History Main / FinishingMove

* ''VideoGame/Warframe'' has Mercy finishers, which can be performed on certain enemies to kill them instantly once their health is reduced below a certain threshold. Impact procs increase the percentage at which they become available, and [[EliteMooks Eximus units]] have a higher threshold than normal to compensate for the [[MultipleLifeBars Overguard]] they possess in addition to their normal health. While there are other powerful attacks referred to as finishers, they don't follow the trope as written, as they don't necessarily require the enemy to be weakened beforehand.

* ''VideoGame/Destiny2'' introduced its take on finishing moves in the ''Shadowkeep'' expansion, allowing Guardians to perform flashy takedowns against low-health enemies in the game's PvE modes (though bosses tend to be exempt). Taking a page from the ''DOOM (2016)'' playbook, players can use the mod system to have their finishing moves grant them extra ammo, reduced ability cooldowns or a temporary overshield mid-fight.

** Vergil players in ''4'' and ''5'' will often cap off bossfights with the infamous Judgement Cut End.

** Kroxigors may grab human-sized targets in their jaws, roll around on the ground with them, and stand back up before swallowing the corpse whole. In the same vein, squigs will seize enemies in their mouths and devour them.

* The Giga Slave from ''LightNovel/{{Slayers}}'' was at first treated this way; since it worked the first time, Lina was fully ready to depend on it again. It was subverted in the second season due to the fact that the consequences for failing (of which she apparently wasn't fully aware) turned out to be so high that she became terrified to try it again. Further subverted in that the main villain for that arc actually WANTS Lina to use the Giga Slave on him, so he can test his mettle by seeing if he can survive it.

* At least in the main canon, the main character of ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'', Kirito, has his 16-hit [[DualWielding Dual Blades]] skill, Starburst Stream. In his first usage of the move (Which is when [[IAmNotLeftHanded he first reveals his Dual Blades]]), he uses it to wipe out the Gleam Eyes. In the second, he uses it to breach Heathcliff's seemingly-impenetrable defenses, [[spoiler:forcing him to use his GM privileges to activate the System Over-Assist to avoid the final hit and win their duel, which leads to Kirito figuring out that Heathcliff is Kayaba]], and in the third, [[spoiler:with help from Eugeo's spirit, he adds a seventeenth hit onto the end to take out Gabriel Miller AKA Subtilizer.]]

** The original Sentai team ''Series/HimitsuSentaiGoranger'' had a move where the rangers would pass around a volleyball-like weapon to charge it with their power and then launch it at the monster, causing it to explode. They later gained an improved version of this move that used a football-like missile with the power to transform into something that the target is weak to. This move is so iconic that similar moves would appear in following seasons. It appeared in several episodes of ''Series/NinjaSentaiKakuranger'' and appeared in two episodes of ''Series/GekisouSentaiCarranger'', once being used by a team of monsters pretending to be rangers, and later a giant size version was done by the ranger's mechs. While ''Series/ResshaSentaiToqger'' didn't use a ball, their initial team finishing move could also manifest something the target is weak to similar to the Goranger's upgraded finisher.

* Failure to perform finishing moves on fallen foes in ''VideoGame/EternalDarkness'' often results in their standing back up & attacking you again. Don't abandon your melee weapons; gun finishers burn ammo quicker than you'd think.

** The original Sentai team ''Series/HimitsuSentaiGoranger'' had a move where the rangers would pass around a ball to charge it with their power and then launch it at the monster, causing it to explode. This move was later upgraded to be able to manifest something that the target is weak to. This move is so iconic that similar moves would appear in following seasons. It appeared in several episodes of ''Series/NinjaSentaiKakuranger'' and appeared in two episodes of ''Series/GekisouSentaiCarranger'', once being used by a team of monsters pretending to be rangers, and later a giant size version was done by the ranger's mechs. While ''Series/ResshaSentaiToqger'' didn't use a ball, their initial team finishing move could also manifest something the target is weak to similar to the Goranger's upgraded finisher.

** ''Series/GekisouSentaiCarranger'' and ''Series/PowerRangersTurbo'' have its initial mecha spinning around like a whirlwind while holding a sword.

** Most of the Hi-Ougis (also known as [[VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss Mystic Artes]] or [[VideoGame/TalesOfEternia Aurora Skills]], among other monikers) are simple {{Limit Break}}s with a [[SuperMovePortraitAttack nice illustration]]. While they trigger off of varies from game to game, with many of the most powerful only triggering when the character in question [[TurnsRed is at very low levels of health]] and can't be used on the first playthrough of a game. A few of them lean more towards being finishing moves. [[GenkiGirl Anise]]' Fever Time in ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' will penalize you something like 20k [[GlobalCurrency Gald]] if the enemies survive, [[CuteBruiser Presea's]] Hien Messhoujin in the Japanese port of ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' only triggers if all other party members are down for the count, and ''VideoGame/TalesOfEternia'' has a number of true finishing move hi-ougis that will only trigger if the enemy is at low enough health to be killed by the attack. For fun, control [[FunnyForeigner Meredy]] or [[SquishyWizard Keele]] in the fight against [[BonusBoss Sekundes]] and cast [[ShoutOut Indignation when S is under 50% health]].

* ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar'' contains fighting styles that consist ''entirely'' of finishing moves. The flashier ones became "Fatal KO" moves in the [=PS2=] FightingGame. The finisher most associated with Kenshiro, however, is the [[RapidFireFisticuffs Hokuto Hyakuretsu Ken]], which fires off a rapid series of attacks to every one of his opponent's {{Pressure Point}}s resulting in [[LudicrousGibs full body explosion]].

* Even ''VideoGame/DeadlyCreatures'' has this. The Scorpion, in the game, plays as more of brawler than the Tarantula, and consequently it has the default special ability of Finishing Move, where battering an enemy into sufficient weakness and then pressing the C button triggers a QuickTimeEvent where a specific set of Wiimote and Nunchuck gestures triggers an enemy specific, and very brutal, killing strike.

* ''VideoGame/TheForceUnleashed'' combines this with {{Reaction Command}}s; when a boss's health is low enough, pressing the right buttons and/or moving the Wiimote at the right intervals allows Starkiller to perform an over-the-top (and often [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill brutal]]) finisher that varies from one boss to the next.

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'' also uses the former finishing move, although with a different mechanic (it's used by moving the Wiimote and Nunchuck downward at the same time). In both games, the move is required to [[spoiler:deliver the final blow to the FinalBoss]].

* ''VideoGame/{{Okami}}'' has you figuring out the finishing move on the enemy and then preforming it after you've defeated the enemy as it enters a BulletTime death to gain Demon Fangs.

* The mecha of both ''Series/TomicaHeroRescueForce'' and ''Series/TomicaHeroRescueFire'' all possess a ''"Final Rescue"''. In ''Rescue Force'' the user requires authorization from a commanding officer before being let loose, but this aspect is dropped in ''Rescue Fire''. In addition to a Final Rescue, Rescue Fire's members have a ''Dragon Attack'' for getting rid of the monsters after they've been frozen. They also have their own personal attacks [[AnAxeToGrind Axe Storm]], [[WaveMotionGun Blizzard Bullet]], [[SwordBeam Blizzard Slash and Tenkuu V Ji No Giri]].

* While not initially part of Lara's repertoire in ''VideoGame/TombRaider2013'', certain skills unlock weapon-specific close combat finishers that can be used to instakill dazed enemies. What exactly Lara is willing to do to her enemies nicely reflects how much the merciless fight for survival has [[BreakTheCutie numbed her to the violence and brutality around her]]. It starts with bashing someone's head in with a stone as a desperation move, goes on to replace the stone with her trusty [[AnAxeToGrind climbing axe]], and eventually culminates in her brutally unloading whatever gun she's currently holding into the hapless target. The latter ranges from shooting the guy in the face with a handgun or shotgun at point-blank range, to emptying an entire assault rifle magazine into his chest, also point-blank. Of particular note is that none of the gun finisher skills provide any actual combat benefit while consuming skill points that could've been spent on something useful instead. It also doesn't make much sense breaking cover to finish off someone you could've just shot dead from where you were, [[AwesomeButImpractical but damn if it isn't a blast to do]], especially since finishers [[AntiFrustrationFeatures don't use up any of your precious ammo]].

** As part of his gimmick, [[Wrestling/GregoryHelms Shane "The Hurricane" Helms]] parodied the choke slam used by the larger wrestlers. His version, called the Hurrichokeslam, involved him dramatically grabbing a much larger opponent by the throat, and then failing to lift him up. This was especially funny the time he tried it on The Big Show, as his arm was fully extended to reach Wrestling/TheBigShow's throat. Rock, it's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoPeHkt03G8 online.]]

* Most {{Super Robot}}s develop a paralyzing move that they use to ensure the real Finishing Move hits, unless they already come equipped with one:
** ''Anime/MazingerZ'': A bit of a subversion. [[ChestBlaster Breast Fire]] and [[BreathWeapon Rust Hurricane]] would be Mazinger-Z Finishing Moves. However, Kouji used whatever weapon he saw fit to end up the battle. In the original manga, Kouji mainly used Mazinger-Z's fists and kicks to beat the enemy and then he finished it off with whatever weapon.
** ''Anime/GreatMazinger'': The aptly named Hissatsu Power Thunder Break is possibly the first "proper" example in the SuperRobotGenre. Amusingly enough, it is also a subversion: Tetsuya used it constantly, in many different ways, and he came up with a lot of variations.
** ''Anime/CombattlerV'': Its finishing move consists of two moves: Combattler paralyzes its enemy with Choudenji Tatsumaki (an electromagnetic discharge) before ramming through it with Choudenji Spin. Choudenji Tatsumaki is always used first in order to ensure the enemy does not move and dodge the second move.
** ''Anime/VoltesV'': Voltes did not get one until its MidSeasonUpgrade, but it presents the first proper example: the V-giri Slash.
** ''Anime/{{Daimos}}'': Daimos performs setup moves that chain into their signature moves.
** ''Anime/{{Godannar}}'' in Twin Drive Mode.
** ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'''s famous Giga Drill Break([[SpellMyNameWithAnS er]]). In the dub, Kamina and Simon do refer it as Finishing Move (''Hissatsu'', meaning Certain Kill in Japanese) the first time they perform the move. [[spoiler:Subverted after the TimeSkip and ostensible GenreShift, when the move not only fails to defeat a foe, but ''is performed offscreen'', in blatant violation of the rules of the genre. Of course, the foe is defeated shortly thereafter, but the point is made.]] It also doesn't quite work against [[spoiler:Lordgenome]], although this might be because Simon neglected to howl "FINISHING MOVE!" before the attack.
** ''Anime/GodMars'''s [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GV40ph9enQ Final Godmars.]]
--->'''Takeru''': Zuul! I'll show you everyone's anger! This is the final fight! I'll put everything on the line!\\
(God Mars turns golden while church bells ring in the background.)\\
'''Takeru''':MARS FLASH!\\
(God Mars summons the Mars Flash.)\\
'''Takeru''': FINAL GODMARS!\\
(God Mars performs a vertical slash and jams the Mars Flash into Zuul's gut.)
** The Guyvers in ''[[Manga/{{Guyver}} Bio Booster Armour Guyver]]'' (aka ''Guyver: The Bioboosted Armour'') can fire [[WaveMotionGun devastatingly powerful]] "Mega-Smasher" beams [[ChestBlaster from their chests]]. In something of a subversion, even though the charging time is relatively short for a Finishing Move, it is frequently interrupted (it is one of the only attacks with any charge time at all). In addition, a Guyver cannot use this attack if the protective panels on his chest have any kind of injury, which happens surprisingly often.
** ''Anime/GaoGaiGar'':
*** The series has the "[[YinYangBomb Hell & Heaven]]" attack, which ends up inverting the "super-risky new move" subtrope -- it starts out as a OnceAnEpisode finisher until the characters realize it's slowly killing the mech's pilot, at which point it gets an upgrade to DangerousForbiddenTechnique. GGG summons a magnetic storm to lock his enemy in place when he performs the move.
*** Then there's the [[DropTheHammer Goldion Hammer]], the weapon they devised to replace Hell and Heaven, turns out to be just as deadly. Instead of trying again, they decide to build a robot whose job is basically to act as a giant oven mitt so that [=GaoGaiGar=] can use it safely.
*** The Goldion Crusher (the aforementioned weapon's oversized SpiritualSuccessor) takes this trope and breaks the frickin' knob.
** ''Shin Getter Robo'': The devastating STONER SUNSHINE works about as often as the [[Anime/DragonBallZ spirit bomb]]. Other units in ''Manga/GetterRobo'' have moves such as Getter Dragon and Shin Dragon's Shine Spark moves, and Getter One and New Getter's Getter beam.
** ''[[Anime/{{Voltron}} Go Lion/Voltron's]]'' Juu Ou Ken (Beast King Sword)/Blazing Sword.
** ''Anime/MobileFighterGGundam'': Domon Kasshu's [[FacePalmOfDoom Shining Finger (and later God Finger)]], which is uniquely suited to the job of winning Gundam Fights, since [[OffWithHisHead destroying the enemy Gundam's head]] is an instant disqualification. Every major character in the series has at least one finisher, and several characters (Domon included) develop new ones over the course of the plot.
** [[AcePilot Kallen Kozuki]] of ''Anime/CodeGeass'' fame typically finishes off her enemies with the special weapon of her Guren [=MKII=], the Radiant Wave Surger. [[FacepalmOfDoom Using the Guren's customized claw to grapple enemy Knightmares]], she overloads them with powerful microwave energy that fries a Knightmare's systems, warping and distorting the enemy mecha out of shape [[DefeatEqualsExplosion until they violently explode]]. The Radiant Wave Surger works as a way to kill Knightmare pilots as well, as it was designed to short out the eject system that all Knightmares have, keeping a pilot from escaping to safety.
** ''Anime/StarDriver'''s Taubaurn has a good half dozen finishing techniques, gained as necessary throughout the series, ranging from a chop to the face, to a giant booster-rocket propelled Rocket Punch, to the main character firing himself as a projectile and tearing through the enemy. Due to the nature of the series, all of them end with the enemy flying up into the air and exploding in a massive fireball, no matter whether they're underwhelming or not.

* ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'':
** Parodied this with the "Saotome Secret Maneuver" -- which is running away from a fight one's losing to regroup and reconsider tactics.
** Ranma and Ryōga both have what could be considered finishing moves in the ''Hiryū Shōten Ha'' and the ''Shi-shi Hōkōdan''. While Ryōga's ''Shi-shi Hōkōdan'' is not always the end of a fight (Ranma survives several blasts of the "perfected" version), Ranma's ''Hiryū Shōten Ha'' is only kept from being a show winner because it tends to stick around. After Ranma uses the technique (which creates a tornado), he oftentimes gets swept up in it, and there is a sizable chunk of time dealing with this. At the end of the manga, with a bit of help from some artifacts, Ranma manages to [[spoiler:blow up a mountain.]]
* ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'':
** Most characters have their own Finishing Move: Kenshin's Amakakeru Ryuu no Hirameki, Aoshi's Kaiten Kenbu Rokuren, Saitou's Gatotsu Zeroshiki, etc. Subverted with Sanosuke, who only knows one special move, the Futae no Kiwami, (the Sanjuu no Kiwami, its finishing variation, was made up on the spot and is never used again[[note]]Because the Sanjuu no Kiwami was created to overcome another user of the Futae no Kiwami. Since after Anji's death Sanosuke is now the only user of the Futae no Kiwami, the "upgraded" version has no remaining benefits over the standard version.[[/note]]), and Sojiro, whose finishing move is merely a combination of simple ''battoujutsu'' and his incredible speed. The BigBad of the Kyoto Arc, Shishio, has a Finishing Move as well, but we never see it executed.
** As for damage to self, the Amakakeru Ryuu no Hirameki requires incredible will as well as impeccable timing to execute, or the reversed blade may well slash Kenshin's left leg off in the process. (The detrimental effects of the entire Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu on Kenshin are [[DangerousForbiddenTechnique well detailed elsewhere]].) Repeated use of the Futae no Kiwami turns Sanosuke's hands into broken wrecks, much to Megumi's displeasure.
** Kenshin's mentor, Hiko Seijuro XIII, knows all the same moves as Kenshin, but seems to prefer Kuzu Ryu Sen as his finisher, despite Amakakeru Ryuu no Hirameki being more powerful. Then again, Hiko is so ridiculously stronger than everyone else in the entire series that Amakakeru Ryuu no Hirameki would be beyond overkill for him.
* In ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', several ninjas have these, given the many ways ninjas in ''Naruto'' can cheat their way out of being hit, these moves seem to be [[UselessUsefulSpell more trouble than they're worth]]. The effective ones thus far include:
** Sasuke's adaption of the Chidori; channeling the electricity into his sword, projecting the electricity for a ranged attack, and developing his own technique called Kirin that involves actual lightning and acts as a massive-area attack.
** Kakashi later refined the Chidori to create his slightly superior Lightning Cutter, and so far has killed 1 person (on-screen) with it. Kakashi boasts that his Lightning Cutter "[[ArmorPiercingAttack pierces everything]]".
** Minato Namikaze's Rasengan - the superior product to the Chidori - used traditionally by the main character himself as his signature finishing move in practically all of the films. Naruto later upgrades this to the Rasenshuriken by infusing it with wind to improve its cutting power. Then SerialEscalation kicks in, creating ever-stronger Rasenshuriken variants like [[AllYourPowersCombined Sage Art: Super Tailed Beast Rasenshuriken]] and Six Paths: Ultra-Big Ball Rasenshuriken.
** This is also parodied, with Kakashi's "[[MundaneMadeAwesome Leaf Style Secret Ninja Art: One Thousand Years of Death]]," which amounts to performing ''kancho'' (a Japanese practical joke that involves poking someone in the rectal area) on your opponent. Naruto later converts it into a very serious technique, though. Instead of a finger poke, he jams a ''kunai'' [[{{Squick}} in an opponent's rectal area]]. An ''[[StuffBlowingUp exploding]]'' kunai.
** Rock Lee subverts this with his "Reverse Lotus," because [[TheWorfBarrage it never actually ends a fight]]. Its two seen uses have its effect all but negated and avoided completely.
* The Giga Slave from ''LightNovel/{{Slayers}}'' was at first treated this way; since it worked the first time, Lina was fully ready to depend on it again. It was subverted in the second season due to the fact that the consequences for failing (of which she apparently wasn't fully aware) turned out to be so high that she became terrified to try it again. Further subverted in that the main villain for that arc actually WANTS Lina to use the Giga Slave on him, so he can test his mettle by seeing if he can survive it.
* Starlight Breaker of ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha'''s titular character, which generally caps off the big battle of the season. Since it gathers residue magic from the environment, the later it's used in a magic battle, the harder it hits. Interestingly, each time Nanoha uses Starlight Breaker in the anime, it's always a stronger variation of the one she used before.
* ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar'' contains fighting styles that consist ''entirely'' of finishing moves. The flashier ones became "Fatal KO" moves in the [=PS2=] FightingGame. The finisher most associated with Kenshiro, however, is the [[RapidFireFisticuffs Hokuto Hyakuretsu Ken]], which fires off a rapid series of attacks to every one of his opponent's {{Pressure Point}}s resulting in [[LudicrousGibs full body explosion]].
* ''VideoGame/SengokuBasara X'' has the "Basara KO," which works a lot like ''Fist of the North Star'''s Fatal [=KOs=], and comes complete with SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic.
* ''Anime/SailorMoon''. The eponymous character uses this after the others have weakened the [[MonsterOfTheWeek Monster of the Week]]. A fighting game produced for the Super S season, in fact, combines this with TheWorfBarrage by featuring all of the sailor soldiers' [[SoLastSeason finishing moves from previous seasons]] as special moves of increasing potency with the most recent one being their true finishing move.
* ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'':
** It gives finishing strikes to Negi, Kotaro, and Setsuna on a fairly regular basis. Jack Rakan also lampshades it, stepping into MetaGuy talking about how important having a Finishing Move is. He then proceeds to offer to sell one to Negi for an absurd amount of money. Negi often uses his Finishing Move (Oukahouken) without ending the fight, as its power is based on the number of [[MacrossMissileMassacre magic arrows]] he fires in a given attack.
** Rakan actually develops a hilariously over-the-top Finishing Move for Negi... and later uses it on Negi himself.
** Negi invents a new finishing move in the form of the ''Titanok'tonon'' ("Titan Slayer"): a combination of ''Jaculatio Fulgoris'' (lightning spears) and ''Khilipl Astrape'' ("Thousand Thunderbolts"). It's essentially a gigantic lightning spear with all the power of an anti-army spell condensed into one point. Very rarely does a battle continue after he's used that thing.
* ''Manga/InuYasha'' has had a succession of these since he obtained [[EmpathicWeapon Tessaiga]]: first was the Wind Scar, then the Backlash Wave; when the Wind Scar became SoLastSeason he upgraded to the Adamant Barrage, and finally [[spoiler:inherited the Meidou Zangetsuha (Dark Path) from Sesshoumaru's Tenseiga]].

* ''Manga/PokemonAdventures'': Yellow is given the task of delivering the final blow to the fake Kyogre when nine Elemental Beams wasn't enough to dispell it. Two Pikachu and their Pichu kid launching themselves in the air on a Surfboard for a triple Volt Tackle...'''[[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome EPIC]]'''.
* In the ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' anime, Ash's Charizard ''always'' performs a ''literally'' over-the-top Seismic Toss to finish off his opponents, first flying high into the sky, and, as soon as he builds momentum (by ''circling the Earth''), tosses the opponent brutally back to the ground. [[spoiler:An emergency Flamethrower from Harrison's Blaziken is the only time the move didn't finish its opponent off.]]
* ''Manga/OnePiece'' varies up what moves finish a fight, but Luffy's ''Gomu-Gomu no Bazooka'' was notable for commonly either ending a fight or breaking through an opponent's defenses long enough for Luffy to score a true finishing blow.
** Interestingly, Luffy's [[RapidFireFisticuffs ''Gomu-Gomu no Gatling'']] was given an upgrade and promoted to finisher after it was voted the most popular attack in the series when he used the jet version to finish off Rob Lucci. After learning the hard way how debilitating Gear Third is to his speed and maneuverability, Luffy has taken to using Gear Third mostly for this... until the Time Skip that is.
** Luffy's ''Gomu-Gomu no Battle Axe'', ''Gomu-Gomu no Rifle'' and ''Gomu-Gomu no Bullet'' are also very flashy finishers that are used to beat foes in the first part of the series. But [[SuperMode Gear Fourth]] kicks it up to the extreme with Gomu Gomu no King Kong Gun which powerful enough to smash Domflamingo straight through the island of Dressrosa and create a crater. Not long afterwards he created a variation, Gomu Gomu no Kong Organ, which is basically launching smaller but multiple King Kong Guns at once.
** Zoro's ''Onigiri'' was his go-to finisher for the first part of the series, and it was a OhCrap moment for Zoro when Mihawk [[NoSell blocked it]] with a little knife. ''Tiger Hunt'', ''Dragon Twister'', ''Lion Strike'', [[RazorWind ''108 Pound Cannon'']], ''Demon Aura Nine-Sword Style Asura'' and ''Flying Dragon Fire Blaze'' are Zoro's grandest Finishing Moves.
** In New World Zoro introduces more finishing moves such as ''Great Dragon Shock'' (which bisected Monet) and [[KiManipulation Haki-enhanced]] ''Billion-fold World Trichiliocosm'' used to wreck Pica.
** Sanji is no slouch when comes to fishing moves, ''Mouton Shoot'' typically blows opponents away whether it be rapid fire kick (manga) or a single powerful kick (anime). Sanji's ''Concasser'' is more savage, strong enough to even [[TapontheHead knock Luffy out]], and ''Anti Manner Kick Course'' is spectacular even [[Attackofthe50FootWhatever Oars the giant]] was toppled over when he took this attack to the shin. Also ''Three-Spot Decoupage'' which is a [[RoundhouseKick triple roundhouse]]. Special mention to Sanji [[RapidFireFisticuffs ''Extra Hachis'']] which is kick-version of Luffy's ''Gomu-Gomu no Gatling'' and ''Venaison Shoot'' in ''[[Anime/OnePieceFilmStrongWorld Strong World]]'' where Sanji imitates a [[GatlingGood Mini-gun]] with his legs. Sanji's ''Hell Memories'' is his strongest attack post timeskip, scorching the small mountain-sized Wadatsumi.
** Chopper however probably plays this trope most straight, his fighting style consists of maneuvering his opponent around until he can transform into Arm Point and use one of his Roseo moves.
** One of the most pronounced villainous examples would be Crocodile who using his [[DishingOutDirt sand powers]] can turn a person into a mummy by sucking the moisture out of their bodies. Crocodile killed multiple bandits this way and almost took out Luffy the same way.
** [[SecretPolice CP9 and CP0]] have “[[FingerPokeOfDoom Shigan]]” or “Finger Pistol” which will kill anyone who isn’t super powered or BadassNormal. Luffy once got a Shigan to the neck from Rob Lucci who stated having a [[RubberMan rubber neck]] was the only reason Luffy was still alive (albeit in great pain).
** Trafalgar Law’s Gamma Knife is a OneHitKill as he slices the target internal organs, [[ArmorPiercingAttack ignoring all defenses]]. [[spoiler: Unfortunately Law was fighting a dude who could repair his vitals with string powers]].
* Kitano from ''Manga/AngelDensetsu'', despite being an ActualPacifist gets one. We only see it used when his few {{Berserk Button}}s are pressed however, and being an 1-hit KO that simply puts the opponent unconscious without real permanent damage it's [[ActualPacifist ''actually'']] pacifistic. His father [[GenerationXerox got the same one]], albeit being slightly more TechnicalPacifist.
* The Zenon Winzard in ''Manga/BeetTheVandelBuster'' is the epitome of this, having been blocked a grand total of twice, and survived once when used wrong. And one of those blocks involved having a giant metal rhinoceros take the hit, get split in half, and still only absorb a fraction of the damage.
* ''Anime/AyanesHighKick'' features the eponymous wannabe pro-wrestler's "Golden High Kick." Due to the length of her strong legs, she can land a blow directly to her opponent's temple... which her coach asserts will lead to a certain K.O.
* ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' has Mami Tomoe's Tiro Finale, which she summons up a [[{{BFG}} gigantic gun]] for. [[spoiler:Pity it isn't enough to finish Charlotte]].
* Each of the Anime/RoninWarriors and their enemies have a finishing move in Yoroiden Samurai Troopers. Such as Ryo's Flare Up Now (Sou En Zan), Kento/Shu's Iron Rock Crusher (Gan Tei Sai), Sage/Seiji's Thunder Bolt Cut (Rai Kou Zan), Cye/Shin's Super Wave Smasher (Chou Ryuu Ha) and Rowen/Touma's Arrow Shock Wave (Shin Kyuu Ha).
* ''Anime/ZettaiMutekiRaijinOh'': "God Thunder Crash!"
* In ''Manga/{{Kinnikuman}}'' every wrestler has at least one finishing move that is supposed to end the fight as soon as it's done. The Kinniku Buster is just one of these skills as he has made many variations to it to fit the situation.

* All of the various ''Anime/PrettyCure'' characters have finishing moves, though they end up usually using a CombinationAttack instead as their numbers grow. As well, like the ''Sailor Moon'' example above, most of the girls only ''have'' Finishing Move attacks, but make up for it by using good old fisticuffs... well, except for the ''Anime/HeartcatchPrettyCure'' and ''Anime/HappinessChargePrettyCure'' characters, who are armed to the teeth with attacks.

* Fittingly for a wrestling manga where ProWrestlingIsReal, ''Manga/TigerMask'' features many, most being actual wrestling moves but four being devised by the title character. The Tiger Choke ([[EvenEvilHasStandards that is considered horrible even by the extremely violent Tiger's Cave wrestlers]]) is abandoned when he rebels against Tiger's Cave and turns in a face wrestling (only showing up again when a Tiger's Cave wrestler breaks his BerserkButton), and [[SoLastSeason the Ultra Tiger Drop is abandoned when Mr. Chi reveals it has a ridiculously easy counter]], but the Fujiyama Tiger Breaker and the Tiger V continue show up and crushing their victims, with only Miracle 3 being able to execute the only working counter to the Tiger Breaker.
* ''Manga/KenichiTheMightiestDisciple'': At one point, Kenichi tells the Elder to teach him a Finishing Move, but the Elder explains that's something that cannot be taught, and he has to develop it on his own. As it turns out later, he ''already'' had one, made up by combining four very basic moves of the four martial arts (Karate, Muay Thai, Chinese Kenpo and Jujitsu) he'd been learning: Yamazuki[[note]] Deliver a punch to the opponent's head/face while simultaneously sending another punch to the torso[[/note]] + Kao Loi[[note]]Grab the opponent's face and strike them with the knee, then follow with the elbow[[/note]] + Ugyuu Haitou [[note]]Grab the opponent's underside and deliver a kick to the chest [[/note]] + Kuchiki Daoshi [[note]]Grab the opponent's leg and lift it over their head, causing them to fall backwards [[/note]] = Strongest Combo.

* Each of the three ''Anime/SamuraiPizzaCats'' has their own move for finishing off the MonsterOfTheWeek, though Speedy's sees by far the most use (it's in his contract after all). If the move somehow ''doesn't'' work, expect things to get bad in a hurry.
* At least in the main canon, the main character of ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'', Kirito, has his 16-hit [[DualWielding Dual Blades]] skill, Starburst Stream. In his first usage of the move (Which is when [[IAmNotLeftHanded he first reveals his Dual Blades]]), he uses it to wipe out the Gleam Eyes. In the second, he uses it to breach Heathcliff's seemingly-impenetrable defenses, [[spoiler:forcing him to use his GM privileges to activate the System Over-Assist to avoid the final hit and win their duel, which leads to Kirito figuring out that Heathcliff is Kayaba]], and in the third, [[spoiler:with help from Eugeo's spirit, he adds a seventeenth hit onto the end to take out Gabriel Miller AKA Subtilizer.]]
* ''Manga/DropkickOnMyDevil'': Jashin has a special move called [[TitleDrop “Jashin-chan Dropkick”]]. Unfortunately for her, Yurine always finds a way to [[ThwartedCoupDeGrace de]][[DefiedTrope fy]] this trope. PlayedStraight with the [[CurbStompBattle Jashin vs. Poporon “battle”]], where the former uses her “Jashin-chan Dropkick” on the latter... [[spoiler:[[Awesome/DropkickOnMyDevil and it actually]] '''[[Awesome/DropkickOnMyDevil works!]]''']]

* In ''Film/{{Troy}}'', Achilles uses a leaping downward stab to kill a rival army's champion in one blow, and continues using it on various Trojan soldiers. One of the signs that Hector is a worthy adversary is that he is able to block the blow.

* In ''Film/TheWrestler'', Randy Ram's finishing move is a top-rope dive called the "Ram Jam." [[spoiler:He performs one in the movie's finale, [[BolivianArmyEnding possibly]] committing suicide as he does so]].
* In ''Film/{{Serenity}},'' the Operative has a particularly sweet one where he effectively paralyzes his victim, then places his sword at such an angle that the victim slowly overbalances and is impaled. Though it only works once, when delivering a YouHaveFailedMe to a scientist, [[spoiler: Mal is immune because he had that nerve cluster moved due to an old war injury.]]

* ''Film/{{Damage}}'': John Brickner (played by Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin), wins several of his underground fights with a right hook to the sternum. His manager Reno spends the film trying to come up with a name for it, finally settling on the "[[TitleDrop Damage]]".

* ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' and its adaptation ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' use this trope a lot. In human size, the finishing move usually amounts to the team firing their combined weapon at the MonsterOfTheWeek. However, it is rare that this actually finishes the monster off, as ''Super Sentai'' heavily relies on the MakeMyMonsterGrow trope, requiring the use of a HumongousMecha. The initial mecha of each series usually has a finishing move that involves the robot slashing the monster with a glowing sword, with additional mecha or combinations going for alternate finishers. If a series features a large combination of all of its mecha, the finisher usually falls in either the MacrossMissileMassacre or the BeamSpam category. A few notable examples are:
** ''Series/KyoryuSentaiZyuranger'' and ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' has a fairly wide array of finishing moves. Daizyuzin/Megazord charges its sword with lightning, followed by a diagonal slash. Gouryuzin/Dragonzord Battle Mode drills holes into monsters. Zyutei Daizyuzin/Megadragonzord fires energy blasts, while Ultimate Daizyuzin/Ultrazord goes for a MacrossMissileMassacre while riding towards the enemy.
** ''Series/GekisouSentaiCarranger'' and ''Series/PowerRangersTurbo'' have its initial mecha spinning around like a whirlwind while holding a sword.
** The initial finisher of the {{Sixth Ranger}}'s mecha in ''Series/MahouSentaiMagiranger'' and ''Series/PowerRangersMysticForce'' involves sucking the MonsterOfTheWeek inside its furnace, burning it alive.
** The final mecha combination of ''Series/EngineSentaiGoonger'' and ''Series/PowerRangersRPM'' summons projections of its separate robots, who attack the monster before ramming the monster itself while being covered in flames.

* The Halliwell Sisters in ''Series/{{Charmed|1998}}'' can kill almost any enemy by holding hands and simultaneously chanting "The Power of Three will set us free". As the series progressed they used specific spells for various enemies.

* Parodied by the sketch comedy ''Series/AlmostLive'' and its "Billy Quan" skits; Billy's Finishing Move is a double-footed jump-kick which can [[ArrowCam travel for blocks]], go around corners, wait for an elevator, etc.

* ''"FinishHim"'' The ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' games are infamous for their "secret" Fatality finishing moves, which evolved in later games into [[FountainOfYouth Babality]], [[{{Animorphism}} Animality]], [[DefeatMeansFriendship Friend]][[MoodWhiplash ship]], [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown Brutality]], and so on. There are also Fatalities that involve using the stage instead of a character's ability. And from ''Deception'' onward, you can {{FINISH HIM}}! before the round ends via Death Traps on certain stages. You don't get the bonus koins, though. You get 100 koins in Armageddon, but that's nothing compared to the 500 you can get with a kustom Fatality. And for some reason, if you do it on round 1, he gets up again for the next round. Series stablemate ''VideoGame/WarGods'' has Fatalities too. ''Deception'' in particular has counter-Fatalities called Hara-Kiris, where you can [[BetterToDieThanBeKilled kill yourself before your opponent can.]]
* ''VideoGame/MadWorld'' has a finisher for each boss, one which makes the ''Mortal Kombat'' fatalities look reserved by comparison. One involves shooting someone so many times they get skeletonized, then explode.
* ''Franchise/StreetFighter'':
** While not strictly a finishing move, since you can perform them [[LimitBreak any time your meter is full]], they do produce special effects when the player lands a killing blow with one, possibly including the announcer CallingYourAttacks, a special icon denoting your win by super move, or a dramatic background flash.
---> "Hyper Combo Finish!"
** Akuma's Shun Goku Satsu, which depending on which continuity you're looking at either is an innumerable number of punches, each firing a Hadoken, or Akuma ''[[DraggedOffToHell dragging you off to Hell]].'' In ''Street Fighter III'', he gets another secret attack, the Kongo Kokuretsuzan, which Akuma has used to ''split mountains''. And in ''Super IV'' he gets the Tensho Kairekijin (Demon Armageddon), where he kicks the opponent into the air, then propels himself via Hurricane Kick into the air, and impales his foot into the enemy's chest as his symbol flashes in the background. Then he cuts through them anime style.
** Characters who utilize the Satsui no Hado (Akuma, Evil Ryu, Oni) get special finish backgrounds when their Raging Demons connect. There is no KO announcement from the announcer (implying the opponent is dead), and instead of the background flashing orange, it flashes monochrome and a different KO sound effect is used. Akuma and Oni even get this effect from their Ultras, which use a modified version of the Raging Demon KO sound effect that adds in creepy children's laughter in the background.
** In a case of WhatCouldHaveBeen, the cancelled {{Crossover}} fighter ''Capcom Fighting All Stars'' would have played this trope straight with "Finishers."
* Old-school robot fighting game ''VideoGame/OneMustFall'' has the Scrap and Destruction-moves after an opponent was defeated, which basically work the same as ''Franchise/MortalKombat'''s Finishing moves.
* Ultra and Ultimate combos in ''VideoGame/KillerInstinct''. Ultra Combos function like a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown, while an Ultimate Combo is your standard "Fatality" finisher. If you're doing exceptionally well in a battle, you can also go for the dreaded [[CherryTapping "Humiliation"]], where you force your opponent to dance in shame.
* ''VideoGame/MegaManXCommandMission'' features a "Final Strike" move where all the characters fire everything they have at the enemy -- sometimes a pointless gesture, since it can only be done when the enemy has received 75% of their current HP in damage in one ''action'' (i.e. one character's attack). However, it can be a lot more useful on bosses.
* The Instant Kills from the ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'' franchise, which can be performed at any time to end the entire match. The first game has a unique mechanic where you can counter an Instant Kill with your ''own'' Instant Kill, and future games prevent spamming by having it burn out your Tension meter for the rest of the round if you fail.

* ''VideoGame/Persona4Arena'' also employs these kinds of moves. Their function is a compromise between those in ''Guilty Gear'' and ''Blazblue'': they can only be used on a game-setting round, but they can be used at any time during that round, regardless of the opponent's health.
* In ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar'', shooting something down in a body part other than the head won't kill them, it will incapacitate them, meaning that they can be finished by a melee attack, a headshot to their downed body, more bullets in them, an explosive or just wait for them to bleed out (aside from the multiplayer mode Execution, in which they can get back up after waiting long enough, removing the bleed out possibility). Explosives and headshots automatically kill when doing enough damage if they are still standing. In the singleplayer mode, however, your enemies don't automatically become 'downed' from taking too much damage from bullets, unless shot in the knees or perhaps legs. There's also the chainsaw bayonet, which instantly kills any enemy it hits (even in multiplayer), with the downsides that you have to be close enough to kiss them for it to work, it takes a few seconds to rev up, and if you are hit during the animation you are stunned and become easy pickings for any player with half a brain. ''Gears 3'' has a unique execution for ''every'' weapon except the snub pistol and grenades, which instead allow access to your team's unique execution. These new executions range from burning someone from the inside out with the Scorcher to [[BloodyHilarious beating someone to death with their own arm]] to [[NoKillLikeOverkill dropping a mortar launcher onto someone's head]].
* In the RealTimeStrategy game ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000: VideoGame/DawnOfWar'':
** Nearly every unit capable of fighting in close combat (which is most of them) has a number of special killing animations when they win the fight. Some even have special animations depending on who the poor sap is. Such a case is when a SpaceMarine [[SuperSoldier Brother-Captain]] takes down a [[DemonicInvaders Khorne Bloodthirster]], complete with a ColossusClimb.
** [[GlassCannon Although you don't get to see it very often]], Tau Fire Warriors kill human-sized melee opponents by placing their guns to the enemy's face, then pulling the trigger. Imperial Guard's [[ColdSniper Vindicare Assassin]] does the same with a pistol, after a good handful of seconds of PistolWhipping.
** Units are invulnerable when performing the Finishing Move. When the unit in question is Dreadnought or Wraithlord ([[TheJuggernaut a huge killer robot]]), trying to shoot it can get downright annoying when it gets into melee.
* Another ''Warhammer'' game, ''[[VideoGame/Warhammer40000SpaceMarine Space Marine]]'', uses ''VideoGame/GodOfWar''-style finishing moves extensively. The main way to replenish health is not to TakeCover and [[RegeneratingHealth wait]], but to grab your favorite melee weapon, [[MultiMookMelee wade into the thick of combat]], and smash 'em to bits!
* ''VideoGame/ValkyrieProfile'':
** Every character in the series has one of these (called [[GratuitousEnglish "Purify Weird Soul" in-game]]), and can only use them by filling a [[{{Combos}} combo meter]]. Timing the order of the party's attacks is important, so if one wants to use these finishing moves, ButtonMashing is a no-no. With careful planning, it's possible to have all four of Valkyrie's party members use these in a single turn.
** ''VideoGame/ValkyrieProfile2Silmeria'' increased the scale of these to the epic level. They are no longer called "Purify Weird Soul", but "Soul Crush" instead. By the end of the game, these moves range from summoning 50 meter tall lances to ripping asteroids out of orbit to invoking supernova-like explosions.
** Magic-users are an exception (most of the time); rather than using a character-specific move, they use either a powered-up version of whatever spell is set as their "default" attack (in ''Lenneth'' only) or a special "Grand Magic" attack (also reliant on their default spell) depending on the stave they wield. Some bosses in ''Silmeria'' use Great Magic not normally available to casters (Meteor Swarm, Phantom Destruction, Pale Flare). Post-game bosses that utilize these Great Magics generally tend to drop the wand used to cast them upon defeat, which replaces the default Grand Magic while equipped.
* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'':
** Rogues and Cat-form Druids have Finishing Moves which are powered by Combo Points given by their other attacks (and which consume them). They come in multiple variations, some of which aren't particularly suited to finishing a battle. For example, the Rogue has a rarely-used Finishing Move that reduces the opponent's armor instead of damage.
** Warriors have a more standard example: the Execute skill converts all of their rage into damage in one attack, but the enemy's health has to be below 20% to use it. This is often a massive overkill if the attack is critical. Except against raid bosses, which still can withstand a lot of punishment at 20% health. There is even one that ''starts'' at 20%.
** First Paladins got a slightly less deadly but ranged version and Hunters got the appropriately-named Kill Shot. In Cataclysm, feral druids get a talent that greatly simplifies their rotation when the target is below 25% health, allowing them to use one of their finishers which they previously only used when they had nothing else to do.
** Warlocks can spec for Shadowburn spell, which is an instant cast spell that can be used at any time, but unless the target dies within a few seconds of casting, you lose a Soul Shard so it's mainly used as a finishing move. Warlocks also have Drain Soul, a channeled spell which deals 4 times its normal damage when the target it below 25% health. There is also a high-end demonology talent that reduces the cast time of Soul Fire (normally very impractical spell due to its long cast time) by 60% if the target is below 35% health and is hit by Shadowbolt or Incinerate. And Priests' Shadow Word: Death damages the caster if it doesn't kill the target.
** Several classes also have talents that increase damage dealt to targets that are low on health.
** As of a later expansion Paladin were given a finisher in the same vein as Rogues and Druids, when properly built up the Templar's Verdict ability can hit for almost three times the damage of a normal weapon attack.
** The BareFistedMonk class introduced in Mists of Pandaria had the TouchOfDeath ability when introduced, causing instant death to the target if it had less health than the user (with a 10-minute cooldown, and not usable on other players). Later it was nerfed to only deal 50% of the user's maximum health in damage after an 8 second delay.
* [[TheBerserker Marauders]], [[ArcherArchetype Archers]] and [[TheSneakyGuy Rogues]] from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' have a finishing move that can only be used once an enemy has 20% or less of their health remaining. Unlike a lot of examples on this page, these moves aren't actually that much more damaging then a lot of the moves these classes can use all the time and are on a fairly hefty cool down. The trick with them is that you can [[LagCancel use them while the animation of your other moves is still playing]], effectively allowing for some serious bust damage.
* Either under special circumstances never revealed or just randomly, ''VideoGame/SamuraiShodown IV'' allowed the winning player to perform a fatality-like move on the opponent called a No Contest, or a losing player to perform a fatality on ''themselves''. Later, in ''Samurai Shodown V Special'', finishing moves called ''Zetsumei Ougis'' were introduced, which like in ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'' would automatically end the match, and in a very gory fashion. The ''Zetsumei Ougis'' were so gory in fact, that they had to be censored for the Neo-Geo release, which introduced several GameBreakingBug. The only way you can reactivate them is by hacking intensively into the game.
* The Final Smashes in the ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' series don't necessarily auto-KO opponents, since [=KOs=] are determined by being thrown too far off-screen rather than a strict damage meter, but they're still very flashy, very powerful, and require the use of a special item to perform (though ''Ultimate'' would allow for a LimitBreak option for activation as well). A few of them are guaranteed to KO at even low damage percentages provided that they connect however, such as Marth's Critical Hit. Some of these such moves determine the character choices in two custom modes from the Custom Smash series by LetsPlay/TomFawkes.
* The entire premise of ''VideoGame/BattleChess'' was finishing moves... in chess! It had dozens of animated fatalities depending on which type of piece took which other piece, and the gimmick alone made it one of the most popular chess titles of its time. A Lego spinoff chess game did something similar. The [[RockBeatsLaser Pawn takes Queen]] cutscenes were usually funny, though you'd almost never see them.
* Colonel in ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork 6'' has a Finishing Move that blinds you with his cape, then cuts you in half (complete with the screen going black, then a sword flash). At first, it was believed that the move was an instant-kill; later, it was discovered that Colonel's AI simply only used the move when your HP was below its damage. [=KingMan=] from ''Battle Network 3'' also has an attack triggered under the same circumstances, aptly named "[[ChessMotifs Checkmate]]". However, both of these can be survived if the [[LastChanceHitPoint Undershirt]] program is equipped.
* In some ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'' games:
** The animation for some attacks (usually that HumongousMecha's high-end attack) extends whenever the attack destroys an enemy; these are called Dynamic Kills. They often just show the mecha watching the explosion or striking a pose against it, or continuing past the normal attack animation to finish the target off, but the worst example has to be the ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsW'''s resident [[GameBreaker god-bot Valzacard]] and its Exa Nova Shoot OVER. Normally, this attack just pierces the enemy with multiple crystal ray things in an ''already'' delightfully overblown sequence involving transforming and cutscenes. If it would ''kill'' an enemy, it then invokes the triangle of solomon and seals them in a giant red occult circle, where six shining copies of the Valzacard charge it and erase it from existence. (Normally, the attack stops before the crystals turn red.)[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSKjRkTxhAU Watch it in action.]]
** The Dynamic Kill for its Dimension Breaker is worse: The Dynamic Kill lives up to its name by cracking a hole in reality, and blasting the victim ''clear outta the galaxy'' through Hyperspace. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDydfmjAbW8 See for yourself.]]
** Solvlius Rex of ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsK'' presents a rarity: a dynamic kill that's considered ''worse'' than the normal animation. The mecha calls the stages of its Crystal Heart Sword sequence on the cockpit screen (in GratuitousGerman), then finishes it off by displaying "SIEG". But the Dynamic Kill skips the "SIEG" when it goes into the rest of is animation. The irony, of course, is that "sieg" means ''victory'' and would be more appropriate to a killing shot.
** The [[Manga/MobileSuitGundamSEEDAstray Astray Red Frame's]] [[MechaExpansionPack Power Loader's]] normal melee attack has the Loader clamping down on the target with a massive claw, then punching them away. The Dynamic Kill actually cuts the animation ''short'' as the clamp attack crushes them right there.
** Most crossover mecha retain their own finishing moves in the games and many get upgraded versions as actual finishers. Units without any spectacular super moves (particularly Real Robots) will instead re-enact a CoupDeGrace or SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome from their home series and can do so more than once.
** ''Anime/{{Mazinkaiser}}'' in ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsW'' need a mention for the sheer number of this. At first, it only has the ChestBlaster Burning Fire as its finisher. Midway through the game, it gets the Final Kaiser Blade and 3 Combination Attacks including the Double Burning Fire(which ends with it and ''Anime/GreatMazinger'' watching the burned battlefield but has no dynamic kill). After TimeSkip it gains combination attack with Shin Getter Robo involving one of its previous finishing move, Kaiser Nova(where it creates an interstellar explosion) and Final Dynamic Special which is a Finishing Move by 3 SuperRobotGenre complete with a super robot brofist in dynamic kill.
** ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsMX'' has the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfEIAKpJP14 Final Dynamic Special reenactment]] in one scenario. After this scene, Kouji, Ryouma, Tetsuya and Duke can use this attack whenever they please.

* These are a vital game mechanic in ''VideoGame/NinjaGaiden II'' for 360 in order to ensure that enemies are truly dead and not trying to grab Ryu for a suicide bombing; fortunately, it is easy to pull these off. They even have the snappy name of "Obliteration Techniques". ''VideoGame/NinjaGaiden'' had the Fiend Sealer and its variants, which can only be used [[KickThemWhileTheyAreDown on downed opponents]].
* ''VideoGame/AgeOfConan'' features "fatalities" which sometimes trigger upon the use of a combo or spell. In contrast to the normal MMO kill, where the enemy just falls over, these involve decapitation, arterial sprays, electrocution, and such. Even better, upon delivering such a fatality, your character receives a buff for a few seconds, increasing damage and regeneration of mana and stamina. The type of fatality depends on the weapon used (one-handed edged, one-handed blunt, etc.).
* Amusingly, the ''VideoGame/{{Tenchu}}'' franchise features ''opening finishers''. If the protagonist manages to hit a guard who doesn't know you're around, you're treated to cinematic, sometimes disturbingly convoluted killing strokes. No matter how many HitPoints the guard had, he's [[OneHitKill instakilled]].
* The ''VideoGame/{{Manhunt}}'' Series also have ''Opening Finishers'' as Sneak Attacks. Aproach an enemy with a shard of glass for the right time and kill him the most gruesome way possible.
* ''VideoGame/{{Okami}}'' has you figuring out the finishing move on the enemy and then preforming it after you've defeated the enemy as it enters a BulletTime death to gain Demon Fangs.
* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
** Link has a finishing move in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'' that can be used whenever an enemy has been knocked over. If you press A before the enemy gets back up, Link does an over-head jump strike, stabbing the monster through the chest or stomach. Later he also gains an attack called "Mortal Draw", which lets you perform an instant-kill on most humanoid enemies as long as you keep your sword sheathed and the enemy is close enough (putting you at risk of getting hit).
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'' also uses the former finishing move, although with a different mechanic (it's used by moving the Wiimote and Nunchuck downward at the same time). In both games, the move is required to [[spoiler:deliver the final blow to the FinalBoss]].
** ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors'': When you evade a strong attack from an Elite Mook or use the corresponding weapon correctly on a giant enemy, a hexagonal gauge appears on top of it, which you need to deplete with repeated attacks: do so, and you'll follow up with a Weak Point Smash that does major damage to said enemy.
* ''VideoGame/SoulCalibur IV'' introduces the "critical finish" to the series, though the mechanics of it make it very difficult to pull of in most matches. It's mostly there as a deterrent to those abuse guarding. However, it's always a 1-Hit KO, and you get a special victory pose if you win a match with one.
* There are plenty of these in ''VideoGame/{{Achaea}}'', with the available choices depending on the character class. One of the more graphic ones is called 'Cleave', and uses a broadsword to slice the helpless opponent in two. ''Vertically''.
* ''VideoGame/TalesSeries'':
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'' has finishing moves, called Fatal Strikes, that can only be performed after you have sufficiently damaged an enemy with a large enough amount of related skills. Against normal enemies, they act as an instant kill, but against boss enemies, they just do a large amount of damage. More conventionally, Burst Artes and Mystic Artes are performed by expending the overlimit meter filled by hitting or being hit by the enemy repeatedly. They are very shiny with special animation and even a special quote from each character as you perform their unique mystic arte. It's subverted by the "minimum damage" skill which make even these two flashy moves do only one point of damage. [[spoiler:The fact that you get a lot of Grade points for performing Burst and Mystic artes means that this has become a central pillar of the technique known as "grade farming"]]
** Most of the Hi-Ougis (also known as [[VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss Mystic Artes]] or [[VideoGame/TalesOfEternia Aurora Skills]], among other monikers) are simple {{Limit Break}}s with a [[SuperMovePortraitAttack nice illustration]]. While they trigger off of varies from game to game, with many of the most powerful only triggering when the character in question [[TurnsRed is at very low levels of health]] and can't be used on the first playthrough of a game. A few of them lean more towards being finishing moves. [[GenkiGirl Anise]]' Fever Time in ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' will penalize you something like 20k [[GlobalCurrency Gald]] if the enemies survive, [[CuteBruiser Presea's]] Hien Messhoujin in the Japanese port of ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' only triggers if all other party members are down for the count, and ''VideoGame/TalesOfEternia'' has a number of true finishing move hi-ougis that will only trigger if the enemy is at low enough health to be killed by the attack. For fun, control [[FunnyForeigner Meredy]] or [[SquishyWizard Keele]] in the fight against [[BonusBoss Sekundes]] and cast [[ShoutOut Indignation when S is under 50% health]].
* In ''Franchise/FireEmblem'', units of the Assassin class have a skill called "Silencer" that does ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin -- it instantly kills ''anything'', even if the Assassin could not damage it with its normal attacks. It looks the same as a Critical Hit, but there's a flash that makes it different.
** In ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones The Sacred Stones]]'', Silencer would even override a General's Great Shield, which otherwise [[NoSell prevents the General from taking any damage]].
** In ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance Path of Radiance]]'', Silencer is called Lethality, and you have to use a rare item on the game's only assassin (Volke) to make use of it. In ''Radiant Dawn'', it's still called Lethality and Volke already has it when he joins your army.
** In ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening Awakening]]'', Lethality is learned by Assassins at level 5. When it activates, the [[GoryDiscretionShot background fades to red and the characters to black silhouettes]] before the assassin [[SingleStrokeBattle quickly lunges forward, leaving a trail of black blood behind the hapless victim.]]
* In ''[[VideoGame/LegacyOfKain Soul Reaver]],'' the only way to kill the vampires is to use a finishing move, either impaling them on a spike or a spear, lighting them on fire, blowing them up with the Soul Reaver, or using sunlight or water. If you run into a vampire and you don't have access to any of these, you're better off just running away.
* ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersia'':
** ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaTheSandsOfTime'' had the Prince need to dispatch sand creatures by planting the Dagger of Time in them after knocking them down, lest they get back up again. ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaWarriorWithin'' and ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaTheTwoThrones'' removed this need.
** In ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaWarriorWithin'' Prince would sometimes behead an enemy or chop him in halves in a cinematic slow-mo view. If a thrown weapon was enough to kill an opponent it would also produce an explicit death scene.
* ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'':
** The Wild Stomp from ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry3DantesAwakening'', with Dante [[MoreDakka filling a prone enemy with lead]] and then kicking its body away, is clearly meant to be one of these, but on higher difficulties it is never enough.
** Dante's "Dance Macabre" attack in Swordmaster style, on the other hand, will murder almost anything that isn't a boss in ''Devil May Cry 3'' and ''[[VideoGame/DevilMayCry4 4]]''. In ''3'', the combination even ends with a final big swing and Dante saying "Down and out!".
** In ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry4'', Nero's Buster moves against bosses won't necessarily finish the boss off, but they tend to do a lot of damage, and they definitely ''look'' like finishing moves. Notably, finishing off Sanctus Diabolica with a Buster changes the animation so it dramatically repeats the moment of impact three times, and Nero shouts the OnceAnEpisode ''"Jackpot!"'' CatchPhrase. A Buster is also required to defeat the post-final boss, The False Savior.
** While his familiars are the primary damage dealers, V has to finish off enemies himself in ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry5''. Against bosses, they tend to be cinematic.
* Alyssa has a devastating Finishing Move in ''VideoGame/ClockTower3'' which can kill the first few bosses in a single hit, but which needs to be unlocked by tethering the enemy in place by pulling off several charged shots from different angles before the enemy can break free. Given that Alyssa must spend most of the fight running around in circles looking for an opening to get in a good shot, the fights are hard enough. In the final battle, however, her opponent Lord Burroughs has ''his own finishing move which works in exactly the same way, and is a guaranteed one-hit kill'', and he doesn't need to charge his shots as Alyssa does to bind her in place. A minor laundry issue may ensue.
* Failure to perform finishing moves on fallen foes in ''VideoGame/EternalDarkness'' often results in their standing back up & attacking you again. Don't abandon your melee weapons; gun finishers burn ammo quicker than you'd think.

* ''VideoGame/TheForceUnleashed'' combines this with {{Reaction Command}}s; when a boss's health is low enough, pressing the right buttons and/or moving the Wiimote at the right intervals allows Starkiller to perform an over-the-top (and often [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill brutal]]) finisher that varies from one boss to the next.
* In ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaDawnOfSorrow Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow]]'', Soma must finish off bosses by sealing them within [[InstantRunes magic glyphs]]. Failure to do so within the time limit will just resurrect the boss with enough power to put up a fight again.
* ''VideoGame/KingdomOfLoathing'': Finishing an opponent with a Disco Combo ending in a Face Stab results in '''FATALITY!''' and increased stat points for the fight.
* ''VideoGame/TheWarriors'' has this as special attack during rage mode. If done correctly, you can instantly kill enemies, excluding bosses.
* ''VideoGame/{{Onimusha}}'' (all of them) has a finishing stab that is more or less an instant kill to non-boss enemies when they are prone on the ground.

* The little-known fighter ''VideoGame/{{Weaponlord}}'' had "barbaric victories" that functioned similarly to traditional fatalities; during a brief stun animation at the end of the match, the winning characters' moves took on fatal properties (projectiles lopped off limbs, etc.) These had unique ties into gameplay. If you were killed via barbaric victory you were not allowed to continue and received an automatic game-over. If you did not finish your opponent with a barbaric victory you had to face every opponent you failed to dispatch as such in a gauntlet level before the final boss.
* ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'':
** The end of ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiBowsersInsideStory'' has [[spoiler:Bowser finishing off [[EvilCounterpart Dark Bowser]] with five charged up punches, the last one being so powerful that [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome Dark Bowser flips into the air and explodes from it.]]]]
** At the end of every [[AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever Giant Battle]] in ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiDreamTeam'', you're allowed to use the Finishing Bros. attack. It initiates a sequence where Giant Luigi flies into the stars and throws a huge star with Mario on it at the boss. You then get to control the star as it flies down and smack the boss in a weak point to finish it off. [[spoiler:On the last Giant Battle, doing this once isn't enough. On the second time, the Finishing Bros. is upgraded to the Star Driver, which makes the star Mario rides on ''absolutely gigantic.'' (Bigger than ''Giant Luigi.'') You have to go through a different (and much harder) sequence to deliver the true finishing blow.]]

* In ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'', there are several moves that are guaranteed to knock out the opponent, namely Sheer Cold, Guillotine, Fissure, and Horn Drill. Granted, it doesn't work on targets that are a higher level than you, and said moves are highly inaccurate, but still.
** The FEAR strategy is also a prime example of this trope. Provided that the opponent only has one Pokémon left, it will nearly always work unless the opponent takes certain specific countermeasures that may not be obvious to many players.
** Brine, which doubles in power (which makes it stronger than a Hydro Pump) when the target has less than half of its HP left. This makes the move's primary purpose to finish off weakened enemies.
** Venoshock, which increases in power if an enemy is poisoned, and Hex, which increases in power if the target has any status condition.
* ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'' has EX Bursts, only executable when you hit with with an HP attack in [[SuperMode EX Mode]]. They're the most powerful attack of any character, and range from a [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII Gunblade]] [[SpamAttack spam-attack]] to [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXI Chainspelled]] [[LastDiscMagic high-level spells]] to [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyX Breaking a Meteor in four]] and [[ColonyDrop kicking it]] at the poor sap you just drove your gigantic, flaming sword through.
* In the ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'' series, when the circle symbol appears above an enemy that you've been giving the beatdown, it's time for Kratos to finish that enemy in exceedingly brutal fashion. Kratos's most brutal and badass kills are reserved for the many bosses he faces.

* In ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes'':
** Each boss in the sequel has a cinematic ending Finishing Move. Actually, you can even use a Finishing Move against Mooks that usually kill others around the unlucky minion.
** Shinobu, Bad Girl and Henry have special OneHitKill attacks with extravagant animations (technically Shinobu's ''isn't'' a true OneHitKill, but you'd have to be at or very near full health to survive it, which is [[ThatOneBoss unlikely by the time she starts using it.]])
* ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}'' has a few good finishing moves for mooks, and a special one of these for each of the bosses, which get more ridiculous as the game progresses; she punches the final boss INTO THE SUN. The good part is that you get to control her trip the entire way while the boss screams in pain: the bad part is that if you hit any of the planets on the way, the collision blows it up, she recovers and [[NonstandardGameOver charges back at you with a murderous grin on her face, finishing you off while you're weakened from the effort]].
* Every fight scene in ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum'' will end with Batman performing a random finishing move on the last mook in the battle, in slow motion.
* While [[DeathOfAThousandCuts whittling away]] at opponents' life is one tactic, it's far more efficient and [[RuleOfCool awesome]] to use Executions in ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedI''. They come in Counter, by timing the weapon button while guarding, and Combo, timing the weapon button while attacking, flavors, and range from slightly puzzling (How does tripping a guard kill him?) to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0Ha7LYwHEU down right brutal.]] And that video doesn't even have the knee stomp. ''[[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedBrotherhood Brotherhood]]'' lets you pull off a chain of Executions in a matter of seconds. Ezio is now officially as awesome as [[WMG/GrandUnifyingGuesses Altair.]]
* ''Franchise/TouhouProject'': Reimu's Fantasy Heaven, which parodies ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar'' and plays a special victory theme that strongly resembles the winning theme from the [=FoTNS=] games if you win a tiebreaker with it. Being a "you get hit, you die" kind of thing, the only problem players have with it is setting it up.
%%** [[InvulnerableAttack FINAL SPELL!]] [[WaveMotionGun MAGICANNON]], [[KamehameHadoken FINAL]]...[[CallingYourAttacks SPAAAAAAARK!]]
* ''VideoGame/TheDishwasher'', an XBLA HackAndSlash game, has finishing moves ([[DiagonalCut "Clean Kills"]] and [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown "Messy Kills"]]) as a key part of its gameplay flow. When an enemy's cybernetics start sparking, one or both of the grab or heavy attack buttons will appear over their head. Using the indicated attack will reward you with restored health or a [[LimitBreak skull magic]]...Though the player would probably do them anyways, as the finishers are both [[BloodyHilarious very violent]] and [[CatharsisFactor very cathartic.]]
* ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'':
** Many creatures from the games have instant kill animations that replace their normal attacks if your health is too low. Some can also OneHitKill regardless of your health level. A few bosses, such as El Gigante, require the player to perform a finishing move.
** Story-wise Wesker in FlashBack did a Finishing Move to Spencer- by putting his hand though the latter’s torso.
** Brad Vickers also received a killing strike at hand (literally) of [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil3Nemesis Nemesis]].
* In ''VideoGame/DukeNukemForever'', a Finishing Move is ''required'' to beat almost all major bosses--if you don't complete the necessary button combo in time, the boss will get up, having regenerated all health, and you'll fight him all over again. Finishing moves usually involve Duke climbing onto the boss and ripping off some important body part. Some bosses require more than one finishing move to go down, [[spoiler:the FinalBoss takes three]]; yet others offer the "Humiliate" option, which is like a second finishing move but you can TakeYourTime on it. Also, early basic enemies will often drop on their knees instead of dying, allowing Duke to "Execute" them. Apart from making you feel good, Executions fully restore [[CallAHitPointASmeerp Duke's EGO]].
* ''VideoGame/{{Buffy|the Vampire Slayer}}'' on XBOX has these. The heroine herself has to stake or burn vampires, behead zombies as such. In order for enemies to actually kill Buffy they have to feed on her (zombies), bite her (spiders), slash her throat (demons) or crush her (giant vamps).

* ''VideoGame/AdventureQuestWorlds'' has the Undead Slayer's Dragon Lance attack, probably the most damaging move in the class's entire arsenal. It is only available to use after you have accumulated 20 or more Spirit Power, which powers the class's healing abilities and anti-undead attacks. Using this move burns ALL of your Spirit Power (returning you to somewhat low damage and healing power) in order to do 4 to 5 digit damage to undead foes, so this attack is best used to finish off an undead boss after accumulating a load of Spirit Power and battering him down to low HP with supercharged attacks.
* ''VideoGame/GuildWars2'':
** In terms of gameplay mechanics, the game offers up a couple of varieties: "combo finishers", which are typically caused by a move default to your class or by attacking through someone else's active fire/lightning/poison/whatever field to make a combo and then hitting a particular weapon skill to great effect; Warriors also get "Adrenaline Boost" attacks, which charge up with each successful hit, only to deliver a devastating flurry or a single massive strike. From a visual perspective, finishing off an enemy with some sort of elemental damage often leaves them [[ShockAndAwe twitching and spasming]], [[KillItWithFire screaming and rolling around to put out the flames]], choking in poisonous fumes, etc.
** Finishers are an action only available when a player or certain enemies are in the [[ComebackMechanic Downed condition]]. A player or mob in this condition has a small pool of health which can be regenerated, allowing them to resume combat. A successful Finisher instantly depletes this pool of health for a permanent KO. To perform it, the player or enemy gets close to their target and begins a cast that lasts a few seconds. Visuals vary as there are many cosmetic variants available to players.
** One enemy example is the Bandit Executioner, who prioritizes performing Finishers on Downed players over active players. They perform this with a giant two-handed sword that they drive through their victim's chest.
* This can be done in the ''VideoGame/MegaManZero'' series when Zero depletes the remainder of a boss' health with a slash from his [[LaserBlade Z-Saber]]. This causes the boss (this includes ''all'' of the Mutos Reploids, along with Randam Bandam from ''Mega Man Zero 4'') to be bisected. The same applies for the ''VideoGame/MegaManZX'' games. However, ''Mega Man ZX Advent'' adds a second finisher which involves a fully charged buster shot that blasts off a ''chunk'' of the Pseudoroids' abdomens (in some cases, one side of their upper bodies are utterly wiped out). For those who don't know, the ''Zero'' and ''ZX'' bosses are robots, so there's no gore, although you wouldn't believe it by how [[LastWords painful it is for them to talk]], ''then'' [[DeathCryEcho yell]] when all is said and done.
* ''VideoGame/StrangerOfParadiseFinalFantasyOrigin'' has the "Soul Burst", a finisher that can be used on enemies with a depleted BreakMeter. In almost all cases, this entails [[BodyToJewel transforming the defeated enemy into a mass of blood-red crystals]] and [[LiterallyShatteredLives breaking them like glass]].
* ''VideoGame/Section8: Prejudice'' allows you to perform a "fatality" with a combat knife. There's two different versions of it, one of which has your character punch the other guy a couple times with the knife-wielding hand, then jam the knife through the neck joint of your opponent's PoweredArmor.
* ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'' has various finishing moves in melee combat (beheadings, running your opponent through, breaking their neck with a shield, sneaking up behind and cutting their throat, etc.). A patch added them for ranged weapons and magic.
* ''VideoGame/Fallout4'' has various finishing moves for melee attacks. However, as the game has a much heavier emphasis on ranged combat, they're much less commonly seen. Many animals also have special animations where they'll execute a critically injured human to deal the finishing blow in a dramatic way, as do some robots.
** Assaultrons have several, most involving [[TheresNoKillLikeOverkill vaporizing their critically-injured target with point-blank laser cannon shots]].
** Deathclaws have three -- they may lift their victim into the air and gut them with their free claw, skewer them on one claw and throw them over their shoulders, or grab a human by the legs, whip them around in the air and slam them against the ground torso-first to splatter them.
** Radscorpions will impale players in the chest with their stingers and raise the corpse up in the air before shaking them loose.
** Radstags with antlers will charge the player to the ground, grind them up with their antlers and headbutt them a couple feet ahead.
** Yao guai will throw their entire weight on their prey and pin them down while they take a huge bite from the victim's throat.
* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' had a number of brutal finishers for different types of enemies (though mainly for melee-based characters). To name a few examples: pinning a humanoid enemy in the chest [[DualWielding with a dagger, then taking off his head with the sword in the main hand]]; leaping into the air to slice an Ogre's throat in flight; and jumping onto a dragon's neck and repeatedly stabbing it in the eyes and head until it falls to the ground.
* Level 3 Supers in ''VideoGame/PlaystationAllStarsBattleRoyale'' are designed to be so powerful that no one else on the battlefield can survive them without tremendous luck (or the user's ineptitude). Entire matches have been won using just this technique.
* In ''Series/{{Ultraman}}'' for the UsefulNotes/SuperFamicom, the enemies can only be defeated with a Specium Beam while they have no HP. To complicate things, their health regenerates, Ultraman's power takes a long time to charge and you'll probably have to spend it sometimes while struggling against the tougher opponents.
* ''VideoGame/JoeDeversLoneWolf'': Lone Wolf has the option of performing one on the last enemy slain during a battle, or on particularly strong enemies, using the Summerswerd to deal the finishing blow. This refills his Kai (The game's version of Mana) power.
* In ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine'', executions of downed enemies are used to show Walker's [[SanitySlippage deteriorating mental state]] as the game goes on. Early in the game, they're quick, simple, and painless, generally a single headshot. Later on, they become more brutal, including smashing the enemy's head against the ground or wrestling a gun into their mouth.
* ''VideoGame/SamuraiWarriors'' 4 adds these to the franchise. Under certain circumstances (typically when the enemy is stunned and their health is at a specific level), you'll receive a prompt to press the Triangle button. Doing so will cause your character to perform a unique attack that instantly defeats the opponent.
* If you perform a Suplex on a dazed enemy with less than 15% health in ''VideoGame/GodHand'', you'll blast their head through the ground, as opposed to just giving them a suplex if they have more than that. There are plenty of other more traditional finishing moves as well, such as the Head Slicer which is a guaranteed kill if it works, and the God Poke, which finishes demons as long as they're under strict conditions.
* The ''Franchise/SilentHill'' games let you finish a downed enemy by disengaging the lock on and pressing action. Earlier games just featured your character stomping the enemy, but later ones have them use their equipped weapon to do it, with gun finishers even using ammo. ''Not'' finishing an enemy in ''Downpour'' will count as mercy towards your KarmaMeter and effect the ending.
* ''VideoGame/PrimalRage'' has some quite memorable ones, such as corrosive pee and turning your opponent into a cow.
* ''Franchise/{{DOOM}}''
** The legendary GameMod ''VideoGame/BrutalDoom'' amps up the legendary brutality of the ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' series specifically by adding the option to do fatalities on enemies, with each monster having its own set of specific cinematic kill animations. Likewise, some enemies can perform finishing moves on the player if the player gets too close with low enough health to a monster with a melee attack.
** In ''VideoGame/Doom2016'', the ContinuityReboot for the series, these are known as "Glory Kills". They're a mainstream part of the game, are always satisfying to perform, especially on the tougher, more aggravating enemies, and are in fact recommended. To survive, you need the ammo and health packs (among other loot) that enemies drop on death, and a demon taken down with a Glory Kill drops more loot than one that you just shot to death. In the same vein, using the chainsaw not only provides a gory OneHitKill, but also results in a metric crapton of ammo being dropped, making it a very good way to refill ammo if you're running low.
** ''VideoGame/DoomEternal'' continues the Glory Kill tradition, with Glory Kills being used to restore health and the Chainsaw being used to restore ammo. But while the previous installment had you using a Rune to restore armor with Glory Kills as well as health, in this game you have to kill an enemy set on fire with the Flame Belch in order to get armor pickups.
* ''VideoGame/DefenseOfTheAncients'' and ''VideoGame/Dota2'':
** Axe's ultimate ability, Culling Blade, is an axe strike that usually does rather weak damage. However, if used on an opponent with less than a certain amount of health, the victim is instantly crushed, bypassing any armor or damage reduction bonuses and killing them even if they're affected by a death-preventing spell such as Dazzle's Shallow Grave or Oracle's False Promise. This is accompanied by a satisfying "THUNK!" sound and the opponent [[LudicrousGibs exploding in a shower of blood]]. Additionally, if Culling Blade is used in that manner, it does not go on cooldown, gives Axe a permanent Armor boost and you gain a speed boost, potentially allowing you to dunk several enemies in succession.
** Necrophos' ultimate ability, Reaper's Scythe, deals damage based on how much health the target is missing. If they're below a certain health percentage, it's a practically guaranteed one-hit kill and each Scythe kill will give Necrophos a permanent bonus regeneration for greater sustainability.

* ''VideoGame/PunchOut'': The Wii game uses Little Mac's Star Punch as one during the Title Defense battle against Mr. Sandman. After you survive his Berserker Rage (which he'll only do when he's already on the brink of defeat), he'll be so tired that you can start punching him to receive free stars, and then finish him off with one big powerful uppercut.
* In certain games in the ''VideoGame/{{Atelier}}'' series (''VideoGame/AtelierMeruru'', the UpdatedRerelease of ''VideoGame/AtelierRorona'', and the Dusk trilogy), using a LimitBreak to finish a fight will result in a ThemeMusicPowerUp and an extended animation.
* In the hentai metroidvania ''Vio Toxica,'' it's the ''enemies'' who do this. Every monster has a grab attack where they attempt to eat you, and that's the only way they can kill you; any other attacks will leave you with one hitpoint. However, at one HP the grab is guaranteed death.
* While not initially part of Lara's repertoire in ''VideoGame/TombRaider2013'', certain skills unlock weapon-specific close combat finishers that can be used to instakill dazed enemies. What exactly Lara is willing to do to her enemies nicely reflects how much the merciless fight for survival has [[BreakTheCutie numbed her to the violence and brutality around her]]. It starts with bashing someone's head in with a stone as a desperation move, goes on to replace the stone with her trusty [[AnAxeToGrind climbing axe]], and eventually culminates in her brutally unloading whatever gun she's currently holding into the hapless target. The latter ranges from shooting the guy in the face with a handgun or shotgun at point-blank range, to emptying an entire assault rifle magazine into his chest, also point-blank. Of particular note is that none of the gun finisher skills provide any actual combat benefit while consuming skill points that could've been spent on something useful instead. It also doesn't make much sense breaking cover to finish off someone you could've just shot dead from where you were, [[AwesomeButImpractical but damn if it isn't a blast to do]], especially since finishers [[AntiFrustrationFeatures don't use up any of your precious ammo]].
* Isaac of ''Franchise/DeadSpace'' fame usually pulls a gory finisher on human-sized or smaller necromorphs when he's been grabbed and wins the ensuing QuickTimeEvent. A few advanced EliteMooks may survive if they were at or near full health when they initiated the grapple, but most critters will end up with their head stomped into the deck or a couple limbs torn off.
* ''VideoGame/DualBlades'' has these performed in a manner similar to some of the Samurai Shodown games mentioned in an above entry. Many of these take the form of a DiagonalCut in which the defeated opponent's body would slide in half after the cut. ''Slashers'' also has these same finishers, but are {{Bowdlerize}}d in which the final frame when a finishing move happens will switch to black and white with the word "SLASH" appearing in the middle of the screen (of which the word is also sliding from a diagonal cut).
* ''VideoGame/{{Nioh}}'': Finishing Blows can only be used against enemies who cannot defend themselves; they're either flat on their face, or so exhausted all they can do is stand in place and hyperventilate. These blows don't always kill the target but they deal massive damage so it's usually a good method to finish off an opponent whose stamina bar you were whittling away at. The spear in particular has an alternate Finishing Blow that impales the target, throws them into the air, impales them again, and then mashes them with the ground.
* In ''VideoGame/DeadByDaylight'', if the killer brings the Memento Mori offering at the start of the game they will be able to kill their victims rather than hooking them if the requirements for the kind of Mori are met. [[TheManyDeathsOfYou Each of them have a special animation for the occasion]] from whacking them a few times, to cleaving their skull, to ravishing their body like a wild animal.
* ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}'':
** ''VideoGame/DigimonWorld'' features Finishing Moves that can be used only when the word FINISH is spelled out on screen and allows the Digimon to use its signature move, however if they are hit while they are charging it up they lose their chance to use it and you'll have to wait for it to be spelled out again.
** ''VideoGame/DigimonRumbleArena'' features energy bar that when fully charged up, allows a fully evolved Digimon to perform its most powerful move.
** ''VideoGame/DigimonWorld3'' also features a move denoted as both a signature move and finisher move with its different name color and being always placed at the very bottom of the move list, as well as having special background when used, but in a twist of the trope, the finisher move can actually be used anytime like a regular move, and can actually finish the opponent even when used early. This includes even Magna Angemon's One-Hit KO "Gate of Destiny" move. An inversion happens with Grizzmon's Maul Slasher attack and Gallantmon's Final Purification attack, which are a counter move, therefore they only happens after the opponent makes its attack, and deals damage based on the damage taken from the opponent's attack. Which makes the damage possible to be ridiculously low and unable to finish the target if the user is already high level and the counter move is used on a really weak opponent, as said opponent most likely won't be able to inflict much damage in the first place. A different kind of inversion happens with Marsmon's Mugenhadou (literally meaning "Infinite Wave"), which despite its name, can actually NOT knock the opponent out in a single hit, as its damage still depends on the Marsmon's offense stats and the opponent's defense stats.

* ''VideoGame/GalaxyAngel II'':
** The last game of the trilogy invokes this on the final boss, whose shield is so powerful only the Hyper Weapon of Kazuya's chosen Angel can bypass it. Because said Angel is the strongest of the team (and there's the newly-activated wings) this is justified. The exact move that does the job depends on the identity of said Angel.
** Each Angel from both teams (sans Vanilla) has a Hyper Weapon that, depending on who's being hit, serves this purpose.
* Seeking to one-up ''Mortal Kombat'', the unreleased ''VideoGame/TattooAssassins'' boasted that it had over two thousand finishing moves to choose from. Needless to say, this number was inflated a bit; each character had four unique finishing moves plus a library of finishers everyone can access, with the 'two thousand' counting each shared finisher separately for each fighter. The majority of those finishers can be described as 'turn your opponent into something' and 'summon something to crush/kill your opponent' with little variation.
* Similar to ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar'', ''VideoGame/ParaWorld'' will have units sometimes finishing off another in a spectacular finishing move when the victim runs out of health. Usually this involves an extra-large dinosaur eating a human unit or ramming it so hard that the victim flies through the air. One finisher involves a sumo wrestler heaving his victim into the ground and crushing them.
* The ''VideoGame/WWEVideoGames'' series features finishing moves for its wrestlers. These moves become available once a character inflicts enough damage and using a finisher almost guarantees that the victim won't be able to break a pin attempt. Additionally some games have a separate "signature move" that's almost as powerful as finisher and will cause a finisher to be available for use and other games have an [=OMG!=] finisher for an extra-powerful finishing move.
* ''VideoGame/AstralChain'': Get an enemy down to barely any health and a "finish" prompt will come up. Press A and your Legion will rip out the enemy's core for better loot and a rank bonus.

* In ''Webcomic/GoldCoinComics'', characters have something called a [[http://www.goldcoincomics.com/?id=131 Final Attack.]]
* During ''Webcomic/KillSixBillionDemons'''s [[FinalBattle Discordance of the Demiurges]], [[OmnicidalManiac Jagganoth]] pulls out one so powerful that it takes up three pages. It completely [[spoiler:wipes out all life on the surface of Rabuya, leaving deep scars in the planet's surface, and mortally wounds the other demiurges, including Allison]]. [[AC:Supreme Divine Art [[red:BLOOD-SATED SWORD SOUL]] 80,000 blows are struck at once. Leaving no space that is not a sword. Men and horses will be split in two. And the land will be put to waste. Since there is nowhere to evade- be they man or immortal- All will be cut- and be slain instantly.]]

* WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd sometimes uses special effects to finish off cartridges of awful games, e.g. taking the ''Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom'' NES cartridge and ripping its heart out.

* A variation in the web series ''WebVideo/CriticalRole''. DM Matthew Mercer allows the player who gets the killing blow on the boss (or the last remaining opponent on the field) to describe the final attack, leading to many a Crowning Moment of Awesome. Players and viewers alike practically live for the phrase [[CatchPhrase "How do you want to do this?"]].

* WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom's Ghostly Wail typically finishes matters. Him not opening with it is justified by the fact it heavily drains his energy, so he only uses it when he has to.

** ''Anime/MobileFighterGGundam'': Domon Kasshu's [[FacePalmOfDoom Shining Finger (and later God Finger)]], which is uniquely suited to the job of winning Gundam Fights, since [[OffWithHisHead destroying the enemy Gundam's head]] is an instant disqualification. Pretty much every major character in the series has at least one finisher, and several characters (Domon included) develop new ones over the course of the plot.

* In ''Manga/DemonSlayerKimetsuNoYaiba'', The Thunder Clap Flash is the only form Zenitsu has managed to learn in his Thunder Breathing style, but he has mastered it to an extreme degree where his one move is pretty much the battle finisher as Zenitsu created several phases within the technique to make the Thunder Clap Flash as powerful as he can possibly make it out to be; [[spoiler:Zenitsu later creates a technique all by himself, the 7th Thunder Breathing form: Flaming Thunder God which is pretty much a certified battle destroyer move]].

* ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar'' contains fighting styles that pretty much consist ''entirely'' of finishing moves. The flashier ones became "Fatal KO" moves in the [=PS2=] FightingGame. The finisher most associated with Kenshiro, however, is the [[RapidFireFisticuffs Hokuto Hyakuretsu Ken]], which fires off a rapid series of attacks to every one of his opponent's {{Pressure Point}}s resulting in [[LudicrousGibs full body explosion]].

* When Manga/HayateTheCombatButler goes up against another BattleButler, the guy shows off one of his Finishing/Ultimate Moves, (specifically, one that creates a huge gout of fire... from a ''wooden sword'') and tells Hayate that he's surprised that he doesn't have one. In his words "every butler should have a finishing move or two". Almost certainly a LampshadeHanging, especially since these are literal {{battle butler}}s.

*** Luffy's ''Gomu-Gomu no Battle Axe'', ''Gomu-Gomu no Rifle'' and ''Gomu-Gomu no Bullet'' are also very flashy finishers that are used to beat foes in the first part of the series. But [[SuperMode Gear Fourth]] kicks it up to the extreme with Gomu Gomu no King Kong Gun which powerful enough to smash Domflamingo straight through the island of Dressrosa and create a crater. Not long afterwards he created a variation, Gomu Gomu no Kong Organ, which is basically launching smaller but multiple King Kong Guns at once.

*** In New World Zoro introduces more finishing moves such as ''Great Dragon Shock'' (which bisected Monet) and [[KiManipulation Haki-enhanced]] ''Billion-fold World Trichiliocosm'' used to wreck Pica.
** Sanji is no slouch when comes to fishing moves, ''Mouton Shoot'' typically blows opponents away whether it be rapid fire kick (manga) or a single powerful kick (anime). Sanji's ''Concasser'' is more savage, strong enough to even [[TapontheHead knock Luffy out]], and ''Anti Manner Kick Course'' is spectacular even [[Attackofthe50FootWhatever Oars the giant]] was toppled over when he took this attack to the shin. Also ''Three-Spot Decoupage'' which is a [[RoundhouseKick triple roundhouse]].
*** Special mention to Sanji [[RapidFireFisticuffs ''Extra Hachis'']] which is kick-version of Luffy's ''Gomu-Gomu no Gatling'' and ''Venaison Shoot'' in ''[[Anime/OnePieceFilmStrongWorld Strong World]]'' where Sanji imitates a [[GatlingGood Mini-gun]] with his legs. Sanji's ''Hell Memories'' is his strongest attack post timeskip, scorching the small mountain-sized Wadatsumi.

* ''Franchise/KamenRider'': The signature finishing move is the "Rider Kick!" This is usually a flying side kick, though other kicking techniques are used. Starting from ''Series/KamenRiderBlackRX'', finishers involving weapons are also commonly used.

** Of course, every TransformationTrinket with a recorded voice has a different way of announcing the finisher. At least one finisher, though, will almost always boil down to a flying kick, though how it's set up or powered up (propelled by [[Series/KamenRiderRyuki dragon]] [[Series/KamenRiderDragonKnight fire]]? [[Series/KamenRiderKiva Scene becomes creepy night first?]] [[Series/KamenRiderDouble You split in half]]?) changes.

** [[CatchPhrase W! O! R! M!]]

*** Similar to how The Rock's [[FiveMovesOfDoom finishing sequence]] followed up the Rock Bottom with the showy but ordinary People's Elbow, Cena soon followed up the F-U/Attitude Adjustment with the Five Knuckle Shuffle. Which simply involved taunting the fallen opponent, bouncing off the ring ropes and then dropping down to punch them in the face. For both wrestlers, the second move was technically the "finisher" since it was the last move before the pinfall, but it was really the second to last move that took them out and the final move was just showing off for the crowd.

*** Recently subverted: Wrestling/AlexaBliss uses a standard DDT as a finisher without any frills or extra added to it, in addition to her Twisted Bliss finisher.

** To go the other way, the illegal football tackle (Spear) was used as the start of Wrestling/{{Goldberg}}'s five moves, but as a finisher by Wrestling/{{Rhyno}}, Wrestling/{{Edge|Wrestler}} and Wrestling/RomanReigns (in Rhyno's case, it was called the Gore. However, Rhyno's spear was different from those used by Edge, Christian, Reigns and Goldberg. Wheras their spear targeted the lower body and took down both legs, Rhyno's was a striking spear that targeted the midsection and relied on the force of the spear rather than the leg takedown).
*** Wrestling/{{Christian}} now uses it as a finisher in homage to his long time friend Wrestling/{{Edge|Wrestler}}.

** Ron Garvin invented a rather interesting finishing move called "The Garvin Stomp," where he would walk around a prone wrestler and stomp every section of their body. As anybody who's had a charley horse knows, that is a pretty cool way to kayfabe cripple somebody. However, for whatever reason, he was the only one who ever used it.
*** Randy Orton uses it, though not as a finishing move. He's an asshole, though, so it makes sense to KickThemWhileTheyAreDown...

* ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'', Guilty Gear's successor, has Astral Heats. Unlike instant kills, you can only use an Astral Heat in the final round of a battle, when your opponent has 20% or less health remaining, and you have a full special bar. (one win for each character in a best-of-three fight, or any match in the story mode). They changed the conditions for [[VideoGame/BlazBlueContinuumShift the sequel]]. Now you can do it on any [[TheresNoKillLikeOverkill game setting round]] and when your opponent has 35% life remaining, but you need a spare Barrier Burst in order for it to work. They even changed some of their properties so they can now be comboed into.

* In ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes'', each boss in the sequel has a cinematic ending Finishing Move. Actually, you can even use a Finishing Move against Mooks that usually kill others around the unlucky minion.
** In the first game, Shinobu, Bad Girl and Henry have special OneHitKill attacks with extravagant animations (technically Shinobu's ''isn't'' a true OneHitKill, but you'd have to be at or very near full health to survive it, which is [[ThatOneBoss unlikely by the time she starts using it.]])

* Many creatures from the ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' games have instant kill animations that replace their normal attacks if your health is too low. Some can also OneHitKill regardless of your health level. A few bosses, such as El Gigante, require the player to perform a finishing move.

* In terms of gameplay mechanics, ''VideoGame/GuildWars2'' offers up a couple of varieties: "combo finishers", which are typically caused by a move default to your class or by attacking through someone else's active fire/lightning/poison/whatever field to make a combo and then hitting a particular weapon skill to great effect; Warriors also get "Adrenaline Boost" attacks, which charge up with each successful hit, only to deliver a devastating flurry or a single massive strike. From a visual perspective, finishing off an enemy with some sort of elemental damage often leaves them [[ShockAndAwe twitching and spasming]], [[KillItWithFire screaming and rolling around to put out the flames]], choking in poisonous fumes, etc.

*** One enemy examples is the Bandit Executioner, who prioritizes performing Finishers on Downed players over active players. They perform this with a giant two-handed sword that they drive through their victim's chest.

** ''VideoGame/DigimonWorld3'' also features a move denoted as both a signature move and finisher move with its different name color and being always placed at the very bottom of the move list, as well as having special background when used, but in a twist of the trope, the finisher move can actually be used anytime like a regular move, and can actually finish the opponent even when used early. This includes even Magna Angemon's One-Hit KO "Gate of Destiny" move.
*** An inversion happens with Grizzmon's Maul Slasher attack and Gallantmon's Final Purification attack, which are a counter move, therefore they only happens after the opponent makes its attack, and deals damage based on the damage taken from the opponent's attack. Which makes the damage possible to be ridiculously low and unable to finish the target if the user is already high level and the counter move is used on a really weak opponent, as said opponent most likely won't be able to inflict much damage in the first place. A different kind of inversion happens with Marsmon's Mugenhadou (literally meaning "Infinite Wave"), which despite its name, can actually NOT knock the opponent out in a single hit, as its damage still depends on the Marsmon's offense stats and the opponent's defense stats.

** The last game of the trilogy invokes this on the final boss, whose shield is so powerful only the Hyper Weapon of Kazuya's chosen Angel can bypass it. Because said Angel is the strongest of the team (not to mention the newly-activated wings) this is justified. The exact move that does the job depends on the identity of said Angel.

* Pretty much any post-2000s wrestling video game such as the ''VideoGame/WWEVideoGames'' series will feature finishing moves for its wrestlers. These moves become available once a character inflicts enough damage and using a finisher almost guarantees that the victim won't be able to break a pin attempt. Additionally some games have a separate "signature move" that's almost as powerful as finisher and will cause a finisher to be available for use and other games have an [=OMG!=] finisher for an extra-powerful finishing move.

** [[Anime/UltimateMuscle MUSCLE MILLENIUM]]
*** MUSCLE GRAVITY!!!

** SUNLIGHT YELLOW OVERDRIVE!
** ORAORAORAORAORA!

** Axe's ultimate ability, Culling Blade, is an axe strike that usually does rather weak damage. However, if used on an opponent with less than a certain amount of health, the victim is instantly crushed, bypassing any armor or damage reduction bonuses and killing them even if they're affected by a death-preventing spell such as Dazzle's Shallow Grave or Oracle's False Promise. This is accompanied by a satisfying "THUNK!" sound and the opponent [[LudicrousGibs exploding in a shower of blood]]. Additionally, if Culling Blade is used in that manner, it does not go on cooldown and you gain a speed boost, potentially allowing you to dunk several enemies in succession.
** Necrophos' ultimate ability, Reaper's Scythe, deals damage based on how much health the target is missing. If they're below a certain health percentage, it's a practically guaranteed one-hit kill.

** To go the other way, the illegal football tackle (Spear) was used as the start of Wrestling/{{Goldberg}}'s five moves, but as a finisher by Wrestling/{{Rhyno}}, Wrestling/{{Edge}} and Wrestling/RomanReigns (in Rhyno's case, it was called the Gore. However, Rhyno's spear was different from those used by Edge, Christian, Reigns and Goldberg. Wheras their spear targeted the lower body and took down both legs, Rhyno's was a striking spear that targeted the midsection and relied on the force of the spear rather than the leg takedown).
*** Wrestling/{{Christian}} now uses it as a finisher in homage to his long time friend Wrestling/{{Edge}}.

** Wrestling/{{Edge}} and Wrestling/{{Christian}} would commonly both swing steel chairs into an opponent's skull simultaneously, known as the "con-chair-to."

* The legendary GameMod ''VideoGame/BrutalDoom'' amps up the legendary brutality of the ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' series specifically by adding the option to do fatalities on enemies, with each monster having its own set of specific cinematic kill animations. Likewise, some enemies can perform finishing moves on the player if the player gets too close with low enough health to a monster with a melee attack.
* In ''VideoGame/Doom2016'', the ContinuityReboot for the series, these are known as "Glory Kills". They're a mainstream part of the game, are always satisfying to perform, especially on the tougher, more aggravating enemies, and are in fact recommended. To survive, you need the ammo and health packs (among other loot) that enemies drop on death, and a demon taken down with a Glory Kill drops more loot than one that you just shot to death. In the same vein, using the chainsaw not only provides a gory OneHitKill, but also results in a metric crapton of ammo being dropped, making it a very good way to refill ammo if you're running low.