Chasing Your Tail: Difference between revisions

Line 10:

Not to be confused with [[Casanova|chasing the other kind of tail.]] Compare [[Cat and Mouse Boss]].

----

=== ~~'''~~Examples~~:'''~~ ===

== Examples ==

* Any and all [[Old School Dogfighting]] (real life, in combat flight sims, et cetera) can pretty much qualify, especially since the trope name inspired the term ''dogfight'' (soldiers observing on the ground during WWI commented that planes "looked like they were chasing each other's tails" [or their own tails, depending who you ask]).

Line 21:

** A non-boss example would be the close up multiplayer banshee fights in the Mac/PC port of ''[[Halo]]'', which consist of whirling around each other in a circle, punctuated by attempts to drop down by letting up on the accelerator (which allows one to turn faster) or break the cycle against an obstacle, in order to line up a clean shot with the [[BFG|FRG]]. PROTIP: Hold S (or whatever makes you go backwards) to brake and turn even faster!

** Thanks to a slight aversion of [[Old School Dogfighting]], you can avert this in ''[[Project Sylpheed]]'': fly in a straight line to get the enemy to follow you before cutting the engines, turning around, and blasting them to smithereens while flying backwards. Most missiles can also lock in any direction.

* Fighting in [[FPS~~|FPSs~~]] and other genres that have similar movement rules often devolves into Circle Strafing matches, especially online, with combatants whirling around open ground in figure-eights, attempting to back the enemy into a confined space.

* Fighting in [[FPS]]s and other genres that have similar movement rules often devolves into Circle Strafing matches, especially online, with combatants whirling around open ground in figure-eights, attempting to back the enemy into a confined space.

* The safest way of killing a destroyer droid in [[Star Wars Battlefront]] 2 is to stay behind it, because they can't move or turn anywhere near as fast as a normal soldier while deployed.

* In the classic ''[[Mechwarrior]]'' series of games, literally running around a target in circles was always the most effective tactic.

Line 37:

* In ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]'', the early-game battle with Revolver Ocelot takes place in a square-shaped room with a hostage and explosive tripwires in the middle, in which the boss persistently runs away from the player. It is necessary to outsmart the boss by stopping and running in the opposite direction (or shooting him while he is reloading).

** In the ''Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake'', The Running Man would run away from any direct confrontation and Snake had no hope of catching him, leaving the player to choke on the poison gas of the room. Unless you got bright and placed landmines in the narrower passages, anyway.

* In ''[[Sonic Adventure 2]]'', the battle with King Boom Boo takes place on a giant circular platform with a pillar in the center. In a semi-subversion, you're at first chased around like this, needing to lure the big ghost into chasing you long enough for you to sneak up behind him and smack the little ghost chasing ''his'' tail with an hourglass; once the hourglass is turned over and the sun pops out of a skylight, King Boom Boo shrinks down and vanishes into the arena, breaking the looping pattern by moving erratically until you dig him up (after which it's back to [[Chasing Your Tail]] until you hit him, rinse and repeat).

* In ''[[Sonic Adventure 2]]'', the battle with King Boom Boo takes place on a giant circular platform with a pillar in the center. In a semi-subversion, you're at first chased around like this, needing to lure the big ghost into chasing you long enough for you to sneak up behind him and smack the little ghost chasing ''his'' tail with an hourglass; once the hourglass is turned over and the sun pops out of a skylight, King Boom Boo shrinks down and vanishes into the arena, breaking the looping pattern by moving erratically until you dig him up (after which it's back to Chasing Your Tail until you hit him, rinse and repeat).

** Also in ''Sonic Adventure 2'', the Biolizard does indeed use this attack pattern on a circular path, though the tail is not his weak point. (In fact, he'll chase you with it if you get too far from his head.)

** In the first ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (video game)|Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' game, Labyrinth Zone's boss involves Robotnik simply fleeing from you in a repeating obstacle strewn shaft while the water level rises. Meaning you have to keep up, or else.

Line 64:

* The ''[[Spyro the Dragon]]'' series had a lot of these.

* The ''[[Klonoa]]'' series loves this trope.

* The ''[[Mega Man Legends]]'' titles are all but made of this trope. Most of the ~~bosses -- and~~ a few of the bigger regular enemies as ~~well -- are~~ most easily defeated by circle-strafing until they pull off their (easily dodged) big attack, letting you get in a good number of hits while they recover.

* The ''[[Mega Man Legends]]'' titles are all but made of this trope. Most of the bosses—and a few of the bigger regular enemies as well—are most easily defeated by circle-strafing until they pull off their (easily dodged) big attack, letting you get in a good number of hits while they recover.

* Jackle from ''[[Ni GHTS]]'' into Dreams backed away, throwing cards at you, and you would have to dodge the cards to get to him and throw him out of his mantle.

* A strange version of this can occur in ''[[Bushido Blade]] 2''. The boss in one of the story modes has nearly impenetrable armor, and you spend most of the fight running around in tight circles so you can get a perfect shot at his back while he tries to catch up to you by rapidly turning in place.