All The Tropes

One-Hit Kill: Difference between revisions

Page Discussion

One-Hit Kill (view source)

Revision as of 01:28, 10 April 2017

9 bytes removed ,  7 years ago
update links
VisualWikitext
(update links)
Line 6:
Often, the '''One-Hit Kill''' isn't humble enough to just kill, instead [[Taken for Granite|petrifying]], [[Baleful Polymorph|permanently polymorphing]], or banishing its victim to the [[Phantom Zone]].
 
Usually, the '''One-Hit Kill''' comes at a price. Sometimes it's a [[Dangerous Forbidden Technique]] which to use requires [[Cast Fromfrom Hit Points|Casting From Hit Points]], other times it's just really hard to pull off, or leaves you wide open for a counterattack. In electronic RPGs, it's frequently a [[Useless Useful Spell]] because of low hit rates, [[Contractual Boss Immunity|inability to affect bosses]], or a prohibitive cost required to cast it, if not all three combined (Tabletop RPGs, by contrast, have a history of letting [[Linear Warriors, Quadratic Wizards|those pesky spellcasters]] make these spells insufficiently useless, turning many fights into a game of "who gets insta-killed first"). In martial arts, it frequently takes the form of the [[Touch of Death]]. If it only works at the start of a fight, it's a [[Back Stab]]. If it only works at the end of a fight, it's a [[Finishing Move]]. If ''every'' enemy attack is a one hit kill, the protagonist is a [[One-Hit-Point Wonder]].
 
In [[Anime]], expect to hear the phrase "ichigeki hissatsu!" (literally, "One-Hit [[Tempting Fate|Certain]] Kill") thrown around when [[Calling Your Attacks|invoking this sort of attack]]. With bladed weapons, cinematic representation of this trope often becomes a [[Single-Stroke Battle]]. See also [[Chunky Salsa Rule]]. Often a [[Death or Glory Attack]]. Compare [[Coup De Grace]].
Line 33:
* Ranma's encounters with Herb and Saffron in ''[[Ranma ½]]'' ended this way, as he turned their own power against them in devastating variations of the [[Hoist by His Own Petard|Hiryu Shoten Ha]]. More notable in the case of Herb, who was knocked out instantly from this ''one attack'' (he had been punched in the face earlier, but it hardly even hurt his skin.) In Saffron's case, the technique froze him solid and [[Good Thing You Can Heal|shattered him]].
** Ryouga and Ranma both believed that the ''Bakusai Tenketsu'' ("Exploding Point-hole," or "Breaking Point" in the [[Woolseyism|English version]]) is one of these, since it consists of making rock, soil, and (non-living) wood burst into pieces with the touch of a finger. However, after [[Trickster Mentor|having her fun]] watching the two teens struggle, Cologne revealed that it doesn't work on living things.
* This is why Tohno Shiki from ''[[Tsukihime]]'' is described as "the greatest wild card" (not the [[Wild Card|trope]]): since his [[Evil Eye|Mystic Eyes]] perceive the concept of Death as lines and dots over ''everything'', all he needs is one chance to [[Deader Than Dead|kill]] his opponent. Given his natural [[Super-Powered Evil Side|killing abilities]] and [[In the Blood|inborn assassins' skills]], all of his fights begin/end with this. In some scenarios, he has been able to kill hallways, a vampire infection (before it takes over his body), and the poison inside someone else's body; although this requires it to be [[Cast Fromfrom Hit Points]].
** Shiki Ryogi from ''[[Kara no Kyoukai:]]'' has even more hax, she can stab ''magic'' to death, like ghosts or telekinetic blasts.
** Technically, Tohno Shiki is capable of doing this as well, except Ryogi doesn't seem to have the [[Cast Fromfrom Hit Points]] issue. She also doesn't seem to have the problem of having to understand the nature of something's existence first before she can use her eyes to kill its existence.
*** This is due to the fact that the two Shiki's eyes work slightly differently. Tohno Shiki's eyes perceive ''the point of death'' on something, which when attacked, unravels what makes the object considered to be "alive", and in turn results in death. Ryogi Shiki, on the other hand, perceives the fundamental existence of something, allowing her to kill anything. Ryogi isn't weakened due to the fact that her eyes have always been active, and because of that, seeing the death of everything is normal to her.
**** Also, Tohno has to 'understand' the death of his target, and the human mind was never equipped to comprehend the mortality of inanimate objects. Thus, the more abstract the target, the more he has to strain himself to 'kill' it. Even before her eyes activated, Ryougi was somewhat insane; perhaps she's better able to understand death considering her bizarre mindset.
Line 73:
{{quote|'''{{spoiler|Sasuke}}''': ''(as Naruto stumbles after vaulting off the balcony to the battlefield)'' Can't you do anything right, Dead-last?
''(Naruto ignores this remark. But...)''
'''{{spoiler|Sasuke}}''': ''(scoff)'' [[Dude, Not Funny|I hope you put up a better fight than your pathetic teammate]].
''(Naruto gawks at {{spoiler|Sasuke}}, then [[Death Glare|glares a hole]] through him.)''
'''Test proctor Hayate''': Begin!
''([[Flash Step]], [[Fan Nickname|"Fuck You" Punch]], broken jaw, [[Ragdoll Physics|ragdolls away]]. KO.)''
''([[Beat]]) [Exit Naruto.]''
'''Hayate''': ...winner, Uzumaki Naruto. }}
 
Line 154:
 
== Tabletop Games ==
* ''[[Dungeons and& Dragons]]'' has quite a few, mostly of the "fortitude save or die" variety, including:
** '''[[Massive Damage]]''' -- A well known modification to the game, in which doing a certain amount of damage in a single attack (usually 50 points) means that the poor monster who suffered from it has to make a fortitude save vs. Instant Death. Not quite as used when campaigns have higher-level characters who can dish out 50 damage a turn on average.
** '''[http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/fingerOfDeath.htm Finger of Death]''' -- 7th-level arcane spell; this one's a generic "save or die" spell.
Line 183:
** The Rules Cyclopedia's Sleep spell could send you to sleep without a save for 4-16 turns if you had 4+1 Hit Dice or less, and during that time, anyone can use a bladed weapon to kill you instantly regardless of hit points. If you wielded a sword with the Slicing talent and scored a natural twenty, the target of the attack had to save vs. death ray or be One Hit Killed, suffering triple normal damage even upon a successful save. A missile with the Slaying talent that hits the target for which it is keyed also forces a save vs. death ray upon its victim to avoid instant death.
** The Living Death campaign had a special base class (Doctor) who had a skill only they could take (Doctor) and which they were required to spend 1 skill point on per level. With this skill, they could either restore hit points to an ally, or force a Save Or Die from an enemy. Lets do the math: the skill is always 1d20 + level + INT. It could be higher if you spend the 0-3 additional skill points you have the option of spending, or spend one of two skill increasing feats. Let us assume you did neither. Your roll is simply 1d20 + level + INT to set the DC of the Fortitude save of the enemy. This is an instant kill on pretty much any opponent who has a Fort save. And, before you point out that the attack still requires a successful hit at a -4 penalty, I'll also mention that the campaign disallowed armor, so everyone was ridiculously easy to hit.
* ''[[Warhammer 4000040,000]]'' has several attacks that cause automatic Instant Death, including the D-Cannon (opens a tear in the reality on top of the target), Force Weapons (rip out the target's soul. Before 5th edition this used to be Kill Outright, and would even kill targets that are immune to Instant Death) and Blissgiver (send the target into an unrecoverable coma). However the price goes to the Vortex Grenade, and it's big brother, the Vortex Missile, which sucks anything in the area of effect into the Warp. If a model as much as touches the template they die with no saves of any kind allowed, regardless of any immunity to Instant Death (superheavy vehicles and gargantuan creatures take D3 structure points and D6 wounds, respectively, and thus might survive). Depending on how the grenade scatters, this may also include the thrower however. This was amusingly proven in a battle report where a legendary and practically immortal hero of Blood Angels single handedly charged into enemy lines armed with a Vortex Grenade, whiffed the throw and sucked himself into the Warp.
** Don't forget the [[Funetik Aksent|Shokk Attack Gun]]. While it has variable strength, [[Dangerous Forbidden Technique|and it can kill the user]], at maximum strength it opens a huge hole into the Warp, killing everything nearby.
** The newest addition to the list being the Space Wolves Psychic Power "Jaws of the World Wolves" which will take anything touched by its line of effect out regardless of wounds, invulnerability or anything else, only a timely reaction can save them.
Line 262:
** There's also the Jumbo Cactuar's "[[Death of a Thousand Cuts|10,000 Needles]], which hits for 1 damage 10,000 times in a series where the HP [[Cap]] is 9,999. One game has an ability that allows you to exceed this cap, but the same game has a bonus boss called the Cactuar King with a 99,999 Needles attack. Guess what the boosted HP cap is.
** And (in)famously, [[Revive Kills Zombie]]. A single Phoenix Down is enough to destroy the [[Final Fantasy VI|Phantom Train]], [[Final Fantasy VIII|the "Fake President" Gerogero]], and most undead [[Mooks]]. Inverted in ''[[Final Fantasy XII]]'', where the [[Game Breaker|Clan-exclusive accessory, Nihopalaoa]], reverses the effects of consumable items --by equipping it, any character can toss a Phoenix Down at any living foe (that isn't immune against Death) and kill it instantly with 100% success rate.
** ''[[Wild ArmsARMs 2]]'' played with this a little. There was an optional boss that would completely regenerate its health every three turns, and 75,000 HP is no number to scoff at in this game(The [[Bonus Boss|Superbosses]] have 100,000). While using an Instant Death ability seems [[Useless Useful Spell|counter-intuitive]] in a boss fight, it's actually the way he is supposed to be defeated.
*** However, if you already know that, he becomes an [[Anticlimax Boss]].
* Every character in ''[[Guilty Gear]]'' has an "instant kill" technique. Land it and you win the round; miss, and your super bar ''disappears completely''.
** This was even more egregious in the PS1 version; the setup for the instant kill was either punch+ kick or a well-timed block, there was no penalty for missing, and you won the entire match.
** In the [[Spiritual Successor]], ''[[Blaz BlueBlazBlue]]'', Instant Kills have been replaced by Astral Heats, which seem to have been excessively [[nerf]]ed. They can only be used in a tiebreaking final round of a match, require 100% of your super bar, and ''can only be used when the opponent is below 25%'', at which point any normal super move would likely win anyway. After all, [[There Is No Kill Like Overkill]].
*** ''Continuum Shift'' seems to have un-nerfed them. You can now use them in round 2 of 3 if it would win the match for you, and your opponent can be at or below 35% health.
* In ''[[Dwarf Fortress]]'', any hit that results in a bisection is always lethal, as well as immersing a creature in liquid and then freezing the liquid (magma into obsidian or water into ice), or [[Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies|caving walls or floors in on an enemy]]. Other favourite, but less reliable kinds of istant death are magma (although some creatures are immune to it), [[Dropped a Bridge on Him|dropping bridges on the enemy]] (except for the biggest creatures), and decapitation or piercing the brain with a weapon or shattered piece of skull (as long as the target isn't undead and has only one functioning head left).
Line 273:
* In ''[[Baten Kaitos]]'': Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean, the two magic users, Xhela and Mizuti, both had One Hit KO special moves. Xhela's was her level XIII special "Seal of Water" and Mizuti's was her level IX special "Planet Soul". There are also a few magnus that have death chance, and a few with 100% chance ([[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|such as the "Death" tarot card]]).
** In addition, a few select enemies and bosses have this. For example, during the boss fight against {{spoiler|Geldoblame after he touched the End Magnus}}, he has the ability [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|Forfiet Your Life]], which causes 100% chance of death unless you have some kind of resistance, which is hard to get by that point in the game.
* Probably based off the Power Word: Kill example in ''[[Dungeons and& Dragons]]'', the Blade of Awe (usable from [[Bribing Your Way to Victory]]) in ''[[Adventure Quest]]'' has a small chance (0.1%) to instantly kill whatever you are fighting. There are dagger, spear, and staff variants of the same weapon with have the same ability, and dark and fire versions of the Blade of Awe which have a 0.12% chance instead.
* ''[[Prince of Persia]]: The Sands of Time'' has an interesting variation. The ultimate sword kills any enemy in one hit, but you usually charge your time powers by stabbing stunned enemies with your secondary weapon, and there's no stunning when they turn to dust as soon as you touch them. But of course, by the time you get the ultimate sword, {{spoiler|you've lost the Dagger of Time.}} So no harm, no foul.
* The final boss in the [[PlayStation]] remake of ''[[Lunar: Eternal Blue|Lunar 2]]'' has an attack that deals about 2,000 damage. Just for reference: if you're dedicated, you might have a single character who has more than ''500'' hit points.
Line 316:
* Igniz from ''[[The King of Fighters]] 2001'' had a move called "Brutal God Project" for his SDM where he pins your character back against the wall and unleashes his entire repertoire of (immensely high damage) attacks on you consecutively. It is, unsurprisingly, a 1-hit kill for the most part (Note that in this game: character stamina gets higher as you sideline more characters as strikers so a one man fighter with three strikers could theoretically survive "Brutal God Project" at full health). And he most commonly performs it as a follow up to his reversal special move which juggles. There's a reason that Igniz's portrait is at the top of the [[SNK Boss]] page.
* ''[[Soul Series|SoulCalibur IV]]'' also has these now, a first for the series. They're called "Critical Finishes" and they work in a similar way to Fatal KOs in ''[[Fist of the North Star]]''. Constantly forcing an enemy to block powerful attacks, or Guard Impacting them around a lot, causes their Soul Gauge to turn from green to a flashing red. Once fully emptied, a single strong hit will send them into a vulnerable state ("Soul Crush"), and the Critical Finish can then be performed.
* PSI Flash in ''[[EarthboundEarthBound]]'' can do this. It's in the main character’s powerset and actually works on bosses. Should it fail, it typically leaves a status condition.
** Then, there of course are PK Beam Gamma and PK Fire Omega from ''[[MOTHER 1|EarthBound Zero]]''.
* The entire point behind "Heaven & Hell" or "Hell & Hell" modes in ''[[Devil May Cry]]''
Line 435:
** Another B-Gear example would be their [[Finishing Move]], [[Taking You with Me|Big Boom]]. This move sacrifices one's own gear to take down others equal to its own Energy. With custom made Veils (armors), BBs can hit up to 14k damage, effectively acting as a very effective crowd-control move.
* While you have to whittle away half her HP first, Reid's Omega Seal becomes a One-Hit Kill for optional [[Duel Boss]] Valkyrie in ''[[Tales of Eternia]]''.
** Also in ''Eternia'', and given a callback in ''[[Tales of Vesperia]]'' ([[PlayStationPlay Station 3|PS3]]), bringing the Dhaos cameo from ''[[Tales of Phantasia]]'' down to half and pulling off Indignation is an instant kill in homage to ''Phantasia''. In ''Vesperia'', doing this is the only way to unlock Indignation for Rita.
*** Instant kills also exist in the form of fatal strikes in ''[[Tales of Vesperia]]'', though they only do this to normal enemies, and can only be triggered after depleting one of their fatal strike gauges through use of arts. In the [[PlayStationPlay Station 3]] version, Clint can use this on ''you'' if he or his allies land enough hits. Notable in that it'll still kill you even if you have the otherwise invincible level four Overlimit active.
** ''[[Tales of Phantasia]]'' also had a set of instant-death spells for Arche (and a summon for Claus), each with a varying accuracy as well as [[Invincible Minor Minion|those pesky urchins]] in Moria Gallery touching which simply kills your character (except [[Flying Broomstick|Arche]]).
* The majority of ''[[Hitman]]'''s attacks: strangling, poisoning, explosives and sniper shots, although, seeing as most of his opponents are mere humans, it's not surprising.
Line 588:
** The poison dart frog poison kills even faster; Less than 3 seconds; it has to get in the blood though, so contact itself probably won't kill you.
*** Unless it's the ''Golden'' Poison Dart Frog, which can.
* In naval warfare, a well-aimed or lucky hit in the opposing ship's magazine can lead to that ship being blown up by its own ammunition. This is what basically happened to three British battlecruisers at the battle of Jutland in 1916 and to the ''HMS Hood'' in 1941. Similarly, hydrogen-filled Zeppelins in [[World War OneI]] were easily downed with just one burst of incendiary ammunition and a number of [[World War II]] planes were quite vulnerable to hits in their fuel tanks, most notoriously the [[wikipedia:Mitsubishi G4M|Mitsubishi "Betty"]] aka the "one-shot lighter" or "flying zippo".
** And even when the shot is not on the magazine, if it hits the rudder, the ship is a sitting duck, effectively destroyed. Case in point, the Bismark.
** This can also happen with torpedoes. Specifically, a magnetic (or other proximity) torpedo detonating a short distance below the keel of a vessel has the potential to "break its back". Causing the ship to split in two and [[Captain Obvious|sink relatively rapidly]].
Retrieved from "https://allthetropes.org/wiki/Special:MobileDiff/1486832"