Combat Breakdown: Difference between revisions

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A common comedy variation is for a brawl between two grown men to devolve into [[Wimp Fight|a childish slap fight]]. When played for drama, use of this trope can evoke feelings of desperation and/or savagery as arsenals get depleted, weapons broken, and yet the combatants only tear into each other even harder with their bare hands.

Kind of the [[Inverted Trope|opposite]] of the videogame trope of [[With This Herring|starting off with a weak weapon]] [[Sorting Algorithm of Weapon Effectiveness|and picking up more and more dangerous ones as you progress]].

 

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* Likewise for ''[[Blue Submarine No. 6]]:'' {{spoiler|Mayumi and Hayami having just killed Zorndijk, and the Blue Fleet having already destroyed his entire empire, his son Verg goes out in murderous rage against Hayami and they both end up in a ''very'' brutal fight.}}

** Not really a fight ''per se''. Hiyami is just letting Verg beat the crap out of him because Zorndyke said that humanity needed to learn to talk out its problems. It was more like a voluntary [[No-Holds-Barred Beatdown]], with Hiyami as the beaten and Verg as the beater.

* The [[Final Battle]] between Suzaku and Kallen in ''[[Code Geass]]'' starts with both of their [[Humongous Mecha|Knightmare Frames]] flying with energy wings and armed with powerful beam weapons. In the process of the fight, they lose the wings, wear each other's weapons down one by one, and eventually end up slugging it out with punches and kicks in a sequence that many fans declared the best fight of the entire series (and certainly the best one since the [[Lensman Arms Race]] took effect early in the second season, leading to battles decided by technological prowess rather than strategy).

* The [[Final Battle]] of ''[[S-Cry-ed]]'' starts out as a fight between alter-powers and then gradually breaks down to a simple slug fest.

* In ''[[Yu Yu Hakusho]]'' Yusuke's battle with Chu ends with a stand-up slugging match with each of them having a knife at their heel to keep them from moving away.

* Terry's rematch with Krauser in the second ''[[Fatal Fury]]'' OAV ends this way after the two of them have exhausted each other with their ultimate attacks.

* One of the most brutal fights of ''[[Pokémon (anime)|Pokémon]]'' had Ash's Bulbasaur and an opposing trainer's Meganium start off the fight with Razor Leafs, Body Slams, and Vine Whips that also included a lot of moving. As the fight dragged on, it eventually got to the point where neither one of the combatants was even ''trying'' to dodge attacks, causing them to just be in a Vine Whip slug-fest that ended with a cross-counter that knocked both to the ground. The fight didn't end there, however, but stopped almost immediately after with a double Solar Beam.

** The clones vs. originals in ''[[Pokémon: The First Movie|Pokémon the First Movie]]''. It's especially notable with the two Pikachu, as the clone starts crying while it keeps slapping Ash's Pikachu, who is just standing there sadly.

== Film ==

* The fight between the bandit and the husband in the fourth story in ''[[Rashomon]]'' goes from a swordfight to a ''literal'' knock-down-drag-out where one of them ends up just throwing dirt in the other's face.

** Recreated largely shot for shot in the ''[[South Park]]'' episode "Cripple Fight".

* Subverted in ''[[Kill Bill]] Volume 2''. The Bride is about to hit Pai Mei with a rock, and he will have none of that.

** Possibly the purest example here; the weapons were ''actually breaking down''.

* A variation in ''[[Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon]]'': Jen Yu fights Yu Shu Lien with the Green Destiny sword, with Shu Lien using a wide variety of different weapons against her as the sword whittles down everything she tries.

* The big fight scene in ''[[The Matrix]] Reloaded'' starts as a weapon brawl, and eventually traverses car chase into a fist v. sword fight on the back of a speeding semi, and ends with a game of chicken...

** Burly Brawl for that matter starts out as a typical one-against-many fight scene and gradually turns into a Looney Tunes short on crack.

* The ending duel in ''[[House of Flying Daggers]]'' has the two male leads fighting one another with their swords. Eventually the fight devolves from them fighting skillfully to them just slashing each other.

** Except that this trope is played... [[Tear Jerker|rather seriously]]...

* The third [[Sword Fight]] in ''[[The Duellists]]'' goes on for so long the duellists are gasping for breath, propping themselves up on their swords, and occasionally mustering the strength to make wild roundhouse swings at each other. The duel is ended by their seconds when they discard their swords and just start having at each other.

* ''[[Oldboy]]''. Hallway. Hammer. Very tiring.

* Several of the Terminator duels in ''[[The Sarah Connor Chronicles]]'' start out with both combatants shooting at each other. Considering that [[Made of Iron|doesn't work too often]] against Terminators, the battles rapidly devolve into environmentally-destructive fisticuffs.

* ''[[The Monkees]]'' episode "Fairy Tale" climaxed with a battle between [[Farm Boy|Peter]] [[Idiot Hero|Tork]] and [[Black Knight|Knight]] [[Evil Chancellor|Harold]]. They fought with swords and somehow lost them, they continued fighting with daggers, and then Harold said, "You know, I'm really a non-violent sort." Peter replied, "That's very refreshing," and they put away their daggers and arm-wrestled.

* When Master Ping recounts his epic battle with the greatest Luchadore in history during the second episode of ''[[The Middleman]]'', their combat starts with martial arts fisticuffs but eventually branches into [[Bi Plane]] dogfights, machine gun duels, and swordplay before his opponent finally dies of a heart attack during a Rock'em Sock'em Robots game.

* In ''[[Firefly]]'' Mal starts fighting Atherton Wing in a swordfight. As he's never touched a sword before, this goes poorly. But when things get down to the punching, he has a definite advantage.

* Speaking of ''[[Super Robot Wars]]'', one particular level ends with [[Duel Boss]] battle between Sanger and Wodan. Both of their machines get severely damaged in the cutscene beforehand, and you have three turns to defeat Wodan before the level ends anyways. To get the [[Bragging Rights Reward]], you will have to throw ''everything'' at Wodan, and by fight's end, Sanger's machine will be stripped of pretty much all energy, Spirit, and be on its last legs.

* ''[[Fallout 3]]'' requires that you maintain your weapon and armor conditions so that you can equip and use them effectively. A similar effect can be inflicted on enemies, as shooting their weapon enough time will cause it to have a 0% CND rating, making it unusable to them. Interestingly enough, the weapons can still be used for repair despite the damage.

* ''[[Battlefield 3]]'' ends after a chase through the New York subway system, followed by a {{spoiler|[[Press X to Not Die]] sequence that ends with you bashing the [[Big Bad]] in the face with a rock.}}

* ''[[God of War (series)|God of War]] 2'' has Kratos inflict this on Perseus, constantly wrecking all his divine gadgets until he is forced to [[Turns Red|take Kratos seriously]].

* A [[Pokémon]] that runs out of PP for all of its moves will resort to the move Struggle, which does moderate damage and also damages itself.

* Most fights in ''[[Condemned]] 2'' become this due to melee weapons breaking. Which often leads to the player using their fists to fight or running around in hope of grabbing a new weapon.

** During the battle of Gettysburg in the American Civil War, Joshua Chamberlain's 20th Maine regiment had to hold a vital hill on the flank of the Union Army. They repelled several enemy attacks, but ran out of bullets. In desperation, Chamberlain ordered a bayonet charge, which saved the Union Army and got him the Medal of Honor.

*** Several battles in that war had soldiers ''throwing rocks at each other.''

** During the legendary Battle of Thermoplyae, the Greek soldiers who fought the Persians reportedly kept battling their enemies even after their spears and swords were broken, battering them with their shields, eventually being forced to use their teeth and fingernails as weapons.

*** Deadliest Warrior suggests that a Spartan shield punch, while obviously not a move to be used in heavy combat, was as or more lethal than the spears or swords. That's a lot of weight coming at you.

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[[Category:Fight Scene]]