History HopelessBossFight / RolePlayingGames

* In ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic II'', Darth Sion literally can't be killed. Every time you reach a damage threshold, he becomes invincible for a moment as his health is restored. With the right build, you can keep him on the ropes forever, but pure combat won't ever work. [[spoiler:When you meet him on Korriban, Kreia makes you and your party run like hell after a few hits. The second time, you have to [[TalkingTheMonsterToDeath talk him to death]].]]

* In ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'' you will have to "fight" [[spoiler:ORT. Despite ORT being level 1, it has '''1 million HP''' on the first health bar. After breaking the first health bar, you realize it has 10 of them, and the second health bar has 10 million HP. Through datamining, the total HP ORT has is 3,591,200,000 HP, and you don't do much damage to it. Even U-Olga Marie, the Foreign God, can only do little damage to it.]]

** In ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiPartnersInTime'', Mario and Luigi must fight three Shroobs near the beginning. However, the Shroobs are aided by a giant bomb-carrying UFO that destroys the brothers after three turns, making the fight impossible to win. The intention is for Baby Mario and Baby Luigi to then come to the rescue of their adult counterparts, the UFO being removed in the second fight.
** In ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiBowsersInsideStory'' Bowser's first fight is with Midbus in which you learn how to fight. Then Bowser starts feeling weak because of the Vacuum Mushroom and the battle ends prematurely.

*** The [[spoiler:final battle]] has one of these as well. [[spoiler:You fight the AI representation of the game's professor in order to shut down the time machine, but after you win, the AI's security protocol kicks in and locks all Poké Balls not registered to the professor. You're thrust into a battle with the "bad" specimen of the Legendary Pokémon, and are unable to use any of your partners to battle. Of course, there is ''one'' Poké Ball you haven't tried...]]

** In ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork6CybeastGregarAndCybeastFalzar'', (or rather, ''Rockman.exe 6'', [[BadExportForYou since it was completely ripped out of the North America version]]) you can't touch BonusBoss [[VideoGame/{{Boktai}} Count of Groundsoaking Blood]] until you go on a sidequest related to his game.

[[folder:Final Fantasy]]

[[folder:Suikoden]]

[[folder:Tales Of]]

** In ''Default'' the party encounters [[spoiler: Victoria and Victor of the Council of Six]] fairly early in the story and though the battle certainly appears as to be a standard Asterisk wielder boss battle they're about to curb stomp the party entirely. Even if they don't the battle ends after five turns. Fortunately Edea makes the party (and the player) plenty aware that they're opponents that they can't possibly hope to beat as they are. However it would be unwise to just roll over and die and you should consider lasting long enough to try to steal from both of them, as their items increase Mind and Intelligence by 10, both of which is very impressive at that point in the game. It is possible to defeat this battle, either in NewGamePlus or with enough SocializationBonus attacks of 99,999. The enemy will simply jump to "as if you had barely survived five rounds."

*** Like the ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'' example on this page, Chrono Trigger also has an InvertedTrope related to the Golem. First, you fight the Golem. Then later in the game, you fight [[DualBoss two Golems]]. Then as a climax after that, you fight the ''[[PaletteSwap Golem Overlord!]]'' ...Except you fight him on top of a [[CoolAirship giant airship]] and the boss is ''afraid of heights''. Seeing as the Golem bosses attacks are all based on GroundPound maneuvers, this cripples it to the degree that it is unable to attack the party, and they are free to wail on him while he ''literally weeps in cowardice'' until either his scripted death happens (The Overlord [[EpicFail slips and falls out of the airship]]), or the heroes beat it.[[note]]The latter is actually harder to do, because said scripted death happens after a set amount of turns has passed. While the boss cannot possibly attack, he's still as tanky as they come, so the actual challenge on this fight is to defeat him and get both the huge amount of EXP and the item rewards before the game takes this chance away from the player.[[/note]]

''Franchise/KingdomHearts'':

*** The initial fight against Shadow Nejima in Mementos, as your attacks will always miss him due to arcade cheater Yoshikuni Nejima's belief that he's invincible. However you must trigger this battle to start the Tower Confidant and use a skill received from said confidant to defeat him.

*** In the finale, you get a preview of the BonusBoss fight against Caroline and Justine. Unfortunately, they'll automatically reduce you to 1 hp in two turns, ending the battle.

** Losing is still expected the first time you fight him in ''LufiaIIRiseOfTheSinistrals'' but now it's actually possible to win. He'll drop the "Gades Blade" and then punk you in a cutscene.

* ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter Tri'' and ''3 Ultimate'' features the Lagiacrus, who is first encountered during a basic 1-star quest to gather [[TwentyBearAsses Monster Guts]]. If you went off to do online quests to get some good gear, it's possible to break off some of its parts for some drops you're not supposed to get until later, but you cannot kill or capture it.
* ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights'' mod ''A Hunt Through the Dark'' has a dream sequence in which your character is visited by Lolth, the spider-goddess of the Drow. [[DoNotTauntCthulhu Talking back to her]] [[DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu results in one of these.]]

** ''VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet'' has you forced into battle against a wild Houndoom early in the game as you follow the legendary mascot that you just saved with your sandwich given to you by your mom through the Inlet Grotto. The Houndoom is at Level 40 (which is way above the levels of any of the Pokémon in your party at that point), plus you can't use any items or run away, and when you choose to attack, it immediately uses Crunch. Of course, this plays out as more of a cutscene than an actual battle, and luckily, the legendary you befriended saves you in the nick of time.

** ''VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet'' has you forced into battle against a wild Houndoom early in the game as you follow the legendary mascot that you just saved with your sandwich given to you by your mom through the Inlet Grotto. The Houndoom is at Level 40, plus you can't use any items or run away, and when you choose to attack, it immediately uses Crunch. Of course, this plays out as more of a cutscene than an actual battle, and luckily, the legendary you befriended saves you in the nick of time.

** The fights with [[spoiler:Reaper Beat]] and the Trance Rhino (a Taboo Noise) may feel hopeless the first time through, but cut off after a certain amount of time regardless of who's winning. But if you die before that, the GameOver is for real.
** The battle against [[spoiler:Taboo Minamimoto]] feels hopeless as well, as it typically ends with your defeat. However, if you are defeated too quickly, you receive a Game Over instead of the cutscene that follows.
** In a NewGamePlus, both [[spoiler: Reaper Beat and Taboo Minamimoto]] appear as Blue Noise symbols and can be fought in optional, standard battles.
** And you'll [[spoiler: probably fight them over and over. If not for the satisfaction for kicking their asses, then for the sweet pins they drop that you'll need for some of the more useful stickers.]]

* In ''VideoGame/EldenRing'', the first enemy you see is the Grafted Scion, a miniboss that has multiple arms, each bearing a weapon. You're likely (and meant) to die in a couple of strikes, after which a cutscene will play and you advance into the game's proper tutorial stage. That said, you can defeat it if you're crafty, and it yields a few neat weapons if you do. [[spoiler:You won't have to on the first attempt -- later in the game you can find a warp gate that transports you back to this location so that you can have your revenge.]]

** 'VideoGame/Mother3'':

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'': The first fight against [=X-ATM092=] (the Spider Tank) is unwinnable, as the game forces you to flee after the boss enters "repair mode". Subvered with the following battles, as it's possible to kill it (or just avoid it) before it reaches the beach if you played Triple Triad beforehand to gain some good magic, and then mashed away with Squall and Zell's limit breaks.

* Right after the end of Chapter 4 of ''VideoGame/BugFables'', the [[BigBad Wasp King]] leads an attack on the Ant Kingdom to steal one of the artifacts Team Snakemouth found. He has no clear HP (you aren't even allowed to use [[EnemyScan Spy]] on him), his regular attack hits hard, and after a few turns he uses fire magic that is a OneHitKO on the party.

** In ''VideoGame/EpicBattleFantasy5'', shortly after the party arrive in No Man's Land, they're ambushed by Lance in his tank... if by "ambushed", you mean [[TotalPartyKill run over by his]] [[CarFu Neon Valkyrie tank]], which allows him to abduct Natalie and bail before Matt and [=NoLegs=] regain consciousness. [[spoiler:When you fight Lance and his tank later in that area, the tank will not have the room to build up its roadkill-inducing speed, thus stripping it of that particular attack.]]

* The FinalBoss in ''Videogame/{{Omori}}'' is impossible to defeat by conventional means, [[spoiler:as it's the suicidal guilt of a young boy being echoed back to himself. Instead, he using memories of good times to placate it.]]

** In ''VideoGame/PaperMario64'', both times you fight Bowser. The first time, at the beginning of the game, is to show off that he has the Star Rod. The second time, as the final boss, he's a Hopeless Boss Fight until after a long cutscene [[EleventhHourSuperpower grants you the ability you need to be able to damage him again]].
** Also, Tubba Blubba. He's [[NoSell completely immune to your attacks]] until you expose his secret.
** In Chapter 3 of ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor'', you can't beat the Iron Clefts the first time you fight them, not even with techniques that normally work on their species. After they beat you, you get a new party member, a Yoshi, who comes with an ability that can damage them.
*** In Chapter 4, you have multiple encounters with a ghost who has stolen your identity (don't ask). Until you discover his name, you can't hurt him; fortunately, unlike most examples in the series, he can't hurt you, either. His name is the same every time, but interestingly enough the same place you find his name is the same place you find the missing letter in the name-entering screen. This is done on purpose, because he asks you to guess his name earlier in the game, but people who have already played (or read a guide) know his name when Mario shouldn't. So they removed a letter from the name-entering screen so whether you know his name or not, you can't enter it until you find out his name in-game. Trying to cheat by replacing the missing letter with its uppercase counterpart is the same as not entering the right name, too - you ''have'' to go on with the game like normal.

** Late in ''VideoGame/EarthBoundBeginnings'' is a robot boss that's too powerful for you to beat. Once it defeats your party, [[BigDamnHeroes one of your friends shows up in a tank and obliterates it]]. There are two other robot bosses which are defeated in strange ways as well, without which you would be unable to win.
** Straight after the battle with Master Eddy in ''VideoGame/Mother3'', you wash up on a beach with all your items gone, and all your characters at a mere 1 HP and 0 MP. Healing your party is impossible without eating from the nearby patch of hallucinogenic mushrooms (an important plot point for this chapter), and there's an enemy Zombieshroom blocking your path forward which, in your party's current state, is suicide to encounter and should be impossible to defeat. Oddly, after you eat the mushrooms, it's not even necessary to fight it at all, as it'll have moved far enough to the side to be avoided. Cheat and kill this enemy before using the mushrooms, and it will still be standing there in your way after the battle.

*** The trope is subverted in the battle against [[spoiler: Porky]]. When you reduce his HP to zero, he gets into a capsule that makes him completely immune to any attack you throw at him, making it look like you are about to be crushed in battle. However, the boss also lacks any attacks of his own and after a few rounds, the party decides nothing can be done against him and he can't do anything to them, so they just stop fighting and move on.

** The game toys with the fourth wall to provide an inversion in one path. [[spoiler: YOU are the Hopeless Boss Fight - as in [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall you, the player.]] The final boss of the Genocide route, Sans, is entirely aware of your ability to reload the game, should you lose, so he knows he has no real chance of beating you outright. The only thing he ''can'' do is [[GoddamnedBoss making the fight so difficult]], [[RageQuit you give up]] and stop playing the game. [[CurbStompBattle And]] [[SNKBoss boy]] [[InterfaceScrew does]] [[CombatPragmatist he]] [[ThatOneBoss try]].]]
** Also inverted with [[spoiler: Omega Flowey]]. While he is a big, scary, EldritchAbomination who gleefully invokes TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou, if you stick with it long enough, you'll find that [[spoiler: the boss fight is very generous with its save points, and you really can't lose.]]
** Another inversion comes in the other path. [[spoiler: It's impossible to LOSE against the final boss of the Pacifist Route, Asriel Dreemurr, as much as he tries to convince you otherwise. No matter what Asriel does, or how many times you're brought down to 0 HP, {{Determinat|or}}ion keeps you going.]]

* Happens at least twice in a row in ''VideoGame/ThreeTheHardWay'', against [[ThoseTwoBadGuys Benson and Mauldin]]. In the first encounter, Benson pulls a Death Technique that almost killed the protagonist, and in the second encounter, Mauldin uses a Sleep spell on the party before escaping. Unlike most examples, however, the story will only progress when they defeat you with the aforementioned technique. If they defeat you normally, you will get a game over.