History Main / ThreeRoundDeathmatch

* The ''SuperSmashBros'' series doesn't divide the fight into rounds at all, though characters may (and often do) have multiple lives.

* ''[[VideoGame/{{Darkstalkers}} Vampire Savior]]'' also has a similar setup. In ''Darkstalkers 3'', it's enhanced SonyPlaystation port, one play mode allows your combatant to have up to four or five "lives" per battle.
** Somewhat averted since things like the winner's health and the characters positions don't reset back after each "round." It's more like one long round with a slight pause in between.
** ''VideoGame/InjusticeGodsAmongUs'' works like this, as opposed to the nominal round system used in ''Mortal Kombat 9''.

* ''Darkstalkers 3'' had a subversion. Once a life-bar is depleted, the opponent immediately gets up with their life-bar completely replenishing while the victor's life-bar remains the same, essentially making the match divided between life-bars rather than rounds, though there was still a round counter. The positions of both fighters would be right where the match ended.
** InjusticeGodsAmongUs would use this system later as well, and outright said the match was divided between life-bars rather than rounds. A grey life-bar is seen on top of a red one, and once the grey one is depleted, the loser would be knocked really far back and roll a little bit and lie on the floor for a bit, enough time for the victor to [[IShallTauntYou deliver]] a taunt, before getting up and resuming the match in the same position. Again, the victor's life-bar remained the same, meaning it's not uncommon to see one character's life-bar depleted followed immediately by the one who did the depleting become the one that gets depleted. Being on your second life-bar also allowed access to clashes, a combo breaker that can be used to turn the match in your favor, but only once per match per character. Also notably, while the first life-bar depletion has the character lie on the floor motionless for a few seconds, the match point will have the user get back up to strike a defeated pose as if they're even less damaged from the first round end.

* Examples of the "team battle" aversion include ''TheKingOfFighters'' (since the first game), ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom'' [[CapcomVsWhatever and]] ''[[SNKVsCapcom Capcom vs. SNK]]''. ''[=KoF=]'' and ''[=CvS=]'' end rounds whenever a fighter falls so a fight can be as short as one round (in ''Capcom vs. SNK 2'' if your opponent only opted to use one ratio 4 character) or as many as seven (in ''[=KoF=] 2001'' if neither you or your opponent opted to use Striker characters and battled to the final character on each team). The tag-team gameplay of the ''[=MvC=]'' games (and by extension ''Tatsunoko vs. Capcom'') are isolated to single-round, "last team standing" format (''[=KoF=] 2003'' and ''XI'' also use this format).

* ''GuiltyGear'' uses the round system (except in story mode, where fights are one round only). The original game, however, had "Instant Kill" attacks, which if connected finished the entire match. Subsequent games changed these to simply finishing the round.

* In ''BobAndGeorge'', Mega Man loses his fight against Pharaoh Man, and dies. Then there's a Round 2. Mega Man wins this round, then moves on to fight the next Robot Master. [[MetaGuy The volcano kid]] [[LampshadeHanging points out]] that there should be a tiebreaker round, and Mega Man shoots him.

* Justified in ''FatalFury 2'' and later games in the series - the first time a character loses a round, they get back to their knees and gasp for breath while the game tallies the round bonus. It's only when the match point is lost that they get knocked out. Notably, some of them even try to get back up only to fall over again (e.g. Krauser, Yamazaki, Jin Chonrei).

*** ''VideoGame/Persona4Arena'', based on BlazBlue's style, is the same.

Unexpectedly for many fighting game fans, this is [[GimmickMatches actually]] TruthInTelevision... if you may call ProfessionalWrestling ''[[{{Kayfabe}} truth]]''.

* Examples of the "team battle" aversion include ''TheKingOfFighters'' (since the first game), ''MarvelVsCapcom'' [[CapcomVsWhatever and]] ''[[SNKVsCapcom Capcom vs. SNK]]''. ''[=KoF=]'' and ''[=CvS=]'' end rounds whenever a fighter falls so a fight can be as short as one round (in ''Capcom vs. SNK 2'' if your opponent only opted to use one ratio 4 character) or as many as seven (in ''[=KoF=] 2001'' if neither you or your opponent opted to use Striker characters and battled to the final character on each team). The tag-team gameplay of the ''[=MvC=]'' games (and by extension ''Tatsunoko vs. Capcom'') are isolated to single-round, "last team standing" format (''[=KoF=] 2003'' and ''XI'' also use this format).
** MarvelVsCapcom played this straight in the Playstation version as it didn't have enough power to have 4 characters fighting 2-on-2 with assist characters, limiting it to one-on-one with assist. Once the opponent's life-bar is depleted, they immediately get up and look disappointed while the victor strike's a quick victory pose, before the fight resumes, though the positioning is the same.
* In the FightingGame based on ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'', when a character loses a round, the announcer yells "Down!", and then the character immediately gets back up for the next round. It isn't "KO!" until the match point is scored, at which point the victorious character gives a VictoryPose.

"Round Two, Fight!" What's this? You and your opponent are standing across from each other again, and you're both at full health. That's right, this is a ThreeRoundDeathmatch. Even though it [[FridgeLogic rarely makes much sense]], this has been part of {{Fighting Game}}s for so long that it's long since become an [[AcceptableBreaksFromReality acceptable break from reality]].

** Not quite; we have to mention the {{egregious}} example of ''MortalKombat Deception'' and ''Armageddon''; MK, being a fond believer of this trope already, took it to the ludicrous extreme when they added in {{death trap}}s, which ''killed your opponent instantly'' if you threw them into it...but if you haven't ''won'' the ThreeRoundDeathmatch, the next round starts with the opponent suddenly un-deadified and back to full health.

* It's unclear whether Namco is poking fun at this or not. Characters can suffer injuries that by all accounts would likely end lives, never mind the fight, including broken necks and backs (just try [[{{Tekken}} Heihachi]]'s headlock throw. *CRUNCH* goes the neck) and after the round is over and it is transitioning to the next round, the character who was just defeated that round shakes it off, gets up, and assumes their fight stance again. Them crazy Namco guys.
** Namco also differs in one team battle game, ''{{Tekken}} Tag Tournament''. If ONE of your guys is knocked out, you lose; it's similar to ProfessionalWrestling's tag team rules, thus giving you a reason to get that injured guy out as quickly as possible. ''VideoGame/StreetFighterXTekken'' also abides by the "first fall loses" rule.

* ''VideoGame/{{Skullgirls}}'' varies. If your opponent chooses to use more than one character, the game is played like ''Marvel vs. Capcom'' (one round, last team standing) but if both players are only using one character, it reverts to a ThreeRoundDeathmatch (though both of these settings can be adjusted in the options so you can also set tag battles to also stretch to multiple rounds).

* Examples of the "team battle" aversion include ''TheKingOfFighters'' (since the first game), ''[[CapcomVsWhatever Marvel vs. Capcom]]'' [[CapcomVsWhatever and]] ''[[CapcomVsWhatever Capcom vs. SNK]]''. ''[=KoF=]'' and ''[=CvS=]'' end rounds whenever a fighter falls so a fight can be as short as one round (in ''Capcom vs. SNK 2'' if your opponent only opted to use one ratio 4 character) or as many as seven (in ''[=KoF=] 2001'' if neither you or your opponent opted to use Striker characters and battled to the final character on each team). The tag-team gameplay of the ''[=MvC=]'' games (and by extension ''Tatsunoko vs. Capcom'') are isolated to single-round, "last team standing" format (''[=KoF=] 2003'' and ''XI'' also use this format).

** ''BlazBlue'' solved this by only allowing Astral Heats in the final round. Story mode always shows you opponent as alive but injured afterwards, even if Ragna's Astral Heat ''erased them from existence''.

** The same applies for ''VideoGame/MortalKombat9'', [[BloodierAndGorier only moreso]].

** Namco also differs in one team battle game, ''{{Tekken}} Tag Tournament''. If ONE of your guys is knocked out, you lose; it's similar to ProfessionalWrestling's tag team rules, thus giving you a reason to get that injured guy out as quickly as possible.

* Examples of the "team battle" aversion include ''TheKingOfFighters'' (since the first game), ''[[CapcomVsWhatever Marvel vs. Capcom]]'' [[CapcomVsWhatever and]] ''[[CapcomVsWhatever Capcom vs. SNK]]''. ''[=KoF=]'' and ''[=CvS=]'' end rounds whenever a fighter falls so a fight can be as short as one round (in ''Capcom vs. SNK 2'' if your opponent only opted to use one ratio 4 character) or as many as seven (in ''[=KoF=] 2001'' if neither you or your opponent opted to use Striker characters and battled to the final character on each team). The tag-team gameplay of the ''[=MvC=]'' games (and by extension ''Tatsunoko vs. Capcom'') are isolated to single-round, "last team standing" format.

* Pro wrestling calls this the Best Two-of-Three Falls match. Back in the old days before the WWF took over, championship matches were almost always decided this way. It still pops up every so often as a [[GimmickMatches gimmick match]].

* Examples of the "team battle" aversion include ''TheKingOfFighters'' (since the first game), ''[[CapcomVsWhatever Marvel vs. Capcom]]'' [[CapcomVsWhatever and]] ''[[CapcomVsWhatever Capcom vs. SNK]]''.

** ''Vampire Savior'' (the third ''VideoGame/{{Darkstalkers}}'' installment) also does something like this. Each character starts with two bat icons beneath their lifebars. When one of them is depleted, they lose a bat and their health bar goes back to full. Notable because even in ''Killer Instinct'' the characters have a very brief break for the announcer to say "Ready" and reset the combatants to neutral positions but here all the announcer says is "Down!" then the fight resumes exactly where everyone stands with almost zero downtime.

** ''Vampire Savior'' (the third ''VideoGame/{{Darkstalkers}}'' installment) also does something like this. Each character starts with two bat icons beneath their lifebars. When one of them is depleted, they lose a bat and their health bar goes back to full. Notable because even in ''Killer Instinct'' the characters have a very brief break for the announcer to say "Ready" and reset the combatants to neutral positions but here all the announcer says is "Down!" then the fight resumes with almost zero downtime.

** ''Vampire Savior'' (the third ''VideoGame/{{Darkstalkers}}'' installment) also does something like this. Each character starts with two bat icons beneath their lifebars. When one of them is depleted, they lose a bat and their health bar goes back to full. Notable because even in ''Killer Instinct'' the characters have a very brief break for the announcer to say "Ready" but here all the announcer says is "Down!" then the fight resumes with almost zero downtime.

** ''[[VideoGame/Darkstalkers Vampire Savior]]'' (the third ''Darkstalkers'' installment) also does something like this. Each character starts with two bat icons beneath their lifebars. When one of them is depleted, they lose a bat and their health bar goes back to full. Notable because even in ''Killer Instinct'' the characters have a very brief break for the announcer to say "Ready" but here all the announcer says is "Down!" then the fight resumes with almost zero downtime.