How to Fast Travel in Sonic Frontiers
Gotta go fast? Use Sonic Frontiers Fast Travel to island hop and zap to the Elder Koco with our guide
Sonic Frontiers Fast Travel is included in the wave of information given to you during the first hour of the game, so you might miss the details of how it all works, especially as it’s very likely the game will teach you how to do it before you actually can. That said, just by playing the game you’re likely to fulfil the criteria without realising, so we’ll first tell you the basics for how Fast Travel in Sonic Frontiers works, then the detailed process below that for how to unlock it in case you’re properly stuck.
How to use Sonic Frontiers Fast Travel
To switch to a previously explored island, bring up the map then look at the bottom left of the screen for the ‘Switch maps’ button prompt. Press the button shown and then choose the island you want to go to. Done.
Alternatively, to Fast Travel on the island you’re currently on, open the map and push the right bumper to change the map display to ‘Fast travel’. This will show you Elder Koco or Hermit Koco, provided you’ve added them to the map and have their corresponding scroll. Simply highlight the special Koco to whom you wish to travel then push the displayed button to zap right there. Don’t have the Elder Koco scroll or Hermit Koco scroll? Then read on.
How to unlock Sonic Frontiers Fast Travel
Sonic Frontiers Fast Travel can be unlocked pretty quickly, but there are a few steps you need to complete first. These are:
1. Collect Purple Coins
First off, collect purple coins whenever you see them. They can usually be found on the stone ruins that are dotted about the landscape, often up high, which require some clever use of Sonic’s double jump ability (and a lot of patience as the game isn’t particularly well-suited to precision platforming). Collect at least 10 to give yourself a good chance of unlocking Fast Travel. The more you have before you go fishing, the easier it will be.
2. Find the Purple Portals / Fishing Spots
Each main island has a fishing spot hidden behind a Purple Portal. The first one can be found at the end of the peninsula past the purple web-like ruins (pictured – the portal is in the middle of the image and has a circle at the top of it).
Unlock the portal then go and see Big, who teaches you how to fish. It’s very simple – just push the button to cast your line, then again when you get a bite, and then again whenever the white ripple overlaps the red area. There may be several of these, but to start with there’s just one.
Each go at fishing costs purple coins, the required number rising as you go through the game. It starts at one coin per cast, though, and after a few successful catches, you should land an Elder Koco scroll. Keep fishing and you should also land the Hermit Koco scroll – note that you’ll need to fish again at each new island to unlock the corresponding scrolls there. This unlocks Sonic Frontiers Fast Travel, but only if you’ve already added the corresponding Koco to your map. So keep fishing until you ideally have both scrolls, then exit the fishing spot. For now, we’ll use Elder Koco’s scroll.
3. Find the Elder Koco
You need to add Elder Koco or Hermit Koco to the map to unlock Fast Travel in Sonic Frontiers. Do this by completing the mission puzzles in the area to remove the ‘fog of war’ from the map screen and show where they are located.
Mission M-023 near the waterfall (pictured above) where you have to Cyloop the white sparkles within a time limit is the first. This will reveal Elder Koco, who’s standing nearby. So go and speak to them, and level up while you’re there.
4. Fast Travel
Congratulations! You’ve found Elder Koco and have their scroll, so you can revisit them at any time. To do this, bring up the map, push the right bumper until you get to ‘Fast travel’ (it’s the first thing you’ll switch to when you’re near the start of the game), highlight Elder Koco’s icon and confirm. Boom! Gotta travel fast. Repeat the process for Elder Koco and Hermit Koco on each island and fast travel awaits.
Good thing Sonic likes jumping through hoops, eh? One final thing to mention is that extra-long grind rails also appear as you clear areas of the game, allowing you to fast travel in a more conventional way between areas of the island you’re currently on. Just jump on, hit the right trigger to boost, and take in the views.
If you’re eager for more Sonic Frontiers coverage, check out how to drain the water in Sonic Frontiers or read our Sonic Frontiers review.
Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter
Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more
Justin was a GamesRadar staffer for 10 years but is now a freelancer, musician and videographer. He's big on retro, Sega and racing games (especially retro Sega racing games) and currently also writes for Play Magazine, Traxion.gg, PC Gamer and TopTenReviews, as well as running his own YouTube channel. Having learned to love all platforms equally after Sega left the hardware industry (sniff), his favourite games include Christmas NiGHTS into Dreams, Zelda BotW, Sea of Thieves, Sega Rally Championship and Treasure Island Dizzy.