Line #63 Main/HighSpeedBattle


1	[[quoteright:360:[[VideoGame/PursuitForce https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ws_pursuit_force_1152x864_1.jpg]]]]
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3	In video games, a High-Speed Battle typically results when the player and an enemy duke it out when rushing at high speeds, either via SuperSpeed abilities, or by having one or both use the vehicle or some other means to propel themselves. Some possible iterations include:
4	* The player chasing the boss, with the intent of stopping them for one reason or another.
5	* The player being chased by the boss, with the intent of escaping.
6	* The player and boss fighting while chased by an AdvancingWallOfDoom in a kind of InterestingSituationDuel.
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8	Not entirely restricted to action games, as many [=RPGs=] will have either sequences or mini-games based around a High-Speed Battle. Also frequently seen in movies. AdvancingBossOfDoom, ChasingYourTail, and CatAndMouseBoss are slower-paced variations.
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10	!!Examples:
11	* ''VideoGame/ParasiteEve'':
12	** There's a boss battle in which you're on a speeding horse-and-carriage, with the boss floating above you shooting laser beams down onto you. Said carriage is very small, and it is very difficult to dodge the beams. Although the actual speed of the carriage doesn't look that fast, just wait until the FMV after the boss battle where it shows you how fast you were ''really'' going.
13	** There's a scene where you leap off of a building to avoid an incoming jet that's about to smash into the rooftop and onto a scaffolding, which plummets to the ground at terminal velocity. Kill the enemies before you hit bottom (so Aya can use the brake), or die indeed.
14	* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'', you're fighting several enemies and a boss whilst you're on a [[MinecartMadness minecart]] escaping from the Magitek factory. Another is the fight against [[AfterlifeExpress Phantom Train]], where your characters are ''fighting a train's locomotive while running away from it, on the railroad tracks''. Oh, and if that wasn't cool enough, Sabin can [[SuplexFinisher suplex it]]. ''While it's trying to run him down.''
15	* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', Cloud hops on a motorcycle while his party jumps into a truck, as they attempt to escape the city of Midgar. This is the second version: Shrina security forces on motorcycles chase after the party in a mini-game, while Cloud slashes them with the Buster Sword. The damage taken by the party during this carries over into a boss fight immediately afterward.
16	* The eighth ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'' game, ''[[VideoGame/TouhouEiyashouImperishableNight Imperishable Night]]'', has a stage in which the scrolling background speeds up immediately following the {{midboss}} fight, causing a rather unsettling change of tempo. If you can ignore the background (which at this point is glowing a frenzied red), all the danmaku is moving at its normal speed, while the background just gives it a feel of moving much faster. It works.
17	* The entire game of ''VideoGame/PursuitForce'' and its sequel, ''Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice'', involves a cop for the eponymous police agency chasing down criminals and killing or arresting them. Rather unique in the implementation, however, as the cop can leap from one vehicle to another with ease while driving as speeds of (usually) at least 150 miles per hour.
18	* In ''[[VideoGame/MegaManLegends Mega Man Legends 2]]'', you have to face off against the Bonnes AND Glyde who join forces to make an armoured battletrain, the Gemeinschaft, which you must destroy while shooting from atop of your own modified train.
19	* ''VideoGame/MetalGear'':
20	** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' ends with Solid Snake escaping the Shadow Moses facility by Jeep, while shooting down pursuing enemies (and, eventually, [[ImplacableMan Liquid Snake]]).
21	** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'' features a callback to this, only [[spoiler:instead of a Jeep, Snake's piloting REX itself, and has to plow through an army of Gekkos to escape.]]
22	** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'': There's a chase involving Snake and EVA escaping an exploding base with enemy soldiers and the BigBad in the Shagohod in hot pursuit.
23	** Yet another ''[=MGS4=]'' chase is a callback to this one, with [[spoiler:EVA, racing through a city on a motorcycle, with Snake covering her from the back seat, as they try to evade and escape Liquid's troops.]]
24	* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'':
25	** The final battle between Sonic and Shadow in ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'' involves them racing on foot along a collapsing walkway.
26	** The first boss of ''[[VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles Sonic and Knuckles]]'' involves chasing Robotnik while dodging spiked ropes. Similarly, the second to last boss involves chasing Robotnik while at the same time trying to outrun the collapsing Death Egg.
27	** Excluding the final boss (which is also arguably one of the easiest bosses in the game for exactly that reason), ''all'' of ''[[VideoGame/SonicAdvanceTrilogy Sonic Advance 2's]]'' bosses are organized like this.
28	** The battle with Metal Sonic in ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehogCD'' is a race.
29	** The fights with the Egg Hawk, Egg Albatross, and Egg Emperor in ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'' are mild examples of this; the Egg Hawk and Egg Emperor will stop for roughly half a minute at certain points on the battle track to launch a stationary assault.
30	** All but one of the bosses in ''VideoGame/SonicAndTheSecretRings'' also work this way. King Arthur in ''Sonic and the Black Knight'' also does this... and [[HypocriticalHumor he calls out Sonic for running away]]?
31	** Pick any Eggman boss in ''VideoGame/SonicUnleashed'' except for the Egg Dragoon, who is the only one fought as the Werehog. For the second variety, any time the Egg Interceptor makes an appearance in the [=PS360=] version (the [=WiiS2=] version uses a mix of the two).
32	** In ''VideoGame/SonicColors'', there's the fight with the Frigates Orcan and Skullian, as well as the final battle with the [[spoiler:Nega-Wisp Armor.]]
33	** The HD version of ''VideoGame/SonicGenerations'' (along with featuring reprises of the Shadow and Metal Sonic fights mentioned above) turns [[VideoGame/SonicUnleashed Egg Dragoon]] and [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006 Silver]] into High Speed Battles, while the 3DS version does it with the [[VideoGame/SonicHeroes Egg Emperor]]... Recent ''[[Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog Sonic]]'' games like this trope a ''lot''.
34	** The final battle of ''VideoGame/SonicLostWorld'' (both versions) involves chasing down [[spoiler:another Eggman mech, similar to the ''Colors'' example above.]]
35	** Every battle fought as Modern Sonic in ''VideoGame/SonicForces'', with the exception of Zavok, is one of those, with Sonic chasing the bosses along a bridge, through a city and [[spoiler:through a version of Null Space.]]
36	* Green's stage in ''VideoGame/GunstarHeroes'' takes place while driving along a mine shaft in a strange insectoid vehicle.
37	* The second boss in ''VideoGame/WarioLandShakeIt!'' is one of these.
38	* One of the stages in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosMelee'' (and reappearing in ''[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl Brawl]]'') is set atop not-to-scale VideoGame/FZero cars mid-race. Just not letting the stage kill you is hard enough!
39	** ''Brawl'' makes this stage hilarious for one reason: Franchise/{{Sonic\|TheHedgehog}} with a Bunny Hood can actually ''outrun the stage.''
40	** Wario-Man (Wario's super form) can also do this on his bike.
41	** The Subspace Emissary in ''Brawl'' features a high speed battle atop Captain Falcon's Falcon Flyer while Meta Ridley is flying behind you trying to take you down. Your character(s) will constantly be pushed to the left by a wind effect throughout the battle. Did we mention that [[TimedMission you have only two minutes to defeat Meta Ridley]]?
42	* ''VideoGame/LaMulana'': The battle against the third area's boss, [[spoiler:Ellmac]], is a high-speed battle with [[spoiler:Ellmac running after Lemeza as Lemeza rolls away from it on a mine-cart]]. Even the battle's music track is called "High-Speed Beast." There's also Bahamut (no, not [[Franchise/FinalFantasy that Bahamut]]), who you fight on a high-speed fish-powered boat, and Palenque, who is an [[UnexpectedShmupLevel Unexpected Shmup Boss]] who you fight in a corridor while dodging DeadlyWalls.
43	* ''VideoGame/RomancingSaGa3'' has a fight where three of your characters must ride atop a skull car in order to attack another skull car that has gone berserk.
44	* This is the climactic end to ''Revenge of Meta-Knight'', one of the games on ''VideoGame/KirbySuperStar''. You hop onto your buddy Wheelie and race to the end of the ship you've been spending the whole game destroying, trying to get off before it crashes into the ocean, whilst Meta-Knight, who you [[LoadBearingBoss just defeated]], turns into... err...[[OneWingedAngel Meta-Bat]] and flies after you, shooting stuff at you to try and kill you. Oh yeah, and it's [[TimedMission timed]] too.
45	* ''VideoGame/{{Contra}}'':
46	** Stage 4 of ''VideoGame/ContraIIITheAlienWars'' sees the heroes riding hoverbikes at breakneck speeds, fighting [[BigBad Red Falcon's]] JetPack-wearing, tank-riding {{Mooks}}. Later on, a massive [[BattleshipRaid air fortress]] catches up, and the soldiers must destroy the artillery emplacements on its belly... after which the battle [[HighAltitudeBattle takes to the skies]] and [[RefugeInAudacity throws all common sense out the window]].
47	** ''VideoGame/ContraHardCorps'' has a lot of these. To name a few, there are stages where you ride hoverbikes on highways and the sea, said hoverbikes can also [[TransformingMecha turn into slightly anthropomorphic robots]] that continue to ''run'' at the same speed they were moving while hovering, and there's a fight on a train including a boss fight with a giant robot that runs ahead of the train and eventually pulls a {{Trainstopping}} move ''while it continues to fight you!'' One particular boss fight has the players running ''on foot'' towards the camera whilst the boss attacks from the background in a robot.
48	** Stage 2 of ''VideoGame/ContraShatteredSoldier'' does homage to both of those; the first half being a reprise of the hoverbike BattleshipRaid, and the second a battle alongside and [[TraintopBattle on top]] a train, ending in a rematch with said giant robot.
49	* ''VideoGame/Police911'' series, being a spinoff to VideoGame/LethalEnforcers1, has all stages in this. You need to TakeCover and return fire in a quick succession in a limited time to avoid getting hit by enemy gunfire. Also, all bosses, despite being CatAndMouseBoss, runs at fast movements.
50	* In ''VideoGame/WildArms3'', they ramped up the movement via Horseback with very little difference to the regular gameplay, and Sandcraft battles that had a few difference in how to attack and such, but still the same basic gameplay.
51	** Moving on horseback had the peculiar but nice effect that you could never be back attacked, or wind up entering the battle with only one character. It also sped up your characters' attack speed slightly, presumably because they themselves weren't running (being on horseback and all), whilst the enemies were.
52	*** It also made the spellcasting animation glitch a little -- the last few frames loop. Still, the first time you realize that, yes, you can enter battle on horseback, it's ''awesome''.
53	* ''VideoGame/ThunderForce II''[='=]s Stage 2-2 has you fly down a highway (with poles that you can crash into if you fly too low), and Stage 4-2 makes you speed through tight corridors.
54	** ''Thunder Force III''[='=]s [[ThatOneLevel Gorgon]] and [[ThatOneLevel Haides]] stages have, roughly halfway through each stage, a high-speed segment. In both cases, it's a chance to grab a particularly rare item (such as a shield or a OneUp), which tends to stay stationary relative to the stage, giving you only a small fraction of a second to grab it.
55	** ''Thunder Force IV''[='=]s stage 1 boss is fought over a lake at high speed.
56	* ''VideoGame/{{Call Of Duty 4\|Modern Warfare}}'' ends with you and your companions escaping a missile launch facility in trucks after destroying two missiles in mid-air, while being chased by an army, including an attack chopper.
57	** Most if not all of the ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' games feature at least one vehicle chase sequence. ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare 2'' just might take the cake, though, with a high-speed snowmobile chase, a unarmed sprint through Rio, a truck chase in an airplane graveyard, ''and'' an insane motorboat chase.
58	* A mission in ''VideoGame/JediAcademy'' consists of you fighting off (or fleeing from, your choice) mercenaries on speeders.
59	* ''VideoGame/Uncharted2AmongThieves'' has an; an extended gunfight taking place in the backs of a dozen speeding trucks -- each one [[EveryCarIsAPinto exploding]] as Nate jumps to the next!
60	* Riding Duels (Turbo Duels in the dub) in ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'' are this as applied to Duel Monsters. Or to put it another way... [[MemeticMutation CARD GAMES]] [[WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries ON MOTORCYCLES]]!
61	* The ''VideoGame/JustCause'' games feature these as a regular occurrence, giving the player the ability to climb about on vehicles and leap on to other ones. And that's to say nothing of the havoc you can wreak with your grappling hook...
62	* The bike levels in ''VideoGame/MusashiSamuraiLegend''.
63	* ''[[VideoGame/EverythingOrNothing James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing]]'': The Pontchartrain Bridge. To wit: You've just destroyed Yayakov's nanobot facility out in the bayou. You notice Jaws hop into a nanobot-filled tanker truck and head out on the freeway (the Bridge) in a last-ditch attempt to carry out Diavolo's plans. What do you do? You hop onto your Q-Bike and give chase, avoiding civilian cars and henchmen in cars and on bikes. All of this in excess of ''200 mph''.
64	* Most of the ''VideoGame/{{Gradius}}'' games contain a "high speed" stage where the screen scrolls twice as fast as normal.
65	* Stage 3 of ''VideoGame/{{Dogyuun}}'' is pretty much this trope for the most part. The music for the stage is even called "High Speed Queen".
66	* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
67	** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'': One approach to the boss battle with Goht is having Link to don the Goron mask and pursue him, [[RammingAlwaysWorks by rolling into him]] at high speed. Goht's running speed increases as he takes damage, so does the speed of his attacks, and the number of obstacles that litter the cavern. The alternative of simply waiting on the side and shooting him with arrows whenever he nears is extremely boring by comparison, but easier.
68	** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'': The second half of the battle with Stallord plays out akin to an on-rails pursuit. Link has to chase him, by using [[BattleTops the Spinner]] to ride the rails lining the arena and the central column. Stallord's speed increases as he takes damage, along with the number of spikes, forcing Link to jump between rails, to avoid them.
69	* In ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance'', Riku's first encounter with the Commantis in [[Film/TronLegacy The Grid]] takes place while he's riding a light cycle and alternates between him chasing it and it chasing him, using the cycle's guns or light ribbons to damage it respectively.
70	* ''VideoGame/{{Action 52}}'': Micro Mike.
71	* The Turbo Tunnel and Clinger Winger levels in ''VideoGame/BattleToads''. Both are {{Scrappy Level}}s, and the latter is {{unwinnable}} with two players.
72	* ''VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising'':
73	** The Air Battle in Chapter 14 has Thanatos and Phosphora transformed into a glowing dragon and lightning bolt respectively duking it out for the first half or so before Phosphora takes Thanatos out. Pit can't actually take pot-shots at them, however.
74	** The fight against the Chariot Master has each of you riding one of the unicorns around the racetrack.
75	* ''VideoGame/JusticeLeagueHeroesTheFlash'' has an unusual variation on the trope; Flash and his ArchEnemy, Zoom, have a high speed battle '''on foot'''. The first part of the boss fight consists of running on water at high speeds with both combatants attempting to loop back around and strike the other from behind.
76	* ''VideoGame/FreedomPlanet'': Two boss battles (none of them the [[FinalBoss final one]], though), have battles likes these styled after those of ''[[VideoGame/SonicAdvanceTrilogy Sonic Advance 2]]''. The first is against [[AxCrazy General]] [[SmugSnake Serpentine]]'s Robo-Panther, and the second is a final match against Syntax with an added laser AdvancingWallOfDoom.
77	* The very first segment of gameplay in ''VideoGame/AstralChain'' has the PlayerCharacter riding their police motorcycle through a tunnel to get to the scene of an emergency, only for enemies to show up, requiring them to use their bike's mounted machinegun and later their rapid-fire pistol to take them out.
78	* ''VideoGame/NoStraightRoads'' features the boss battle against the megastar group 1010 on top of a battleship, which is immediately preceded by a level that involves jumping on flying cars.
79	* In ''VideoGame/TransformersDevastation'', the first phase of Blitzwing's fight involves the Autobots fighting him while driving across the bridge in their vehicle modes while Blitzwing switches between his jet and tank modes over the course of battle.
80	* The third stage of ''VideoGame/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesFallOfTheFootClan'' features the Turtles fighting Foot soldiers atop a series of moving vehicles driving along the highway in pursuit of the car that April is in.
81	* ''VideoGame/{{Ultrakill}}'' has one in level 4-4. [[spoiler: After forcing V2 to attempt to retreat again, V1 gives chase out of the hole in the wall, leading to a gunfight while the two slide down the side of a pyramid at the typically ridiculous speed of everything else in the game.]] To give an idea of how fast they are going, when [[spoiler: V2]] loses control on defeat and slams headfirst into the ground at the bottom of the pyramid there is barely anything left but a large stain and an arm.

Context Main / HighSpeedBattle