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1A very widespread trope in video games, especially in SideView, but can also be found in animations. All characters, no matter how slow they are otherwise, can turn their backs instantly. This is also due to difficulty constraints of implementing non-instant turning, making it one of the AcceptableBreaksFromReality.
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3In 2D games, it very often goes hand in hand with AmbidextrousSprite. Even in several {{First Person Shooter}}s (particularly on consoles), there may be a button which instantly turns the player by 180 degrees. It is also usually possible in 3D PC games to make a character spin dozens of revolutions per second with high mouse sensitivity, yet the character doesn't feel the effects of that. This trope dates to the second generation of video games, making it OlderThanTheNES.
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5When this trope is present in a multiplayer game, it is a good way to identify novices. If a player uses only keyboard controls they will turn at a slow fixed rate. Besides causing a severe maneuverability disadvantage, this is also obvious to other players and marks them as easy targets. It can also identify people using aimbots, as the code involved would cause the person using the aimbot to instantaneously lock on to the nearest enemy, even if it was behind the aimbotter.
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7Obviously not TruthInTelevision...unless you count the spin of an elementary particle, which ''can'' instantly rotate by 180 degrees [[QuantumMechanicsCanDoAnything (for quantum values of instantly, rotate, 180 and degrees)]].
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9Since this trope is ubiquitous, we list aversions instead of straight examples.
10----
11!!Aversions from video games
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13[[foldercontrol]]
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15[[folder: Action Adventure Games]]
16* ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight Symphony of the Night]]'' is one of several ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'' games to avert this. Alucard takes a few frames to turn around.
17** Soma, Julius, Yoko, and Alucard do take a few frames to turn around in ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaDawnOfSorrow Dawn of Sorrow]]'', as well.
18** Albus, from ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaOrderOfEcclesia Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia]]'' also has a turn around animation. Turning back and forth rapidly results in a wonderful moonwalking impression. Shanoa also has one.
19** Charlotte and Jonathan in ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaPortraitOfRuin Portrait of Ruin]]'' too.
20* Partially in play in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks''. Whenever you board your train from a town, you have to select a destination, which determines the direction your train is facing, even if there's no possible way your train could have turned around at most of the stations. An AcceptableBreakFromReality, because without it you might have to take a detour or travel backwards (which is much slower) to the nearest intersection just to turn around, making the train trips very annoying.
21** The Tower Of Spirits, on the other hand, has an actual railroad turntable inside of it, so you always come out locomotive first.
22* The {{Platform/GBA}} ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'' games avert this.
23* [[Franchise/TombRaider Lara Croft]] uses an UnnecessaryCombatRoll to turn 180 degrees; without it, turning around would require about a full second (too long for an action/adventure game).
24* The main character from ''VideoGame/{{NieR}}'' slides to a halt before turning around.
25* [[VideoGame/EccoTheDolphin Ecco]] would always turn towards the camera as he switched between going left and going right.
26* ''VideoGame/AliceMadnessReturns'' shows Alice practically teleporting around with a dramatic hair woosh when the player makes her turn to or away from the camera.
27* In the ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter'' series, just walking around outside of a hunt plays this straight, but when running at any time, the hunter takes a second to turn around and start running. This has led to many a RageQuit as a player attempts to avoid an attack coming from a specific direction, only for their hunter to take a moment to turn and build up speed and get pulverized by the incoming fireball/charge/[[HitboxDissonance hipcheck]].
28[[/folder]]
29
30[[folder: Action Game]]
31* The Atari 2600 version of Asteroids let the player activate a special power when pressing down on the joystick. By default, it's hyperspace (teleport randomly) but the player could replace that ability with a shield, instant 180 degree turns, or no special power at all.
32* ''VideoGame/MoonCrystal'' had a smoothly animated sprite which actually turned slowly. However, controls suffered a bit due to that.
33[[/folder]]
34
35[[folder: Beat Em Ups]]
36* Gene can flip around very quickly (but not quite instantly) in ''VideoGame/GodHand'' with a dedicated button - which is good, because you're often surrounded and TankControls makes it harders to turn around and bolt out.
37[[/folder]]
38
39[[folder: Fighting Games]]
40* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' has relatively quick turning animations, but also allows the player to execute attacks mid-turn, so the animation is mostly cosmetic. Though there are weird tricks such as [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yTMrFboN2I Shellshifting]]...
41** Played straight for Mr. Game & Watch for [[Platform/GameAndWatch obvious reasons]]. Although it becomes averted when he's wielding a hammer in ''Melee'' as he can actually be seen slowly turning, likely due to a graphical oversight. This was fixed in subsequent games.
42* ''VideoGame/SonicBattle'' averted this. Which Fight Pose Emerl has equipped is usually a cosmetic choice (though Gamma's causes him to explode on death), but it does affect how quickly he turns around. [[MightyGlacier Chaos]]'s, for example, is painfully slow.
43* Averted in the ''Series/DeadliestWarrior'' videogame, to [[WebVideo/TheSpoonyExperiment Spoony's]] chagrin. The game developers actually sent him a message about his complaints, saying that you don't make instant 180 degree turns in real life, and his response was "Yes you do! If someone is stabbing you in the back, I think you turn around pretty much instantaneously!"
44[[/folder]]
45
46[[folder: First Person Shooters]]
47* In order to equalize online multiplayer between mouse, keyboard and flightstick players, the ''VideoGame/{{Descent}}'' series has a fixed maximum turning rate. Though it's most like an FPS, this may have something to do with the fact that it also resembles a flight sim to a certain extent.
48* Upcoming [[http://www.interstellarmarines.com Interstellar Marines]] avert this and play it straight, at least in the playable demos that have been released so far. No matter your mouse sensitivity, if you try to do a 180 turn the game will slow you down. You can freely pull off instant turns in midair after jumping though.
49* In the original ''VideoGame/UnrealTournament'', increasing the difficulty level makes the bots capable of, among other things, turning around faster. On a moderately high level, they can do a full spin in less than a second; on the highest level (appropriately named "Godlike"), ambushing them becomes impossible as they gain [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard instant turning and a 360° field of view that goes through walls]].
50* ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'' and [[VideoGame/Left4Dead2 its sequel]] include a controller binding for a 180 degree turn, a rarity on console games of this generation.
51* On the Wii version of ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonorVanguard'', quickly tilting the nunchuk will turn 180 degrees.
52[[/folder]]
53
54[[folder: Mecha Games]]
55* Averted from the first series in ''VideoGame/ArmoredCore'', reflecting the size and the apparent difficulty maneuvering the titular HumongousMecha. The turning problem (if you can call it a "problem"; most players simply grow to live with it) are sometimes mitigated by boosters that explicitly allows for quick turns. In the 4 series, the trope is played straight, in that side boosters can be used to perform quick turns.
56[[/folder]]
57
58[[folder: [=MMORPGs=]]]
59* Players and [=NPCs=] can ''generally'' do this in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', so it is really obvious in the few situations where they can't. Several vehicles, such as vehicles on the Flame Leviathan encounter and mounts at the Argent Tournament, have a nonzero turning radius and time. It's generally the same as or close to the radius and time it would take for a player to turn if they used arrow keys, except that it can't be avoided by using the mouse.
60** It is also actually possible to make other players feel the effects of such rapid spinning to a degree: if another player sits in a passenger seat of a mount, rapid spinning will be shared by them, but they will not be expecting it.
61[[/folder]]
62
63[[folder: [=MOBAs=]]]
64* Played straight in ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' but jarringly averted in ''VideoGame/DefenseOfTheAncients'' where using abilities and attacking behind you is noticeably delayed and even running away takes more time than expected, ensuring people coming from League will [[YetAnotherStupidDeath feed a lot]] at the start.
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66
67[[folder: Platform Games]]
68* ''VideoGame/StarFoxAdventures'' for Gamecube had the characters skid a moment and stop before turning around, sometimes causing a bit of frustration when avoiding enemies.
69* Averted in the ''Franchise/PrinceOfPersia'' games after ''The Sands of Time'': walking in one direction and then attempting to walk in the opposite direction without stopping would result in the character skidding to a halt before turning around.
70** Same goes for ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'', but only if you're running or sprinting.
71** Ditto the original [=2D=] games, though this is a common trait of the CinematicPlatformer.
72* ''VideoGame/TokiTori'' averts this and has the added bonus of him getting dizzy if you use it to spin him around too quickly.
73* ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid'' had quite detailed animations for Samus, including turning animations for both standing up and crouching.
74* ''VideoGame/{{Spelunky}}'' is a mixed case. While small characters turn around instantly, [[GiantMook the larger ones]] take conveniently a bit longer to turn around.
75* Due to the fact that ''VideoGame/BunnyMustDie'' has [[YouHaveResearchedBreathing turning around as a powerup]], it takes a few frames for her to turn around, and it feels just a bit sticky. However, turning around does make you momentarily invulnerable.
76* In all Franchise/SuperMarioBros games, 2D or 3D, if you move in one direction and quickly slam the Control Stick in the opposite direction, Mario will skid a little; Luigi tends to skid more.
77** The above also applies to all VideoGame/{{Sonic the Hedgehog}} games to date. Although, in the [=2D=] games at least, it's played straight if you're standing still, or moving very slowly, or if you are forced to by springs (sometimes the two close together facing each other).
78*** In ''VideoGame/SonicUnleashed'', Sonic the Werehog not only does a full turning-around animation, but needs extra space for him to turn around in. This can result in some unintentional deaths if the player chooses to turn Sonic around when he's standing near a ledge he can't grab.
79** Strangely, in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'', Mario plays this straight, but certain enemies like Koopa Troopas and the Koopalings take a moment to turn around.
80* The Platform/ZXSpectrum game ''Zub'' has a [[http://www.zee-3.com/pickfordbros/archive/view.php?post=101 three-frame turnaround animation]] that was added to justify the AmbidextrousSprite.
81* In ''VideoGame/GliderPRO'', the glider goes through a few frames of spinning animation when reversing orientation. However, orientation has no mechanical importance except when shooting rubber bands.
82* Partially averted in ''VideoGame/{{Iji}}'': Turrets, shredders and Iji herself have turnaround animations, while other enemies don't.
83* In Creator/{{Jaleco}}'s ''City Connection'', it takes a few frames for the player's car to wheel itself around, but it's still improbably fast and automatic. In fact, it's still possible to execute instant 180-degree turns ''in midair''.
84* In ''VideoGame/PizzaTower'', Peppino instantly starts moving in the opposite direction when you press the opposite arrow key when he's walking at a moderate pace. Averted while running at mach 2 or higher, as Peppino takes a moment to turn around while running.
85[[/folder]]
86
87[[folder: Racing Games]]
88* The Eliminator mode in ''[[VideoGame/{{Wipeout}} Wipeout HD]]'' (or "Combat" in ''Wipeout 2048'') allows combatants to flip 180 degrees near-instantaneously to more easily attack those behind them. It makes sense, seeing as in Eliminator, the track is less of a track and more of a ring-shaped arena.
89[[/folder]]
90
91[[folder: Real Time Strategy]]
92* In ''VideoGame/BattlefleetGothicArmada'', the huge spaceships you command definitely have turning radii, some of which are huge... But the [[SpaceElves Eldar]] have an upgrade for their ships that can allow this. Given their hit-and-run nature and relatively-fragile ships, it's quite a useful ability.
93* In the ''VideoGame/StarTrekStarfleetCommand'' series, this is a tactical maneuver called a "High Energy Turn". The downside is that using it can damage a ship and even cause it to suffer a breakdown, leaving it helpless for several seconds. Typically, the larger ships are more prone to malfunctions when performing this maneuver.
94[[/folder]]
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96[[folder: Role Playing Game]]
97* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'':
98** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIDaggerfall Daggerfall]]''[='s=] mobile [=NPCs=] and monsters display their sprites from various angles. As programmed, this allows them to turn around and turn corners. In practice, they always run right at the PC against corners and walls and, depending on the speed of the computer, appear to turn around instantaneously when approached from behind.
99** Despite being 3D games, ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'' still contain instances where AI controlled characters will do this.
100* The ''VideoGame/PaperMario'' series [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] this trope almost the entire game, where if you do an instant 180-degree turn (or an object does) it shows the object or person literally '''turning over''' as if you were flipping the piece of paper over instead of turning it around in a more real-life way. This looks especially funny when long trains and such perform this, as it takes forever for it to turn around in the first place.
101* The ''VideoGame/WildArms'' games were notable for averting this; despite being sprites, turning in various directions will use animation.
102* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIX'' uses a touch screen to control the [[GlobalAirship Celestial Express]], so the train will gradually turn to follow the stylus. Even with a directional pad it will gradually turn to face the direction of the pad.
103* Somewhat unusually for an educational game that predates Legend of Zelda, ''Tonk in the Land of the Buddy-Bots'' featured fairly fluid turning animations that did take a beat to do. Considering the tight timing necessary in parts of the higher levels, it could make a difference.
104* Present in all ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' games up until ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'', where characters turn realistically.
105[[/folder]]
106
107[[folder: Simulation Games]]
108* ''VideoGame/ElastoMania'' and its prequel had the main character along with the body of the motorbike turn although the wheels remain intact although their front wheel and rear wheel roles are reversed.
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110
111[[folder: Stealth Based Games]]
112* When using the third-person FreeRotatingCamera mode in ''VideoGame/ThiefDeadlyShadows'', Garrett not only can't turn around quickly, but actually can't even turn around in-place (as one would in first-person view): he has to make a realistic (or "realistic") couple of steps in a small circle, which can mean death on a narrow ledge.
113[[/folder]]
114
115[[folder: Survival Horror]]
116* The main character of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'' walks slow, but can turn around quickly. Thank goodness for this feature, it is easy enough to get stuck in the middle of group of enemies.
117** The quick-spin was first seen in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil3Nemesis''. Since the series uses tank-style controls, this was quickly seen as a blessing, and every game since has implemented it (including the Gamecube remake of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil1'').
118** When Leon (or Chris or Sheva) performs the 180 quick turn, he actually takes a step behind himself, with his foot turned almost all the way opposite from the direction he was originally facing. This ''is'' the fastest and most efficient way to turn around, showing that someone [[ShownTheirWork did the research]], nice it's not generally a natural movement.
119* Annoyingly averted in ''VideoGame/RuleOfRose'' where Jennifer must actually walk a small circle to turn around; turning on the spot simply isn't possible in this game. Really annoying in the Mermaid Princess bossfight where you must avoid the titular monster's corrosive vomit, and more often than not end up walking straight into it when you direct Jennifer to run away.
120[[/folder]]
121
122[[folder: Third Person Shooter]]
123* An actual ''Ability'' of Soldiers[=/=]Tanks in ''VideoGame/TransformersWarForCybertron'', who can instantly switch to a backwards pointing position. This, combined with tanks having a powerful cannon, let tanks outmanuveur faster foes like Scouts[=/=]Cars. Needless to say, spinning 180 without a rearview mirror and snap-shotting an enemy is very much DifficultButAwesome.
124[[/folder]]
125
126[[folder: Turn Based Tactics]]
127* In ''VideoGame/JaggedAlliance'', characters take Time Units to turn. In ''Jagged Alliance 2'', they may automatically turn as they raise their weapon as you enter view.
128* Averted in ''{{VideoGame/Steambirds}}'', where turning takes up an entire turn. Some planes have an ability to pull a 180 during their move, allowing them to suddenly spray a pursuing enemy.
129* Averted by the ''VideoGame/XCom'' series despite battles being turn-based. Soldiers have to use Time Units to turn in place and it is quite possible to spend an entire turn just twirling around or, more likely, come up a few [=TU=]s short of being able to take a shot because you had to turn to face the enemy. On the other hand, it is one of the very very few actions that do not trigger [[CounterAttack Reaction attacks]] from aliens looking at you.
130* The same is true in its SpiritualSuccessor, ''VideoGame/{{Xenonauts}}''.
131[[/folder]]
132
133[[folder: Web Games]]
134* The freeware game ''[[http://code.google.com/p/sanemethod/ Sane]]'' features a version of this, with instant turns only possible if the character isn't moving, or moving very slowly. If the character has built up some speed, when the player tries to turn around, they have to skid to a stop first.
135[[/folder]]

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