History Main / TimeLimitBoss

** At Katina, the player has a limited amount of time to defeat the mothership before it destroys the defense post.
** At Fortuna, the player has a limited amount of time to defeat Star Wolf before a bomb in the base explodes.

* In ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'' and ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2'', any Speedy Comet mission where you fight the boss with a time limit added. Then there's Throwback Throwdown Speed Run from ''2'', the Boss Blitz Galaxy's Prankster Comet mission... a BossRush where you have to beat five bosses from the first game in about 2 minutes at most.

* ''LetsPlay/TwitchPlaysPokemonCrystal'' imposed this on [[FinalBoss Red]]. Once the viewers got to Red, they had 7 days (though unlimited retries) to successfully defeat him. Failure would've resulted in the ''LetsPlay/TwitchPlaysPokemon'' admin refusing to start ''LetsPlay/TwitchPlaysPokemonEmerald''. The viewers won, allowing ''Emerald'' to take place.

** [[ThatOneBoss Demyx]] with his water clones. You will hate this guy and his "[[ThatOneAttack Dance Water Dance]]".

** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVI'' has a SecretEnding where defeating the BonusBoss within a set number of turns results in him not only acknowledging your superiority, but also unleashing a complete and utter CurbStomp on the FinalBoss, laughing all the while. Of course, if you're leveled to the point where you can beat him that fast, said FinalBoss isn't exactly difficult, either.

* ''VideoGame/EpicBattleFantasy5'': BonusBoss Matteus inficts the Stoned status effect at the start of the fight, giving you 15 turns to defeat him. Fail, and Matteus will kill the entire party instantly.

** Another reason why the ''Final Fantasy'' series loves this trope: Emerald Weapon in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', a BonusBoss with a preset time limit of 20 minutes for the player to beat it (which can be circumvented by equipping the ridiculously obtuse Underwater materia).

* ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI'' has [[spoiler:Phantom]], a BonusBoss who also [[BarrierChangeBoss shifts what he is vulnerable to around]]. In a subversion of the trope, you fight him in front of the clock tower which ticks down the counter towards removing your characters from the fight. The counter seems impossibly fast, until you realise [[spoiler:you can target the clock hand itself and you have a spell that stops time]].

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfDragoon'': The [[BonusBoss Super Virage]] boss in the Forbidden Land has eleven lives, and each turn, it loses a life. If you're unable to kill it before the time is out, he will die, releasing a super powerful energetic attack on the whole party. Still, you can simply defend when it has few lives left and call it a day.

* In ''VideoGame/NierAutomata'', [[spoiler:Emil]] can be fought as a level 99 BonusBoss. Twice. The first time is set to his trademark jingle, and if you haven't beaten him by the time the piece ends, he fires off a OneHitKill {{EMP}}. This can come completely out of the blue, especially after a couple of defeats, if you fail to recognize the not exactly obvious connection between the music and the end of the battle. The second, much more difficult ([[GuideDangIt and well-hidden]]) battle then gives you ten seconds to finish him off during a specific phase of the fight. Failing to do so unlocks one of the game's [[MultipleEndings almost 30 endings]], described as [[spoiler:Emil]]'s self-destruct system [[EarthShatteringKaboom blowing up the whole planet]].

** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'' has the DLC BonusBoss, [[spoiler:Masakado's Shadow]]. You have only ten turns to beat him before [[spoiler:an ICBM destroys all of Tokyo]].

* The fight with Ragnarok in ''VideoGame/ArcanaHeart 3'' has a 60 second time limit. If you time-out with a life lead, you get the bad ending and can't continue.

* All multi-player raid boss battles in ''VideoGame/GranblueFantasy'' are timed, with each raid lasting up to a maximum of 90 minutes. Failure to defeat the primary target in a raid will result in a loss, leading to no rewards earned.

* ''VideoGame/GranblueFantasy'' gives you [[ThirteenIsUnlucky 13 turns]] to defeat Death when you fight it in Arcarum [[spoiler:and in the final quest before recruiting Nier]], and failing to finish the fight by then results in Death unleashing a TotalPartyKill. Death is a GlassCannon, but it starts with a 90% reduction on all incoming damage to compensate for this. This reduction can be lowered, but doing so requires ''letting your party members die''.

** The Eidolons in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' cast [[StandardStatusEffects Doom]] at the beginning of the fights with them, effectively imposing a time limit. Major bosses such as [[spoiler:[[RecurringBoss Bartha]][[BigBad ndelus]]]] will also use Doom if the battle stretches on for too long.

* Compile's shooter ''VideoGame/{{Zanac}}'' has this for all boss battles except the last.
* Many FightingGame bosses fall under this, as all fights are timed to begin with. However, boxing games like ''VideoGame/PunchOut'' in its NES and Wii versions allow you to claim victory if you perform well anough against your opponent and the referee reviews it. No such luck in ''Super Punch-Out!!'' and ''Arm Wrestling'': You '''have''' to knock out your opponent (technically or instantly) or you'll lose.
* In The Subspace Emissary of ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl'', the fight with [[VideoGame/MetroidPrimeTrilogy Meta-Ridley]] is accompanied by a two-minute time limit. All other bosses in that mode are fought without a time limit.

* ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'':
** In ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'', Egg Viper eventually becomes one of these when it starts [[BossArenaUrgency destroying one of the six platforms with each of its attacks]]. If you don't defeat it quickly enough, Sonic will fall to his death with nothing left to stand on.
** The giant sphinx boss of Sandopolis Zone in ''VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles'' will crush you against the far left wall if you don't beat him in time.
** Most of the TrueFinalBoss fights qualify for this: you are in SuperMode, and if you don't defeat the final boss under the limit of 50 rings, you'll die instantly. Thankfully, most of these let you pick up more rings during the battle, but these tend to either be finite in quantity or barely appear regularly enough to offset the countdown.
** The TrueFinalBoss of ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'', the Finalhazard, has an additional time limit on top of the SuperMode limit, [[spoiler:as it's currently initiating a ColonyDrop on Earth]]. If Sonic and Shadow don't kill it within five minutes, it's game over.
** In the second Sonic/Shadow {{duel|Boss}} in ''Adventure 2'', the runway you are sprinting across seems to stretch on into infinity... until you allow 10 minutes to pass. Then [[spoiler:the road collapses in front of you]].
** PlayedWith in the final battle against [[spoiler:Emerl]] in ''VideoGame/SonicBattle''. Sonic has to win ten rounds of combat against him that in gameplay terms can take as long as the player needs to [[ThatOneBoss though damn, you'll need it]]. In-story, however, these ten rounds of combat are taking place in a span of ''30 seconds'', since that's all the time Sonic has to win before the Earth gets destroyed by a giant laser.
** ''VideoGame/SonicMania''[='=]s Green Hill Zone Act 2 boss, the Death Egg Robot, is an AdvancingBossOfDoom and you only have 90 seconds to destroy it before you run out of ground and are forced into a BottomlessPit.
* In ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong64'', Dogadon eventually becomes one of these in his second appearance -- take too long to kill it after it starts to make the platform sink, and eventually the lava will kill you. The FinalBoss is a more direct example; [[spoiler:it's set up as a boxing fight in which the player has 12 timed rounds (3 minutes apiece) in which to K.O. King [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast K. Rool]]. K. Rool has five "forms" (tactics) — one for each of the playable Kongs to battle — and the defeat of one form will cause the fight to move on to the next round, bringing in the next Kong (and recharging the player's health). But if a round's timer expires before K. Rool's current stratagem has been beaten, the next round will begin with the player fighting the same form as before, with as much health as he had as the previous round ended; K. Rool, on the other hand, will be fully healed. If all 12 rounds pass before the player has beaten all five tactics, the player loses the fight, regardless of his or her remaining health.]]
* In ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiSuperstarSaga'', the later fights against the Koopalings have them accompanied by Bob-Ombs that will explode after eight turns. You have to beat them before then.
** Every single boss in the Gauntlet in ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiBowsersInsideStory'' has to be beaten within a turn limit, which is aggravating against [[spoiler:Dark Star X]], and plain cruel when you have to beat every boss in order in 35 turns straight.
** In terms of regular bosses, there's the Fawful Express, which will send Giant Bowser plummeting to his doom if not beaten before the train crosses the bridge.
** Also done semi-interactively in the battle against the Elder Shrooboid in ''Partners in Time''. He sends out a UFO halfway through the battle that gives you four turns to defeat him, but by deflecting one of his attacks, you can hit the UFO and reset the counter.
** Done in ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiDreamTeam'' with the Battle Ring bosses (which all have a turn limit). Bad enough again the normal ones (Antasma X is virtually impossible to kill if you fail to counter properly, since if it puts you to sleep, you miss one whole turn in the process), worse in Hard Mode against Giant Bosses. Why? Because they give you the EXACT amount of turns needed to win... assuming you do everything perfectly. As in, get max damage on every turn and counter every single projectile. Even Drilldigger, the '''first''' giant boss, can be ThatOneBoss under these conditions!
** Pi'illodium also counts as this. Not at the start (unless you're in the Battle Ring, where it ALSO has a turn limit), but near the end, it activates a [[TakingYouWithMe self-destruct timer]], giving you just thirty seconds in real time to finish it off. The good? It doesn't attack at all during the countdown, giving you as many turns as you can get through in that time. The bad? If you're too slow/have failed to lower its defences beforehand and let it explode, you can expect a TotalPartyKill. There's a reason it can easily count as ThatOneBoss...
** King Bob-omb in ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiPaperJam'' also counts. You have four (three in the Boss Battle Ring) minutes to defeat it, or he'll explode for massive damage and wipe out your entire party (even if you reach the AbsurdlyHighLevelCap!). However, you can add one minute to the timer by successfully countering one of its attacks, and it's possible to extend the timer by another 5 minutes by using a specific Battle Card.
* ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'':
** The PostFinalBoss of ''VideoGame/MetroidFusion'', [[spoiler:the Omega Metroid]], appears at the end of a LoadBearingBoss sequence. You'll probably have only a minute or so left to beat it for good.
** ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime2Echoes'' has some examples:
*** You have eight minutes to fight the final boss ([[spoiler:Dark Samus for the third time]]), and it is cheap, as she stalls... a ''lot''.
*** Two bosses, [[spoiler:the Boost Guardian and Quadraxis]], are fought in arenas where there is no safe zone that protects you against the harmful effects of Dark Aether's atmosphere, making it a timed fight where you get more time when you get pickups and lose time when you get hit.
** In ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime3Corruption'':
*** You only have so long on the opening planet to beat Ridley before you fall to your doom.
*** The final set of bosses, located in Phaaze, who are at the end of a long path where your Phazon gauge fills up due to the planet's atmosphere. If it fills, it's the end for Samus.
* Quite common in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', where most raid bosses have what is called an enrage timer.
** When the timer goes off, they get a massive buff that results in them killing the entire raid; this is typically called a "[[TurnsRed hard enrage]]". Depending on the encounter design, the timer might be pretty lenient on an otherwise difficult boss or might be the only factor that makes the boss hard (this type of boss is commonly referred to as "DPS race".)
** Some hard enrages are not linked to timers but the abilities used by the boss. Once a move has been performed a set number of times the boss enrages and [[TotalPartyKill wipes the group]]; usually a mechanic exists to prolong the fight by delaying the use of the offending move.
** Some bosses (or even entire sections of a dungeon) may also have a timer on additional rewards.
** Oftentimes the bosses themselves are not on a timer, but there is another mechanic that becomes increasingly dangerous as time passes by. Some of them (like, say, Professor Putricide from the Icecrown Citadel raid) [[BossArenaUrgency drop something on the ground that deals damage]], and the area covered increases over time so that you eventually run out of space. Another example is Beth'tilac from the Firelands raid, who has an area of effect spell that gradually increases in damage every time it's cast, until it completely overwhelms the healers. This is typically called a "soft enrage"; unlike a "hard enrage" where death is all but certain, better equipment or player performance can help you survive longer.
** Other bosses cast a spell that kills the entire raid when they run out of time. In the Brawler's Guild, failing to kill the opponent within two minutes results in a flaming meteor shower going from one end to the other, and instantly killing any players it touches.

* Bosses and elites on the Inferno difficulty in ''VideoGame/DiabloIII'' have acquired enrage timers as well, one of many factors that has led to the current BrokenBase of the game. Thankfully, the enrage timers have since been removed.
* ''VideoGame/BanjoKazooie'':
** In the first game, it is possible to have a rematch against Boss Boom Box and/or the Zubbas during the PopQuiz minigame run by Gruntilda. However, unlike the original fights, these will be timed. You'll have 70 seconds for Boss Boom Box, and 30 for the Zubbas. It is recommended to use the Gold Feathers against them in this case.
** In ''Banjo-Tooie'', there's Old King Coal. You get two and a half minutes before the boiler you're fighting in reaches maximum temperature, where it will stay on permanently and quickly deplete your air, and then your health.
** During the final battle in ''Tooie'', after taking enough damage, Gruntilda floods the arena with poison gas. After that, the player gradually loses air, and when the air is all gone, health is gradually lost instead (and the arena contains limited sources of health replenishment).
* ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}'': The final boss is the only explicitly timed puzzle in the game, wherein [[spoiler:[=GLaDOS=] pumps the room full of poison gas, setting a time limit before you die.]]
* In ''VideoGame/{{Portal 2}}'', [[spoiler:the entire facility is about to go down in a nuclear meltdown due to Wheatley's gross incompetence. The point of the battle is to corrupt him enough via personality cores so that he can be replaced with [=GLaDOS=] so that she stops the meltdown]].
* ''VideoGame/MegaManZero''
** The EarlyBirdBoss in the first game has a time limit before the platform you are on would crush a bunch of hostages.
** The series' BigBad and FinalBoss at the end of ''Zero 4''. You only have ''two'' minutes to beat Dr. Weil.
* [[spoiler:Zero's Maverick form]] in ''VideoGame/MegaManX5'' is this, even though there is no countdown. Take too long in fighting him and he'll start spamming an almost-undodgeable OneHitKill attack until you die.
* Iuz in ''VideoGame/TempleOfElementalEvil'' qualifies. If you want to win the HopelessBossFight (hard, but doable), you have three turns to kill him before Saint Cuthbert comes and hauls him away.
* ''VideoGame/StarFox64'' :
** At Katina, the player has a limited amount of time to defeat the mothership before it destroys the defense post.
** At Fortuna, the player has a limited amount of time to defeat Star Wolf before a bomb in the base explodes.
** At Macbeth, the train boss [[OneHitKill kills]] you if you don't beat him before he reaches the supply depot.
** Golemech on the "Easy" Venom route also counts, as if you take too long to defeat him, you'll hit a dead end and continously ram into pillars until you're out of energy and die.
* In ''VideoGame/StarFoxAdventures'', Fox has to catch, and get rid of, the three [=SharpClaw=] Riders that are trying to flee away from him in the underground vault of [=CloudRunner=] Fortress before the fuel of his vehicle runs out. They're the ones holding the second [=SpellStone=] (the others are held by larger, non-wolfpack bosses). In the other chase sequences, Fox drives a vehicle with unlimited fuel.
* In ''VideoGame/DarkCloud 2''/''Dark Chronicle'', [[spoiler:the TrueFinalBoss gives you five minutes to defeat him before the moon falls and kills everything on earth]].
* ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'':
** The games have time limits on all of the bosses' patterns. Technically, passing these limits is actually a ''[[HoldTheLine victory condition]]'' (except in the Bunkachou GaidenGame), but you don't get any points or other rewards for doing so[[note]]Except for "survival" spell cards, for which running out the clock is the only option[[/note]], which can be a ''very bad thing'' in some of the games. It also tends to be rather difficult to do, as the timers are generally much longer than is necessary for even the weakest character to beat them, and several get [[TurnsRed worse with time]], rather than damage. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0FkEZXVqjk There is, as an exception, one boss you should not timeout]]; and this video is at 15 Frames Per Second for the record.
** In the fangame ''Concealed the Conclusion'', the FinalBoss fight has a time limit based on how much Hakurei points (the game's special mechanic) you have collected. This timer is basically how much time remains until the DreamApocalypse, and if it runs out, the game simply [[FadeToBlack fades to black]] and you get a DownerEnding.
* In ''VideoGame/ComixZone'', [[spoiler:the final boss has this -- sorta. You can still win even if the timer runs out, but you'll get the 'Bad' ending, since the timer is essentially your girlfriend drowning in rocket fuel]].
* In ''VideoGame/ShadowHearts: Covenant'':
** Most fights with Great Gama have an implicit time limit, whereby if you don't beat him within X rounds, he unleashes a giant attack on you which is almost guaranteed to kill you. The same happens when you fight the Peach Bat, except that she cheats and does it one round early.
** Gold Bat in the first game gives you a certain amount of rounds before he kills you. However, he takes pity on you and gives you one round more than stated.
* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
** In ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask Majora's Mask]]'', once you reach the top of Clock Tower and challenge Skull Kid, you have five minutes to beat him before the moon crashes. Since beating him involves playing one song on your ocarina, however, this isn't too difficult.
** In the final dungeon of ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap The Minish Cap]]'', you need to reach Vaati before the bell tolls three times. The first two are predetermined, but before the third, you need to go fight a trio of Darknuts and defeat them in about two or three minutes, lest that Vaati extracts all of Zelda's life force and give you a NonStandardGameOver.
** In ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks Spirit Tracks]]'', you need to chase the Demon Train across a set of rails in another dimension. If you take too long, you reach the end of the line and crash.
** In ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword Skyward Sword]]'', you have no less than three fights with the Imprisoned, who ignores Link entirely and attempts to get to the top of the arena, at which point you'll suffer a NonStandardGameOver.

* Every single boss in ''VideoGame/WarioLand 4'', made harsher on [[HarderThanHard Super Hard]] difficulty.
* Every boss in ''VideoGame/{{Ikaruga}}''. Like the ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'' example above, this is a victory condition. It just robs you of points. In the final battle, your weapons are disabled and the only thing you can do is HoldTheLine and dodge bullets for a minute.
* The final boss of ''VideoGame/TheRevengeOfShinobi'' is like the VideoGame/ComixZone one. Fail to beat Zeed in time, and your fiancée is crushed by a DescendingCeiling. You can actually freeze the "timer" by throwing shuriken into a slot in the right wall.
* The FinalBoss of ''VideoGame/{{Prototype}}'' has a time limit because the city is about to get nuked.
* An odd version of this occurs in ''VideoGame/{{Gradius}} V''; the first boss, [[AceCustom a heavily-modified Big Core Mk.1]], will actually leave if you take too long to beat it. Played straight with the Blaster Cannon Core and a few other series bosses, which will crush you against the left side of the screen when exiting after time-out.
* Every boss in ''VideoGame/RadiantSilvergun'' has a time limit, after which the boss self-destructs and you don't get bonus points.
* Every boss battle in ''VideoGame/GuitarHero III'' must be won before the arrow reaches the skull. If you can't beat them before then, they get one last solo while your health drains automatically at a steady pace. A SelfImposedChallenge is to see how far into the rival's final solo you can get before finishing them off with items.
* ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' series occasionally pepper you with bosses that you have to kill fast.
** You're given eight minutes to get through ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}''[='s=] second full moon operation, which includes a boss fight.
** Most bonus bosses in ''VideoGame/Persona3'' have a "turn limit" before they fire off a 9999 Almighty spell. In ''VideoGame/Persona4'', the ultimate bonus boss also does the same.
** ''VideoGame/Persona5'' imposes a 30 minute time limit on you for the fight against [[spoiler: Shadow Okamura]]. Its obligatory bonus boss is also timed, though in a different manner: Every few turns you must deal enough damage to them, failing which they'll get bored of fighting you and end things on the spot with an unavoidable TotalPartyKill instead of continuing the battle.
** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'' has the DLC BonusBoss, [[spoiler:Masakado's Shadow]]. You have only ten turns to beat him before [[spoiler:an ICBM destroys all of Tokyo]].
** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse'' has each of the Fiend battles in [[BrutalBonusLevel Twisted Tokyo]]. You have ten turns to beat the target before you're taken out of the dungeon automatically. Fortunately, this does not result in a GameOver, and any damage you dealt will carry over to the next encounter with them.
* ''VideoGame/VirtualOn'' has a final boss like this, sort of. Losing to the boss lets you continue as normal. Winning by time out [[NonStandardGameOver kills you]], and you get the very unspectacular [[MultipleEndings bad ending]]. Strangely, [[InsaneTrollLogic this means that trying to hurt or kill yourself is important if you have more health left than the boss, but don't think you can kill it in time]]. To defeat it normally, try shooting it when it turns gold and fires its [[WaveMotionGun Sun Cannon]].
* Infogrames' [[VideoGameRemake remake]] of ''Combat.'' After destroying the [[LoadBearingBoss final boss UFO]], you're taken to a small platform in the ([[CollapsingLair falling-apart]]) base, and it becomes a small gunship that you need to destroy in sixty seconds. If you don't, [[NonStandardGameOver instant game over]], no matter how many lives or how much health you have. [[ContinuingIsPainful Hope you enjoy doing the last 10 levels over again.]]
* ''VideoGame/SonicTheFighters'' requires you defeat [[SpellMyNameWithAnS Dr. Robotonic]] in just fifteen seconds. It's generally pretty easy to do, assuming he doesn't block excessively, but fail and it's off to the bad ending with you.
* ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'': [[spoiler:Krauser]], who sets up time bombs on the tower on which you're fighting. Obviously, you need to defeat this boss before the tower goes boom.
* In ''Videogame/ResidentEvil5'', Wesker gives you seven minutes to try and beat him and [[spoiler:Jill Valentine]]. Beating him before the time limit earns you a diamond that can be sold for a lot of money but otherwise the cutscene is still the same if the time limit is up.
* In ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'' and ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2'', any Speedy Comet mission where you fight the boss with a time limit added. Then there's Throwback Throwdown Speed Run from ''2'', the Boss Blitz Galaxy's Prankster Comet mission... a BossRush where you have to beat five bosses from the first game in about 2 minutes at most.

* While all ''VideoGame/AceCombat'' missions are timed, final bosses frequently have a separate, much shorter, timer for the last stage of the fight. Other missions frequently require the player to take down a bomber or flying fortress before it exits the map.
* Margulis in ''VideoGame/{{Xenosaga}} Episode II''. Once you get his health down far enough, you'll be given a number of turns until forced H Stop, which is an instant GameOver.

* In ''VideoGame/BorderDown'', you get bonus points for killing a boss as close to 0 seconds as possible, with the maximum bonus being 3 million points. The timer will continue to run down to -30, but after -10 seconds, you start ''losing'' points, all the way up to ''-6 million points.''

* All the bosses in ''VideoGame/{{Hellsinker}}'' are this. When the timer runs out, they move on, and the game tells you that they lost interest and halves your Spirit, Kill, and Token counts.
** If you unlock the Scarlet Queen's secret form, you have ''fifteen seconds'' to destroy her. Doing so nets you a OneUp for your trouble.
** Rex Cavalier [[HoldTheLine inverts this trope]] at first, then plays it straight for its Spirit Kernel form. If you time out the Spirit Kernel form while on your last life, this results in a NonStandardGameOver.
** The pre-FinalBoss, Unnamed 290, is a mix of this and HoldTheLine. The battle ends only when time expires [[MickeyMousing / the background music ends]], but in the meantime you must fill the Satisfaction Gauge by shooting 290. Failing to bring the gauge to level 1 or higher before time runs out results in mission failure.
** Garland, the level 3 FinalBoss, follows a similar format to Unnamed 290; the battle only ends when time runs out, but you must fill the inverted LifeMeter by shooting Garland before time runs out so you can fight the TrueFinalBoss, Lost Property 771.
* In ''Videogame/CrashBandicoot2CortexStrikesBack'', if Crash takes too long to defeat [[spoiler:Cortex]] in the final battle, he will escape through a tunnel and Crash will be forced to start the fight over.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Overblood}}'', the final boss is timed due to a SelfDestructMechanism, and you do still have to [[spoiler:fight it again and again as it follows you]].
* ''VideoGame/PokemonRanger: Shadows of Almia'' has this for the DLC boss fight against Dialga. [[spoiler:If you take too long, he uses Roar of Time, and you have to ''start the entire mission over again'' (although all the Target Clear obstacles mercifully do not reset.)]] Also occurs in Guardian Signs for the past bosses for the remaining time. [[spoiler:The boss you will have trouble with is Lucario, who, in this case, rages twice during the boss when you think you're going to beat it. Also happens with Arceus due to it raging twice. Either way, when this happens, and you have at least a few more seconds left, you're completely screwed.]]
* MONOCULUS! in ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' only appears for 90 seconds. Merasmus must also be defeated in 90 seconds, made worse by his ability to hide and heal himself, wasting precious time.
* All the bosses in ''VideoGame/{{Einhander}}'' have an invisible time limit of sorts. If the time limit is exceeded, the boss just runs away and you don't get any points. ''Except'' the FinalBoss [[spoiler:Hyperion]]. If you run out of time against it, it fires an unavoidable WaveMotionGun at you!
* ''VideoGame/GodzillaMonsterOfMonsters'' will eject the player from a one-on-one monster battle after about forty seconds, with no warning whatsoever.

* ''VideoGame/{{Dauntless}}'' has two separate timers running. The first is the airship fuel, which is what allows the airship to stay in range long enough to pick you up and get home; this is fixed at thirty minutes for a standard hunt or fifty for an Escalation hunt, and if it expires, you fail the mission. The second timer is the Danger meter, which gradually rises throughout the hunt; it cannot be diminished by any means unless the Behemoth flees the battle, and it increases faster with knocked-out teammates (resuscitation takes back some of the meter, but only to a point). Once the Danger meter hits 100%, you lose the ability to resuscitate your teammates, and have to rely on a limited number of stims to keep yourself in the fight. A retreating Behemoth brings the Danger meter down to 75% in this instance, and killing all Behemoths in an Escalation stage resets the Danger meter outright.
* ''VideoGame/LegendOfLegaia'':
** The fight against Koru. You have four turns to defeat him, and then... BOOM! Koru explodes, vaporizing half the region, dealing [[{{Cap}} 9999 damage]] to each of your characters, and instantly giving you a Game Over.
** Subverted in ''Duel Saga'' with the fight against the Mighty Balken. The fight is played up to be a timed fight against the drawbridge closing. Even if the time runs out, when you defeat Balken, he collapses and the shock of his fall opens the drawbridge and allows for your escape.
* ''VideoGame/StreetsOfRage III'' has this in the final battle if you are on the path to the good ending. You have 3 minutes to beat the FinalBoss. If time runs out, you still have to beat the boss, but you learn afterward that all the bombs in the city went off, getting you a bad ending.

* ''VideoGame/{{Terraria}}'':
** Many bosses have to be defeated before sunrise, or they will run away. Skeletron and Skeletron Prime will [[StalkedByTheBell try to instantly kill you]] instead. The Wall of Flesh will travel from one end of the map to the other as you fight it, and will instantly kill you if it reaches the other side, which has the side effect of the "time limit" being different depending on the size of your world.
** While not exactly a time limit, do be careful to not lure Plantera to the surface or outside of the Underground Jungle. If you do, it won't take kindly to it and rip you to shreds. As of 1.3, the same goes for Duke Fishron if you lure him outside the Ocean.
** The Pumpkin and Frost Moon events have the major boss-level enemies fleeing extremely quickly at 4:30AM, while it is possible to catch lesser mobs remaining as they do not flee as quickly.
* ''VideoGame/ALLTYNEXSecond'' has the the Area 2 midboss, the Omega Javelin, a WaveMotionGun that charges up and blows you and the rest of the human fleet away for a NonStandardGameOver if you don't destroy it in time.
* The battle with the Blacker Baron in ''VideoGame/AnarchyReigns'' becomes one of these in the last leg. When the Baron reaches about 25% health, a cargo plane explodes in mid-air, threatening to squash everyone around it. Failure to beat the Baron in the ensuing time limit will cause an instant mission failure, regardless of remaining tries.
* In the Super NES game ''VideoGame/ThePeaceKeepers'', during the boat stage (The Crazy Horse), you have 60 seconds to destroy the white Orbot. If you don't defeat him in time, then he will sink the ship and escape.
* ''VideoGame/StarWarsTrilogyArcade'': Vader's TIE in the Battle of Yavin, the Wampa in the Battle of Hoth, and the AT-ST in the Battle of Endor part 1 all have a time limit. In the case of Vader's TIE, failing to neutralize him will result in a loss of bonus points. In the case of the latter two, failing to destroy them results in failing the stage, which doesn't cause a GameOver (that will probably be caused by life loss instead) but instead deprives you of score and shield bonuses.
* ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamOrigins'': During the final battle, [[spoiler:TN-1!Bane must be defeated within 10 minutes. Otherwise, the TN-1 takes full effect and he will you instantly if he gets in an attack.]]
* ''LetsPlay/TwitchPlaysPokemonCrystal'' imposed this on [[FinalBoss Red]]. Once the viewers got to Red, they had 7 days (though unlimited retries) to successfully defeat him. Failure would've resulted in the ''LetsPlay/TwitchPlaysPokemon'' admin refusing to start ''LetsPlay/TwitchPlaysPokemonEmerald''. The viewers won, allowing ''Emerald'' to take place.
* The 'FinalBoss' of ''VideoGame/ShadowrunReturns: [[ExpansionPack Dragonfall]]'' is an encounter to [[spoiler:goad TheDragon to fight you personally so you can kill him, take his key-card, and initiate emergency shutdown on the BigBad's doomsday weapon]] with a ten combat round time limit. Fortunately, Deckers (or just diverting characters towards physically interfering) pauses the countdown.

* ''VideoGame/UnderDefeat'' puts every endboss on a timer. You get 1,000 points for each whole second left on the clock once the boss is defeated.
* Fighting [[BigBad Master Contra's]] second-to-last form in ''[[VideoGame/{{Contra}} Neo Contra]]'' if you have an A or S rank has you trying to take out the boss by shooting his cores with lock-on weapons in 30 seconds. Failure to do so will result in an instant GameOver.
* All bosses in ''VideoGame/ClickerHeroes'' are like this. There's a 30 second timer that counts down, and if the boss isn't beaten by then it regenerates.
* In ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireII'', the fight against Trubo has to be completed within three rounds—Trubo even [[HeKnowsAboutTimedHits gives the exact number of turns you have]]. Further [[ThatOneBoss complicating]] things is that it's a DuelBoss...with a party member you may not have been using...past a PointOfNoReturn...at the beginning of ThatOneLevel.
* An inversion occurs a few times in ''VideoGame/LufiaTheLegendReturns''. Certain boss battles end automatically after three turns, but don't result in a loss if time runs out. In fact, beating the boss within that time limit gets you powerful unique equipment.
* ''VideoGame/{{Destiny}}'':
** The game typically gives its Raid bosses special "enrage timers", forcing players to kill them before they activated. The first one would constantly summon [[DemonicSpiders Praetorians]] to attack the players when the Enrage timer activated, while the second one would constantly spam the Oversoul, which would quickly result in a TotalPartyKill. To make matters worse, the latter was preceded by an FlunkyBoss whose [[BrownNote Liturgy of Death]] would do the same thing. Later Raids would introduce even more bosses with even more Enrage Timers, most of which would boil down to the same thing, but a few (like Golgoroth) could be surmounted and the boss killed, albeit with great difficulty.
** On a lesser scale the ''Kill Target'' Public Events which have both a countdown timer and (if all players are dead or the enemy is sufficiently injured) the enemy will run away through a series of checkpoints and escape. If they reach the final checkpoint they disappear and you fail.
* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorldPiranhaIsland'': The first phase of the Piranha Wizard battle in Piranha Castle involves dodging projectiles from him and his cronies for 70 seconds.
* ''VideoGame/PaperMarioColorSplash'':
** The final battle does this differently, where you have at least 11 turns to defeat the FinalBoss. [[spoiler:"At least" because the turn count only drops whenever Mario blocks attacks using Huey; Black Bowser's attacks all have a Life Drain attribute, which allows him to replenish all the health he lost since his last turn, and this effect is negated whenever Huey blocks an attack, since he was designed explicitly to contain the same black paint that Bowser uses in his attacks. Should Huey break before Bowser's final attack is absorbed, the battle becomes unwinnable.]]
** Larry will kill you if he does not go down in 10 turns.
* [[spoiler:Remi]] from ''VideoGame/FarawayStory'' manages to combine this with MarathonBoss. She has quadruple digit magic resistance and decently high physical defense, in addition to abilities like reflecting 25% of physical attacks, regeneration, and a SuperMode that increases her defenses further. The player characters are in a hurry, so they establish a time limit of 10 minutes to beat her before resorting to a backup plan.
* ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'':
** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIII'': The first wish from Xenlon only requires that you beat him. In order to get a second wish, however, you have to beat him in 25 turns. Every wish after that requires you to beat him in only 15 turns.
** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVI'' has a SecretEnding where defeating the BonusBoss within a set number of turns results in him not only acknowledging your superiority, but also unleashing a complete and utter CurbStomp on the FinalBoss, laughing all the while. Of course, if you're leveled to the point where you can beat him that fast, said FinalBoss isn't exactly difficult either.
* {{Downplayed|Trope}} with the {{Final Boss}}es of ''[[VideoGame/FatalFrameIICrimsonButterfly Project Zero 2: Wii Edition]]''; they're not ''actually'' timed, but how fast or slow it takes to beat them (along with whether or not you fulfilled other conditions beforehand) determines which of the game's MultipleEndings you get.

* ''Videogame/{{Hearthstone}}'' contains a few adventure bosses who, if you don't beat them in certain number of turns, begin spamming combos and cards that are guaranteed to end you.
* In the post-release content update of ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddysWorld'', you only have three minutes to kill Chica's Magic Rainbow before she goes ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill on your party. And she launches smaller versions of herself that kill in a single hit and is one of the biggest {{Jerkass}}es in modern gaming history.
* In ''VideoGame/NierAutomata'', [[spoiler:Emil]] can be fought as a level 99 BonusBoss. Twice. The first time is set to his trademark jingle, and if you haven't beaten him by the time the piece ends, he fires off a OneHitKill {{EMP}}. This can come completely out of the blue, especially after a couple of defeats, if you fail to recognize the not exactly obvious connection between the music and the end of the battle. The second, much more difficult ([[GuideDangIt and well-hidden]]) battle then gives you ten seconds to finish him off during a specific phase of the fight. Failing to do so unlocks one of the game's [[MultipleEndings almost 30 endings]], described as [[spoiler:Emil]]'s self-destruct system [[EarthShatteringKaboom blowing up the whole planet]].
* In the original ''VideoGame/StarSoldier'', if you take too long to defeat any of the end-level Star Brains, they escape, forcing you to start the entire level over.
* In ''VideoGame/BoxxyQuestTheGatheringStorm'', Wolfram BETA has a self-destruct timer of five minutes. If you can’t shut it down before then, it'll explode and wipe out the whole party, along with the enormous airship you’re fighting on.
* In ''VideoGame/AHatInTime'', halfway through the Conductor/DJ Grooves boss fight, the boss straps a bomb to you and gives you 80 seconds to damage them enough before the other director can disarm it. It shows up again in the Death Wish version when you fight the two directors [[DualBoss at the same time]], except you now have 3 minutes to end the fight.
* ''VideoGame/DisgaeaD2ABrighterDarkness'': Episode 8 ends with a boss fight against the Krichevskoy Group's chosen warrior, Barbara, as they attempt to hole themselves up in a specially made bunker [[ItMakesSenseInContext to escape the encroaching Yuie Flowers spreading across the Netherworld.]] Unfortunately, the magical systems keeping the bunker operating begin breaking down, giving the player 5 turns to defeat her team. Exceeding this time limit will trigger the BadEnd known as "The Collapse of the Netherworld".
* Bomb-kun, the fourth opponent in ''VideoGame/{{Teleroboxer}}'' is a bomb robot that proudly displays a 50-second time limit on its chest, so, unlike most opponents where you can go up to five rounds of fight, this one will blow up once its timer is done and it counts as a loss for you. When the timer gets to ten seconds, it will even stop fighting and just stay there with its arms outstretched while the timer starts sputtering menacingly and loudly beeping for each second passed.

* ''VideoGame/SakuraWars'':
** In ''VideoGame/SakuraWars1996'', the chapter 2 battle will consist of the demons trying to attack Tokyo Tower. If the demons aren't destroyed fast enough in chapter 2, they will destroy the tower and force you to restart the level.
** In ''VideoGame/SakuraWars2ThouShaltNotDie'', Kasha sets up a bomb with Orihime and Ogata trapped in the house where the bomb is located. If you don't destroy it in time, [[spoiler:Orihime and Ogata will be killed, forcing you to restart the level]]. Later, if you take too long to kill Tsuchi-gumo aboard the ''Mikasa'', [[spoiler:she enters the central vent and kills everyone aboard instantly]]. Taking too long to protect the seven ''Mikasa'' engines will also end with the [[spoiler:the ship exploding]].
** In chapter 7 of ''VideoGame/SakuraWarsSoLongMyLove'', the mooks launch an assault on the Littlelip Theater. If all of the generators aren't destroyed fast enough, [[spoiler:the theater's barrier will be obliterated and will trigger an immediate game over]]. Later, if you take too long to protect the ''Ahab'''s engines from the demons, [[spoiler:the ship will be destroyed, killing everyone instantly]].
* ''VideoGame/{{Frantic}} 3'': Each boss has a short time limit, to prevent stalling and let you beat them without weapons.
* Technically, ''all'' bosses in ''VideoGame/KingdomOfLoathing'' are timed bosses, considering that you instantly lose if you don't defeat the monster after 30 turns. However, a few bosses have either shorter time limits, or an attack that get constantly stronger each round. On the other hand, the limit resets if the boss has multiple forms, and the [[FinalBoss Naughty Sorceress]] gives you 50 turns per form.
* In ''VideoGame/DiceyDungeons'', Cornelius is a late-game enemy who has one single move: Nightmare, which has a massive Countdown[[note]]Using dice on the move decreases the counter, amount carries over until activated[[/note]] of 99, but deals an equally massive ''99'' damage, in a game where almost everything deals single digit damage. He also rolls an extra die each turn, so the longer he lives, the faster he can reduce the counter.
* In the arcade game ''VideoGame/WarriorsOfFate'', the final boss, Akkila Orkhan (a fictional version of Cao Cao) is pathetically easy to kill with only a small health bar and a minor thrown bomb attack. However if you don't kill him within the fifteen second time limit he escapes and you get the BadEnding.

** King Bob-omb in ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiPaperJam'' also counts. You have four (three in the Boss Battle Ring) minutes to defeat it, or he'll explode for massive damage and wipe out your entire party (even if you reach the AbsurdlyHighLevelCap!). However, you can add one minute to the timer by successfully countering one of its attacks.

* In ''VideoGame/OverBlood'', the final boss is timed due to a SelfDestructMechanism, and you do still have to [[spoiler:fight it again and again as it follows you]].

* In ''VideoGame/NeopetsTheDarkestFaerie'', you only have three minutes to defeat the titular final boss. This is not helped by the fact you must first break her shield.

* In ''VideoGame/AHatInTime'', halfway through the Conductor/DJ Grooves boss fight, the boss straps a bomb to you and gives you 80 seconds to damage them enough before the other director can disarm it. It shows up again in the Death Wish version when you fight the two directors [[DuelBoss at the same time]], except you now have 3 minutes to end the fight.

* ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamOrigins'': During the final battle, [[spoiler:TN-1!Bane must be defeated within 10 minutes. Otherwise, the TN-1 takes full effect and he becomes impossible to defeat.]]

** In ''VideoGame/KirbysAdventure'', you battle Nightmare's first form while ''[[AutoScrollingLevel falling from space]]''. If you don't kill the star orb quickly, he flies away (off of the scrolling screen) and you die by smashing into the ground.

** In ''VideoGame/KirbyPlanetRobobot'', the third phase of the FinalBoss involves it slowly counting down from 5 (which it utilises as an attack). Once it reaches "GO!", it launches several "FATAL ERROR" screens towards the camera that are so deadly that they bring a full health bar to ''one point'' (anything lower, and you're done for). You can avoid them, however, and if you manage to survive, it begins the countdown anew.

* In ''VideoGame/DiceyDungeons'', Cornelius is a late-game enemy who has one single move: Nightmare, which has a massive Countdown[[notes]]Using dice on the move decreases the counter, amount carries over until activated[[/notes]] of 99, but deals an equally massive ''99'' damage, in a game where almost everything deals single digit damage. He also rolls an extra die each turn, so the longer he lives, the faster he can reduce the counter.

** The series' BigBad and FinalBoss at the end of ''Zero 4''. You only have ''two'' minutes to beat Sigma.

* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVI'' has a SecretEnding where defeating the BonusBoss within a set number of turns results in him not only acknowledging your superiority, but also unleashing a complete and utter CurbStomp on the FinalBoss, laughing all the while. Of course, if you're leveled to the point where you can beat him that fast, said FinalBoss isn't exactly difficult either.

** In ''VideoGame/SakuraWars1996'', the chapter 2 battle will consist of the demons trying to attack Tokyo Tower. If the demons aren't destroyed fast enough in chapter 2, they will destroy the tower ce you to restart the level.

* ''Manga/OnePiece'': In the Dressrosa arc, [[spoiler:Donquixote Doflamingo becomes this when he starts making the Birdcage (A giant dome of RazorFloss of doom, for the uninitiated) shrink and close down; If Luffy doesn't defeat him in an hour, the Birdcage will close and slaughter everyone but Doflamingo and his crew.]]