History Main / DegradedBoss

* Every enemy is introduced in ''TheHauntedMansion'' with a lot of fanfare, and you are put into a one-on-one match with them. As soon as you beat them, they begin showing up as regular enemies. Fortunately, [[HeroicMime Zeke's]] weapon gets powerful enough to accommodate for this.

** In ''Origins'' and ''Awakening'', Pride Demons are one of the few bosses dangerous enough to present a challenge even when not backed up by [[FlunkyBoss waves of flunkies]]. In ''DAII'', however, they get {{Nerf}}ed so hard that a two-character party can take one out without breaking sweat ''unless'' it's backed up by wave upon wave of {{Mooks}}.
*** Like the ogres in the previous entries, pride demons also suffer this over the course of a single game in ''[[VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition Inquisition]]'': one serves as the first boss, where it's actually fairly tough, but later they start showing up in groups with much less HP, or being spat out of Fade Rifts along with other demons.

** Every single boss in ''FinalFantasy: Mystic Quest'', with five exceptions: the crystal guardians (and their PaletteSwap counterparts in Doom Castle), and the final boss.

* The Gah-Goojin from ''VideoGame/TheWonderful101'' is a gradual decline. He serves as the second main boss, then the first part of the fifth boss, and then by the time you get to the final chapter when you have your own robot, they're about as effective as the tiny mooks (and then hijacked for giant Unite Morphs).

** ''VideoGame/{{Final Fantasy XIII-2}}'' has a couple cross-game inversions: The Immortal and Ochus were regular, if strong and rare, enemies in the first game, but are unique {{Bonus Boss}}es here.

* In ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', Kael'Thas Sunstrider starts off the first expansion as one of the final endgame bosses who required a group of 40 players in max level gear to reliably take down. Two major updates and one necromantic encounter later he's still a final boss... but of a dungeon that any 5-man group of newly-max-level players can take down without too much trouble.
** Happens fairly often in a general sense when a boss uses a unique model that is well liked, and is then later on reused for other enemies.

** In ''VideoGame/AlienVsPredatorCapcom'', the first boss, Chrysalis, reappears twice in the final stages and in a pair each time. The third boss, purple Arachnoid, reappears throughout the last two stages - on one occasion, ''six of them at once''. And you don't have endless ammo this time.

** In ''VideoGame/AlienVsPredatorCapcom'', the first boss, Chrysalis, reappears twice in the final stages and in a pair each time.

* ''{{Splatterhouse}} 3'' has a big yellow ogre(?) for the first level's boss. The second level features two of them as normal enemies, and the third level has 2 ''green'' ogres. Dammit.
** ''Splatterhouse 2010'' has the Teratoid, a big monster with a tentacle for one arm that hits pretty hard and can regenerate other monsters. You later start encountering Teratoids regularly throughout the game.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}'', after you [[NoKillLikeOverkill completely brutalize]] a Cardinal Virtue ([[MyFriendsAndZoidberg or a Golem]]), weaker versions will appear later in the game. Mostly during the BossRush. Clones of Temperentia in particular are fought four times throughout the game.
** The clones have significant, though subtle, variations in character design, that denote their lower status, as well as "plain English" versions of their Latin names. As an example, Iustitia appears as a sphere covered in fifteen faces; its degraded version is called Justice, and only has three faces on the side facing you (with the rest of it being simply a sphere of light).

* ''NintendoLand'' goes nuts with this in its [[VideoGame/{{Pikmin}} Pikmin Adventure]] and [[Franchise/TheLegendofZelda The Legend of Zelda: Battle Quest]] attractions. Had trouble against the Greater Bladed Baub? Let's see how you fare against ''three in a row!''[[note]]The third one doesn't even bother waiting until the second is down.[[/note]] You know it's bad when ''[[spoiler:Ganon]]'' gets this treatment.
** However, it's inverted in the [[VideoGame/{{Metroid}} Metroid Blast]] attraction. The first time you face Ridley, he gets no fanfare and is treated as a normal enemy. Every time you face him after that, he gets an intro cutscene reserved for bosses.

* After facing Ranba Ral (Gouf) and the Black Tri-Stars (Dom) in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'', the Mobile Suits used by them are soon adopted as Mass-production units by Zeon Mooks.
** Similarly, in ''Anime/GundamSEEDDestiny'', The Earth Alliance's powerful Mobile Armors such as the Zamzah-Zah and Destroy Gundam appear in greater numbers later in the series (and are usually killed ''much'' easier than the first one they faced).
*** The Destroy Gundam is most notorious in that when the emotionally-unbalanced Stella piloted the beast, it absolutely devastated Berlin and even when stopped, the machine was still largely intact. When they start mass producing it, they drop like flies. Granted, ZAFT did introduce new prototype suits, but you'd think they'd at least be able to match the original's damage.
*** Somewhat justified in that the Destroy Gundam's greatest strength wasn't its firepower (though [[MoreDakka it]] [[BeamSpam was]] [[{{BFS}} quite]] [[WaveMotionGun impressive]]), but its ability to [[AttackReflector reflect back beam weapons]]. When they reappeared in later episodes, [=ZAFT=] knew that the way to deal with Destroy Gundams was to have your fastest units charge in and carve them up with swords, while the rest of your forces held off the escorts. And [=ZAFT=] had fielded a pair of ''very'' fast new Gundams after Berlin. Most likely, up to Berlin the Force Impulse Gundam (itself a unique SuperPrototype]] was the only machine they had that was fast enough to pull this tactic off.

*** Somewhat justified in that the Destroy Gundam's greatest strength wasn't its firepower (though [[MoreDakka it]] [[BeamSpam was]] [[{{BFS}} quite]] [[WaveMotionGun impressive]]), but its ability to [[AttackReflector reflect back beam weapons]]. When they reappeared in later episodes, [=ZAFT=] knew that the way to deal with Destroy Gundams was to have your fastest units charge in and carve them up with swords, while the rest of your forces held off the escorts. And [=ZAFT=] had fielded a pair of ''very'' fast new Gundams after Berlin. Most likely, up to Berlin the Aile Strike Gundam (itself a unique SuperPrototype]] was the only machine they had that was fast enough to pull this tactic off.

* In ''VideoGame/BioshockInfinite'', the Fireman, Zealot and Motorized Patriot all have their introductory battles on their own, with an impressive opening, but with each case they start appearing as just an elite mook in a crowd of mooks before you meet the next boss.
** UpToEleven in The DLC ''Clash in the Clouds'', where some challenges require you to take on two Handymen at once, sometimes with other mooks around. Justified in this case, as the selection of weapons at the Armory, the massive amount of cash gained from Blue Ribbon Challenges, and Gears and Infusions won as the spoils of victory make Booker greatly more powerful than he'd be in the Main Game.

** In a meta sense, the Mothulas went from being a boss in ''A Link to the Past'' and ''Oracle of Seasons'' to a miniboss and later mook in ''The Wind Waker''. Arrghus also went from an ''A Link to the Past'' boss to a miniboss in ''Majora's Mask'' (called "Wart" outside of Japan). [[ZigzaggedTrope Zig-zagged]] with Gyorg - In ''Majora's Mask'' it is a boss, in ''The Wind Waker'' a common mook, and in ''The Minish Cap'' it goes back to being a boss, then goes back to mook status in ''Phantom Hourglass'' and ''Spirit Tracks''.

** In a meta sense, the Mothulas went from being a boss in ''A Link to the Past'' and ''Oracle of Seasons'' to a miniboss and later mook in ''The Wind Waker''. Arrghus also went from an ''A Link to the Past'' boss to a miniboss in ''Majora's Mask'' (called "Wart" outside of Japan). Gyorg was both played straight and subverted - In ''Majora's Mask'' it is a boss, in ''The Wind Waker'' a common mook, and in ''The Minish Cap'' it goes back to being a boss, then goes back to mook status in ''Phantom Hourglass'' and ''Spirit Tracks''.

** Almost every boss in this game appears as regular enemy. Some as soon as the dungeon right after the one they were a boss in. Case in point, after you defeat the first form of the emperor in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyII'', doppelgangers called "Imperial Shadows" appear.

The boss in a video game, or on rare occasion VG series, who, after you defeat him/her/it, returns multiple times - but not as a boss, but as a [[GiantMook regular enemy]] (sometimes more than one appearing at once). Sometimes, the boss you fought is the "strongest" of the monsters; sometimes you've attained a new weapon which is [[ElementalRockPaperScissors particularly effective against that boss]], or just leveled up enough that you're able to take on [[DualBoss several at a time]]. In some games, later enemies will be [[PaletteSwap palette-swapped]] versions of the boss' sprite/model, and may actually be ''stronger'' than the original Boss form. It makes you wonder why ''they're'' [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking not in charge]].

A common version of this is for the first Boss of the game to reappear as a GiantMook throughout the rest of the game.

* The first ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZelda'' game was rife with this. Dodongo, Manhandla, Gleeock, Digdogger, and Gohma all reappear in later dungeons as normal enemies. Dodongo (as noted above) even appears in threes later, Gleeock grows extra heads (from two in its first appearance up to four eventually, although the latter was for when it was reused as the boss of Level 8), and Digdogger splits into three after playing the Flute anywhere but its debut. That's just the first quest; they show up sooner and more often in the second one. In the case of Dodongo, in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask Majora's Mask]]'', Dodongos are run-of-the-mill nuisances. However, ''Ocarina of Time'' has [[KingMook King Dodongo]] as the boss version, operating much like the original Dodongo.
** ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]'' also had pairs of Lizalfos presented as Sub-Bosses in the second dungeon, while you play Link as a child. Adult Link can take them out in two hits with the Biggoron Sword, and by that point in the game young Link has enough equipment and [[HitPoints hearts]] to turn them into mooks. Stalfos are another example, as they also act as minibosses in their first encounter, but you also encounter them as regular enemies later. Then they are used as minibosses ''again'', with the added challenge of beating them both at once in a short time, lest they rise up again.

*** In a meta sense, the Mothulas went from being a boss in ''A Link to the Past'' and ''Oracle of Seasons'' to a miniboss and later mook in ''The Wind Waker''. Arrghus also went from an ''A Link to the Past'' boss to a miniboss in ''Majora's Mask'' (called "Wart" outside of Japan). Gyorg was both played straight and subverted - In ''Majora's Mask'' it was a boss, in ''The Wind Waker'' a common mook, and in ''The Minish Cap'' went back to being a boss, then went back to mook status in ''Phantom Hourglass'' and ''Spirit Tracks''.
** Hardly unique among the Game Boy games. Many of the mini-bosses from early levels of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening'' show up as regular enemies later in that same game. In some cases, there's a new weapon that makes it easier In other cases, not so much.
** ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'' examples: In the Forest Temple (the very first temple of the game), Link fights a giant carnivorous plant that swallowed an important key as a mini-boss encounter. Later, in the City in the Sky, there's one such plant growing in a room, reduced to minor nuisance status. The City in the Sky itself also features a fight with an Aeralfos, a winged reptilian creature that uses a sword, shield, and a suit of armor. The [[BonusDungeon Cave of Ordeals]] features scores of such creatures. [[ZigzaggedTrope Zig-zagged]] with the Darknuts, however, which switch from miniboss (Temple of Time), to enemy (Cave of Ordeals), then miniboss (Hyrule Castle at the mid), and enemy yet again (Hyrule Castle at the end).

** In ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword Skyward Sword]]'', Moldarach plays the trope straight (boss in the third dungeon, miniboss in the Shipyard), while Moldorms zigzag it. One appears as a sporadic, optional enemy in a grotto from the Fire Sanctuary, but the next one is fought as a miniboss later in the same dungeon. The ones found afterwards (one in a grotto during the StealthBasedMission in Eldin Volcano and another in the grotto of a certain island in the Sky) are regular enemies, but other two are minibosses in the final dungeon.

** The Vampire is a boss early on in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyI'', you get attacked by swarms of them later in the game.
*** This game also has palette swaps of Astos, an early boss, later in the game as more powerful enemies.
** After you defeat the first form of the emperor in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyII'', doppelgangers called "Imperial Shadows" appear.
*** Almost every boss in this game appears as regular enemy. Some as soon as the dungeon right after the one they were a boss in.

** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'', after defeating Exdeath for the first time, you could fight a PaletteSwap called Exdeath's Soul in the Sealed Castle.
*** Also, after you beat Garula at the Walse Tower, you can encounter it again as a random encounter near the Walse Meteorite. This version won't harm you.

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' has an interesting example. Most of the monsters seen on the Veldt are just regular enemies. However, you can find both forms of Sr. Behemoth and ''the Holy Dragon'' (one of eight allegedly unique dragons) after killing them normally and get their rages and the items they drop upon defeat.
*** Not to mention the M-Tek Armors. You fight two of them as a boss when you first get Edgar (though two shots from Edgar's crossbow will kill them.) Then, in Sabin's scenario, they're all over the place in the Imperial outpost as forced and avoidable non-random encounters and easily fall victim to Sabin's Blitzes or Shadow's shurikens, especially after you get Magitek Armor Suits of your own (and you can use a Bolt Beam to attack their weak points for massive damage.) You can also find them on the Veldt, though Gau starts with their (useless) rage.

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'': Granaldo and its Raldo minions are fought on Disc 1 as a regular boss, but they appear in Disc 2 as pets of the Garden Faculty.
*** A few bosses, namely Granaldo and the Oilboyles, appear in the final dungeon as regular enemies.

** The BonusDungeon in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2'' has a lot of these. In the 100-floor dungeon, you encounter bosses on every 20th floor, and after beating the 80th floor boss, all the level bosses you've beaten thus far will start showing up as normal enemies beyond the 81st floor. Considering how incredibly powerful they are (the last two have over '''10 times''' the HP of the final boss!), it's generally a VERY good idea to run if you run into them, as they're NOT worth the effort to beat a second time.

*** ''VideoGame/{{Final Fantasy XIII-2}}'' has a couple cross-game inversions: The Immortal and Ochus were regular, if strong and rare, enemies in the first game, but are unique {{Bonus Boss}}es here.

** A lot of bosses from [=P3=] can be found as random encounters in [=P4=]. World Balance shows up again, but it's an interesting case; you find it as a random encounter ''way'' before you fight it as a sub-boss. Fighting it then gives you a version that resists physical attacks as well as all elements, but falls instantly to Hama and Mudo and only knows Ziodyne. Later on, you fight a powered-up version in [[spoiler:Nanako]]'s dungeon, which still isn't as hard as the nightmare it was in the previous game. Here, the World Balance has a simple pattern (Mind Charge and then a -dyne spell) and has low HP for a boss.

* The first ''KingdomHearts'' does this with the Behemoth Heartless; after appearing as the 'boss' of your second visit to Hollow Bastion, you fight more of them in the Hades Cup and the End of the World, only this time they're basically [[GiantMook Giant Mooks]]. Stealth Sneak also appears as this in the Hades Cup but subverts this by being stronger than the original, and you face [[DualBoss two of them at once]]. This trope becomes quite {{egregious}} in ''358/2 Days'', with most of the targets for missions becoming lesser enemies later on; one of the later missions involves defeating ''six'' mini-bosses.
** The first game also has the very first boss, a gigantic knight split into several pieces, appear again in the arena. Except only parts of it appear, so it's very odd to see a random armored leg or arm fighting in the arena.

* The Great Jaggi is your first large Monster Hunt in ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter Tri''. The first time you encounter one wandering about Moga Woods (usually the very next day) is probably a bit of an OhCrap moment. By the time you fight the Royal Ludroth, you're taking them on two at a time, and they're barely worth hunting anymore. Note that at this point, you're ''still'' fighting the weakest monsters in the game.

* In ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'', the Taurus Demon, the Capra Demon, Pinwheel and the Moonlight Butterfly can all be encountered as normal, respawning enemies later in the game.
** The Taurus Demon is particularly bad about this as with the others, you can sometimes fight them one on one, and in a relatively safe environment. The area where you first see the "Lesser Taurus Demons" (which actually have slightly more hp then the boss normally did) you see them in a recently cooled down lava lake, with still bubbling lava. oh, and theres you know, seven of them.

* In VideoGame/MassEffect2, an YMIR heavy mech is the first boss. As the game progresses, they show up frequently as [[EliteMook elite mooks]], sometimes in pairs. They're never easy, and in the harder battles (especially when they start out near the party, since they can absolutely shred [[WeCannotGoOnWithoutYou Shepard]] at short range), they qualify as BossInMookClothing, and are sometimes harder than actual bosses.

** Similarly, in the third game, the Missionary, which you first fight as a boss after one of them kills Harry, becomes a recurring mook in the cult's church near the end of the game.
** In ''Origins'', Caliban, the boss of the theater, becomes a mook in the outdoor segment almost immediately after you beat the boss version. Along with the giant versions of the dogs, these act as a very, ''very'' unsubtle hint that you should probably just be running from enemies on the streets now instead of wasting ammunition and BreakableWeapons fighting them.
* Los Gigantes from ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'' undergo an interesting form of degrading. When you first encounter one, El Gigante is a ridiculously powerful boss that you only manage to beat because you have lots of room to maneuver and (hopefully) a dog to provide a distraction. The second time, you lack this room, and you're expected to use the terrain to delay it long enough to escape. By the third and final time, you've got enough firepower to handle two Gigantes with relative ease -- and since you retain your arsenal when you [[NewGamePlus start the game over]], from the second round on Los Gigantes are pushovers from the start.
** It kind of helps the 3rd time that you can [[spoiler:activate a lava pit and eliminate one of them quickly. In true RE tradition, ConvectionSchmonvection applies.]]
** The Prototype Tyrants in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil0'', although this is more of an inversion, as the game is a prequel.

* In the 2004 ''[[TransformersPreludeToEnergon Transformers Armada]]'' game by Atari (Good luck finding it), the boss of Level One is a "Heavy Unit" wielding dual energy blasters, homing missiles, and a mean ShockwaveStomp. Oh, and you fight him in relatively close quarters (with some terrain for cover), too. He becomes a standard GiantMook no later than than '''level two''', when the game reveals its true NintendoHard colors: They can ''survive'' one or two {{Boom Headshot}}s from your SniperRifle (depending on your aim), and are frequently stationed out in wide open areas where they are free to launch their homing missiles at you from ''really'' long range. And that's not counting that nearby reinforcements will wonder what they're shooting at and start searching for you themselves. Fun game though.

* In the 7th and final season of ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', the first Turok-Han (or "uber-vamp") is a terrifyingly powerful enemy that Buffy is only able to defeat with extreme difficulty. The rest of them are fought during the SeriesFinale.