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Final Boss Preview: Difference between revisions
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{{quote|''"Listen up, boy. If we were to say today was one of those Japanese video games I play in my spare time... Then this would be the part where you ask why the final boss helps you when you're about to die in the first dungeon."''|'''Evangeline''' after much asskicking, ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]''}}
So your hero got [[The Call]] and is getting into his groove, possibly having beat 2 or more [[Monster of the Week|Monsters of the week]], and started to become used to [[Wake Up, Go to School, Save the World|waking up, going to school and saving the world]]. When suddenly the [[Big Bad]] or [[The Dragon]] show up. Of course, our confident protagonist does the obvious... ''[[Suicidal Overconfidence|attack!]]''
The villain will, of course, be completely unfazed. They might casually block the hero with [[Smug Snake|smug superiority]], let their [[No One Could Survive That|ultimate attack]] connect and [[No Sell|casually dust themselves off]], and probably give them a good thrashing for ripping their favorite [[Black Cloak]]. Oh, and expect said thrashing to be them using maybe [[I Am Not Left-Handed|1/67th of their True Power]]? ([[One-Winged Angel|final forms]] [[Offer Void in Nebraska|not included]]). The villain may well take them to within an inch of dying, or less brutally hold the equivalent of a sword at their throat... and [[Bond Villain Stupidity|stop]] to [[Evil Gloating|gloat]] before [[Not Worth Killing|leaving them broken and humiliated]].
This is the [[Final Boss]] Preview.
The point of this is to give the plot a shift to high gear by giving the hero a taste of battles to come and something to fight for, as well as building up the villain as a serious threat. In [[Video Games]] this often coincides with [[Cutscene Incompetence]], [[Railroading]], and [[Hopeless Boss Fight]], making victory impossible. The exception being in a [[New Game+]] where you can beat the villain, but they [[The Battle Didn't Count|teleport away before the final blow.]]
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Variants are when the villain fully intends to kill the hero, but she is [[Big Damn Heroes|rescued]] by their [[The Mentor|mentor]] or [[True Companions|allies]], maybe at the [[Heroic Sacrifice|cost of one of their lives]]. Or the villain is frightened off somehow or forced to leave, [[But for Me It Was Tuesday|maybe they've got far more pressing matters to worry about]] (say their [[Evil Plan]] is put in jeopardy by [[The Starscream]] and he has to leave post haste).
In videogames, this often takes the form of a [[Hopeless Boss Fight]].
A specific form of [[Your Princess Is in Another Castle]], a version of [[Sorting Algorithm of Evil]] and a subversion of [[No Sneak Attacks]]. Contrast [[Orcus on His Throne]]. See also [[New World Tease]].
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* Done many times in ''[[Bleach]]'' with Ichigo, most potently when Aizen managed to stop his bankai with one finger, then casually sliced him nearly in half. Just to hammer the point home, Aizen says he's surprised that he didn't completely sever Ichigo's spine, and tells himself not to hold back so much next time {{spoiler|Its later revealed that he let him live on purpose, as Ichigo is integral to his master plan.}}
* Zoro of ''[[One Piece]]'' gets this in the Baratie Arc, when Hawkeye Mihawk, the greatest swordsman in the world and Zoro's ultimate goal, shows up long enough to humor Zoro with a duel. Turns out Zoro really is nothing compared to Mihawk, but [[Made of Iron|fortunately,]] he manages to gain the guy's respect, so Mihawk merely gives him a ''[[Not Quite Dead|nearly]]'' [[Not Quite Dead|fatal wound.]]
** Happens fairly often to Luffy, with the final boss of a given story arc. Perhaps most famously, he was utterly defeated by Sir Crocodile the first time they fought. But of course, during that first fight Luffy didn't know Croc's [[Achilles' Heel]]...
*** Luffy went through the same thing with Rob Lucci (who swatted him down with ease) and Warden Magellan (who managed to indirectly take ''ten years off Luffy's life.'')
* Fate Averruncus of ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'' does this ''thrice''.
** Evangeline ''says'' she's doing this (see page quote), but no one really believes her (they don't believe that she's the real Final Boss, that is).
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* Happens several times in ''[[Dragon Ball]]''. Goku's first fight with Tao Pai Pai, his first fight with Tambourine, first fight with Piccolo Daimaou, Raditz's arrival at Kame House, etc.
* In ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist (manga)|Fullmetal Alchemist]]'', Father does this when the main characters encounter him for the first time. He shows off his nigh-invincibility, no-motion transmutation and his power to turn off everyone else's alchemy, setting himself up to be all but impossible to defeat. {{spoiler|And he only gets ''more'' powerful later on.}}
** In [[Fullmetal Alchemist (anime)|the 2003 anime version]], Ed's encounter with [[The Dragon|Envy]] and Lust in Laboratory 04 count, {{spoiler|as Envy is the last person in the anime Ed fights since Dante is the non-fighting type.}}
* Moo is this early on in the [[Monster Rancher (anime)|Monster Rancher]] anime. The only reason he didn't kill the heroes then and there was to kidnap Holly, and because his true form wasn't revived.
* In ''[[Fairy Tail]]'', {{spoiler|Acnologia}} appears just long enough to casually ''{{spoiler|wipe out the main characters}}'' before flying off to parts unknown.
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* ''[[Metal Saga|Metal Max 2]]'' has this at the very start of the game but it is [[The Dragon]] Ted Broiler who promptly kicks the ass of your mentor and her allies before beating on you and leaving you for dead.
** And in the first game, Sarevok shows up in the introduction to kill your mentor.
* ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]'' plays this trope straightforward, with an unusual twist: the [[Big Bad]] is in ''your'' party and laying down the superhuman asskicking against ''your'' enemies. At least for a little while.
** Same in ''[[Final Fantasy X]]'' where you have the [[Big Bad]] in your party for the second part of a [[Sequential Boss]] around mid-game.
* ''[[Final Fantasy III]]'' does a very late preview of the final boss, right before the final dungeon. It's very educational, however, as you get a clear demonstration of what would happen if you rushed straight to the boss without taking the precautions necessary to depower it enough to be realistically beatable.
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** The very first ''[[Fire Emblem]]'' and its remake has the [[The Dragon]] appear halfway through the game, armed with a tome that makes him immortal. He chases you around for a bit, likely killing anyone he catches, until he gets bored and leaves.
** The third ''[[Fire Emblem]]'' and its remake has {{spoiler|Hardin}} appear on chapter 8 and is invulnerable at that point, similar to the Black Knight example, you definitely don't want to wait around too long.
** Happens quite frequently with [[The Dragon]] in [[Fire Emblem Tellius|''Path of Radiance'' and ''Radiant Dawn'']]. The Black Knight shows up and only attacks if you get within range. Should you value your life, don't attack him. He's got super high stats in all aspects, appears at the level cap, and has a special move which is so powerful that the final boss can't even survive it.
*** For ''Radiant Dawn'', when he first appears, he's on YOUR side. If the Main Character is also Level Capped, the mission is <s> probably</s> the easiest [[Fire Emblem]] mission ever. Of course, he's also the most EXP eating happy [[Crutch Character|Jagen]] in the entire series.
**** And then the first time he appears as an enemy, you ''have'' to have your main character survive a battle with him if you want to unlock {{spoiler|Lehran}} as a playable character later in the game (though this is only possible in a second playthrough or later.) This requires significant level-grinding (to the point that Ike will probably level cap soon afterwards with a number of chapters to go until his story-driven promotion) and, since Nihil and Fortune aren't available to Ike's party yet, is a complete [[Luck-Based Mission]] (or a [[Save Scumming]]-based mission in Normal difficulty or lower).
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** ''[[Pokémon Black and White]]'' has a variant where you encounter N, the leader of Team Plasma, after a few gyms. He seems to be helping you at first, then challenges you to a battle. You don't know it's him until after the fight. An aversion to the 'you'll lose' part, though, because you must defeat N to proceed in the game.
* The first boss battle against Takeda/Tiny in the original ''[[Persona (video game)|Persona]]'' initially features [[Big Bad]] Takahisa/Guido as part of the enemy party. Kei/Nate attempts to attack him, only to miss. Takahisa counters with a Mabufu spell before retreating. Of course, {{spoiler|he isn't the final boss...}}
** There's a variation in ''[[Persona 4]]'' too. In one of the very first scenes of the game, you go to the Yomotsu Hirasaka in your sleep and fight an enemy shrouded in fog. Since [[Big Bad]] {{spoiler|Izanami}} later reminds you of it, presumably this means that she was the enemy you fought.
* ''[[Zone of the Enders]]'' has a cross-game version of this: The final boss fight of the first game involves simply ''surviving' for a short period of time against the ridiculously overpowering Anubis. You get a second preview early in the second game: you can do a little damage to him this time, but not enough to win. It isn't until the end of the game after you acquire the same powers can you face Anubis with a chance of victory.
* ''Triple'' subverted in ''[[Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice]]''. Mao's father is the boss of the first chapter, and is easily beatable if you've been leveling up a bit, but even if you win, he'll revive himself in the following cutscene, forcing Mao and Almaz to retreat. The third subversion is that {{spoiler|he isn't the final boss at all.}}
* ''[[World of Warcraft]]'' does this in the Halls of Reflection dungeon. You have to flee from the Lich King.
** Note: You encounter the Lich King much more often than just that. He's seen in many quests, and for Death Knights is a Quest Giver at the start.
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** It's played straight a little while after this prologue, when the real protagonist {{spoiler|(the descendant of legendary hero Maxim)}} encounters one of the Sinistrals early on in the game. He's allowed to [[Punch-Punch-Punch Uh-Oh|get in a few shots of token offense before the Sinistral wipes him out with one blow.]]
* In ''[[Fallout]] 2'', it's extremely likely that the first person you meet after leaving the starting village is 12-foot tall [[Powered Armor]] cyborg Frank Horrigan, the final boss. Fortunately, you're so beneath his notice that he doesn't even bother to attack you, or else the game would have been really, really short.
* Emperor Doviculus from ''[[Brutal Legend]]'' has one hell of a great example of this. {{spoiler|After having effortlessly killing Lars by stabbing him with his Big Fucking Spear, Eddie tries to attack him, but is stopped as a horde of BDSM Demons [[It's Raining Men|rain down from the sky.]] And the [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|CMoA]] appears just after this as you drive right out of Lionwhyte's collapsing fortress as [[Dragon Force (video game)]] plays in the background. Fuck. ''Yes''.}}
* In ''[[Quake 4|Quake IV]]'', after having just wiped out two fairly easy Stream Protectors, you are attacked by the Makron, the Strogg leader. After a short "battle", he incapacitates you, leading to you getting mutilated and partially turned into a cyborg. This example is somewhat atypical in that you do have to deal a decent amount of damage to the boss, or else he'll just straight up kill you instead of capturing you and advancing the plot.
* ''eXceed 3rd'': If you're doing well enough, the [[Bonus Boss]], Remedy, will pop up in the middle of Stage 4 to challenge you. To unlock the Extra stage and fight her for real, you have to "impress" her during this fight, which means completing it ''perfectly'': no deaths and no bombs.
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* In ''[[TimeShift]]'', the first level ends with you and the resistance being blown away by the [[Big Bad]]'s giant spider-mech fortress. In the final level you replay the exact same scene, only you have a better vantage point and are armed with a weapon capable of harming the giant robot.
* In the ''[[Turok (series)|Turok]]'' reboot, the T-Rex final boss appears several times in the earlier levels, usually passing by briefly to snack on a few enemy soldiers before leaving. You actually fight her briefly about halfway through the game, but there's a convenient hole you can hide in from which you can shoot her from complete safety. In the final battle, there's no safe spot for you to hide, and the T-Rex has a lot more health than in the previous fight.
* In the hybrid FPS-driving game ''[[Redline (1999 video game)]]'', the Red Sixer leader is both the first boss you fight as well as the game's final boss. The key difference is that in the first level you fight him on foot, while in the final level he has access to a unique hover-tank that is the most powerful vehicle in the game.
* The first enemy fought in ''[[Duke Nukem Forever]]'', the Cycloid Emperor, is also the game's final boss. Surprisingly, he's not really any tougher in the final battle than he was in the first level; the only differences are that he's supported by respawning Mooks in the finale, and you have to deplete his health bar 3 times instead of just once.
* ''[[Infamous (video game series)|In Famous]] 2'' starts off with a [[Boss Fight]] against [[Big Bad|the Beast]]. Interestingly, you're almost guaranteed to win, since it's the beginning of the game and Cole is at full power. {{spoiler|But it's really a [[Hope Spot]], because no matter how much damage you inflict, [[Story Overwrite|the Beast is just going to revive and almost kill Cole]]. [[Heads I Win, Tails You Lose|But you DO have to "beat" it, because it WILL kill you otherwise, tutorial or not.]]}}
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== [[Web Comics]] ==
* Fred from ''[[What's Shakin]]'' ''[http://whatsshakincomic.com/2010/09/06/ch1-pg1/ appears early]'' in the webcomic series for a bit of fighting with the main cast and hero, Coffinshaker.
== [[Western Animation]] ==
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