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The Unfought: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
You're just outside the lair of the [[Big Bad]] who has tormented you throughout the game. He's [[Doomed Hometown|destroyed your home town]], sent wave after wave of enemies to try and destroy you, and may even have [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|called you a couple nasty names]]. This is the battle you've been waiting for. You enter the room and... he summons a giant three-headed dragon and runs away. Okay, no problem, you'll take it down, ''then'' deal with the [[Big Bad]]. You slay the dragon and... what? Why are the credits rolling? Why didn't you get an epic battle with your archnemesis? Unfortunately, that villain just isn't going to be fought.
The exact cause of why a major antagonist is not fought varies. He could, like above, just run away when you confront him. Perhaps he was the victim of a [[Bait and Switch Boss]]. In video game examples, he may have been [[Cutscene Boss|fought in a cutscene]], but killed without being fought in gameplay. Whatever the reason may be, this type of situation is a common source of frustration to the audience, especially if the victim was the [[Big Bad]]. In the cases where The Unfought is [[The Chessmaster]] or [[Mad Scientist]], this can be [[Sequel Hook|somewhat justified]], as they [[Non
Mostly a video game trope. Though this can happen in other media, it is much harder to tell what counts as a "battle" in books or movies, while video games have a clear distinction between gameplay and FMVs. Contrast with [[Climax Boss]], which these examples are hyped up to be. Not to be confused with [[Anticlimax Boss]] or [[Breather Boss]], where the villain in question ''is'' fought, but ends up being a wuss (deliberately or not, respectively).
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* In ''[[Uncharted]]: Drake's Fortune'', you never fight Roman or Raja. Especially noticeable since they're two out of three named villains in the game, and the third one is the only boss fight in the entire game.
** Happens again in ''Uncharted 2'' {{spoiler|Flynn is already dying when you confront him the last time, which is more noticeable since Uncharted 2 actually does have multiple boss battles.}}
** Once again happens in ''Uncharted 3''. This time, {{spoiler|[[Big Bad]], Katherine Marlowe}} becomes this. Sort of justified due to being a {{spoiler|[[Non
* Parodied in ''[[No More Heroes]]'', where Letz Shake, the 5th ranked assassin is {{spoiler|[[Bait and Switch Boss|killed right before the boss fight would start]], causing Travis to complain about being cheated out of a fight. Happens again with the 1st ranked assassin.}}
** Both subverted and played straight in the sequel. {{spoiler|Travis never actually fights any of the 22nd through 11th ranked assassins...but he does get to fight [[Morally
*** Then later on, {{spoiler|Henry}} kills the 6th and 5th ranked assassins for Travis as payback for {{spoiler|Travis saving his life}}. He even [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshades]] this trope in an answering-machine message, telling Travis (and the player) not to complain about missing out on those boss fights, and offering polaroids "so you can imagine what it might have been like".
* In the [[Nintendo Hard]] ''[[Magician Lord]]'', the villain Az Atorse(or is it Gal Ageise, the game is never clear on the difference between the wizard and the evil god) is never actually fought. The seventh boss is said to be his avatar but after the creature is defeated and disappears, he shows up apparently unharmed by its destruction. Infact you never even see him die, though he does say [[Blind Idiot Translation|"I'm Destined just to die".]]
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*** You never get to fight the purple Gigas, Plergoth. {{spoiler|[[Tragic Villain|Not that you'd want to...]]}}
* Edna from ''[[Wild Arms XF (Video Game)|Wild Arms XF]]'' dies before you get a chance to kill her for all the terrible things she's done. It's quite aggravating you don't get to beat on her pompous, obese, whiny ass.
* In ''[[The World Ends With You (Video Game)|The World Ends With You]]'', it seems like {{spoiler|the Composer}} is going to be the final boss. Well, technically he is...sort of...{{spoiler|because Kitaniji grabs him and [[Fusion Dance|fuses with him]] to enhance his [[One
** Also Sho Minamimoto returns with a badass newfound power and the game builds it up as if he's gonna be the next boss but then {{spoiler|you find him crushed by his own trash heap.}}
*** However, it should be noted that {{spoiler|while it's extremely difficult, you ''can'' have a full fight with him before the game is beaten - you get a brief battle with him that's on a (hidden) timer, and if you do enough damage to him before the time runs out, it launches into a full-on battle. Note that win or lose, the outcome's the same. Also, you can do the full fight with him as a [[Bonus Boss]] after beating the game.}}
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* In ''[[Tron Two Point Oh (Video Game)|Tron 2.0]]'', you never actually get a chance to fight apparent [[Big Bad]] Supervirus and self-proclaimed Master User Thorne. Instead he gets killed out of left field by the ICP Kernel about 3/4ths of the way through the game.
* In ''[[Suikoden I (Video Game)|Suikoden I]]'', you never actually fight the game's real [[Big Bad]], Lady Windy. Instead, the final battle is you beating some sense into [[The Emperor]] (who for some random reason [[Scaled Up|turns into a 3-headed dragon for the fight]]). After you beat him, he realizes he's been a tool, grabs Windy, and jumps off the castle to his death [[Taking You With Me|dragging her with him]].
** Actually, he reveals he's ''never'' been a tool; he just let Windy ''think'' that he was, which does sort-of make him the [[Big Bad]] since it meant that he ''let her'' use his empire for evil purposes (though he claims he [[Well
** Yuber from the same series is another example. In the first two games, he's a minor antagonist who [[Screw This, I'm Outta Here|deserts]] during the final battles when it becomes apparent that his side has no chance. In ''[[Suikoden III (Video Game)|Suikoden III]]'', he is one of the main villains and [[Recurring Boss|is fought repeatedly]]. [[Hopeless Boss Fight|It quickly becomes apparent that he didn't desert out of cowardice]].
* Out of the ''many'' antagonists in the ''[[Xenosaga (Video Game)|Xenosaga]]'' series, only two are never given boss battles. Sellers' case, at least, could be justified by the fact that he's just a scientist in a hoverchair who is incapable of combat. The other example? {{spoiler|''Wilhelm'', the ''[[Big Bad]]'' who played some role in almost every malevolent action in the series. After being built up as The Antichrist, and therefore fully capable of taking on the heroes, he was instead taken out by his [[The Dragon|right-hand man]].}} However, {{spoiler|Sellers is the only antagonist whose fate was left unknown; if a sequel is ever made, it's possible that he may return for a proper battle.}}
** Also, the White Testament is the only Testament who isn't fought. Though really, {{spoiler|he wasn't looking for a fight, and the developers may have figured that a fourth battle with Albedo would have been redundant.}}
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** Also, the Shadow Triad - those teleporting ninjas who guide you throughout the game.
* The final boss of ''Magic & Magic V: Darkside of Xeen'' is never fought. As soon as you enter the final room where he waits for you, the ending plays. You get a climactic cutscene of a [[Sealed Good in A Can]] fighting him for you and defeating him with a [[Heroic Sacrifice]]. The battle itself was climactic, but the challenge was not. You never even get to see an in game character model of the [[Big Bad]].
** If you didn't unseal the Sealed Good, ''then'' the [[Big Bad]] simply [[One
* In the original ''[[Rayman]]'', you never actually get to fight Mr. Dark. First he tortures you with some fire magic, then you fight his three mutants, then... the game just ends.
** You do get to fight him in the incredibly obscure GBC Rayman game, though.
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* ''[[Fable II (Video Game)|Fable II]]'s'' {{spoiler|Reaver will shoot Lucien if you allow him to talk too long.}}
* Officer Tenpenny in ''[[Grand Theft Auto San Andreas (Video Game)|Grand Theft Auto San Andreas]]'' is the meanest, most [[Manipulative Bastard]] son of a bitch in the game, but you never get to actually fight him. After a city-wide car chase, he ends up losing control of his truck and driving right off a bridge through a concrete barrier, just in front of [[Where It All Began|CJ's home]]. {{spoiler|CJ is convinced by Sweet not to drive a bullet in the man's head "just to make sure", and lets Tenpenny die of his own internal injuries.}}
* Meibisi in ''[[Rise of the Kasai]]'' is never fought in his human form; despite being {{spoiler|invincible because he removed his heart [[Soul Jar|and put it in a crystal]]}}, and having been a part of the same organization as the heroes which would have involved being a highly trained warrior in his own right, he goes {{spoiler|straight into [[One
* {{spoiler|MB, aka Melissa Bergman}} in ''[[Metroid Other M (Video Game)|Metroid Other M]]''. Kinda justified, though, in that a straight fight between her and Samus would've been over in seconds, given how easily a bunch of random GF Troopers were able to kill her.
* ''[[Earthworm Jim (Video Game)|Earthworm Jim]] 2's'' first boss fight ends almost as soon as it begins, when Jim eats the boss.
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* [[Treacherous Advisor|Hiruko]] the fortune teller in the NES version of ''[[Double Dragon|Double Dragon III]]'' is never fought after she betrays the heroes. This is not the case in the arcade version, where she has a brief battle with the player before fighting the final boss.
* In ''[[Grandia III (Video Game)|Grandia III]]'', Grau is never fought. {{spoiler|[[Karmic Death|One of Xorn's roots turns him into glass and shatters him]].}}
* ''[[The Legend of Zelda Spirit Tracks (Video Game)|The Legend of Zelda Spirit Tracks]]'' has Chancellor Cole... sort of. While you never direcly fight him, the first fight with Malladus has him constantly interfering, and {{spoiler|the final boss is Malladus possesing Cole's body, which goes [[One
* ''[[Okamiden (Video Game)|Okamiden]]''. [[Humongous Mecha|Daidara]][[Moon Rabbit|botchi]]. Big. Threatening. Never even moves, let alone fights.
** In ''[[Okami]]'', Waka is fought very early (in fact, he's the first actual boss in the game), and shortly after the first dungeon, less than one quarter into the game. After teasing you and hinting that he's [[The Rival]], Amaterasu, Issun, random characters and Waka himself build him up during the game as a shadowy, mysterious character with a secret agenda. Having fought him so early, and since he has an amazing battle theme, remix of the regular boss one, you expect to have a last battle with him in a very climatic moment in the game. Then, when the end is close, he traps you inside a legendary warship from ancient times... and then {{spoiler|he reveals himself to have been [[Good All Along]] and proceeds to attempt to kill the [[Big Bad]]. Then he goes away with Amaterasu as if they had been friends from the very first minute.}}
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* ''[[Alice Madness Returns (Video Game)|Alice Madness Returns]]'' has {{spoiler|the first boss, a [[Steampunk|steam-powered]] [[Humongous Mecha]] piloted by the Dormouse and March Hare.}} Just after pre-battle cutscene is over, {{spoiler|[[Heel Face Turn|Mad Hatter]] unceremoniously whacks it out of existence with a giant teapot.}}
* In ''[[Borderlands (Video Game)|Borderlands]]'', Commandant Steele and the Crimson Lance are the main antagonists for most of the game, however, upon reaching the Vault {{spoiler|you don't get to fight Steele because she is impaled by an [[Eldritch Abomination]] named The Destroyer, that is, quite in fact, a [[Giant Space Flea From Nowhere]]}}. However, {{spoiler|she returns in ''Claptrap's Robot Revolution'', having been rebuilt as "Steele-Trap" and as an actual boss.}}
* {{spoiler|Skint}} in ''[[The Reconstruction (Video Game)|The Reconstruction]]''. You come ''extremely close'' to battling him (there's even a [[Fight Woosh]]!), but [[Technical Pacifist|Dehl]] calls off the battle and solves things diplomatically. The next time you see him, {{spoiler|he's [[Half the Man He Used To Be]] and requests a [[Mercy Kill]] in an [[Alas, Poor Villain]] scene.}}
* In ''[[Transformers War for Cybertron]]'', Optimus Prime is never fought during the Decepticon Campaign {{spoiler|(the major boss fight is against [[Humongous Mecha|Omega Supreme]])}} and Megatron is never fought directly during the Autobot Campaign {{spoiler|(the end boss fight being against [[Kill Sat|Trypticon]])}}
* Most of the people responsible for what happens in New York in ''[[Prototype (Video Game)|Prototype]]''. {{spoiler|1=Peter Randall and Colonel Ian Taggart, the general of Blackwatch and leader of the Military, is killed in a cutscene by Alex, and McMullen, head of Gentex and company that developed the virus kills himself when Alex confronts him.}}
* [[Home Front]] has Colonel Jeong, the only enemy that isn't an anonymous masked clone. He arrests you in the opening sequence and is narrowly avoided later on in the game, but after his second appearance he is never mentioned again.
* The sorceress in ''[[Orcs Must Die (Video Game)|Orcs Must Die]]'' is never confronted directly, although there is some [[I Shall Taunt You|verbal sparring]].
* Many villains in the ''[[Batman: Arkham Asylum (Video Game)|Batman Arkham Asylum]]'' Series never get a proper boss fight, either being taken out in a cutscene ( {{spoiler|Harley, Scarecrow, Hugo Strange}}), are defeated with a single stealth attack or thrown Batarang ( {{spoiler|Zsasz, Riddler, Deadshot}}), or both ( {{spoiler|Croc}}).
** This does make some sense, as of the bosses listed only {{spoiler|Harley Quinn and Croc}} are primarily physical combatants. And the latter is very much in the category of enemies where Batman's [[Crazy Prepared|Crazy Preparedness]] consists of never letting himself get within arm's reach.
* ''Runescape'' has a few, which include, but are not limited to:
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== Anime ==
* In the ''[[Pokémon (Anime)|Pokémon]]'' episode "Battle of the Badge", viewers expected to finally see Ash come face-to-face with Team Rocket's leader...[[Anticlimax|only to be disappointed when Giovanni left the building and Ash had to instead fight his]] [[Terrible Trio]] [[Anticlimax|for the Earth Badge instead.]] To date, he ''still'' hasn't gone up against Giovanni in the show (excluding ''[[Pokémon Live]]'').
** Ash finally came face-to-face with Giovanni in ''[[Pokémon Mewtwo Returns (Anime)|Pokémon Mewtwo Returns]]'', but with no battle, and {{spoiler|Giovanni [[Laser
* Despite being the [[Big Bad]] of ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]]'''s first season, neither one of the main heroines ever got to battle Precia since she [[Disney Villain Death|fell to her apparent death]] before this could happen. This is why many fans wish [[He's Just Hiding|Precia survived]], so she could get her butt properly kicked.
* In [[The Movie]] version of ''[[Fist of the North Star (Manga)|Fist of the North Star]]'', Kenshiro never gets to settle his old rivalry with Shin like he does in the manga and TV series. When he eventually arrives at the city of Southern Cross to fight Shin, he finds the place in ruins and while he does briefly face Shin, Shin ends up dying instead from previously inflicted wounds he suffered from a prior off-screen battle he had with Raoh.
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** It is important to note that Sauron did have a physical form in the book - only in the movies was he a mere flaming eye. Several characters make mention of it, and Tolkien also confirms it in his letters beyond all doubt, saying that "the form that he took was that of a man of more than human stature, but not gigantic."
* In the climax of [[Harry Potter (Franchise)/Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone|first Harry Potter book]], one of the challenges to get to the Philosopher's / Sorcerer's Stone was supposed to be defeating a troll. However, the troll had already been knocked out before the heroes got there, so they just walked past it. They had already fought a troll earlier in the book, though.
* In ''[[Mistborn]]'', Lord Tevidian is [[High Priest]] of the [[Corrupt Church]], one of the chief lieutenants of [[God
* In ''[[His Dark Materials]]'', the Authority (A.K.A. [[God]]) is set up as the ultimate source of the problems of society and the plot. But late in the series, it becomes apparent that his Dragon, Metatron, is really calling the shots, while the Authority is the victim of a carriage crash and a stiff breeze.
* The Council of Thirteen are the ultimate heads of the Yeerk Empire in ''Literature/Animorphs'', but they're a mostly off-page [[Bigger Bad]], with Visser Three (and to a lesser extent, Visser One) being the actual main enemies the Animorphs have to contend with. The Thirteen themselves only appear in one book, where they're more concerned with investigating potential treason on the Vissers' parts than actually confronting the protagonists.
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