* In one episode of ''Anime/ExcelSaga'', after discovering Hyatt's [[TrailOfBreadCrumbs Trail Of]] [[ItMakesSenseInContext Dead Birds]], Excel's pants flare out and she begins hover-skating to follow the trail, as a direct ShoutOut to ''Gundam''[='s=] Dom.
28	* Appears repeatedly in the ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'' franchise:
29	** The original ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'' has the Dom, which has this as its defining feature. It actually has thermonuclear jet engines built into its legs to accomplish the feat.
30	** The titular mobile suit of ''Anime/MobileSuitVictoryGundam'' can do this due to having a miniaturized version of the Minovsky Craft Unit.
31	** ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamThe08thMSTeam'' also features the Dom, and the monstrous Apsalus III is capable of moving in this fashion (though it can also fold up its legs and move into straight-up flight).
32	** In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam0083StardustMemory'', the Dom appears alongside the Xamel, a mobile suit so heavily armed and armored that it can barely walk, so it uses hover skating as its primary form of locomotion.
33	** ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing'' has the Tragos, a bulkier version of the standard Leo that is normally docked with a hovercraft system (bearing some resemblance to 0083's Xamel, but without the giant cannon), and the Olifant, which is basically a large gun platform (not even having arms) with massive hover-skating legs.
34	** In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDDestiny'', the DOM Trooper, being based off of the original Doms, has a special hover system that allows them to race across the ground at high speeds.
35	* The TransformingMecha of the ''Anime/{{Macross}}'' series can move like this, especially in gerwalk mode, where they're essentially fighter planes with legs.
36	* In ''Manga/OnePiece'', various people on Skypeia use special footwear called "Shooters" that are powered by Breath Dials ([[ItMakesSenseInContext seashells that store and release wind and gas]]) and use them to skate around.
37	* The ''Franchise/{{Zoids}}'' franchise uses this:
38	** Powerful zoids such as the Geno Saurer and Geno Breaker from ''Anime/ZoidsChaoticCentury'' and the Berserk Fury from ''Anime/ZoidsNewCentury'' can move like this using built-in thrusters.
39	** A human-sized version appears briefly in ''Anime/ZoidsNewCentury''; while on vacation, Jamie uses a pair of floating boots to slide down a mountainside, a la skiing without the snow.
40	[[/folder]]
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42	[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]
43	* Caine Wise, and later [[spoiler: Jupiter Jones]], sports a pair of these in ''Film/JupiterAscending'', after the former lost his wings due to a disciplinary action.
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46	[[folder:Literature]]
47	* In ''Literature/PleaseDontTellMyParentsImASupervillain'', Claire accomplishes this with ground-repelling shoe inserts.
48	* In ''Literature/SuperPowereds'', Alice uses her [[GravityMaster gravity power]] to move this way during the warehouse-clearing exercise, giving her better kinesthesia than if she just flew, while still silencing her footsteps.
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51	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
52	* The psionic power "Skate" in ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' 3.5 doesn't actually make the target hover, but it does let them "slide along solid ground as if on smooth ice", which has much the same effect.
53	** The Elocater PrestigeClass gains an ability called "Scorn Earth" which lets them float just above the ground.
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56	[[folder:Toys]]
57	* Robecca Steam of ''Toys/MonsterHigh'' has these with a steampunk flare.
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60	[[folder:Video Games]]
61	* The Time Traveler in ''VideoGame/TheCave'' has these, although they just appear to be for visual effects, seeing as she's from the future. Apparently everyone in the future wears them after running out of fossil fuels for cars.
62	* In ''VideoGame/{{Elsword}}'', Add can use his [[AttackDrone Nasod Dynamos]] to do a hovering dash by placing them around his feet. He can also use them to dash in midair.
63	* Main method of transportation in ''VideoGame/HoverRevoltOfGamers''.
64	* Wisdom Form from ''Videogame/KingdomHeartsII'' allows Sora to move around as though he were ice skating on air.
65	* The Hover Boots in ''Videogame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' are a rare example that don't move forward by themselves; Link still has to walk when he's wearing them. They also have a short time limit, so they're mostly used to solve puzzles rather than as a means of travel. But they still let Link walk over obstacles like water, quicksand, or even empty air while they're active.
66	* Mega Man Volnutt uses jet-skates in ''VideoGame/MegaManLegends''.
67	** Also, [[Characters/MegaManClassic original Mega Man]] uses this in ''VideoGame/CannonSpike'' (as a SecretCharacter) and in the short-lived [[ComicBook/MegaManDreamwave comic book adaptation by Dreamwave]].
68	* ''Franchise/RatchetAndClank'' use the Hoverboots in ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankFutureACrackInTime'', ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankFullFrontalAssault'', and ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankIntoTheNexus''. They let you speed around and jump off ramps.
69	* Shadow from the ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' franchise uses hover skates to keep up with Sonic. Their official name is Air Shoes, but have also been called rocket skates, hover shoes or jet shoes. Shadow doesn't like them being called roller skates.
70	* A core gameplay mechanic in ''VideoGame/StarsiegeTribes'' and its sequels, although given the hilly terrain, Hover ''Skis'' might be more accurate. "Skiing" down slopes to build up speed, and using jump jets to boost uphill are how players are expected to build up the extreme speeds the game centers around.
71	[[/folder]]
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73	[[folder:Western Animation]]
74	* Kira Supernova uses a homemade pair at one point in ''WesternAnimation/EscapeFromPlanetEarth'' (although she calls them "rocket boots").
75	* One ''ComicBook/RichieRich Riches'' short from 1982 starts with Richie, Gloria and Dollar on hover skates.
76	[[/folder]]

Context Main / HoverSkates