History Main / ChasingYourTail

%% * The ''[[VideoGame/SonicRushSeries Sonic Rush games]]'' have a fair few.

* The first battle with the Sphinx-like [[SpellMyNameWithAnS Bourban/Bolban]] in ''VideoGame/{{Bomberman}} Hero'', where his front end is protected and his tail is his weakness. In the second battle, both his frontal shield and his breath weapon are disabled, but his missiles are harder to avoid because you're fighting him [[NoSidepathsNoExplorationNoFreedom in an underwater tunnel]].

* Jackle from ''VideoGame/{{NiGHTS into Dreams}}'' backed away, throwing cards at you, and you would have to dodge the cards to get to him and throw him out of his mantle.

* Jackle from ''VideoGames/{{NiGHTS into Dreams}}'' backed away, throwing cards at you, and you would have to dodge the cards to get to him and throw him out of his mantle.

* In ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog'', the final boss for going straight through Normal missions is Eggman riding on a slot machine on wheels, going around a square circuit, around which you have to chase him.

* The ''[[VideoGame/SonicRushSeries Sonic Rush games]]'' have a fair few.

* ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'':

* In ''VideoGame/BurningRangers'', the third boss would run around in a large tube like room, while the player would have to knock off its armour and then hit its core.
* The final boss in ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}'' chases Raz around the edge of a circular arena with an instant-kill zone in the centre. The absolute final fight against this boss is impossible to win with Raz in his normal condition - your only option is to [[spoiler:run away until Raz gains enough power to turn into a giant version of himself, and then turn on the boss.]]
* The ''VideoGame/SpyroTheDragon'' series had a lot of these.
* The ''VideoGame/{{Klonoa}}'' series loves this trope.
* The ''VideoGame/MegaManLegends'' titles are all but made of this trope. Most of the bosses -- and a few of the bigger regular enemies as well -- are most easily defeated by circle-strafing until they pull off their (easily dodged) big attack, letting you get in a good number of hits while they recover.

* Ship battles ("battle navigation") in VideoGame/PuzzlePirates can tend towards this (in a grid map, no less), as each ship tries to align their broadside to the other's stern, so that they can fire at the enemy without being fired back at.
* Any boss enemy in VideoGame/Wolfenstein3D can be exploited this way, by luring the boss into chasing you around an "island" of wall, firing on him while backpedaling and ducking around the corner when he prepares to shoot back. Because boss enemies so heavily telegraph their attacks, a skilled player can defeat a boss in this manner without sustaining any damage at all. Level 18 of VideoGame/SpearOfDestiny puts a much deadlier spin on this by having the [[ThatOneBoss Death Knight]] and a horde of Nazis chase you out of the death trap that is the level's main room into the perimeter hallway, which is full of [[FragileSpeedster officers]] who will harass you as you desperately scramble for health as the mad dash out of the central room will have without fail brought you to the brink of death. The Death Knight is also considerably faster than bosses from the original Wolfenstein 3D and floods of guards will pour into the north and south sections of the perimeter corridor, adding to the pressure and making for a truly nerve-wracking battle.

** Such tactics are OlderThanTheyThink: see [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cantabrian_circle The Cantabrian circle]] on Wiki/TheOtherWiki.

** Shadowcat is without fail one of the earliest mechs you are given. It is quite weak, and has very little support for add-ons or weapons. However, it's the fastest in the game. It's made even more effective in Vengeance when you're given the option of installing a 'tracking beacon' which when fired makes every missile a homing missile.

** In ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'', the battle with King Boom Boo takes place on a giant circular platform with a pillar in the center. In a semi-subversion, you're at first chased around like this, needing to lure the big ghost into chasing you long enough for you to sneak up behind him and smack the little ghost chasing ''his'' tail with an hourglass; once the hourglass is turned over and the sun pops out of a skylight, King Boom Boo shrinks down and vanishes into the arena, breaking the looping pattern by moving erratically until you dig him up (after which it's back to ChasingYourTail until you hit him, rinse and repeat).

*** A well-known example is the mid-boss battle in the third dungeon, namely, the Big Octo fight. The player must run around a small circular arena, chasing the boss, trying to hit its back. The middle part of the arena has a rotating platform with spiked walls.

** The fight with the fourth dungeon mini-boss Cue Ball in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening'' is one of the earliest examples of this type of fight in the series, it chasing you in a cramped looped room with you having to outrun it with the Pegasus Boots.
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'' and ''Link's Awakening'' have the Moldorm, a giant worm whose only weak spot is in his tail. You fight it in a tiny little area in the middle of a hole that would drop you down a floor if you fall. Getting hit by the boss knocks you back several times farther than normal.

* A well-known example from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' is the mid-boss battle in the third dungeon, namely, the Big Octo fight. The player must run around a small circular arena, chasing the boss, trying to hit its back. The middle part of the arena has a rotating platform with spiked walls.
** Also from '' Ocarina of Time'' is the King Dodongo fight, which takes place in a small square-shaped hallway with a lava pit at its center. The player must run away from the boss until it becomes vulnerable. (Hunkering down under the Hylian shield works too.)
*** Or you can just stand on an inside corner, and watch as he rolls around you...
** A third example from ''Ocarina of Time'' is the mini-boss Flare Dancer. After its flames are extinguished, the Flame Dancer runs away from the player around the circular room until it can re-light itself.
** The fight with Goht in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask Majora's Mask]]'' involves chasing after it in Goron form, trying to ram into it. It's possible to snipe it with arrows too, but that method is much slower and less commonly used.
** The first half of the fight with Skull Keeta involves chasing after the mini-boss before it reaches the end of a path punctuated with fire walls and Stalchildren. If you fail to catch up, Skull Keeta decides that you are too weak to bother fighting and you must re-enter the area to try again.