It looks like it might be a while before most of us can get any real riding given the world’s state. The best thing I can do right now is turn on my console and pretend I am. For those who don’t know, aside from traveling, I like playing video games, so I’ll be catching up on some of my gaming-related content while staying indoors.
Since I started riding, I’ve always been inspired by video games for travel and exploration. In fact, my own custom motorcycle Fenrir was inspired by the video game Final Fantasy VII.
I just recently started playing Days Gone, an action-adventure survival horror video game set two years after the start of a global pandemic (which to be honest, feels too close to home at the moment). Anyway, it got me thinking of the different iconic motorcycles in video games.
Check out these videos for a quick motorcycle fix or maybe get some inspiration for your next custom bike project bike.
Deacon’s Bike – Days Gone
Days Gone is a PlayStation 4 game set in a post-apocalyptic Oregon two years after the start of a global pandemic. You play the main character Deacon St. John, a former outlaw-turned-drifter who discovers the possibility that his wife Sarah may still be alive, which leads him on a quest to find her.
Days Gone is played from a third-person perspective where the player can explore an open world environment. Players can use firearms, melee weapons, improvised weapons, and stealth to defend against hostile humans and cannibalistic creatures known as Freakers.
One of the major aspects of the game is Deacon’s motorcycle, a custom bike that is used as the character’s primary mode of transportation as well as mobile inventory. Throughout the game, you get items that you can use to upgrade the bike and customize it to make your own.
Hardy Daytona – Final Fantasy VII & Remake
The Hardy Daytona is the motorcycle that Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII rides to escape Midgar in the motorcycle minigame. After stealing the Shinra motorcycle, Cloud has to navigate the highway full of motorcycle guards and highway patrol while wielding a big-ass sword.
The object of the game is to destroy opposing guards by slashing them left or right, ramming them into guard rails or letting them crash into fallen comrades. You do this while avoiding collisions between enemies and your party (Aeris, Tifa, and Barret who are on board a stolen truck) who you also have to protect because if they get hit, they lose some HP.
The bad-ass motorcycle looks like a steampunk version of a Harley Davidson, from which it got inspiration from. Here’s a look at the redesigned Hardy Daytona from the Final Fantasy VII Remake which is slated to come out this 2020.
Fenrir – Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
In the movie Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, Cloud’s motorcycle Fenrir is an upgraded version of the motorcycle from the FFVII video game. The bike is a three-wheeled (two paired up in front and one in the rear) motorized vehicle with extraordinary maneuvering capabilities and with a combination of polished black metal over brushed gold mechanics
Based on its official profile, Fenrir has a top speed of 400 km/h, with an oval-piston twin cylinder engine. Cloud can maneuver the bike even while using dual-wielding swords. Fenrir can also maintain its speed and accelerate even when Cloud’s right hand is busy wielding his sword. The bike has internal storage compartments on either side of the front axle where Cloud stores the individual blades of the Fusion Swords.
Shiva Sisters – Final Fantasy XIII
Another iconic motorcycle from the Final Fantasy series is Snow Viller’s guardian force summon in PS3’s Final Fantasy XIII, the Shiva Sisters. Snow is the leader and founder of NORA (No Obligation, Rules, or Authority), a vigilante group fighting against the Sanctum. In the game, his special move involves summoning the twin Shiva sisters to aid him in battle. Then they actually transform into a ridiculously cool motorcycle that Snow can ride around on to deal more damage.
In normal mode, Snow’s Eidolon (summon), the Shiva sisters focus on healing and ice elemental damage, but in Gestalt mode, they transform into the slightly disturbing motorcycle which Snow gets on and “rides.” Snow was never one of my favorite characters (I always preferred using Lightning and Fang), but once in a while, I’d use the character just to see the Eidolons in action.
Snow can deliver some pretty cool moves on the bike, like wheelie (charge forward for non-elemental damage), spin freeze (ice damage to surrounding targets), icicle drift (slide into the target), ice ramp (jump off a conjured ramp to deal damage) and Shiva’s special killer movie Diamond Dust (repeatedly deal ice damage to targets).
Sam’s Motorcycle – Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
In a flashback sequence in Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, teenage Sam shows young Nathan Drake his new bike. He doesn’t specify what model it is, but I think it kind of resembles a Royal Enfield Classic with a wider seat. Sam mentions it’s a 500cc twin engine when Nate asks if it’s a 250cc. It’s a nice touching moment in the main story.
Later on in the game, while in Madagascar, the two get to ride (on a more generic-looking bike) in one of the most thrilling motorcycle chase scenes in the series.
Honorable Mention: Excitebike
For those born in the 80s, Excitebike launched for the original NES brings back a lot of good memories. It’s one of the all-time classic motorcycle video games that has players controlling a rider who does jumps, knocks other players to the ground, and speeds their way to victory.
For now, ride safely at home, people! 🙂