History EleventhHourSuperpower / VideoGames

* ''Videogame/PizzaTower:'' Not so much an extra ability as it is a massive boost to an existing one, but when [[spoiler:Pizzahead]] decides to casually initiate a BossRush of every previous boss Peppino's faced on his trek up the tower, laughing all the while, Peppino [[RageBreakingPoint loses every remaining ounce of his shit]] so completely his regular attack turns into a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown that can rip through half a boss' health bar on impact.

** In ''VideoGame/ChaosRingsIII'', the True Incarnatus -- a glowing giant with extremely high stats that acts as a replacement for the entire party and can use all of the active members' abilities -- can only be used against the final bosses. While the final ''final'' boss is more or less a CutsceneBoss, the one preceding it is tough enough that it's still a struggle to beat it even as the True Incarnatus.

*** ''VideoGame/MegaManDrWilysRevenge'' has the Mirror Buster, an AttackReflector that absorbs enemy projectiles and fires them back.
*** ''VideoGame/MegaManII'' has the Sakugarne, a PowerUpMount that can damage enemies by jumping on them. Unfortunately, [[ScrappyWeapon it's finnicky at the best of times]], though thankfully it's not necessary to beat the final boss.
*** ''VideoGame/MegaManIII'' features the Screw Crusher, which is thrown in an upwards arc and has the most ammunition out of any weapon in the game.
*** ''VideoGame/MegaManIV'' has the Ballade Cracker, an explosive projectile that can be thrown in eight directions.
*** ''VideoGame/MegaManV'' has the Spark Chaser, a laser that homes in on enemies and damages them repeatedly.

*** In ''VideoGame/MegaManX3'', you can get the golden armor (upgrading all your armor parts at once) and Zero's saber near the end of the game.

* In ''VideoGame/PaperMario'', the Peach Beam, which you can't defeat Bowser without, is granted halfway through the final boss battle. What's more, the game doesn't allow you to keep playing after beating the boss, instead returning you to your last save point.
* ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor'': Halfway through the battle with the Shadow Queen, Mario's Crystal Stars go out to all over the world, and the various people they've met all give their support to him, causing the Shadow Queen to lose her invincibility.
* ''VideoGame/PaperMarioStickerStar'': [[spoiler:During the final battle, Kersti has Mario use her as a sticker for a massive powerup, which involves breaking through Bowser's defense and giving him 5 sticker slots if the wheel results in a jackpot...but it also involves sacrificing Kersti in the process]].

* ''VideoGame/InFamous'': the final karmic choice, just before the final boss has you decide to activate or destroy the Raysphere. Destroying it sets your karma to maximum whereas activating it sets your karma so low it will never rise, gives you an extra 6 health slots and gives you a damage boost and cool colour change.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Aquaria}}'', the 11th-Hour Superpower was the character's final form, given just before the final boss: although, just as you were finally getting used to having a power that could kill nearly anything on screen, it was taken away after the first form of the final boss, until the LAST form, leaving you to have to figure out other methods for those in between.
** Interesting in that you can stop the boss fight between the second and third forms and go off to do other stuff - but Celia apparently doesn't feel like stopping time anywhere else.

* In ''VideoGame/EarthBoundBeginnings'' (predecessor to ''VideoGame/{{EarthBound|1994}}''), the final boss is toppled by singing a song comprised of the 8 melodies collected during the game. The player receives the actual song prior to entering the final boss battle.
** ''Earthbound'''s final boss was killed in a similar manner, where a character prays several times, using an ability that up to that point was almost useless. The only thing that prevents this from being a complete GuideDangIt is that Porky hints that you should use the command. Well, kind of...

** In ''VideoGame/MOTHER3'', you get PK Love Ω for pulling the sixth needle. There are ''seven'' needles.

** In ''VideoGame/Rockman4MinusInfinity'', if you find yourself losing the final battle against [[DualBoss the Petit Robot Masters]], Proto Man comes in to give you the Wily Buster and refill all your health. The Wily Buster shoots charged shots instantly and reduces all damage taken from the bosses.
* ''Franchise/MetalGear'':
** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2'' has the High-Frequency Blade, a katana-like blade that slices enemies up and can even block bullets. The catch? You don't get it until almost at the end of the game, when Solid Snake gives Raiden his clothes back and also gives him the HF Blade, and it's only useful during the battle in the infamous FISSION MAILED chamber and in the very final battle with Solidus Snake.

* ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}''' 11th-Hour Superpower is a crackling field of psychic energy that allows you to grow to [[AttackOfThe50FootWhatever monstrous size]], given to you by your character's father, who was secretly [[SecretLegacy a psychic all along]].
* ''VideoGame/Psychonauts2'':
** Mental Projection is the final ability obtained in the game right after the cutoff point. Its primary usage is getting items that were previously unobtainable before.
** Just like in the first game, Nona gives Raz "everything she's got" to go toe-to-toe with a mental version of Maligula, which involves Raz growing to giant size to duke it out with her.

** Or super heroes in ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3''.

* In ''VideoGame/RogueGalaxy'', the main character Jaster gets a glowy power aura of strength and a {{BFS}} with infinite reach to defeat the [[SequentialBoss final form]] of the TrueFinalBoss.
** He also gets this with his fight with Seed and another person in the desert town, only minus the BFS.
* In ''VideoGame/RuneFactory2'', when you are near the end of the second generation, you gain a spellbook called "Dragon Break." This spellbook is only useful against the Final Boss. But, using it makes the final battle a CurbStompBattle in your favor.
** During the final fight against Ethelberd in ''VideoGame/RuneFactory4'',you reach a form where Ethelberd overtakes Ventuswill, becoming Ethelwill. You ''can'' technically beat this form, but it is deliberately extremely high in level, making it almost impossible. Ventuswill, with what mental control she has left, sends you her power, causing your level to skyrocket above 1,000 and refilling your HP after Lest/Frey gets knocked down.

* In ''ComicBook/ScottPilgrim's [[GrandFinale Finest Hour]]'', the title character gets one in the form of a sword called "the Power of Understanding", after realising that he and the BigBad Gideon aren't so different. Natural, due to the heavy video game influences.
** Not just that, but in the video game adaptation, you get the obscenely-powerful Power of Love Sword in the final stage of the game, and you only have it for fighting the penultimate boss. Luckilly, there's a cheat code that allows you to use it throughout the entire game.

* In ''VideoGame/SiN'', the experimental fusion pulse rifle can only be obtained three levels from the endgame, and requires the assembly of several different pieces (the first of which is obtained very early in the game). Somewhat toyed with; while it is a deadly weapon in its own right, and is capable of killing most enemies from that point on with a couple shots, it won't do much good against the final boss.
** The ''[[VideoGame/SiN1998 SiN (1998)]]'' ExpansionPack ''Wages of Sin'' similarly gave you a nuclear rocket launcher at the end of the game, although you were free to use it on anything you wanted (but you were probably better off saving it for the final boss).
* ''VideoGame/SlyCooper'': Sly gains the ability to walk on laser beams mere moments before the final boss fight in ''VideoGame/Sly3HonorAmongThieves''.

* ''Videogame/TeamFortress2:'' Although there are no in-game mechanics to support this, in the last 20 seconds of an attack/defend map or a payload map, the attacking team will often rush onto the point in an chaotic swarm out of desperation. In public servers, even a rush of unorganized players is enough to tip the scales in favour of the attacking team.

* In ''VideoGame/TombRaiderLegend'', you get Excalibur in Nepal. It's used only to break open a door to leave and to fight Amanda and the unknown creature.
** In ''Underworld'', you acquire Thor's hammer, Mjolnir, several levels before the end, and [[{{Gamebreaker}} get to use it to wreak godlike havoc on enemies]], be they simple gun-toting humans, sharks in water(!), or the various thralls emerging from the depths of Nifleheim, before ultimately planting it into the ''Big Bad'''s backside.

* In the strategy game ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}: Mark of Chaos'' and its novelization, both playable sides get this: The chaos champion transforms into a Daemon Prince after obtaining the MacGuffin while the Empire protagonist is given back his family's title of Elector Count, which carries with it access to a cool rune sword and the imperial menagerie containing a rideable griffon. In the game, the placement of both are more SwordOfPlotAdvancement with a full chapter remaining, while the novel had them used only for the last battle (especially the griffon).

* ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou'' has a strange example of this occurring mid-game. Joshua gains a powered-up attack at the very end of the fifth day of his week. You get two days with his powered up form. This sounds longer than it is - a "day" is essentially a "chapter" in the game, and the final two days are relatively short and constrained to a relatively small area. After they're up, Joshua and his superpowered form leave until [[NewGamePlus after you complete the game]].

* The ''VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown'' remake has your squad StormingTheCastle in the form of a giant [[TheMothership Temple Ship]]. One member of the squad, the Volunteer, has reached a point in his or her psychic training that a new [[PsychicPowers psi-ability]] is unlocked -- the Rift, which creates a SwirlyEnergyThingy that persists for a few turns, dealing damage to anyone in its radius. Since you're constantly getting stormed by the aliens, the ability is useful, although not really a GameBreaker. In fact, the first time you use it, the BigBad will compliment the Volunteer on his or her achievement ([[spoiler:it turns out that the whole AlienInvasion was a SecretTest to turn humans into powerful warriors, combining strength, endurance, intelligence, and [[PsychicPowers the Gift]] for...something. Given that you destroy the aliens at the end of the game, the plan has GoneHorriblyRight. Also, the BigBad pretty much states that all the aliens you have been fighting were earlier failures to create the perfect soldiers]]).

* In ''VideoGame/XMenLegends II: The Rise of Apocalypse,'' you get to try out the powers of the Four long enough to trash Apocalypse's powering-up device (it's the only way to do it, and if you don't, Apocalypse simply revives there the instant you defeat him).
* In ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1'', Shulk receives his InfinityPlusOneSword, [[spoiler:the Monado III]], right before the final phase of the FinalBoss. NewGamePlus allows the player to bring it over into the rest of the game.
** Shulk and the seventh party member both receive their ultimate arts, Monado Cyclone and Final Cross, towards the end of the game.
* ''VideoGame/ZoneOfTheEnders: the 2nd Runner'' has two of these. The first is Jehuty Version 2, gained just before the final dungeon, which is twice as strong as normal Jehuty. The second is Naked Jehuty, gained just before the final boss, which is ten times stronger than version 2 and can tear through former bosses like wet tissue paper. Playing with Naked Jehuty from the start on New Game Plus reveals that DegradedBoss was ''not'' in effect.

* ''VideoGame/PaperMarioStickerStar'': During the final battle, Kersti has Mario use her as a sticker for a massive powerup, which involves breaking through Bowser's defense and giving him 5 sticker slots if the wheel results in a jackpot...but it also involves sacrificing Kersti in the process.

** In ''PokemonScarletAndViolet'', Koriadon/Miraidon finally return to fighting form in their Apex Build/Ultimate Mode after getting past their mental barriers to protect the player and their friends right before the PostFinalBoss.

** During the final month of the ''Legion'' expansion, players could do a short questline that would unlock ''126'' traits for their [[InfinityPlusOneWeapon artifact]] until the pre-patch for ''Battle For Azeroth''.[[note]]Prior to the questline, the highest possible number of traits was 101 and, due to the massive cost of later traits, most players only had 80 at the most[[/note]]

* ''Franchise/BioShock'':

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTearsOfTheKingdom'': the Master Sword becomes this if you didn't get it during the rest of the game. [[spoiler:The Light Dragon[[note]]aka Zelda[[/note]] shows up and allows Link to pull the Master Sword from their forehead without fuss (when you would have needed at least two full stamina wheels previously) right before the final phase of the FinalBoss.]]

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTearsOfTheKingdom: the Master Sword becomes this if you didn't get it during the rest of the game. [[spoiler:The Light Dragon[[note]]aka Zelda[[/note]] shows up and allows Link to pull the Master Sword from their forehead without fuss (when you would have needed at least two full stamina wheels previously) right before the final phase of the FinalBoss.]]

** Ragna's Azure Grimoire (the source of said powerup) in general. It's permanently grafted into his arm, but he seldom uses it. It's seen in action only in the aforementioned Terumi battle, his final battle with Unlimited Hakumen and Nu in Calamity Trigger's true ending, and as a probably non-canon BonusBoss in Calamity Trigger arcade mode. Why he dislikes using it is yet to be revealed.

** ''VideoGame/ChaosRingsII'' gives the main character his level 3 Awakening, Godslayer, in the middle of the TrueFinalBoss. You get to keep it for the PlayableEpilogue and BonusBoss fights.