History Main / WarmupBoss

-->--'''Music/TheAdventuresOfDuaneAndBrandO'''; ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6L9bUouDr8 MegaMan 2]]''

In RolePlayingGames, the WarmUpBoss might mark the first time the player has to pay attention to things like elemental match-ups or healing. In [[ActionGame action games]], you may have to do a little dodging or defending instead of just straightforward attacking.

* The "Rogue Jedi" [[spoiler:(actually Kento Marek, the father of the main character)]] serves this kind of role in ''VideoGame/TheForceUnleashed'', as you're controlling Darth Vader himself during their battle.
* The first mission of ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry4'' uses the series' main character, Dante, as a warm-up boss for the new playable character, Nero. Especially in the lower difficulty modes, Dante has a limited moveset, and is less aggressive as a testament of being the tutorial boss. Subverted in the harder difficulty modes where he has full access to his arsenal of weapons ([[GameplayAndStorySegregation even when he doesn't acquire the majority of them until later in the game]]), and is obviously harder to beat. The difficulty spike in Dante Must Die mode also makes Dante a WakeUpCallBoss to players who still expect him to play just like a tutorial boss.
* In ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry5'', the Qliphoth Roots fight in Mission 1 simply serves as a way for players to familiarize themselves with the dodging controls and the [[EXSpecialAttack Exceed]] mechanic for Nero. The boss is just stationary, its attacks aren't difficult to evade, and it has a low health gauge compared to the bosses that you're gonna be dealing with later on.

* ''[[VideoGame/ExtrapowerGiantFist EXTRAPOWER Giant Fist]]'': J. Gargon might not be the first boss, but he's still early in the game and forces the player to learn how to dodge or repel rapid-fire attacks.

** The Armos Knights in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast''. Though there are six of them, all you have to do against them is shoot them with arrows until they die (although the last one left does TurnRed, literally).
** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'', the first boss, Gohma, is a complete pushover. The battle mainly serves to teach the player that the usual strategy for bosses is to AttackItsWeakPoint.
* ''Franchise/OnePiece''

* ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'' has a fair few. The giant bat is the most common, but Arthroverta in ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaOrderOfEcclesia'' is significantly easier than almost every boss in the game. It's easier than the first boss of ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaPortraitOfRuin'' [[WakeUpCallBoss to say the least]], especially as ''Ecclesia'' is a fair bit harder overall.
** The version of the aforementioned giant bat from the original ''VideoGame/{{Castlevania}}'' is notable in that he only qualifies for this trope because the game is nice enough to hand you the axe subweapon a couple screens before the fight. Without the axe, he's a significant challenge, as the only time he's within attack range is when he's swooping down to crash into you. The axe's high trajectory lets you hit him while he's flying overhead, and makes the fight a cakewalk.
* Dracula has this status in the ActionPrologue of ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight''. His attacks are telegraphed and easily countered, and Richter is much more agile than he was in ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaRondoOfBlood''. And if you still manage to lose, Maria will arrive to bail Richter out.

* [[PlantPerson Red Durathor]] from ''[[VideoGame/{{Boktai}} Boktai 2: Solar Boy Django]]'' has a variant of this. About half-way through the game, you become a vampire, lose all your original powers, and gain a slew of dark-based ones. Durathor is specifically designed to be vulnerable to each and every one[[note]]Change into a mouse to dodge her spines, change into a bat to see which pod she is hiding in, change into a wolf to bite her from behind and cancel her hard-to-dodge attack, and use darkness element to deliver the blows in between[[/note]] to test if you've figured out how to use them. She ''is'' beatable without them, but falls clearly into ThatOneBoss if you try it.

* ''VideoGame/{{Terranigma}}'' has the several early battles against Huballs or Cadets, which barely even count as bosses. At the end of the first section of the game (in the last of the 5 towers), Ark faces off against the first ''real'' boss, Shadow Keeper (a giant demonic scorpion...thing). Depending on how much the player has levelled up at this point, Shadow Keeper may be anything from a WakeUpCallBoss to a Warm-Up Boss. If your player is say, level 5 or below, he's a WakeUpCallBoss (and will most likely kill you slowly). If you're level 6-8, he'll be a regular boss. If you're level 9 or more, he's a Warm-Up Boss who you'll easily trounce.

* In ''VideoGame/BatenKaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean'', the first boss fight is the laughable Saber Dragon in Moonguile Forest. Even if you haven't gotten the hang of the card-based battle system, the dragon doesn't hit hard at all and has a crippling weakness to light and water. Granted, almost immediately afterwards it's followed up by the [[EarlyBirdBoss Lord of the Spring]]...
* Shadow Yosuke from ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}'' is your introduction to general bossfight 101, involving using attacks and guards in response to the boss's behavior to bring him down.
* ''VideoGame/{{Persona 5}}''
** Shadow Kamoshida is made into as much of a HateSink as possible so the player will want to take him down. While Kamoshida has so much health that a player can't just brute force their way through, the mechanics introduced that get around this are still very straightforward. All of the strategies required to beat him are very clear (and the characters even spell them out during in-game dialogue), Kamoshida can't hit any party member's weakness, and the method to soften him up doesn't take that long. However, it does teach players about how major boss fights aren't going to be straightforward slugfests, about how they might have to deprive themselves of a party member for a while with special actions, and that managing party health is crucial.
** Shadow Madarame, the second major boss fight. This battle requires a player to manage not only their party line-up, but type weaknesses of both the enemies and their characters. Madarame starts as four portraits, each with its own set of weaknesses and elements that it absorbs as HP, meaning a player can't just use one catch-all technique to beat him. And he'll often use his own unique ability to make a party member weak to everything, which forces a player to manage an enemy getting more turns.

** Bowser in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG'', though it's virtually impossible to lose against him. The Hammer Brothers could be seen as this also.

* ''VideoGame/EarthBound1994'' has the fight with Starman Jr., where Buzz Buzz does all the work for you. However, it teaches you that enemies have abilities that you need to counter, about the rolling HP system, and how shields work.
* ''VideoGame/Mother3'':
** The game has something like this in the form of the Mole Cricket, the only enemy you fight in the prologue. Nicely subverted/{{lampshade|Hanging}}d in that he comes back toward the end of the game, demanding a rematch, but [[VillainForgotToLevelGrind his stats are exactly the same]].
** The Reconstructed Caribou you fight early in the first chapter is also a fairly easy boss, unless you've been avoiding fights. As he's incredibly vulnerable to Duster's Wall Staples technique, he mostly exists to teach the player that all those "{{Useless Useful Spell}}s" like buffs, debuffs, and inflicting status ailments that are typically worthless in [=RPGs=] are, in fact, not only useful but necessary in this game.

* Napstablook in ''{{VideoGame/Undertale}}'' has easy to avoid attack patterns when they aren't wasting turns by apologizing, and the method to spare them is easy to figure out.

* Petey Piranha in ''[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBros Super Smash Bros. Brawl: The Subspace Emissary]]''. His attacks are slow, easily dodged, obviously telegraphed and he has three ''gigantic'' hitboxes. You also fight him as Kirby, which means that you can just get up in his face and deliver a continuous stream of pummeling during the fight. Once you know his painfully predictable pattern, it's very easy to [[FlawlessVictory not take a single percentage point of damage]] during the curbstomping you give him.

* Nine-Toes in ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}''. Even first-time players tend to finish him off pretty quickly, though his pet skags can be troublesome.
* Knuckle Dragger in ''Videogame/{{Borderlands 2}}'' is simply a big bullymong surrounded by smaller bullymongs that you deal with before you even get your Action Skill.

* ''VideoGame/BanjoKazooie'': In ''Banjo-Tooie'', the first of three not-so-difficult fights with [[GoldfishPoopGang Klungo]] happens before even entering the HubLevel.

* Rollanratl in ''VideoGame/WarioLandShakeIt!'' is a Warm-Up Boss for anyone playing the game, with relatively easy to dodge attacks, and his main attack doing no actual damage. As is Spoiled Rotten in ''VideoGame/WarioLand4'', except when you have to kill it in 15 seconds on Super Hard mode.

* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' games all have a habit of throwing some EliteMooks at you for CannonFodder, then throwing a gunfight against a boss at you to where just blindly mashing the fire button will get you steamrolled and you instead need the games quirkier gun tactics to win:

* In the ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' FanGame ''VideoGame/YourBizarreAdventure'', Leaky Eye Luka is the first major boss the player fights in the story mode. He has no [[FightingSpirit Stand]], which significantly limits his moveset and makes him fairly easy to fight. In fact, he's not much more powerful than the guards at the very beginning of the game.

* ''VideoGame/EarthBound'' has the fight with Starman Jr., where Buzz Buzz does all the work for you. However, it teaches you that enemies have abilities that you need to counter, about the rolling HP system, and how shields work.

* The first mission of ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry4'' uses the series' main character, Dante, as a warm-up boss for the new playable character, Nero. Especially in the lower difficulty modes, Dante has a limited moveset, and is less aggressive as a testament of being the tutorial boss. Subverted in the harder difficulty modes where he has full access to his arsenal of weapons ([[GameplayAndStorySegregation even when he doesn't acquire the majority of them until later in the game]]), and is obviously harder to beat. The difficulty spike in Son of Sparda mode and above also makes Dante a WakeUpCallBoss to players who still expect him to play just like a tutorial boss.

* ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry4'' uses the series' main character, Dante, as a warm-up boss for the new playable character, Nero. Subverted in the 2nd fight with him, where he becomes harder to beat, and even more in the harder difficulties, where he has full access to his arsenal of weapons and will gladly use them in BOTH battles, [[GameplayAndStorySegregation even when he doesn't acquire the majority of those weapons until later in the game]], thus turning him into ThatOneBoss. He also becomes a WakeUpCallBoss to the players that come from Devil Hunter Mode into Son of Sparda Mode thinking that he'll be as easy as ever in the first mission, until he starts using weapons like Pandora and Gilgamesh to attack you.

'''Mega Man:''' ''One shot from my arm cannon, [[{{Pun}} your power's a "steel"]] - '''DEAD.'''''

->''"You're about to face your first real challenge. I hope you've toughened up enough."''
-->-- '''The "Guardian Angel"''', ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}''

* ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry 4'' uses the series' main character, Dante, as a warm-up boss for the new playable character, Nero. Subverted in the 2nd fight with him, where he becomes harder to beat, and even more in the harder difficulties, where he has full access to his arsenal of weapons and will gladly use them in BOTH battles, [[FridgeLogic even when he doesn't acquire the majority of those weapons until later in the game]], thus turning him into ThatOneBoss. He also becomes a WakeUpCallBoss to the players that come from Devil Hunter Mode into Son of Sparda Mode thinking that he'll be as easy as ever in the first mission, until he starts using weapons like Pandora and Gilgamesh to attack you.

** ''VideoGame/MegaManX'': Each game has an "intro level" with a fight against this kind of bosses. They're big, slow and easy targets with simplistic attacks. The exception is the very first game's intro boss, Vile, who's a HopelessBossFight instead. The sixth game gives a combo of both: After you fight a giant, berserking construction robot, you meet one of the main villains, High Max, who you literally can't harm - he'll just fight you for a few seconds and then go away.
** ''VideoGame/MegaManZero'' follows the trend, though PlayedWith when it gets to ''VideoGame/MegaManZero3'': In that game, the first boss (Omega) follows the trend, but he's also the ''FinalBoss'', with the first stage of the latter fight just being a beefed-up version of the beginning battle with a PaletteSwap, more health, upgraded faster moves and one entirely new technique. Weil [[LampshadeHanging admits Omega's just been holding back his true power]], and gives him the all-clear to [[OneWingedAngel kick it into high gear]]. [[spoiler:[[BishonenLine Twice.]]]]

* Napstablook in ''{{VideoGame/Undertale}}'' has easy to avoid attack patterns when he isn't wasting turns by apologizing, and the method to spare him is easy to figure out.

** Whispy Woods is the first boss in almost every ''Kirby'' game (except ''VideoGame/KirbyAndTheAmazingMirror'', where he's replaced by [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute King Golem]], who's basically a reskin with the ability to summon [[GiantMook Golems]]). He's completely stationary, most of his attacks can be avoided simply by ''standing right next to him,'' and his only really dangerous attack is to drop apples. In the [[NewGamePlus Extra Mode]] of ''VideoGame/KirbysDreamLand'', though, he can drop ''[[SpikesOfDoom Gordos]].'' Notably, many later games add twists and variations to his fight to catch veterans off-guard, such as Twin Woods in ''VideoGame/KirbySuperStar'', his ability to inhale and chew players in ''VideoGame/KirbysReturnToDreamLand'' (nailing people who think standing next to him and whaling away will still work), and the considerably more mobile [[VideoGame/KirbyTripleDeluxe Flowery Woods]] and [[VideoGame/KirbyPlanetRobobot Clanky Woods]], but in all cases are still easier than bosses later in the game, so they still fit this trope.

*** Poppy Bros. Sr., a [[KingMook giant version]] of the Poppy Bros. Jr. enemies, and generally the first one encountered in esrly games. His battle strategy is very simple: he'll jump back and forth in place, occasionally throwing a slow, easily-dodged CartoonBomb at Kirby, and dashing towards Kirby or jumping to the other side of the arena after throwing a few bombs. He also has low HP for a miniboss; two to three of his own bombs or a few attacks from most [[PowerCopying copy abilities]] will kill him. In ''VideoGame/KirbysDreamLand'', Poppy is the first enemy to have a noticeably different pattern on [[NewGamePlus Extra Game]], introducing the idea of bosses becoming much more threatening in this mode without being too much of a challenge.

** The most famous one is the GreenHillZone boss in the Genesis version of ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog1'', Eggman wielding a wrecking ball (Egg Mobile-H, often [[FanNickname nicknamed]] the Checker Wrecker). It's very predictable and easy to avoid, and often pops up in later games to fill the same role.

** The Egg Mobile-D from Emerald Hill Zone in ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2''. It's no wonder why [[LetsPlay Cybershell]] [[FanNickname dubbed it the "Pathetic-Mobile"]]. A more commonly heard nickname for it is [[FanNickname Stupid Little Drill Tank]].

** Winston Payne fills this role as the first prosecutor you face in the first four games of the series, making his reputation as a "rookie killer" an InformedAbility. The fifth and sixth games replace him with his brother Gaspen, who's meaner but just as pathetic, and the first case of ''VisualNovel/TheGreatAceAttorney'' is prosecuted by the Paynes' slightly more competent ancestor Taketsuchi Auchi.

* ''VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}} has two options; the Cleric Beast (technically optional, but blocks you off from exploring a lot of Yharnam) and Father Gascoigne (mandatory). The first introduces you to the frantic and highly aggressive nature of ''Bloodborne'' combat, while the second teaches you about phases and to expect monstrous transformations, as well as giving you a harsh demonstration of how a Hunter's story will usually end.

** If the player [[SkippableBoss skips Paimon by killing the possessed man]], the Aberration would count as this. Its giant cleaver is a slow and easily-telegraphed attack that can be avoided by either moving and keeping away, or by crouching at a short distance in front of it.

** ''VideoGame/SilentHill1'': The Split Head is just a tutorial battle that teaches the player that unlike other SurvivalHorror games like ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'', you can actually move and shot at the same time.

* When it comes to minibosses, the ''Franchise/{{Kirby}}'' series has Mr. Frosty. His battle tactic consists entirely of running forwards and tripping. After getting up, he fires an incredibly-slow block of ice. Then, he restarts the pattern. Later ''Kirby'' games give Mr. Frosty more attacks, but is generally still an easy miniboss to defeat in those games.
** Whispy Woods is the first boss in almost every ''Kirby'' game (except ''VideoGame/KirbyAndTheAmazingMirror'', where he's replaced by [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute King Golem]], who's basically a reskin with the ability to summon [[GiantMook Golems]]). He's completely stationary, most of his attacks can be avoided simply by ''standing right next to him,'' and his only really dangerous attack is to drop apples. In the [[NewGamePlus Extra Mode]] of ''VideoGame/KirbysDreamLand'', though, he can drop ''[[SpikesOfDoom Gordos]].''
*** Notably, many later games add twists and variations to his fight to catch veterans off-guard, such as Twin Woods in ''VideoGame/KirbySuperStar'', his ability to inhale and chew players in ''VideoGame/KirbysReturnToDreamLand'' (nailing people who think standing next to him and whaling away will still work), and the considerably more mobile [[VideoGame/KirbyTripleDeluxe Flowery Woods]] and [[VideoGame/KirbyPlanetRobobot Clanky Woods]], but in all cases are still easier than bosses later in the game, so they still fit this trope.

** For added fun, to make this fight absolutely impossible to lose, obtain and hang onto the flame sword. Draw the sword and turn around so that the blade is touching the N-Z. Death in about five seconds.

* In order to win your first PlotCoupon in ''VideoGame/MushroomMen'', you are thrown into a miniature "[[InevitableTournament tournament]]" against a larger mushroom man, whom you must defeat. The hero, Pax, is... [[DeadpanSnarker really, really confused and a little annoyed about]] [[GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere having to fight someone out of the blue.]]

* ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes3''
** Mr Black Hole spends most of the battle awkwardly shuffling while occasionally using his black holes to do a telegraphed, easy to dodge attack. Even after escaping to an outer dimension and forcing Travis to summon his mini mecha armor, he's still a pushover.

* VideoGame/{{Thumper}}: A triangular boss appears at the start of multiple levels to introduce a new gimmick.

* In ''VideoGame/Haven2020'', the first boss fight, against the Bigufurai, introduces Duo attacks, which are the only way to significantly weaken it. Likewise, the second boss, Nokk, has an armored weak point that is only briefly exposed after it attacks, so one PlayerCharacter must defend with the DeflectorShields while the other readies an attack for this moment.

* In ''[[VideoGame/BanjoKazooie Banjo-Tooie]]'', the first of three not-so-difficult fights with [[GoldfishPoopGang Klungo]] happens before even entering the HubLevel.
* Most of the ''VideoGame/SpyroTheDragon'' games include one of these. Toasty in Spyro 1 - you have to work hard to get hit in this "battle." Then Crush in Spyro 2 - his fireball attack can be a bit difficult at times, especially when he does three in a row, but one can still easily beat him in less than three minutes. And then we have Buzz in Spyro 3 - for the first half of the battle, he can't even really hurt you unless he knocks you into the lava with his harmless ramming attack, or you mysteriously [[TooDumbToLive forget how to run]] when he rolls after you. You'll be done with him in two minutes - he's so weak that he even comes back later as a mook used by another boss.
* Papu-Papu is the first villain to be fought in ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot(1996)''. He spins around with his staff in his hut, and after he slams it down, you jump on him 3 times (5 in the Japanese and N-Sane Trilogy version) to beat him.
* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfSpyro: The Eternal Night'', the first boss, the Assassin, is an easy battle that you'll be done with in three minutes tops, and eventually battles with ordinary Dreadwing enemies will emulate this boss.