Mirror Boss: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
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[[Kirby|Swallowing enemies whole]]. [[Rocket Knight Adventures|Flying around with a jetpack]]. [[Super Mario Bros.|Or just jumping high]]. Video game heroes can have a wide variety of powers; they're fun to play around with, and they'll let you conquer just about any boss battle. You just need to dodge around its attacks and [[Attack Its Weak Point]] for massive damage.
But what if those same powers were used against you?
A '''Mirror Boss''' is a subtrope of [[Mirror Mook]] that describes boss characters in a game whose abilities are the equivalent of the playable character's in some manner.
This doesn't have to be exact: in addition to any standard [[Contractual Boss Immunity]] the game employs, "cheats" such as [[Secret AI Moves]] and other tacks from the "[[My Rules Are Not Your Rules]]" playbook may be liberally employed in order to ensure the boss character still presents a challenge, or at the least isn't ''immediately'' cheesed out. It may also depend on the contrast between them and the other bosses - if the [[Player Character]] is humanoid and fights a humanoid boss in a game where the other bosses are say... giant monsters, that boss would necessarily have to share some capabilities with the player.
This trope may occur in a form close to [[Player Versus Player]]-like combat, where the enemy in question is AI-controlled with their build, stats, etc. based on data from another player. If two players are actually fighting each other live with the same character, it's a [[Mirror Match]].
'''Compare:'''
* [[Evil Knockoff]], an evil copy of a hero.
* [[Superpowered Mooks]], regular enemies
* [[Shadow Archetype]] and its many subtropes, which frequently overlap with this trope.
'''Contrast:'''
* [[Beat Them At Their Own Game]],
* [[Mirror Match]], which is when two players (or the AI) of a multiplayer game select the same character.
* [[Doppelganger Attack]], where a boss or other enemy creates copies of themselves.
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▲{{examples}}
* The ''[[Kirby]]'' series's King Dedede can swallow and spit out enemies, as well as float/fly, just like Kirby can. But not copy abilities, though.
** While Meta Knight can't do what Kirby usually does, he fights just like a better version of Kirby with the sword... [[Duel Boss|And often makes Kirby use a sword against him.]] {{spoiler|In some games, this is optional.}}
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