Line #85 Main/EscapeSequence


1	->''"The SA-X is mimicking you at full power. You can't face it. If you see the SA-X, just run. Don't think about fighting... [...] Stay away. If you see it, just run."''
2	-->-- '''AI Commanding Officer''', ''VideoGame/MetroidFusion''
3
4	A particular form of GimmickLevel in which the player is faced with an enemy they can't defeat, and [[RunOrDie must flee from them]]. Often this enemy will reappear from time to time, prompting another Escape Sequence. Frequently, especially if the enemy has made repeat appearances, they will appear as a boss toward the end of the game, in some situation where the player can now defeat them.
5
6	Compare the AdvancingBossOfDoom, in which a BossBattle begins with the player unable to fight the boss and having to flee, but after a certain amount of running, something will shift the balance of power, allowing the player to turn the tables and finish the job. Not to be confused with CollapsingLair, which usually occurs at the end of games, and basically requires you to get out of the VeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon alive after defeating the boss.
7
8	See also: IndyEscape, AdvancingWallOfDoom.
9	----
10	!!Examples
11
12	* At the end of ''VideoGame/ThirtyXX'', the player must escape from an undefeatable enemy.
13	* ''VideoGame/AceCombat5TheUnsungWar'' has a mission in which, after you and your squadron are framed for treason, you escape execution by stealing a group of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BAE_Systems_Hawk BAE Systems Hawk]] training jets. {{Justified\|Trope}} in that you ''could'' trash your pursuers if you wanted--let's be honest, you're the [[RedBaron Demons of Razgriz]]--but you've been falsely accused and are only trying to escape and exonerate yourself, not commit fratricide.
14	* ''VideoGame/AdvanceWars: Day Of Ruin'' has a mission where you have to get an [[LuckBasedMission AI controlled]] unit to the far left of the screen and escape.
15	* A hilarious example in ''VideoGame/AliceMadnessReturns'' where you navigate Queensland while occasionally fleeing from the Executioner who was earlier mentioned to be invincible. Then you reach one point where you face it in a cutscene where the tables are turned. Cue the following OhCrap moment and subsequent literal CurbStompBattle.
16	* In ''VideoGame/{{Anarcute}}'', the level Marmo Street in Anarland consists of a mad dash to the goal while outrunning the unavoidable Brainwash Patrols. They don't have any particular invulnerability, but their sheer numbers against your mere three rioters makes it virtually impossible survive a fight without the cache of batteries at the end of the level.
17	* The first level of ''VideoGame/AnotherWorld'' ends in a 'flee from the boss' sequence.
18	%% Not an example * The in-development ''VideoGame/{{Antonblast}}'' ends each level in Happy Hour, a ''Wario Land 4''-styled sequence where the player character hits a clock-shaped PlungerDetonator and has to race back to the entry elevator before the whole level [[TrashTheSet is blown to smithereens]].
19	* Stage 5 of ''VideoGame/{{Battletoads}}'' for the UsefulNotes/GameBoy had the player running on foot from Brain Damage. Stage 5 of ''Battlemaniacs'' had a MinecartMadness escape from an enemy with a buzzsaw similar to the Clinger Winger stage in the original ''Battletoads'', though that counts more as AdvancingBossOfDoom since you actually fight the Hypno Orb at the end.
20	* There are a few levels in ''VideoGame/BeyondGoodAndEvil'' where Jade has to outrun the Alpha Sections with no chance of retaliation due to their vast combat superiority, especially that part where she infiltrates their HQ and gets away with a few dozens of Pearls.
21	* In ''VideoGame/{{Breakdown}}'', you come face to face with TheDragon, Solus a couple time prior to the actual boss battle. He is completely invincible in these sequences, and will block any punch you happen to throw. Your only choise is to run.
22	* Done very effectively in ''VideoGame/CallOfCthulhuDarkCornersOfTheEarth''.
23	* The Abandoned Mill level in ''VideoGame/CastleCrashers''.
24	* ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot'' ''loves'' this, featuring at least one running-away level (whether from a rolling boulder or a dinosaur or a herd of stampeding jungle creatures), and usually more, in each of the first four games.
25	* In ''VideoGame/DeadSpace'' you're required to run from a genetically enhanced necromorph. Though you are able to chop it up like most enemies in the game, this one regenerates to continue the chase.
26	* The second level of ''VideoGame/DawnOfWarII: Retribution'' for all campaigns sees your heroes being chased by a Baneblade (a tank with no less than ten different weapons systems) that periodically plows its way through the scenery to attack you. It's defeated at the end by killing the targeting cogitators of several heavy turrets nearby, causing them to attack the tank.
27	* ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'':
28	** On Day 6, one stage allows you to escape the Yamanote loop lockdown instead of defeating the enemies. Doing so [[spoiler:results in a NonStandardGameOver in which angels obliterate everyone within the lockdown perimiter and strips all of humanity of their free will]].
29	** One of the Day 7 routes has you escaping the lockdown as a mandatory objective, [[spoiler:with similarly disastrous results in the game's worst ending, with demons taking over the world that turns out to be not much better than the lockdown you just escaped]].
30	* The game of the movie for ''VideoGame/{{Dinosaur}}'' had a Dryptosaurus which one couldn't defeat, and had to trick off the cliff through a highly convoluted maneuver.
31	* ''VideoGame/DivinityOriginalSin'' has a brief sequence in the Luculla Mines, where the Conduit sicks her Death Knights on you. Since the Death Knights are literally indestructible at that point in the game (you only find means to kill them later in the plot), you have to disengage and outrun them until you can use the Flee command. Thankfully, this is quite easy to do, since this particular batch of Death Knights is unfinished and has about half the speed of the regular ones.
32	* The "Rambi Rumble" stage of ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry2DiddysKongQuest'', in which King Zing, the world's boss, chases you to the end of the level.
33	* ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountryReturns'':
34	** Crowded Cavern; even though you can't control your speed to outrun Mama Squeekly, you still have to dodge her attacks as she chases you to the end of the level.
35	** Muncher Marathon has Donkey and Diddy escape from a rapidly-growing swarm of spiders. Touching one of them means [[OneHitKill instant death]].
36	** The end of Crumble Canyon, in which you have to outrun a giant flaming Tiki ball (which [[OneHitKill can kill you in one hit]]) while maneuvering through a series of obstacles.
37	* ''[[VideoGame/EccoTheDolphin Ecco the Dolphin:Defender of the Future]]'' had a level where the titular dolphin had to outswim an enormous [[PsychoElectricEel electric eel]].
38	* ''VideoGame/EnterTheMatrix'' did this with the Agents at early levels and with dozens of Smiths as the story went further.
39	* ''VideoGame/FatalFrameII'': When Sae's ghost appears after Mio drops her camera.
40	** Heck, the VideoGame/FatalFrame series in general does this with each BigBad. Most of the game is spent periodically having to flee from them, since there's no way to fight them until the final battle.
41	* Ifrit does this in Eblan and the Tower Of Babil in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIVTheAfterYears'' -- random encounters have a chance of having Ifrit in them, and those that do you had better run the hell away from, [[TotalPartyKill or else.]]
42	* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' has the escape from Ba'Gamman and his crew in the Lhusu Mines. You CAN be overleveled enough to defeat his crew, but it's unlikely (as there's four of them, they hit hard and fast, and have enough HP to out-tank you) and gives no reward aside from an alternate cutscene. It's far easier to run for it.
43	* Escape is an objective in many ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' chapters. It is most common in the 5th game, where [[NintendoHard the enemies give good reason to flee]].
44	* Inverted in ''VideoGame/{{Gradius}}: The Interstellar Assault'' for the UsefulNotes/GameBoy. A boss runs away from ''you'', all the while soaking up your shots until it stops to actually fight back.
45	* ''VideoGame/GuildWars'' has this pop up in several missions.
46	** The Great Northern Wall ends with the party running away from an army of Charr. It's not difficult to outrun, with the only danger being a single spawn of mobs along the way, but the fact that a second group spawns from another spot as you approach your goal makes things more tense.
47	** The final section of Ice Caves of Sorrow is a long winding path the party mush run ahead of a group of Mursaat which is too large to fight. the path is populated with several groups of hostile Iron Summit and White Mantle as well as siege weapons, making constant fighting a necessity.
48	** The introductory quest for ''Eye of the North'' has a timed sequence where the party is pursued by a large number of Destroyers. The only way to escape before the timer ends is to not fight.
49	* Happens a lot in the early chapters of ''VideoGame/HalfLife2''. In the first couple of chapters, Gordon has to flee through tenement buildings, across rooftops and over railway lines. Once he gains the crowbar and clubs a soldier to death for his 9mm, however, he can (mostly) stop running. Later, during the Route Kanal chapter, a Hunter-Chopper makes repeated appearances, forcing Gordon into sewers and similar to escape. Then follows an (amazing) airboat section in which dropships zoom overhead and you flee through the canals. After that, you encounter the Hunter-Chopper again, but are able to engage it in a Boss Battle with your Vort-enhanced pulse rifle. Episode II also has the Hunter-Chopper chase you as you fled in the muscle car. Once you reached the resistance outpost you can put on a clinic hurling the choppers mines back at it.
50	* You run away from a troll in the [=PS1=] version of ''VideoGame/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone''.
51	* In the "Fortress of Kellar" expansion of ''TabletopGame/HeroQuest'' (a board game based on ''TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasy''), one "level" gives the bad guy player (like a GameMaster, except that they're supposed to be ''trying'' to beat the heroes within bounds of the rules) permission to spawn mooks from the entrance every turn after the players get a bit of distance. Given that the only thing limiting the amount of mooks that will spawn is having enough figures, and killed figures become available again, there's no other option than to escape.
52	* ''VideoGame/IndianaJonesAndTheEmperorsTomb'' pits you against one of the main antagonists as he drives a giant drilling machine through the underground labyrinth that leads to the titular tomb. It being immune to damage, the only way to survive is to run from the machine (avoiding the falling sections of the floor) until you finally whip-swing over a chasm and let the machine fall in.
53	* ''VideoGame/JediAcademy'' actually has two, both optional (you have to complete four of five side missions between plot-advancing ones, and do all to level up your Force powers) one where you have to save prisoners from a rancor by drawing it off. You ''can'' technically kill the rancor, but it's a long battle with the constant threat of being instantly killed, and it just respawns instantly in the centre of the level. Then later another sprawling level where a Kaiju-sized invulnerable mutant rancor rampages after you while you desperately fight cultists until you can lure it into a trap and kill it.
54	* Stage 5-5 of ''VideoGame/{{Jumper}} Two'' has Ogmo being chased by [[TheDragon GostBot]] with a relatively huge bouncing... blade? Roller? Boulder? thing. Both [[CollisionDamage kill Ogmo on contact]], but reaching the end results in [[SimultaneousWarningAndAction GostBot kidnapping Ogmo]].
55	* There's a giant bear to run from in ''VideoGame/KaoTheKangaroo: Round 2'', avoiding pits as you go.
56	* A decent number of ''[[VideoGame/LEGOAdaptationGame LEGO Adaptation Games]]'' feature a few level segments where the characters need to escape a threat that can't be directly fought, whether it's a giant monster, a ZergRush of smaller monsters, or an AdvancingWallOfDoom. These segments usually have a few collectables that are easily missable, and you can't try for them again without restarting the level (though more recent LEGO games allow the selection of individual level segments, including chase scenes, so you don't need to replay the ENTIRE level if you miss something).
57	* ''Videogame/MafiaTheCityOfLostHeaven'' has two of those right in the beginning of the game. The very first mission requires Tommy Angelo to drive away from Morello's henchmen and leave them behind, and that's under constant gunfire and in a slower car. The second part of the second mission sees unarmed Tommy running from two pistol-armed thugs through sidestreets to Salieri's bar.
58	* A ''Franchise/MegaMan'' fangame, ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdvJZ2eRzJA Mega Man Scramble]]'', is built on this concept.
59	* In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain'', the first encounter with the [[HumongousMecha Sahelanthropus]] features Snake trying to avoid it and rendezvous with an escape chopper where he'll have the fire power to stop it, all while carting Huey on his back.
60	* The [[GiantEnemyCrab giant hermit crab]] that seems to have been designed by [[TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} Orks]] in ''VideoGame/MetalSlug''.
61	* The ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'' series loves its escape sequences:
62	** ''VideoGame/MetroidFusion'' does this with the SA-X. While the SA-X is generally a HopelessBossFight, [[spoiler:it turns out that your superiors want the SA-X alive, so they tell you to run away from it even when you've gotten strong enough to give a good fight. For your last mission, you have to destroy all the X on the space station by crashing it into SR-388, and the final obstacle on the way to the control room is the SA-X.]]
63	** ''VideoGame/MetroidDread'' heavily advertises this, with seven EMMI robots that are invulnerable to all of Samus's weapons hunting her down. Throughout the game, whenever Samus is in an "EMMI Zone", she must simply avoid and run away from the EMMI until she locates the temporary superweapon that will allow her to break their armor.
64	* Any time you encounter the Ultimate Chimera in ''VideoGame/MOTHER3''. You're explicitly told when you learn about it that engaging it is a very bad idea, and [[TooDumbToLive should you ignore the warning]], [[NonStandardGameOver the game doesn't even bother giving you a chance to defend yourself]].
65	* The ''Literature/NESGodzillaCreepypasta'' has the BigBad, [[EldritchAbomination Red]], chase the player down at the end of every chapter.
66	* ''VideoGame/OriAndTheBlindForest'' in addition to the RiseToTheChallenge sequences in the Ginso Tree and Forlorn Ruins, has two instances of fleeing from the BigBad Kuro. The first is a CorridorCubbyholeRun immediately following the Ruins, the second is while escaping from Mount Horu, which also incorporates a fiery AdvancingWallOfDoom.
67	* In ''VideoGame/OriAndTheWillOfTheWisps'', the giant SandWorm in Windtorn Ruins is the only creature in the game that is never fought directly, only fled from. At the end of the chase, [[SelfDisposingVillain it brings the ceiling down on top of itself]]. The Foul Presence also pursues Ori during the Wellspring escape, but the real threat is the [[AdvancingWallOfDoom Advancing Wall]] [[GiantWallofWateryDoom of Watery Doom]], and it is later fought as a boss when it takes control of Kwolok. The Feeding Grounds have you evade Shriek in a CorridorCubbyholeRun similar to the first game.
68	%%* ''VideoGame/ParasiteEve'': After the FinalBattle versus Ultimate Being.
69	* ''VideoGame/The3rdBirthday'': Anytime the Reaper appears, except for the last time where the soldiers are bringing in The [[EnergyWeapon Berzerkers]]. The BGM is even an arrange of UB's theme.
70	* A giant worm in the first ''VideoGame/{{Penumbra}}'' game acts as a sort of living AdvancingWallOfDoom in one section, completely filling the passage behind you. [[spoiler:You can't outrun it, but not far ahead there's a flimsy support pillar that lets you bring the ceiling down on its head.]]
71	* This happens in almost every level of ''VideoGame/PizzaTower''.
72	** After beating the Pillar John, it appears to just be an ordinary countdown at first, but if you let it run out, the invulnerable Pizza Face appears and chases the player down.
73	** In Wasteyard level, a John Ghost chases the player throughout the majority of the rooms as the player races back to the start of the level.
74	* The Dahaka in ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaWarriorWithin'' pursues the Prince until he reaches water, which the Dahaka [[CannotCrossRunningWater cannot pass through]] (being made of sand). [[spoiler:Notably, the Prince gains the ability to fight the Dahaka only in the [[MultipleEndings good ending]].]]
75	* ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}'' has a lengthy underwater segment where Raz can only flee the JawsFirstPersonPerspective of a monstrous lungfish.
76	* ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'':
77	** The eponymous Nemesis of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil3Nemesis'' practically turns the entire game into this. It can only follow the player so far (usually a room or two) and can be temporarily "killed" nearly every time to cut the chases short. Doing so isn't encouraged (except to get bonus items) thanks to ammo rationing, but still.
78	** ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'':
79	*** There's a giant statue modeled after Salazar that chases you, complete with CollapsingLair and PressXToNotDie.
80	*** During the game's finale, Leon and Ashley have to escape quickly from the military island before it explodes. They flee with quickly driving a motorboat across a subterranean river.
81	** ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil6'' has a few in Jake's campaign. First is the main one which references Nemesis, and similarly isn't defeated until the very end. There's also a minor example involving a tank in the same campaign.
82	* Most all of the boss races of the FreewareGame ''VideoGame/RunmanRaceAroundTheWorld''.
83	* In ''VideoGame/SilentHill2'', Pyramid Head's first couple of appearances involve you (and later, [[EscortMission Maria]]) running away from him.
84	* Near the end of the RescueArc of ''VideoGame/SkiesOfArcadia'', you have to flee from Lord Galcian.
85	* ''VideoGame/{{Slender}}'' is nothing but this trope. The entirety of the game is spent running from the Slender Man while trying to find eight pieces of paper... and for each piece, he gets closer...
86	* "Lair of the Beast" from ''VideoGame/SlyCooperAndTheThieviusRaccoonus''. At the halfway mark, a giant snake monster appears and chases you through the swamp, destroying the path behind you.
87	* Given Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog's [[SuperSpeed main ability]], this naturally shows up in his games several times.
88	** The first level of the Hero Story in ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'' has Sonic running from a large truck piloted by [[CovertGroup G.U.N.]] near the end.
89	** The first stage in ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'', Emerald Coast had Sonic running away from a killer whale as it tears up the docks behind him. Most of [[PluckyGirl Amy]]'s levels involved her evading the evil, [[ImplacableMan nearly invincible]] robot Zero.
90	** ''VideoGame/SonicAndTheSecretRings'' has Sonic chased by three dinosaurs at the start of one world.
91	** Lost Jungle in ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'' had a sequence during the last portion of level where Sonic and Shadow had to swing on vines to escape from a giant crocodile.
92	** Small section of Terminal Velocity Act 1 Stage of ''VideoGame/SonicColors'', is this. Sonic briefly has to outrun a large purple eggbot with lasers.
93	** ''VideoGame/SonicGenerations'' features the return of City Escape and the GUN truck, except that it TookALevelInBadass. Specifically, it now has jet engines, MechaMooks that it can dump on you, and three giant saw blades. There are even a couple of points where it completely destroys houses in its attempt to kill Sonic.
94	* ''VideoGame/SoulNomadAndTheWorldEaters'' had an example of this near the beginning. Only after having your ass handed to you and running away a few times do you get the power to actually kill one of the World Eaters. (Unless you've been through NewGamePlus a few times...). The game also has the level that marks the first appearance of Thornedike. Any decently leveled party however is going to clear this one quite easy.
95	* ''VideoGame/SpiderMan2000'': The final level has you running from [[spoiler:Doc Ock infected with Carnage's symbiote]] through a repetitive set of tunnels. A useless "pressure" meter fills up on the right side of the screen; it serves no purpose as falling too far behind will end with you getting caught and needing to restart the level.
96	* In ''VideoGame/StarcraftIIWingsOfLiberty'', the SecretLevel involves first fighting your way through to a lab with Hybrid in PeopleJars, and then fleeing to the extraction point from one that wakes up. You have no hope of damaging it; at best, you can throw some special grenades to slow the monster down.
97	* ''VideoGame/{{Struggling}}'' has the protagonists Troy and Hector step out of an elevator only to attract the attention of a giant, hungry, guinea pig-like abomination. As they are ConjoinedTwins and a lump of flesh with only two arms, they have to resort to running back into the elevator and slamming the door shut before they're devoured.
98	* Happens in ''VideoGame/BaldursGate'' one when the main character dreams about Sarevok.
99	* ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'':
100	** One of the doors in Baby Bowser's castle in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld2YoshisIsland'' features Tap Tap the Golden chasing you in an insanely annoying [[AutoScrollingLevel auto scrolling area.]]
101	** ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBros'' has the second half of World 8-3, where you are chased by a giant eel underwater.
102	** The prologue of ''VideoGame/LuigisMansion3'' ends with King Boo trying to [[AndIMustScream trap Luigi in a picture frame, just as he did with Mario, Peach and the Toads]]. Since Luigi is defenseless at the moment, all you can do is run to the end of the hallway and escape via falling down a laundry chute. And don't let King Boo catch you, or you'll get a NonStandardGameOver where Luigi gets framed, spending his last moments screaming in terror.
103	** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG'' has the chase to Marrymore Chapel, in which Mario is both chasing and being chased - the villain is in front of him, but the {{Mook}}s are behind him.
104	* ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'' has Mimi. When she transforms at the start of Chapter 2-4, she has an invincible barrier, and you have to flee into a maze. If you stay in one room too long, she suddenly appears there, and "MIMIMIMI..." appears as a warning. Once you find Merlee, however, Mimi traps you in a bathroom. But Merlee casts some sort of spell to remove her invincibility, making her beatable, and an actual fight.
105	%%* ''VideoGame/PaperMario'' has the escape sequence with Tubba Blubba.
106	* It occurs during the 'Ruined Zoo' section of ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl's'' Subspace Emissary, where you run from the Pig King Statue.
107	* At the end of a ''VideoGame/StarshipTroopersExtermination'' mission, players must rush to the extraction dropship before their position is overrun by a swarm of bugs. If they're lucky, it'll just spawn about 100 meters out, making escaping a relative quick walk in the park. Other times, it'll spawn over 600 meters away, making the escape a hellish fight for survival.
108	* In ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'', on your second and third encounters with Undyne, she starts throwing spears at you and you have to run. [[spoiler:Fleeing from her boss fight repeatedly until you reach the second room in Hotland is the only way to win the fight without killing her]].
109	* ''VideoGame/VampireTheMasqueradeBloodlines'' has [[spoiler:The Griffith Park werewolf]], which functions as this trope. You're trapped in a small arena with it for three minutes and have to survive that long, and nothing you do to it will harm it.
110	* ''VideoGame/TheWitchsHouse'': There are few monsters in this puzzle-based game but they are all of this sort, as [[PlayerCharacter Viola]] has no way to fight them. The ending is the best example, where you must escape the physical form of the Witch. This involves running back through a significant section of the house, as well as avoiding obstacles that open up in front of you. The TrueEnding is unlocked by taking a diversion to pick up an item before making it out.
111	* Subverted in ''VideoGame/TheWitcher''. There's one boss (a giant insect queen) who you can't kill in a direct confrontation. The solution? [[spoiler:Run away from it and attack the cavern's support pillars to bring down the ceiling on it.]]
112	* One occurs in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' Wrath of the Lich King patch 3.3, it involves your 5man party plus one AI heroine (Jania Proudmoore for Alliance, Sylvanas for Horde) as you try to escape from the Lich King who keeps creating ice walls that your NPC ally has to destroy as he keeps sending undead minions at you. He can be damaged while advancing, but he has far too much health to be killed within the escape sequence. (Unless you used a bug to lead him in circles in the starting room instead of a planned course. In that case killing him "just" takes ages and he drops nothing.) It is not until the final encounter of the expansion's last raid that you finally fight him head-on. There are also some solo quests where the Lich King appears, and he starts casting [[TitleDrop Wrath of the Lich King]]. Run.
113	* ''VideoGame/ZeroRanger'' has an escape sequence right after the FinalBoss that's impossible to get a game over on. [[spoiler:Your ship makes it out critically damaged and minutes away from failing in the GREEN ORANGE timeline. In the GREAT OPPRESSOR timeline, [[EarnYourHappyEnding you make it out okay]]]].

Context Main / EscapeSequence