History Main / BullfightBoss

** In Tri, we get Barroth, who fits this trope to a "t".[[ThatOneBoss To the despair of many]], [[WakeUpCallBoss it comes in very early in the game.]]

** Bowser in ''SuperMarioBros3'' is a vertical bullfight boss, continually crashing into the floor until he breaks through.

* Several bosses in the first two ''WarioLand'' games.

* ''ApeEscape 2'' has a T-rex that did this. You had to make him crash into the wall to damage him.

* Topmaniac from ''SuperMarioGalaxy''.

* Bane, and the [[EliteMook titan mooks]] in ''BatmanArkhamAsylum''. Unlike many Bullfight Bosses, they're smart enough to pull up before running into the walls, unless you enrage/distract them with a batarang in the face while they're charging.

* Brutes in ''DeadSpace2'' should be treated like this (with liberal use of Stasis) until you remove a limb, whereupon it becomes PlayingTennisWithTheBoss. Killing one without taking damage earns the "Brute Juke" [[BraggingRightsReward achievement]].

** Even the {{danmaku}} games do this: "Shikigami: Ran Yakumo" has one of the two bosses [[EverythingsBetterWithSpinning spinning around the screen]], occasionally locking in on your character's position.

* Happens quite often in foil fencing. Two fencers will run at each other and try to score a point. The director will have to decide who attacked first, and therefore got the point. The director often has to throw out the point.

** The best example from Twilight Princess are the two fights on a bridge against the Bulbin King. And there is also [[spoiler:Ganon's Giant Wolf/Bear/Pig/Lion (Maybe ManBearPig?) form]]. Somewhat of a variant since rather than dodging you have to meet him head on and wrestle him to the ground before attacking.

* Almost every ''MetalGearSolid'' game ends with an unarmed one on one duel. (There are two in [=MGS1=].) Evading and striking at the opponents back or sides after a miss is the only way to get through these as they can usually punch out Snake with only two or three good hits.

* [[spoiler:Atlas aka Fontaine]] from ''{{Bioshock}}''. Which led to some disgruntlement amongst folks who hoped [[spoiler:the final boss]] would be more "epic".

* Bald Bull from the ''PunchOut'' series is similar, except the trick there is to take him by the horns (i.e. hitting him in the chest just as he's about to unleash his attack).

* The last boss of ''MetalGearSolid 2'' acts like this for a part of his duel with Raiden. While leaving trails of flame behind him.

* In bullfighting: [[CaptainObvious Bulls]].

* ''{{Bug}}!'' featured a bullfight ''mook'' in the first stage, a beetle of sorts. Not particularly dangerous, one hit [[ClothingDamage stripped it down to its boxer shorts]] and made it useless. Other than that, the yeti boss qualifies in three of its attack patterns.

* A common complaint about ''MegaManX 3'' is how many of its Mavericks use this fighting style. One particularly bad boss at this was Blizzard Buffalo, who has a glitch that forces him to dash in the opposite direction if you jump just as he's about to charge; This Troper calls it the "fear of crotch." as in order to trigger it, the jump has to bring X's hips (at the very least) within eye level of the boss.

* The 10th, 11th and 14th Colossus in ''ShadowOfTheColossus''.

[[AC:MMORPGs]]

* The first Spider-Man game for the PS1 featured a fight against Rhino. True to form, his primary attack consisted of a charge. The key to victory was positioning yourself so that each charge would either cause him to get his horn stuck in a wall - giving you a few seconds to hit him from behind - or charge directly into a big power generator.

* ''{{Metroid}} Prime'': the Plated Beetle mini-boss/enemy, and [[spoiler:the second half of the Ridley boss fight]].

* SNES game ''[[{{Asterix & Obelix}}]]'' had the titular two fight against an actual bull. Combining it with deadly dodging.
* ''Ape Escape 2'' has a T-rex that did this. You had to make him crash into the wall to damage him.

* The Berserker in ''GearsOfWar''. You actually need to lead her to a door, so she bashes it in with her charge, allowing you to take the fight outside. where you shoot her with a massive space-laser...

* Sam from ''{{Red Dead Revolver}}'' is fought like this. Initially, you can use the tables on the bar floor to knock him off balance, than using the showgirls stage when you run out of tables.

* Happens quite often in foil fencing. To fencers will run at each other and try to score a point. The director will have to decide who attacked first, and therefor got the point. The director often has to throw out the point.

[[quoteright:296:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Charging_Bull-smaller.jpg]]
-->''"For there is surely nothing more beautiful in this world than the sight of a lone man facing singlehandedly a half a ton of angry pot-roast."''
--->-TomLehrer.

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* The Minotaur from ''CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight''.

* The Maulotaurs from the ''{{Doom}}''-spinoffs ''Heretic'' and ''Hexen'' are almost literally bulls that charge at the player. They still have quite a fierce long-range attack, using their fiery hammers.

* A common complaint about ''MegaManX 3'' is how many of its Mavericks use this fighting style. One particularly bad boss at this was Blizzard Buffalo, who has a glitch that forces him to dash in the opposite direction if you jump just as he's about to charge; this troper calls it the "fear of crotch." as in order to trigger it, the jump has to bring X's hips (at the very least) within eye level of the boss.

* Happens quite often in foil fencing. To fencers will run at each other and try to score a point. The director will have to decide who attacked first, and therefor got the point. The director often has to trow out the point.

* [[MeaningfulName El Odio]] from ''{{Psychonauts}}'' is a ''literal'' bullfight boss; you even have to stab him with ''banderillas''. But then subverted halfway through the fight, when [[spoiler:the real boss, the matador, appears, forcing you to fight him while protecting the bull]].
** The Brain Tank has the same habit of charging the player. Unfortunately, it also has a confusion attack, which messes with the controls so that you dodge ''into'' the path of the tank.

* Topmaniac from ''SuperMarioGalaxy''.
** Bowser in ''SuperMarioBros3'' is a vertical bullfight boss, continually crashing into the floor until he breaks through.

* One game, known in the US as ''Exile'' when they changed all of the drug references from the Hashashain character to poison (which healed you !) had this with its crusader boss, who was ludicrously easy due to a conveniently placed floating platform which meant all one had to do was stab down repeatably as he charged back and forth under your sword.
* A common complaint about ''MegaManX 3'' is how many of its Mavericks use this fighting style. One particularly bad boss at this was Blizzard Buffalo, who has a glitch that forces him to dash in the opposite direction if you jump just as he's about to charge; this troper calls it the "fear of crotch." as in order to trigger it, the jump has to bring X's hips (at the very least) within eye level of the boss.
* Amusingly fitting is Taurus Fire, an anthropomorphic bull boss from ''MegaManStarForce'' who attacks frequently... By charging you. It's a pathetically easy attack to avoid due to its rather long start-up as well as the combat design of the series requiring that to not get run over you merely have to press left or right... Once.
* Bald Bull from the ''PunchOut'' series is similar, except the trick there is to take him by the horns (i.e. hitting him in the chest just as he's about to unleash his attack).
* Most bosses in ''SuperSmashBros Brawl'' Subspace Emissary, while not entirely based on this, will do it every once in a while as part of their routine.
* The penguin, the first boss of ''Fancy Pants Adventure''. It even holds its fins up like horns.

* Garradors are like this in ''ResidentEvil4''. Their only vulnerable spot is on their back, and if they hear you, they'll come charging. If you move in time, they'll end up getting their claws stuck in the wall long enough to shoot them in the back ForMassiveDamage. The other option is just to walk, in which case they can't hear you, and you can sneak up on them at your leisure.
* The Rhino does this in every ''{{Spider-Man}}'' game ever with him in it. As I recall, he also gets his horn stuck in walls sometimes.
* One of the bosses for the 8-bit version of ''SonicTheHedgehog2'' was a robo-warthog that could only be damaged after it charged into the wall. And the very first boss in the 16-bit version of ''SonicTheHedgehog2'' is, if not an example, then at least a close relative.
* This is also how you deal with Jaws when you first meet him in ''JamesBond: Everything or Nothing''.
* ''BugsBunny: Lost in Time'' and ''BugsBunny: Rabbit Rampage'' - surprise, it's a battle with the Bull from "Bully for Bugs."
* Nearly every boss in the SNES game ''EVOSearchForEden'' was fought this way, but this may have more to do with the game being NintendoHard than this trope, however. The first boss does play this completely straight, however.

* The first level boss in ''Wild West C.O.W.boys of Moo Mesa'' is even literally a LoadOfBull, but then again, so is ''everyone else'' in the game.

* ''[=~Conker's Bad Fur Day~=]'' has a a fight with a bull early on. You have to lead him into ramming targets, one of which he gets stuck on so you can hop on and ride him.
* The Were-bulls in SeriousSam charge at you full speed, but take a while to turn, making it possible to sidestep them to avoid getting hit. In fact, one of the best ways to take them out without using a lot of ammo is to use the [[strike:knife]] chainsaw, sidestep out of the way at the last second and slash them as they run past. Rinse and repeat.
* Several bosses in the first two ''WarioLand'' games.
* This is the easiest way to defeat Hulk Davidson in ''ViewtifulJoe'' (though not the fastest). Dodge three axe swings. Jump onto a platform once he begins his charge animation. Jump down and hit him until he recovers from his daze. Lead him closer to the center to make the dodging easier (optional), and repeat.
* ''Taz in Escape from Mars'' features a literal bullfight boss, but otherwise requires a [[DeadlyDodging different strategy]].
* The Berserker in ''GearsOfWar''. You actually need to lead her to a door, so she bashes it in with her charge, allowing you to take the fight outside. where you shoot her with a massive space-laser...
** [[ThisIsSparta IS. NOT.]] [[ThatOneBoss A BREATHER BOSS.]]
** At least the first two aren't. The third one can be ridiculously easy, especially since you face her in confined quarters. This is supposedly to make maneuvering to avoid her attacks harder... but it really just means you can make her charge right off the back of the train.
* Russell from ''{{Bully}}'' is a textbook example. He even paws the ground with his feet before charging.
** And the Bullworth Bulls mascot also embodies this.
* The 10th, 11th and 14th Colossus in ''ShadowOfTheColossus''.
* The Orc leader in ''Champions of Norrath''.
* Buzz from ''{{Spyro}}: Year of the Dragon''.
* Egg Hornet and E-101 Mk. 2 from ''SonicAdventure''
* The Globe Holder from ''[[EccoTheDolphin Ecco: The Tides of Time]]'' had elements of this in the second phase, and ''Defender of the Future'' features a great white shark as the bull.

* The Maulotaurs from the ''{{Doom}}''-spinoffs ''Heretic'' and ''Hexen'' are almost literally bulls that charge at the player. They still have quite a fierce long-range attack, using their fiery hammers.

* ''AstroBoy'' for the [[GameBoyAdvance GBA]] had to fight the Blue Knight this way. Every time you crossed you had to [[PressXToNotDie press A in time]] to parry his charge, with the window (and recovery times) shrinking until it devolved into near ButtonMashing. [[OneHitPointWonder Don't miss.]]
* Several story mode spellcards from the ''TouhouProject'' fighting games were like this: Marisa's "Stardust Reverie" and Remilia's "Bad Lady Scramble" in ''Immaterial and Missing Power''; Iku's "Acanthodii of the Thunder Clouds," Remilia's "Bombard Night," and Aya's "Sarutahiko's Guidance" in ''Scarlet Weather Rhapsody''.
** Even the {{danmaku}} games do this: "Shikigami: Ran Yakumo" has one of the two bosses [[EverythingsBetterWithSpinning spinning around the screen]], occasionally locking in on your character's position.
** There's also Marisa's Last Word spellcard from ''Imperishable Night'', "Blazing Star," in which she turns herself into a [[KamehameHadoken giant laser comet]] and launches herself at you. Sort of subverted in that you can't hit her, and because it's a Last Word, you can't bomb to escape; your only option is timing it out.
* The bull rancor boss in ''StarWars: TheForceUnleashed'' is significantly easier if you fight it this way.
* ''MonsterHunter'' is all about this. A monster early in the game, the Bulldrome, is basically this trope. Later bosses, however, mix it up in different ways: some will charge at you, do a skid turn and immediately charge again before you can attack, others recover too fast for you to take advantage of this weakness (you need to exploit other movements and not attack when they charge), and there are a couple for which you have to watch their body language so you know when to dodge (the actual attack is too fast to dodge). And then there're [[ThatOneBoss Those Two Bosses]] that ''sometimes'' charge in an arc that only hits you ''if'' you dodge...
** This is actually the best possible strategy to fight [[ThatOneBoss the notorious Tigrex]]. Remember that gigantic scary-as-all-hell Dragon in the intro cutscene? It has such a bad temper that its charge is an almost surefire one hit KO. But time it so that it'll charge headlong into a wall and it'll get its teeth stuck, giving you a very clear shot at him and most possibly a valuable drop. This is also the key in many big Dragons like Mono- and Diablos.
** There are even normal enemies, such as Bullfangos and Rhenoplos, that behave like this.

* The last boss of ''MetalGearSolid 2'' acts like this for a part of his duel with Raiden. While leaving trails of flame behind him.

* SNES game ''{{Asterix & Obelix}}'' had the titular two fight against an actual bull. Combining it with deadly dodging.
* One of the LordOfTheRings games had a boss fight against Lurtz, who was invulnerable until he swung at you and got his sword stuck in a statue, at which point you could attack him. There's also a later fight against orcs on wargs--you can only do a little bit of damage to them until the wargs rear up to attack you, at which point you can run in and slash at their belly.
* Oni (both [[RedOniBlueOni red and blue]]) and the appropriately-named Bull Charger in ''{{Okami}}''. If you try to attack them head-on, you can't damage them and you're likely to get smacked senseless, but if you attack from behind or hit them when they've dropped their masks, you can take them down fairly easily.
* In the 2009 ''{{Wolfenstein}}'', the Altered is immune to all conventional weaponry, forcing B.J. to get him to run into a series of electrical pillars around the arena. Once they are destroyed, the Black Sun portal he came in through collapses and pulls him back inside, killing him.
* Bane, and the [[EliteMook titan mooks]] in ''BatmanArkhamAsylum''. Unlike many Bullfight Bosses, they're smart enough to pull up before running into the walls, unless you enrage/distract them with a batarang in the face while they're charging.
* The Gargantuans of OverlordII are fought in this way. Lampshaded by the Imperial Centurions, who note that their vision might need a bit of work but still calls them a marvel of modern warfare.
* The first boss of ''RuneFactory: Frontier''.
* Icehowl the Yeti in WorldOfWarcraft does this every so often. If he tramples anyone, the victim dies and he goes into a rage, but if he misses he crashes into the wall and becomes more vulnerable. Especially in the heroic mode this pretty much decides the battle.
*In Real Life: Happens quite often in foil fencing. To fencers will run at each other and try to score a point. The director will have to decide who attacked first, and therefor got the point. The director often has to trow out the point.
* Several bosses in ''GodHand'' do this, notably Elvis and Bruce (of the Three Evil Stooges).
* The Charger in ''Left4Dead 2''. You most definitely do NOT want to be in his way when he charges towards you.
* There is a boss, the jailer, in Darksiders who looks like one of the "get them to hit the pillars" type bosses. Thankfully this is an inversion. Pillars will crumple, but it's not necessary to beat the boss.
* In ''TeamFortress2'', the Demoman's Chargin' Targe essentially allows him to become one of these.
* Ape Escape 2 has a T-rex that did this. You had to make him crash into the wall to damage him.

* Most enemy types in ''{{Oni}}'' have some sort of charging attack which can be anticipated and dodged, leading to an easy counterattack. For the more powerful enemies, these attacks are unblockable and dodging is the only defense.
* The Minotaur from CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight.
* The stage 3 boss from StreetsOfRage.
* In ''Orphen: Scion of Sorcery'', one boss literally plays on this trope. It involves a Minotaur-like boss charging at you and knocking you back, eventually knocking you down a hole to your death, which is a Game Over. And unless you have perfect timing to knock him back with a sword, this battle can end very quickly.
* The final boss of Wario Land: Shake It!! for the Wii charges at you, but crashes if you bounce on his head once or twice as he does.

* One boss in LegendsOfLegaia was a sort of Minotaur guy who was attacking the support pillar holding up the ledge on which an underground town had been built (by charging at it head first over and over). The party has to stop him before he is successful and he employs several standard BullFightBoss attacks and tactics during the fight.