History Main / EscapeRope

* Both of the ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}}'' games feature the spell "Town Portal", which does ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin, but leaves the door open for a return trip to the combat zone.
** In the first game, it takes you to a specific spot in Tristram (sensible as it's the only town) and is a fairly low level spell that has the same effect no matter what your stats are, so even non magic-focused character builds could learn it. Scrolls would also drop fairly regularly. The third party expansion ''Hellfire'' added the Warp spell, which teleported you towards the nearest stairs. At best, it was a free escape from whatever battle you were in, at least unless the game was killing you [[StunLock the way it usually did]] or a free ride across half of the map. At worst, you were back where you started and had to walk across half of the map again.
** In ''VideoGame/DiabloII'':
*** It's no longer available as a learnable skill since the skill trees are now strictly segregated by class, but the game does include a compact storage system for carrying a large number of spell scrolls for this purpose. It always leads to the town of the current act. If you used one in the final battle vs. Diablo, he'd cast bone prison on it while you were gone, and you'd teleport into a trap.
*** A common multiplayer strategy was to use the portals of a party member instead of yours, as the portal would only disappear after its creator took it; teammates could use it back and forth as many times as needed. Thus one could make a semi-permanent teleport to an area with just two party members and two scrolls - and since portals are labeled by player, its rather easy to perform.

* In 'VideoGame/KlonoaHeroesDensetsuNoStarMedal'', Moo Wings let you leave levels if you have a reason to.

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening'': Playing Manbo's Mambo on the Ocarina teleports the player to the entrance of a dungeon. Outside of those, it teleports the player to a tiny pond right next to the Mysterious Woods (it's upgraded to a full-blown WarpWhistle in the ''Switch'' remake).

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'': The birdlike Ooccoo can be found inside every dungeon, and allows the player to teleport out at any time--her son would even allow the player to teleport back in again to the same room they left.

* In ''VideoGame/DemonsSouls'', the Shard of Archstone and the Evacuate miracle allow you to instantly warp back to the Nexus. If you're out of those, you can also touch your Nexial Binding to give up all your souls in exchange for a warp to the Nexus, but that's mostly the same as dying (in fact it's slightly worse since dying would have left your souls behind to potentially retrieve on the next attempt)--it mostly exists as a failsafe in case you're somehow stuck.
* All of these options return in ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'', but renamed to the Homeward Bone (with some lore about how, if used by a living person, this would literally take them back home, but undead have no home as such), the Homeward miracle, and the Darksign respectively. Since ''Dark Souls'' has no equivalent of the Nexus, they instead warp you to the last bonfire you sat at. The sequels, which ''do'' have equivalent locations (Majula and the new Firelink Shrine), you're asked whether to warp there or back to the bonfire. They also added late-game items (the Aged Feather and the Coiled Sword Fragment, respectively) that function as infinite-use Homeward Bones.
* And in ''VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}}'', you get the Bold Hunter's Mark.

* In ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'', the Homeward miracle and the [[StealthPun Homeward Bone]] items allow you to instantly warp to the last bonfire rested with all your belongings intact. If you're out of those, you can also touch your Darksign to give up all your souls and humanity in exchange for a warp to the last bonfire, but that's mostly the same as dying (in fact it's slightly worse since dying gives you one chance of recovering your souls and humanity but the Darksign permanently loses both)--it mostly exists as a failsafe in case you're somehow stuck.

* The ''VideoGame/EtrianOdyssey'' games have these, called "Warp Wire" in the first two games and "Ariadne Thread" since. Considering how deep the dungeons are and how unforgiving they can be, keeping one on hand is a ''must''. There is also a skill which can do the same, but it's not guaranteed to work. It's useful to save money, but you'll want to carry another wire/string in case the caster faints or runs out of TP. More modern games in the series introduce cheaper, lesser variants of this trope: Silver Whistles carry you back to the beginning of the current maze so you can board your airship, while Pole Stones take you to the most recently-used stairs, entrance, or [[DoorToBefore geomagnetic pole]].

** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'', using the Magic Mirror inside a dungeon returned the player to the entrance. (Using it outside allowed the player to teleport from the Dark to the Light World.)
** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening'', playing Manbo's Mambo on the Ocarina teleports the player to the entrance of a dungeon. Outside of those, it teleports the player to a tiny pond right next to the Mysterious Woods (it's upgraded to a full-blown WarpWhistle in the ''Switch'' remake).
** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'', Farore's Wind is a quasi-example, because the first time you use it in a dungeon it merely establishes a warp point at that location, and a second usage returns you to that point. Using your WarpWhistle inside a dungeon also allows you to escape the dungeon in the process.
** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'', playing the "Song of Soaring" inside a dungeon returns the player to the entrance. (Outside, it functions as a WarpWhistle.)
** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'', the birdlike Ooccoo can be found inside every dungeon, and allows the player to teleport out at any time--her son would even allow the player to teleport back in again to the same room they left.

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds'' has the Scoot Fruit, a straighter example of the trope--it's a one-use item that returns you to the dungeon entrance.

** ''VideoGame/Persona1'' has the "Traesto" spell, which returns you to the entrance of the current dungeon. ''VideoGame/Persona4'' onward also features the consumable item "[[StealthPun Goho-M]]" which provides the same purpose.
** ''VideoGame/PersonaQShadowOfTheLabyrinth'' will actually warn you if you try to enter a dungeon without any Goho-Ms in your inventory. Leaving dungeons in that game is very difficult without them! By doing a sidequest, you can get the Goho-M More, an instant return to the entrance of a dungeon that never runs out. ''Q'' and ''[[VideoGame/PersonaQ2NewCinemaLabyrinth Q2]]'' also have the Goba-K, which takes you to the entrance of just the floor you're on.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

[[folder:Video games]]

* "Warp"/"Teleport"/"Exit" spells in the earlier ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' games. A very important skill to have considering that in-dungeon {{Save Point}}s weren't introduced until installment number four. Depending on the game, they may also work as a quick escape from random battles. And in the first game, TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon also doubled as a PointOfNoReturn, so the "Warp"/"Exit" spell was the ''only'' way to leave the dungeon at all.

* The ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' games have the "Traesto" spell, which returns you to the entrance of the current dungeon; ''VideoGame/Persona4'' onward also features the consumable item "[[StealthPun Goho-M]]" which provides the same purpose.
* ''VideoGame/PersonaQShadowOfTheLabyrinth'' will actually warn you if you try to enter a dungeon without any Goho-Ms in your inventory. Leaving dungeons in that game is very difficult without them! By doing a sidequest, you can get the Goho-M More, an instant return to the entrance of a dungeon that never runs out. ''Q'' and ''[[VideoGame/PersonaQ2NewCinemaLabyrinth Q2]]'' also have the Goba-K, which takes you to the entrance of just the floor you're on.

* ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarI'' has the "Exit" spell to return to the entrance of a dungeon, and the "Fly" spell to return to the last church visited. The latter can make the game {{Unwinnable}} if the last church visited was in a town that becomes inaccessible for a period after certain plot events. The second and fourth games have the "Hinas" and "Ryuka" spells which have similar effects, although in the fourth game the latter is more a WarpWhistle. Items that copy these spells, such as the escapipe, are available as well. The third game had an odd case in the "Grantz" spell which does this but cannot be used normally; it is only used in a CutScene at the end of the game.
* ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarOnline'' simplifies matters from the original RPG series by reducing the Escape Rope options to two: via items with Telepipes, or via spells with Ryuker. Both create a portal that leads back to the hub area where players can restock and recover, then return through the portal to where it was placed. When a player travels back to the dungeon through a portal they created, it disappears; but not when using another player's portal, allowing two players to set up portals near each other and use the other's portal to return to a dungeon while keeping both portals active, if need be.

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'': While in the [[DungeonCrawling Tomb of the Unknown King]], the player can warp to the entrance by accessing the map and pressing the Δ button. However, this causes the player to lose a [[PrivateMilitaryContractors SeeD]] rank. Which may or may not matter to you [[TheMaze depending on how long you've been wandering in circles]].
* ''VideoGame/{{Mother}}''

** ''[[VideoGame/CognitiveDissonance Mother: Cognitive Dissonance]]'' has the Starman Larice use a warp ability to teleport you right back to your spaceship from wherever you are on the map or in a dungeon.
** ''VideoGame/{{Earthbound}}'' has the Exit Mouse, which instantly returns you out of an inside level. It's a good idea to have one on hand if you've lost your way in a dungeon where the enemies are overwhelming you.

* ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaOrderOfEcclesia'' has an item called Magical Ticket, either found in treasure chests or cheaply bought from the shop, which immediately warps you back to the central village to heal and save, replenish your hearts, turn in sidequests and/or stock up on supplies. You can use them anywhere, anytime, except during boss fights. You will probably use them a lot, given the [[NintendoHard general difficulty]] of the game.

* In ''[[{{VideoGame/Atelier}} Atelier Viorate]]'', the eponymous alchemist can synthesize a FlyingBroom, which returns her to the overworld from a dungeon. It really saves on the days backtracking the dungeon.
* ''Film/{{Willow}}'' for the UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem has the Fleet spell to get out of caves.

* "Warp"/"Teleport"/"Exit" spells in the earlier ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' games. A very important skill to have considering that in-dungeon {{Save Point}}s weren't introduced until installment number four. Depending on the game, they may also work as a quick escape from random battles.
** In the first game, TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon also doubled as a PointOfNoReturn, so the "Warp"/"Exit" spell was the ''only'' way to leave the dungeon at all.

** ''VideoGame/PersonaQShadowOfTheLabyrinth'' will actually warn you if you try to enter a dungeon without any Goho-Ms in your inventory. Leaving dungeons in that game is very difficult without them! By doing a sidequest, you can get the Goho-M More, an instant return to the entrance of a dungeon that never runs out. ''Q'' and ''[[VideoGame/PersonaQ2NewCinemaLabyrinth Q2]]'' also have the Goba-K, which takes you to the entrance of just the floor you're on.
* The recurring [[TropeNamers Escape Rope]] item in the ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' series, commonly stocked in countless shops in most games and featured as an unlimited-use Key Item in ''VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'', allows the user to instantly warp to a dungeon's entrance when used. Similarly, the field move "Dig" provides this function if used in an underground area. The move "Teleport" can both flee from wild Pokemon battles as well as return the player to the nearest [[TraumaInn Pokémon Center]], though like [[WarpWhistle "Fly"]], it only works outdoors.

** In the first game, it takes you to a specific spot in Tristram (sensible as it's the only town) and is a fairly low level spell that has the same effect no matter what your stats are, so even non magic-focused character builds could learn it. Scrolls would also drop fairly regularly.
*** The third party expansion ''Hellfire'' added the Warp spell, which teleported you towards the nearest stairs. At best, it was a free escape from whatever battle you were in, at least unless the game was killing you [[StunLock the way it usually did]] or a free ride across half of the map. At worst, you were back where you started and had to walk across half of the map again.
** In ''VideoGame/DiabloII'', it's no longer available as a learnable skill since the skill trees are now strictly segregated by class, but the game does include a compact storage system for carrying a large number of spell scrolls for this purpose. It always leads to the town of the current act. If you used one in the final battle vs. Diablo, he'd cast bone prison on it while you were gone, and you'd teleport into a trap.

* ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights'': The Stone of Recall allows you to teleport back to the Halls of Justice (or a local temple of Tyr) for healing, then teleport right back. It will also automatically teleport you to get resurrected when you die.

* The ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' games have the "Traesto" spell, which returns you to the entrance of the current dungeon; ''Persona 4'' onward also features the consumable item "[[StealthPun Goho-M]]" which provides the same purpose.
** In the spinoff game ''Persona Q'' the game will actually warn you if you try to enter a dungeon without any Goho-Ms in your inventory. Leaving dungeons in that game is very difficult without them!

[[AC:Tabletop Games]]

[[AC:Video games]]

* In the ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork'' and ''[[VideoGame/MegaManStarForce Star Force]]'' series, pressing the shoulder buttons would give you the option to "jack out" of dungeons or Network or EM areas in general, with the added bonus of completely restoring Mega Man's HP.

** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening'', playing Manbo's Mambo on the Ocarina teleports the player to the entrance of a dungeon. Outside of those, it teleports the player to a tiny pond right next to the Mysterious Woods.