Boss Battle



""Finally! A boss fight!""

- Gene, God Hand

A climactic confrontation with a unique, stronger than average, and often monstrous enemy creature known colloquially as a "boss". It has several important features, depending on the genre of game in which it is found.

In old-school Shoot'Em Ups and 2D Platformers, the boss comes at the end of a level or series of levels (commonly called a "world"). He will often require a special trick to defeat, or have a targetable Weak Spot.

In FPS, 3PS's, and 3D platformers, they divide up the game. They might be common or uncommon, gigantic or small, complex multi-stage affairs or simple exercises in circle strafing while shooting.

In RPGs, they wait at the end of dungeons (though the larger dungeons may have multiple boss fights). They have a mountain of Hit Points. If they're the last one, you'll most likely fight them more than once. Most have a specific weakness.

In a Fighting Game, the boss is simply the last character you fight, in that even when the rest of the battles have you going up against a randomly-selected opponent, the boss is always the same. The boss is typically not a playable character (though circumstances may allow him to be unlocked later), and tends to be the most difficult opponent. Occasionally, the penultimate battle will also be against a "boss". (The penultimate opponent is often dubbed a "Mini Boss".)

Note that in some games, the boss isn't always at the end of any given level or dungeon. Also, despite the name, the boss is not always the leader of the bad guys plot-wise, but often is.

A boss that keeps chasing you and you have to continually flee from. After a Boss Battle, you get lots of healing items, or are healed fully for whatever reason. A boss that's easier than the plot implies. A boss incapable of attacking or killing you. You don't even get to fight this boss, except maybe with a Quick Time Event. If you see a shiny or glowing target anywhere on the boss villain's body, chances are that's where you need to attack. If the boss has a giant eyeball, nine times out of ten that's its weak point. If the boss has a glass cockpit, frame concealing energy core or generally any other glass part on the boss's body, nine times out of ten that's its weak point too. The higher a character is in his hierarchy, the better he is in a fight. A Platform Game boss that stands in the background and unleashes attacks into the foreground. You see a normal-looking boss, who's suddenly removed or killed and replaced with a much bigger or nastier one. A boss that changes what element it's weak to. The boss takes up the whole level. The one behind the entire plot. When there's more than one Big Bad all competing to see who ends up the final villain. An optional boss who is often much more difficult than even the Final Boss of the game. Where you can find recovery items during a Boss Battle itself. When a boss talks to you during combat. That one empty hallway right before the Boss Room. Where the difficulty level of the bosses and the rest of the game are totally different. A game consists of nothing but boss battles. A "normal battle" with an enemy that, as it turns out, can wipe the floor with you. A level consisting entirely of a Boss Battle The music that plays during the boss fight is a remix of some other tune in the game. The room in a Video Game where the boss and the player exchange blows. A segment in which you're forced to fight a collection of previously-defeated bosses in sequence. Where the boss is introduced with a big show of its name and a title or descriptive line. Some bosses are more susceptible to attack than others. This Trope lists all types. A blustering, over-the-top buffoon who confronts the heroic party, often completely out of nowhere, pompously and dramatically introduces himself, and challenges the heroes to battle. A surprisingly easy, but not plot-critical, boss. A boss that charges at you over and over again. Where you and the boss take turns chasing each other. A Boss Battle where the player and the boss run around in circles trying to catch and/or escape each other. Boss fight usually occurring after a major revelation in the plot. A boss with multiple parts of his body, each of which acts as a separate monster and can be targetted separately. A boss who shakes the foundation and makes debris fall out of the ceiling onto your head. Where the boss is many, many times the size of The Hero and must be climbed to reach a weak spot. Any overpowered or instant-death skill will be useless on big bosses. A completely mechanical boss that mainly consists of turrets (which shoot at you) and cores (which you shoot at). A boss that the party fights, that then randomly runs after taking a certain amount of damage, forcing you to have to hunt that boss down and fight them again. The player will be fighting a boss, and a target sight will be shown tracking the player. The most basic boss type: Strong attacks, lots of Hit Points; the only strategy is to hit it until it dies. When a boss is literally "falling to pieces". Fighting two bosses at once. A one-on-one boss fight, in a game that primarily involves team battles. Once you beat the boss, it comes back as a normal enemy later. Yeah, that guy who blew up your home? You beat him and he was someone's minion. The villain that's second in power after the Big Bad, and is often the second-to-last boss. A boss that appears early on and is difficult primarily due to your characters' lack of stats and abilities that they will acquire later. A Boss Battle in which you fight against a character who's explicitly on your side. This is it, man! One last challenge before watching the ending! When the boss can only be defeated by using just about every item, power-up, and skill you've spent the entire game obtaining. When doing things a certain way makes you skip out on a Final Boss or two. Where a second "Final Boss" appears after the first one, but only when particular requirements are filled. An easy to effortless Boss Battle after the real Final Boss in order to wrap up the plot. You have to enter a different "dimension" to fight the Final Boss. Lookit all the pretty stars and streams and blinky things! A fight in mid-game with the Final Boss or his second-in-command, which you will inevitably lose. A boss where you can't use weapons or abilities, just plain old duking it out. A boss that has several of its minions fight alongside it. A boss that you fight in freefall. A boss that you have to keep chasing after or stake out in order to beat. A boss with no relevance whatsoever to the actual plot. A boss that's not very dangerous, but very annoying or frustrating to fight. Characters who keep popping up, requiring you to fight them multiple times through the game. A Boss Battle where you get a Game Over if you lose, but if you win, the boss immediately proceeds to beat you in a cutscene. A boss who's already in the room when you enter, and only reveals himself after you go partway into the room. In which The Hero of a Video Game has to go up in the sky and defeat the enemy. Where The Hero and villain are fighting whilst one is chasing the other on moving vehicles. An incredibly powerful boss which you are supposed to lose to, and won't get a Game Over when you do. A Boss Battle which seems normal, but after which the boss says he actually let you win to further his nefarious plans. An underwater boss who is revealed by a first-person view from the boss's perspective before it jumps The Hero. A boss who resembles an enlarged or palette swapped version of a regular enemy, possibly with a crown or some other identifying feature. A battle that plays out more like a level than like a normal boss fight. A boss-type monster whose destruction causes the location to collapse or self-destruct. The boss is not associated with the Big Bad in any way. He's a villain all on his own. So you thought that guy was the Big Bad all this time? He was small potatoes, This is the real Big Kahuna. A villain grows to enormous size before the big beatdown. A boss that takes a really, really, really long time to beat. A distinct, generally unique (up until that point, anyway), stronger-than-average monster that you encounter within a level. A boss in a game whose abilities are equivalent (if not downright identical) to those of the playable character. A regular enemy who functions as a level boss. A boss battle that takes place over multiple stages. A boss battle that you can win or lose without triggering a Game Over or ending. A Boss Battle that occurs on Floating Platforms. Try not to fall off.... A boss that is beaten by trickery rather than force. A final battle where you have to blow up the enemies' main reactor. A boss-type monster who you have to face several times over the course of the game, typically not sequentially. Where bosses in the Sequel(s) tend to act like their original counterparts. Where the boss himself has to be knocked or thrown back into a dangerous substance or obstacle to cause damage. A boss fight that doesn't take very long to beat, but can easily destroy you if you're not careful. A battle that follows a script, either for a segment or for the entire thing, instead of acting like a regular battle. Multiple large-scale fights in a row. A boss who can only be beaten by not fighting him. A boss whose weak point is protected by some kind of protrusion which needs to be destroyed before it takes damage. Boss fights that feature some way to avoid fighting them altogether. A Nintendo Hard boss in a Fighting Game. Known side effects include thrown controllers and frothing at the mouth. A fight where the boss remains in one place. The boss is too big to move, so he turns to face you. The boss is impervious to the player's regular attacks, and would be impossible to defeat if one of its attacks didn't expose its particular Achilles' Heel in the process. The boss's weakness is something unique to the boss's own arena. A boss that teleports all over the place. You have to reflect his attacks back onto him to defeat him. An extremely difficult boss that feels hopeless to defeat. Almost got him! Almost... almost -- WTF INSTANT DEATH? Bosses which have to be beaten within a certain preset period of time or turns. Bosses who you have to beat quickly, or the boss will become impossible to beat. Where an ally is turned into a monster and then has to be fought as a Boss Battle. Area or location where the player can practice their moves on a more or less undefeatable character, sometimes as part of a tutorial. A suspiciously easy boss which turns out to be a trick; the real boss is right behind him. When the boss loses health, he gains power and abilities. Are your Super Not-Drowning Skills up to par? An antagonist in the game who plays an important role in the story, but is never really fought as an actual boss. May overlap with Bait and Switch Boss and Cutscene Boss. Fight against a vehicle of some kind. The boss is defeated, the stage is cleared and... wait, he's getting up again? What's he doing? Uh oh... An early boss who ends up being much harder than expected. The "test" boss or Mini Boss that appears at the end of the first level or after the tutorial. A boss consisting of several Mooks who wouldn't be difficult by themselves, but when acting together provide a significant challenge. A boss that keeps coming after you or in general prevents you from running away.
 * Advancing Boss of Doom
 * After Boss Recovery
 * Anticlimax Boss
 * Zero Effort Boss
 * Cutscene Boss
 * Attack Its Weak Point
 * Go for the Eye
 * In Case of Boss Fight Break Glass
 * Authority Equals Asskicking
 * Background Boss
 * Bait and Switch Boss
 * Barrier Change Boss
 * Battleship Raid
 * Big Bad
 * The Big Bad Shuffle
 * Bonus Boss
 * Boss Arena Recovery
 * Boss Banter
 * Boss Corridor
 * Boss Dissonance
 * Easy Levels, Hard Bosses
 * Hard Levels Easy Bosses
 * Boss Game
 * Boss in Mook Clothing
 * Boss-Only Level
 * Boss Remix
 * Boss Room
 * Boss Rush
 * Boss Subtitles
 * Boss Vulnerability
 * Braggart Boss
 * Breather Boss
 * Bullfight Boss
 * Cat and Mouse Boss
 * Chasing Your Tail
 * Climax Boss
 * Cognizant Limbs
 * Collapsing Ceiling Boss
 * Colossus Climb
 * Contractual Boss Immunity
 * Cores and Turrets Boss
 * Cowardly Boss
 * Crosshair Aware
 * Damage Sponge Boss
 * Didn't Need Those Anyway
 * Dual Boss
 * Duel Boss
 * Degraded Boss
 * Disc One Final Boss
 * The Dragon
 * Early Bird Boss
 * Fighting Your Friend
 * Final Boss
 * Final Exam Boss
 * No Final Boss for You
 * True Final Boss
 * Post Final Boss
 * Final Boss, New Dimension
 * Amazing Technicolor Battlefield
 * Final Boss Preview
 * Fisticuffs Boss
 * Flunky Boss
 * Free-Fall Fight
 * Get Back Here Boss
 * Giant Space Flea From Nowhere
 * Goddamned Boss
 * Goldfish Poop Gang
 * Heads I Win, Tails You Lose
 * He Was Right There All Along
 * High Altitude Battle
 * High Speed Battle
 * Hopeless Boss Fight
 * I Let You Win
 * Jaws First Person Perspective
 * King Mook
 * Level in Boss Clothing
 * Load-Bearing Boss
 * Lone Wolf Boss
 * The Man Behind the Man
 * Make My Monster Grow
 * Marathon Boss
 * Mini Boss
 * Mirror Boss
 * Mook Promotion
 * Multi Stage Battle
 * Open-Ended Boss Battle
 * Platform Battle
 * Puzzle Boss
 * Reactor Boss
 * Recurring Boss
 * Recurring Boss Template
 * Ring Out Boss
 * Rush Boss
 * Scripted Battle
 * Sequential Boss
 * Sheathe Your Sword
 * Shielded Core Boss
 * Skippable Boss
 * SNK Boss
 * Stationary Boss
 * Pivotal Boss
 * Tactical Suicide Boss
 * Boss Arena Idiocy
 * Teleport Spam
 * Tennis Boss
 * That One Boss
 * That One Attack
 * Time Limit Boss
 * Boss Arena Urgency
 * Tragic Monster
 * Training Boss
 * Trick Boss
 * Turns Red
 * Underwater Boss Battle
 * The Unfought
 * Vehicular Assault
 * Victory Fakeout
 * "Wake-Up Call" Boss
 * Warmup Boss
 * Wolfpack Boss
 * You Will Not Evade Me