Background Boss: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

In [[Platform Game|Platform Games]], you'll often meet a monumental boss who's about as large as the screen and stands in the background layer behind the platforms, facing toward the screen. It'll typically [[Stationary Boss|stand stock-still]] while swinging its [[Giant Hands of Doom]], or using a [[Breath Weapon]] or something, You may have to engage in a small [[Colossus Climb]] to reach its [[Weak Spot]], (often its [[Boom! Headshot!|huge, grinning noggin]]), but in all cases the body of the boss (with obvious exception of its weak point and attacks) is not a threat even if the game features loose [[Collision Damage]] and your character is a [[One-Hit-Point Wonder]].

{{examples}}

 

** In ''Yoshi's Island DS'', Bowser [[Make My Monster Grow|turns into this with Kamek's magic]]. but this time, he's right in front of you and just breathes fire and knocks boulders on you.

* ''Game Boy [[Donkey Kong]]'': The absolutely very last fight with the ape involves him transforming into a very "kingly" foe.

** ''[[Symphony of the Night]]'' - Dracula as well.

** ''[[Aria of Sorrow]]'' - Balore and Graham's final form (similar to Symphony's).

** Dracula's second form in ''Vampire Killer''.

* ''[[Noitu Love]] 2'' - Penultimate Tango.

** Also in the first ''[[Noitu Love]]'', the battle against the enormous Omega Darn. The battle takes place on a helicopter circling around the boss, and to defeat it you must fire super missiles at it while avoiding the rockets, lasers and lightning it shoots at you.

** And in ''[[Updated Rerelease|Kirby Super Star Ultra]]'', {{spoiler|Wham Bam Jewel}}.

** Come to think of it, many of the end-of-planet bosses in ''Crystal Shards'' do this (Adeleine is end-of-stage).

* ''[[Monster Party]]'' - the last boss.

** Rangda Bangda, Sigma's second boss in ''X1'', ''is'' the background.

*** Rangda Bangda is "revived" into a smaller, yet deadlier Boss in ''X5'', and Sigma's [[One-Winged Angel]] from the same game is also this; it's ''one of his largest forms in the series!''

** ''X7'' features a miniboss in Tornado Tonion's stage that follows you up the tower (he's in the center and you move around the outside of the tower), only his claws and head can hurt you and be hurt. Sigma's final form is an enormous body that's fought in space, with your characters on floating platforms. He teleports around and unleashes several varieties of projectiles both far away and up close, and has a rushing punch attack. X and Axl can shoot him at almost any distance, while Zero has to either reflect certain projectiles or wait till Sigma punches to score hits.

** Earlier on in the Lava Reef Act 2 boss, Eggman initially behaves this way by launching missiles at you from a distance until you reach the dueling point.

* ''[[Dynamite Headdy]]'' - Spinderella, and Trouble Bruin in the flying level.

* ''[[I Wanna Be the Guy]]'' - Both Mike Tyson and {{spoiler|The Guy's second form.}} Interestingly, Tyson is one of the first bosses you can fight.

* ''[[Alien Hominid]]'' has one of these for the penultimate boss.

* ''[[Spawn]]'' for the SNES has Malebolgia hanging around in the background, tossing lightning bolts as you fight the real boss, the Mad One. Fortunately, Malebolgia doesn't seem to care much if he hits you or Mad One and will damage him for you if you stay out of the way.

* ''[[Metal Slug|Metal Slug 5]]'' had a rather awesome final battle in the form of a gargantuan flying demon wielding a scythe.

* In ''[[Drawn to Life]]: The Next Chapter'', the {{spoiler|Giant Robosa}} [[That One Boss|is partially this]].

* ''[[Seiken Densetsu 3]]'' has Zolan, the werewolf, who is so large he dwarfes the tower which formerly held the mana crystal, his prison. Add to that his impressive claws and absurd special attacks and you can get ready to pack the healing magic out.

* The giant Moai head in ''[[Gradius]] Rebirth''. In order to defeat it, you have to destroy the core when it pops out of the head and starts bouncing around, all the while dodging smaller Moai heads and the lightning that generates when the core hits the ceiling or floor.

* The final boss of the second ''[[Disgaea]]'' Prinny spin off game.

* King Drool in ''[[Bonk|Bonk's Revenge]]''.

* [[Humongous Mecha]] Coyote in ''Road Runner's Death Valley Rally''.

 

=== 3D examples ===

** The giant horned lizard stayed in the background at all times, and you had to launch boulders at it.

** The [[Abominable Snowman|Abominable Snowbug]] would chuck massive snowballs from the background for the first half of the fight, and again when it threw massive snowballs that split into five.

** [[Big Bad|Queen Cadavra]] would spawn baby spiders from the background, as well as fire at the floor with her ''eight machine guns'', before attempting to body slam Bug.

* The final boss in ''[[Shadow of the Colossus]]'' starts out like this, requiring you to dodge his rain of fire as you find a way to close in and begin your last [[Colossus Climb]].

* Technically speaking, in ''[[Marvel Ultimate Alliance]]'', at one point, you are going through the Skrull homeworld. Being in space, who should be calmly striding through the background but [[Galactus]]. You fight him at the very end of the level, but during it, you have to dodge his attacks and minions.

* ''[[World of Warcraft]]'' has Kologarn, a giant construct with [[Cognizant Limb]] and [[Eye Beams]].

* The final boss of [[Gunstar Heroes]] and [[Gunstar Super Heroes]] qualify, the second more so though as in the first game, The only time in the first game it goes into the background is when it uses the gems as weapons. Said Gems are weakpoints for both final bosses.

** Also, the Leviathan, in the middle of the game.

** Ursula in ''Re: [[Chain of Memories]]''.

* The [[Final Battle]] in ''[[Mass Effect 2]]'' is against a {{spoiler|giant incomplete humanoid Reaper who can only be harmed by shooting at one of its four weakspots}}.

** And if you do Grunt's loyalty mission, it ends with a fight against {{spoiler|a Thresher Maw}}, which stays outside the arena and spits acid at you.

** Also in the third game, another Reaper appears during the battle of Earth, guarding {{spoiler|the Conduit}}. It is far in the background, but slowly moves closer. Not long after, {{spoiler|Harbinger appears behind the Conduit, where it stays and destroys the entire alliance force. This is also a [[Scripted Battle]]}}.

* ''[[Castlevania]]: Curse of Darkness'' Final boss is (surprise surprise) Dracula. His second form tends to stay very far away from your platform and shoots at you. The only way to damage him is to hit him when he [[Inverted Trope|slashes at you]] with his claws.

* The golem in ''[[The Legend of Spyro]]: Dawn of the Dragon'' is usually fought in this fashion--from his first encounter to his very last, where you have to climb several stories of building in order to finally bring the pain down on his massive hands.

* The second boss of ''[[Jett Rocket]],'' Herzog Aisu, traps you on a narrow platform. You have to do a [[Ground Pound]] on the giant flyswatter-type apparatus he attempts to squish you with to defeat him.

** Also, Poison Ivy.

* The first time you fight Sin in ''[[Final Fantasy X]]'', it's this. The boat that you're on is being dragged behind him by a harpoon in his fin, and it's impossible to touch him except with long range attacks (Wakka, magic, Aeons, etc.).

* In ''[[Crash Bandicoot 2 Cortex Strikes Back]]'', the battle with N. Gin works this way.

** The cubes don't kill on contact, you get [[Tele Frag|TeleFragged]] by the monster that spawns in your location when they terminate.

* The {{spoiler|first}} Grimnir fight from ''[[Magicka]]''. You can see a giant hologram of him while fighting the mages he summons. After that, he fights the player, mano-o-mano.

* The giant boss battles in Dragon Ball Z Ultimate Tenkaichi function like this. You either have to throw Ki blasts at them when they are far away, or wait for them to do a melee attack so you can attack them directly.

* The bosses in ''[[Bully]]'' are the Clique leaders. For the nerds, you do not fight him himself; as he quite obviously wouldn't be able to hold his own against someone like Jimmy who has up to that point beaten up three whole cliques (And probably a few prefects if you're lucky enough). Instead, he uses his inventions to get you at range, so the boss fight is actually taking out his inventions to force him to surrender, having no weapons left.