Duels Decide Everything: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

{{quote|'''Brauno''': ''[[Tempting Fate|I hope we don't run into any gang-bangers on the way home.]]''

 

[[In a World]] where [[Foo Fu]] is [[Serious Business]], [[Conflict]] resolution often boils down to a Foo-off.

 

This extends beyond just getting the defeated party out of the picture. If the [[Big Bad]] has been bested, [[No Ontological Inertia|their whole evil operation will fold up on itself and disappear within the day]]. The [[Evil Army]] will not rally. There is no plan B. The superweapon [[The Hero]] managed to destroy while [[Storming the Castle]] will have [[No Plans, No Prototype, No Backup|No Plans, No Prototype and No Backup]]. It's as if some cosmic force had decreed that this conflict be settled with [[Combat by Champion]]. Whether the stakes are trivial or world-shatteringly huge, '''Duels Decide Everything'''.

 

== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==

* ''[[Ranma ½]]''

* One ''[[Judge Dredd]]'' comic included a heavily satirical televised battle between the Soviet and American cities. Each battle is five-on-five, no holds barred, and the winner is awarded a piece of territory. This form of warfare works for a while, but does not prevent a nuclear war later on.

* Similarly, an issue of ''[[Transformers]]'' has an ancient Autobot overlord attempt to get two warring city-states to settle their differences through gladiatorial games. As you might expect, [[What an Idiot!|it didn't work out as much as he hoped it would.]]

 

== [[Film]] ==

* In the prologue of ''[[The Wheel of Time|Knife of Dreams]]'' {{spoiler|Galad Damodred}} has dug up a half-forgotten law that gives him the right to [[Trial by Combat]] and which, if he wins, should give him command of an army. Subverted when some of the officers of said army accuses him of blatant [[Loophole Abuse]] and try to arrest him. Double-subverted when the Commander is so amused by his cockiness that he lets him proceed as planned.

 

* Back when the [[Upright Citizens Brigade]] had their own Comedy Central show, a third season episode centered on a small town which solved their disputes with log-rolling contests, from "Peanut Butter vs. Jelly" up to "Good vs. Evil."

 

* ''[[Changeling: The Lost]]'': The true fae are [[Reality Warper]]s so any duel actually does decide everything, Changelings on the other hand are stuck with less powerful versions.

 

* [[Cyrano De Bergerac]]: Given that the play is a Swashbuckler, this trope would be expected, but then is averted and invoked

** Averted at Act I Scene IV: Cyrano and De Valvert engage in a [[Sword Fight]]. This doesn’t decide anything but set Cyrano as the [[Spanner in the Works]] for [[Villains|De Guiche’s]] plans.

** Invoked at Act V Scene V: Cyrano invokes a [[Sword Fight]] with his old enemies (Falsehood, Treachery, Compromise, Prejudice and Folly) and then with Death itself… but Cyrano admits that he has already lost.

* The basic plot behind most of the ''[[Touhou]]'' games: something bad happens, and the protagonists set out to find the ones responsible and [[Bullet Hell]] them into submission. The Hakurei Shrine Spellcard Rule System ensures that even in disputes between people with wildly different power levels, non-lethal spellcard battles decide everything.

** Occasionally, such as in some storylines for ''Phantasmagoria of Flover View'', the battles - and protagonist - don't really decide anything, and the battles only serve to place the player where and when the storyline resolves itself. Losing battles then just means you don't get to see it happen.

* ''[[Custom Robo]]'' - Duels with toy-sized robots are shown right at the beginning to be the perfect way to attempt a robbery. [[Serious Business|It gets more ridiculous from there]]. It's mentioned a few times that the toy-sized robots use ''real weapons'' with ''live ammunition'', operate in bullet time and can be controlled over decent distances (and in ''Arena'' one police officer NPC actually ''does'' get shot during a fight) -- using them for a robbery makes sense. Dueling with them being their ''primary'' use (even when there are safties that vaporize any stray bullets), not so much, and this still doesn't explain how you end up always fighting them in the game's toy arena...

** possibly averted in that it seems custom robo battles can't be escaped, someone can force you into it, and the victory is absolute, the winner is perfectly fine, but the loser gets knocked out cold.

* The Tradesmeet subquest in ''[[Baldur's Gate]]'' ''2'' that deals with the Shadow Druids can be resolved this way. When you reach Druid's Grove, you can challenge the leader of the Shadow Druids Faldorn. Only a Druid character can fight her; meaning you will have to send Cernd, Jaheira, or yourself (if you are also a Druid). Winning the battle ends the Shadow Druids' assaults on Tradesmeet.

* In the LOGBOX level of ''[[Banjo-Kazooie|Banjo-Kazooie Nuts & Bolts]]'', Gruntilda is about to implement a plan that will cause the whole console to have to be shut down. However, she tells our heroes that she will cancel the whole thing if they just beat her in a race.

{{quote|'''Kazooie:''' Huh? If we beat her in a race, she'll call off the plan and leave?

* ''[[Misfile]]'' street races

* Lance from GCC whenever he [http://www.goldcoincomics.com/?id=62 fights Blake], his rival.

 

{{reflist}}