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5[[quoteright:349:[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBros64 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/samus_vs_yoshi_team.png]]]]
6[[caption-width-right:349:[[WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents "You're the species... I'm the extinction!"]]]]
7
8Multi-Mook Melee is when, instead of or in addition to a BossRush, the player may fight a seemingly endless stream of {{Mooks}}, [[PaletteSwap Blue Mooks]], [[UndergroundMonkey Cave Mooks]], EliteMooks, {{Giant Mook}}s, {{Mini Mook}}s, [[MetalSlime Metal Mooks]], [[PlayingWithFire Fire Mooks]], [[AnIcePerson Ice Mooks]], [[LightningCanDoAnything Lightning Mooks]], {{King Mook}}s, {{Miniboss}}es and the like, which may slowly become tougher. This may be featured in the plot (almost any game with an arena is bound to have this) or as a minigame, bonus feature or multiplayer mode.
9
10Generally come in two flavors:
11# Constant stream variety, often referred to as a "horde mode", which takes place in a single room or location with little-to-no rest in between the waves of mooks. In fact, when one mook is defeated, a replacement may immediately take its place.
12# Multi room variety, where the player enters a room, battles a set number of mooks, and then moves on to the next one. Some Multi-Mook Melee of this variety give the player a chance to catch their breath before the next group of mooks.
13
14When Multi-Mook Melee is exaggerated, you have TheWarSequence, which has you fighting virtually ''hundreds'' of mooks at once. When you're surrounded on all sides, expect to HoldTheLine and do some RadialAssKicking.
15
16And, of course, you have the ever-popular hybrid of 3M and Strategy: TowerDefense.
17
18Compare to WolfpackBoss.
19----
20!!Examples:
21
22[[foldercontrol]]
23
24[[folder:Action Adventure]]
25* ''VideoGame/ANNOMutationem'': In the final area prior to the last fight, Ann is tasked to [[HoldTheLine protect]] Sigrid from the oncoming waves of enemies and mechs that are brought in by C until Sigrid can [[GatheringSteam gather enough energy]] to use her ability to weaken C and force him into his OneWingedAngel form.
26* In ''VideoGame/AquamanBattleForAtlantis'', some missions task you with defeating all the enemies scattered around the stage.
27* ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'': Many of the post-''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight Symphony of the Night]]'' games have optional Multi-Mook Melee areas. ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaCircleOfTheMoon Circle of the Moon]]'' has the Battle Arena, a multiple-room area where you are drained of your MP and thus not allowed to use DSS cards. There are several floors of monsters to fight through, but between floors there's a one-way path to leave the area prematurely. ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaDawnOfSorrow Dawn of Sorrow]]'' has a mode where you can place monsters in a series of rooms, as long as you have at least one of that monster's soul. However, each monster has a point value assigned to it, and no more than 8 points' worth of monsters can be in a single room. ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaPortraitOfRuin Portrait of Ruin]]'' combines the BossRush and Multi-Mook Melee in its Boss Rush mode, with boss rooms separated by passages with normal enemies. There's also a specific area, the Nest of Evil, which is basically an extremely long Multi-Mook Melee with sets of rooms, and one of the bosses from ''Dawn of Sorrow'' at the end of each set. After each set of rooms is a teleporter, so you don't have to do the entire Nest of Evil at once. ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaOrderOfEcclesia Order of Ecclesia]]'' has a similar unlockable area, the Large Cave.
28* This is a common element in 3D ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' games.
29** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'':
30*** There's the moment when you get the [[SwordOfPlotAdvancement Master Sword]]; time unfreezes, and the horde of enemies that were assaulting the castle now want you dead; namely, you have to defeat a total of eight Moblins and eight Darknuts so you can leave.
31*** The Savage Labyrinth is a 50-floor MiniDungeon where Link has to duke it out against enemies of all varieties; you enter a room that has some enemies in it, you kill them, then you move down a floor, rinse and repeat until you get to a rest room with no enemies and some healing. The first 30 floors are required to get one of the Triforce Charts, but the last 20 are optional, more difficult due to the stronger enemies, and thus BonusDungeon material. The reward for full completion is a yellow Rupee in the Japanese version of the original game, a Heart Piece in the overseas version, and the Hero's Charm (obtainable in a different way in the original game) in all regions in the Wii U remake.
32*** The cave located in Shark Island is filled with several enemies, ranging from Miniblins to Darknuts and Wizzrobes. It is the longest enemy gauntlet outside the Savage Labyrinth, and can only be accessed by pressing four switches (each of a different kind and requiring a different item) quickly. The reward is only 100 Rupees.
33** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'': The Cave of Ordeals is a 50-floor location that operates in the same way as its spiritual predecessor, the Savage Labyrinth from ''The Wind Waker'': You enter a floor, defeat all enemies present, then descend to the following floor, defeat its enemies, and repeat. But it's completely optional and, in order to access every floor, the main items of all dungeons up to and including City in the Sky must be collected. Completing every ten floors will release fairies in one of the Spirit Springs in Hyrule, and completing all of them will net Link unlimited supplies of Great Fairy's Tears. To clear the 50th floor, Link has to fight three (four in later visits) Darknuts at once, which is the hardest challenge in the game. The Wii U remake adds in the Cave of Shadows, which works similarly, except that Link is forced to stay in wolf form.
34** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks'' has the Take 'Em All On minigame, which is a gauntlet divided into three tiers of varying duration. The highest tier adds [[BossRush bosses thrown in for good measure]] as well as the usual enemies.
35** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'' has one as well. [[spoiler:Descending through the Sealed Grounds in an effort to keep Ghirahim from extracting Zelda's soul while taking out wave after wave of Bokoblins, Moblins and otherwise.]]
36** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds'' has the Treacherous Tower, which is a variation on the multi-floor caves; in addition to costing money to enter, you have to choose how many floors you go through at the start, and you only get your Rupees at the end rather than at various points in the middle. At its core, though, it's still the classic "kill the enemies in each room, rinse and repeat" type dungeon. The prize for the Beginner difficulty level is only a handful of Rupees, but Intermediate rewards Link with a Piece of Heart, while Advanced rewards him by upgrading his Lamp (first completion) and Bug Net (second completion).
37** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'': As part of the Master Trials DLC, Link can accept the Trial of the Sword as soon as he pulls the Master Sword out of its pedestal. This challenge takes place within the Sword Monk's Shrine, and revolves around defeating all enemies in each floor. Some of the floors have either an overworld boss or a very powerful lone enemy instead.
38* ''VideoGame/LuigisMansionDarkMoon'' has the unlockable missions, one per mansion, which revolve around capturing all ghosts present as quickly as possible. Each mission is unlocked after all Boos in a particular mansion are captured and its boss is defeated. The game also has a mission of this kind near the end of the fifth mansion, in which Luigi has to capture all ghosts before they overrun the whole area and time runs out (the urgency is because [[spoiler:the world's spacetime is starting to shatter due to King Boo's machinations]]).
39* ''VideoGame/NobodySavesTheWorld'': Many of the Demi-Dungeons have you fighting waves of enemies in place of a BossBattle.
40* The dark realm in ''VideoGame/{{Onimusha}}'' is essentially this, with you fighting 20 waves of harder and harder enemies in the [[VideoGame/OnimushaWarlords first game]], and up to 100 in the [[VideoGame/OnimushaDawnOfDreams fourth]].
41* ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'' has a hallway just before the control bridge (Phantoon boss arena), where you face some of the more powerful foes of the game. Fortunately, it should mostly be a laugh, as about half of them can be killed with a single Screw Attack, and the rest with a Power Bomb.
42* One of the bosses for the Platform/GameBoyAdvance adaptation of ''Literature/TheHobbit'' is a heart on a wall which you can't reach and have to repeatedly shoot. It's made much more difficult by the fact that unless you occasionally take some time out to kill the HORDE of animate vines which try to kill you, you ''will'' die. Particularly considering they can spawn in the way of your shots. Which, if you're using the targetted long-range explosive ones, is a bad thing.
43* ''VideoGame/{{Okami}}'' has the Demon Gate Trials -- three optional areas where the player must defeat ten waves of enemies, without much time to rest or heal in between. Brutal? Yes, but if you want HundredPercentCompletion...
44* There's the constant stream variety in the first level of ''VideoGame/TheMatrixPathOfNeo'' it starts as just simple security guards, police and much more powerful enemies until it works it's way up to Agent Smith. It's the games difficulty selection mode because if you beat Agent Smith you can play on hard mode, if you die before you get middle or easy mode.
45* ''VideoGame/{{Sundered}}'' has Endless Hordes zones, subsections of the game’s three regions where the player will face [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin an endless horde of the local enemies]]. Dozens of enemies will be onscreen simultaneously, and new enemies will continue to spawn in until the player leaves the area. These zones also serve as a PeninsulaOfPowerLeveling.
46* ''Franchise/StarWars'':
47** ''[[VideoGame/TheForceUnleashed Star Wars: The Force Unleashed]]'' features a big hangar directly at the beginning of the last level with multiple Chicken walkers, Purge/Evo- and Jettroopers and some standard Stormies. You are able to skip this completely by dropping through the floor, but it is interesting to see how far you come with your strengths and to level up.
48** ''VideoGame/StarWarsJediFallenOrder'': When exploring the [[spoiler:Fortress Inquisitorius,]] the enemy density is much greater than in earlier parts of the game, and you will frequently have to fight up to a dozen enemies at a time. Of particular note is the [[spoiler:Inquisitor Dojo]] where Stormtroopers, Scouts, and Purge Troopers come at you in waves.
49* ''VideoGame/{{Terraria}}'': A lot of the events in this game. There's the Frost and Pumpkin moon, where you fight hordes of ridiculously hard Christmas and Halloween themed enemies respectively, the Frost Legion, where you fight hordes of snowmen mobsters, the Goblin Army event where you fight a [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin goblin army.]] There's also the crossover event from Dungeon Defenders, where you fight waves of The Old One's Army, and all this is barely scratching the surface.
50* One battle in ''VideoGame/YsIVMaskOfTheSun'' had you face off against a legion of Romun soldiers on a small platform.
51[[/folder]]
52
53[[folder:Action Game]]
54* ''VideoGame/TheMatrixPathOfNeo'' contains several. Early ones are training exercises for battling multiple opponents, which is useful later on when it's Neo versus hundreds of Smiths at a time.
55* ''VideoGame/GladiatorSwordOfVengeance'' has several levels where instead of having you proceed through an area fighting enemies in the way, instead confines you to a single circle. And them throws hordes and hordes of the ''same'' enemy (gladiators, skeletons, cyclops, whatever the level's theme is) where you must kill around north of 30 of them before you're allowed to proceed.
56* Several areas in ''VideoGame/GodOfWarI'', but especially the second phase of the [[BigBad Ares]] boss battle, wherein Kratos has to defend his family from a ''very'' long stream of... himselfs. If they manage to kill your family, well... HaveANiceDeath.
57* ''VideoGame/NinjaGaiden'' gives you the joy of the 60 fiend challenge which is exactly what it sounds like. And in hard mode it becomes 80 fiend challenges. In very hard, 100. In Master Ninja, ''[[SerialEscalation 120]]''. ''[[VideoGame/NinjaGaidenII2008 Ninja Gaiden 2]]'' on Platform/Xbox360 has the tests of valor which are the same principle except you're teleported in a closed arena with no escape (these were removed in Sigma 2 though).
58* ''Franchise/BatmanArkhamSeries'':
59** ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum'':
60*** The corridor leading to the final boss contains 20 really tough {{Mook}}s, all of whom are applauding you on Joker's orders and / or anticipation of the upcoming fight. None of them will attack you unless you throw the first punch. Due to the cramped space, it takes endurance and a ''lot'' of patience to survive. It can be helped a little by spraying the floor with Explosive Gel first though.
61*** There's a more traditional version of this at one point in the game, where elevators keep delivering waves of mooks.
62*** There's also a challenge map that provides an endless supply of mooks to fight.
63** In ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamOrigins'', one special challenge involves having to take down 100 of Penguin's mooks, with the counter going up every time you render one unconscious through takedown or stiff beating. The lineup includes nearly every opponent you fight in the game except for [[GiantMook Enforcers]].
64* ''VideoGame/Bayonetta2'' has the Witch Trials, which can be played after completing the game. Each of these chapters consist of a series of fights against increasingly powerful enemies, and there are extra perks to further push the challenge: Each Trial's difficulty is predetermined, so while the first three chapters are reasonable for the casual player, the last two will a lot harder since they're set on [[HarderThanHard Infinite Climax]] difficulty. Secondly, no continues can be used, so if Bayonetta's HP is depleted just once, it's GameOver and the current chapter has to be restarted.
65[[/folder]]
66
67[[folder:Beat 'Em Up]]
68* ''VideoGame/CastleCrashers'' is all about this when you're not fighting a boss, and sometimes when you ''are''.
69* Many BeatEmUp games have at least one room (if not the entire game) like this. Most bosses come with an endless escort of mooks to prevent the player from abusing the boss' AI with impunity.
70* The final areas of most ''VideoGame/DoubleDragon'' games, which mix this with BossRush.
71* The ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors'' series and its spinoffs thrive on this trope, pitting the player against opposing officers, with both sides supplemented by volumes of mooks.
72* ''VideoGame/FightingForce'' has you fight group of mooks after mooks around the level map.
73[[/folder]]
74
75[[folder:Fighting Games]]
76* The TropeNamer is ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'', which has "[[Videogame/SuperSmashBros64 Fighting Polygon Team]]" "[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosMelee Multi-Man Melee]]", "[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl Multi-Man Brawl]]", "[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosForNintendo3DSAndWiiU Multi-Man Smash]]" and "[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate Mob Smash]]". In them, the challenger has to duke out against the respective QuirkyMiniBossSquad of each game (Polygonal models in ''64'', Wire Frames in ''Melee'', Alloys in ''Brawl'', and Mii Fighters in ''4'' and ''Ultimate''). Several variations of the mode also exist, the worst being the "Cruel Melee/Brawl/Smash" in which you face massively overpowered enemies without any items, and defeating even ''one'' foe is considered an achievement. Both ''Melee'' and ''Brawl'' also require players to knock out 5 mooks in a single session of the Cruel mode in order to unlock a trophy (and ''10'' in ''Brawl'' for a sticker). Famously, there was an AprilFoolsDay joke saying that [[Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog Sonic and Tails]] were unlockable in ''Melee'' by KO'ing 20 mooks in Cruel Melee, which was eventually proven false. Likely as a nod to this joke, the Wii U version of ''Smash 4'' allows you to unlock the Duck Hunt character (as well as their stage) by defeating one Mii Fighter (hard enough on its own) in Cruel Smash.
77* ''VideoGame/RivalsOfAether'', as part of its ''Smash'' inspiration, has the Fighting Abyss Team, which are fought in an endless gauntlet where the special rules change as each wave is defeated, from facing a horde of weak ones to a single armored one to sending them into portals that appear to fending them off while following a light for a set period of time.
78* The battle against TheDragon and the FinalBoss of ''VideoGame/MagicalBattleArena'' begins with you taking down waves of [[Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikers Gadget Drones]] until you've taken down enough of them for the boss to come out.
79* Some ''VideoGame/{{MUGEN}}'' creators have gotten rather creative and have made some of these to be used as boss fights. In fact, with some lines of code, it's possible to turn almost any character into a horde of easily-beaten clones that keep on coming.
80* One of the bonus story mode stages in ''VideoGame/SoulcaliburIII'' pits you against 30 Lizardmen, each of them much weaker than the playable Lizardman Aeon Calcos. This encounter is available in a possible path for almost every character.
81* ''VideoGame/ThemsFightinHerds'': There are parts in story mode where the protagonists have to fight a series of different Predators in a row. Arizona has two in two different acts of her chapter.
82%%* The ''X-Men: Second Coming'' game has two of them.
83[[/folder]]
84
85[[folder:First/Third-Person Shooters]]
86* The first ''VideoGame/AliensVsPredator'' game for the PC was probably the first FPS[=/=]TPS game to have this as a dedicated game mode, Infestation, in which a group of Marines would hold out as long as possible against waves of Aliens, Predaliens, and Praetorians.
87%% Needs context * ''VideoGame/DinoDDay'' features this as the focus of the Last Stand DLC.
88* ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar 2'''s "Horde Mode" [[TropeCodifier re-codified the trope]] for modern shooters by being one of the first wide-release games to feature waves of enemies that actually shot back, [[FollowTheLeader directly inspiring]] the similar modes that have since been added to ''Halo'' and ''Modern Warfare'', among others. It's still common to hear any other game's wave-based mode called "Horde" in casual conversation. ''Gears 3'' added some TowerDefense elements, but kept the basic concept.
89* The [[TheWarSequence last level]] of ''VideoGame/SeriousSamTheSecondEncounter'' does this right before the final boss fight and brings it to epic proportions, complete with the sky becoming dark and meteorites raining down during the battle as you wait for the waves to end and the door to the boss area to open. This is done twice in ''Serious Sam - The First Encounter'' as well.
90* ''VideoGame/{{Marathon}} Infinity'' with its penultimate level "You Think You're Big Time? You're Gonna Die Big Time!". Those grey pfhor hunters are '''mean.'''
91* Most ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' games have at least one moment like this:
92** ''VideoGame/{{Halo 2}}'' has the battle in the Mausoleum (aka the "Breaking Benjamin room") on the "Gravemind" mission, which seems to be the series' homage to ''VideoGame/{{Marathon}}'''s "You Think You're Big Time" level. Mainly {{Elite Mook}}s and and {{Giant Mook}}s, including Brutes, Ultra Elites (including [[InvisibilityCloak stealth-camouflaged]] ones), Spec-ops Elites, the "Honor Guard Councilor" glitched Elite (supposed to be a Gold Elite), Hunters, etc. For bonus points, it takes place in the middle of an EnemyCivilWar, with Elites and Brutes duking it out with each other. Cortana advises you to sit it out, but once [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSgQGKZocDA the music]] starts up, [[AutobotsRockOut it's impossible not to jump in, guns blazing]].
93** ''VideoGame/HaloReach'' has several, including the hangar battle at the end of "Long Night of Solace" which is topped off by a squad of at least four Ultra Elites, and the last part of the "Pillar of Autumn", where you fight a pair of Hunters with only shotgun and AR ammo available, four waves of Brutes including several Chieftains, and finally the Elite Field Marshal and his Zealot squadmates.
94** Later, Creator/{{Bungie}} realized they could follow ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar'' and synthesize this trope into Firefight mode. In most games from ''VideoGame/Halo3ODST'' onward, you can face just about everything the Covenant can throw at you: Grunts, Jackals, Jackal Snipers, Skirmishers (''Reach''), Elites, Brutes, Hunters, Drones (''ODST''), Engineers, Ghosts, Banshees, ''Wraith tanks'', etc. ''VideoGame/Halo5Guardians'' ups the ante by adding not just [[MechaMooks Prometheans]], but ''actual bosses'' (whom you'll have to fight at the same time as their subordinates).
95* ''Franchise/{{Doom}}'':
96** ''VideoGame/Doom64'': The final standard level, The Absolution, begins as a very large horde of enemies (of all species minus Zombieman and Cyberdemon) come from three large gates to attack Doomguy. Defeating them all is necessary to begin the FinalBoss battle against the Mother Demon. If certain keys were collected from the secret levels, these gates can be closed before too many enemies come into scene, allowing the player to save a lot of ammunition for the final battle.
97** Many custom "slaughter maps" are essentially series of ever-harder Multi-Mook Melees. Some fights in the map "Deus Vult" involve over 200 monsters at a time. The top contender, however, would be the infamous "nuts.wad", which goes above and beyond in this prospect, with more than '''''ten thousand monsters''''' crammed into a single level.
98* In ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'', It is almost inevitable that at some point your team will become overwhelmed by hordes of zombies stemming from nowhere, forcing you to resort to melee attacks.
99* ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'':
100** ''World at War'' has the Nazi Zombies mode, which has four characters battle unlimited hordes of zombies (and in some cases, [=HellHounds=]) in waves on the four maps, with the enemies taking more and more hits to kill and only short breaks between waves.
101** Spec-ops survival mode in Modern Warfare 3 is this. A helicopter, three Juggernauts, and several dozen mooks becomes normal fare at higher levels.
102* The final level of ''VideoGame/PathwaysIntoDarkness'' has you fight through one room after another filled with each type of enemy you've encountered.
103* ''VideoGame/{{Quake}}'' combines this with an ElevatorActionSequence at the end of Episode 2, featuring a Shambler or two, depending on the difficulty), several Fiends and Zombies, and a pair of Vores. ''VideoGame/QuakeIV'' has you fight a trio of Tanks, then Hovertanks, then Stream Protectors, before the FinalBoss.
104* The Proving Grounds in ''VideoGame/{{Descent}} 3'' have you fight through four arenas full of mooks, each concluding with an [[KingMook upgraded version]] of the Stinger, Thresher, Sixgun, and Tailbot, respectively, as {{miniboss}}es.
105* The Totem defense sequences in ''VideoGame/{{Turok}} 2'' combine this with a ProtectionMission.
106* ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' has the Mann Vs Machine mode that pits six players against waves of robotic versions of the nine playable characters (some of which are [[GiantMook giant]]), which inexplicably are fueled by money that players can pick up to buy upgrades with.
107* The "Arena" level in the ''[[VideoGame/FirstEncounterAssaultRecon F.E.A.R.: Perseus Mandate]]'' expansion pack features a prolonged firefight against several enemy waves inside a closed arena; the waves include nearly every major enemy type from the original game, including the various mini-boss-like enemies.
108* A ''[[VideoGame/GearsOfWar Horde]]''-style game mode is available as a free DLC for the Steam version of ''VideoGame/AfterfallInsanity''.
109* ''VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising'' has quite a few, including one that takes up the whole ground game for one of the chapters.
110[[/folder]]
111
112[[folder:Gacha Games]]
113* In ''VideoGame/AFKArena'', a recurring boss in the "Twisted Realm" mode is Demonic Entity, an EnemyWithout that came from Nemora. Unlike most bosses, she can't be attacked directly, and damage scored against her is instead calculated by damage dealt to the [[MookMaker endless waves of Dreafs she summons]].
114[[/folder]]
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116[[folder:[=MMORPGs=]]]
117* ''VideoGame/{{Aion}}'': the Tower Of Eternity. Also, the Tower Of Evermore. %%More information would be nice.
118* The "Friends?" battle quest in ''VideoGame/{{Vindictus}}'' has as the main boss fight a pitched battle against 100 Veteran Gnolls, the toughest mobs on the first boat, in addition to a good number of Gnoll Archers, in roughly six or so waves. If you should survive the whole thing, you then have to fight the actual boss, the Veteran Centurial Captain of the gnolls.
119[[/folder]]
120
121[[folder:Platform Games]]
122* ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaTheSandsOfTime'': Combat seems entirely based on the "kill one mook, another takes its place" variant. Technically enemies come in waves, but you only notice this on the rare occasions when the game gives you a few seconds to rest between waves.
123%%* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfSpyro'': The first two games are absolute chock full of these.
124* ''VideoGame/ShantaeRiskysRevenge'': The second dungeon, Battle Tower, consists of a multi-floored gauntlet against numerous enemies, both native from the desert and hailing from the preceding forest area, as well as platforming challenges and recovery items inbetween each floor. Shantae signs up to get locked into and only being able to leave once she gets through the 11 floors of the tower. For extra difficulty, there's an ongoing time limit (starting at 3 minutes) that is ''very'' strict even with the collectable clocks that add extra seconds to it.
125* ''Franchise/SlyCooper'':
126** ''VideoGame/Sly2BandOfThieves'': In Episode 4, Murray solely battles against fifty enemies to gain access to the prison's solitary confinement.
127** ''VideoGame/Sly3HonorAmongThieves'': In the penultimate mission, Murray takes on an onslaught of Dr. M's goons coming in from the vault entrance.
128* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'':
129** ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'' has Robot Carnival and Robot Storm, where the melee is the boss. Robot Carnival (the first one) takes place on one platform, but in Robot Storm, you have to go between platforms after defeating certain numbers of waves. Also, in Robot Storm, the enemies are tougher.
130** ''VideoGame/SonicRush'' has a few rooms that need to be cleared of enemies to advance.
131* The ''Franchise/{{Kirby}}'' series has a few.
132** Most of the Meta Knight encounters in ''VideoGame/KirbysAdventure'' have him send waves of his EliteMooks after Kirby. Only in the very last one does he fight Kirby personally.
133** ''VideoGame/KirbySuperStar'' has a few miniboss fights consisting of waves of Meta Knight's EliteMooks, in the same vein as ''Kirby's Adventure''.
134** The third level of Ripple Star in ''VideoGame/Kirby64TheCrystalShards'', where Kirby goes to several rooms facing a variety of enemies until the pathway opens up.
135** ''VideoGame/KirbysDreamCollection'' has the Combat Chamber challenge stages. While most of the New Challenge Stages test Kirby's platforming and problem solving using his Copy Abilities, these stages are focused almost exclusively on fighting waves of enemies in enclosed rooms, with mini-bosses thrown in as well.
136* ''VideoGame/BionicCommando'' had this during many of the ReactorBoss fights.
137%% Needs context * The first half of Wily Stage 2 in ''VideoGame/Rockman4MinusInfinity'' is this.
138* ''VideoGame/MegaManADayInTheLimelight 2'' has a room where you fight loads of [[spoiler:Crash Man-themed]] enemies with Proto Man to back you up.
139* ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'':
140** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2'': Battle Belt Galaxy, which is located in World 6. Each enemy on each planet must be defeated in order to advance, ranging from one Goomba on the first planet to four Chomps on the last one.
141** ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DWorld'': Two of the Mystery House levels (Mystery House Melee and Mystery House Brawl) consist of defeating groups of enemies in 10 seconds or less each.
142** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBrosWonder'': There are special levels where Mario and his friends have to defeat all enemies present in each room as quickly as possible. At the start, the characters can respectively choose which power-ups suits them best. Defeating all enemies will reward them with a Wonder Seed, while breaking the time records will reward them with 10-Flower Coins (each one tied to a record, from slowest to fastest).
143* ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong64'' has the Battle Arena gauntlets, in which the Kongs have to survive against a never-depleting reserve of enemies during a limited time, ranging from 30 seconds in the Jungle Japes challenge to 90 in the one from Hideout Helm. The reward in each case is a Crown, and four of them are required to finish the game.
144* ''VideoGame/OriAndTheWillOfTheWisps'' has two types: mandatory {{Inescapable Ambush}}es within dungeons, and Spirit Shrines, where the player fights between three and five waves of mooks for the reward of increased StatusBuff capacity.
145* In ''VideoGame/MegaManX8'', the intro stage as well as Burn Rooster, Bamboo Pandamonium, and Dark Mantis' levels each have two rooms where you have to fight off several waves of {{Mook}}s, and each one rewards you with Metals and health pickups depending on how much damage you took and how high your combo was. Each of these rooms also have a chance of instead making the player fight [[RecurringBoss Vile]], though he can appear in levels besides the ones listed as well.
146[[/folder]]
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148[[folder:Real-Time Strategy]]
149* ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar II: Retribution'': The end of the Typhon level involves staying alive in an arena increasingly full of Tyranids, native orks, and Chaos forces, all of which fight you and each other, ''while the planet is undergoing Exterminatus''.
150[[/folder]]
151
152[[folder:Role Playing Games]]
153* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'': [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI The first]] and [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII second]] games have this in the Olympus Coliseum, while the latter also has additional multi-mook fights in the Hades Colosseum. Another example can be found in the End of the World right before the final save-point in the game you have to defeat enemies that steadily increase in danger climaxing in the horrible situation of [[DemonicSpiders 8 Angel Stars and 8 Invisibles]].
154* ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'':
155** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG'': At Bowser's Castle, two gauntlets involve facing a whole hallway of all the enemies that were faced up to this point. Completing the gauntlets earn new weapons for party members.
156** ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor'' has the Pit of 100 Trials. ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'' has two of them, as well as the Sammer Guys, 100 characters that need to be defeated one after another. [[spoiler:During the game, the world they inhabit is destroyed after reaching the 30th Sammer's gate (the Sammers themselves stop fighting you after the 20th guy is defeated due to plot reasons). If you go back after you beat the game, you can actually fight all 100.]]
157* Several of the Missions in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII: VideoGame/CrisisCore'' and [[spoiler:the unwinnable and inevitable BolivianArmyEnding]].
158* The [[BonusDungeon bonus dungeons]] of the the ''[[Franchise/FinalFantasy Final Fantasy Advance]]'' series seem fond of this trope. Yang's Trial in ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV Final Fantasy IV Advance]]'' is based on this trope, as is the entire Soul Shrine in ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI Final Fantasy VI Advance]]''.
159* In ''VideoGame/BaldursGate'', the Watcher's Keep dungeon has a room like this. However, what it spawns are orcs, so you can just set everyone to auto-attack and relax. There's also the first challenge in the Pocket Plane, which has you fighting enemies one after the other, starting with goblins and gradually working your way up to Drow, or their good-aligned counterparts for an evil party.
160* ''VideoGame/TalesSeries'':
161** ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'' has the 10-man Melee, the 30-man melee, the 50-man melee, the 80-man melee, the 100-Man Melee, and if you defeat the [[ShoutOut Cameo]] {{Superboss}} at the end of the BonusDungeon, you can face the 200-man Melee, which starts with the 100-Man Melee, but you keep going and begin facing various Cameo Bosses, first is [[VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia Dhaos]] then it eventually ends with a rematch [[DuelBoss 1v1]] with the {{Superboss}} [[VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia Kratos]].
162** The first chapter of Gaius's sidestory in ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2'' ends with a battle against a mob of [[FantasticRacism Rieze Maxia-hating]] Elympions. Being perfectly ordinary humans, they're all pathetically weak, but they just keep coming.
163** When first using the elevator on Rena in ''VideoGame/TalesOfArise'', you fight a continuous stream of zeugles. Your characters even complain about the fact that more and more just seem to keep showing up.
164* If you don't want to fight human opponents, ''VideoGame/GoldenSun's'' Battle Arena multiplayer mode has a BossRush-esque Multi-Mook Melee, which features everything from weak opponents to [[ThatOneBoss much-hated]] {{Superboss}} Dullahan.
165* There is a battle in ''VideoGame/TheBardsTaleTalesOfTheUnknown'' where you can fight four groups of 99 berserkers each. If you've leveled your characters enough, they can't hit your front-line characters and your sorcerer characters will have a spell that hits all enemies in the battle. Start the battle and go off to get a drink.
166%% Needs context * ''VideoGame/MassEffect1'': The "Pinnacle Station" {{DLC}} is this in its entirety.
167* ''VideoGame/ShadowHeartsCovenant'' brings us The Man Festival, a tower composed of 100 wrestling rings which the party has to climb, defeating multiple enemies on each level, to unlock Joachim's final power and final form. [[spoiler:However, the party leaps from level 26 to 87 unexpectedly, amusingly enough, even to them.]]
168* ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'' has Horde enemies, which consist of a large group of demons. While functionally a single foe, they get multiple actions per turn, and take damage multiple times when hit with multi-target attacks. The horde visibly thins out as you wear down their health.
169* The Arena battles in ''VideoGame/TheLastStory'' are based on this trope: In each of the three season matches, Zael and the party members accompanying him have to venture into 3-4 encased battle zones, one after another, and in each of them there are large groups of enemies wanting to defeat them. The third and final match includes one of the game's post-ending {{Superboss}}es, and it's very difficult to beat without a good strategy.
170* In ''VideoGame/StarOceanTheLastHope'', the fight against the Phantom Soldiers on Aeos consists of one normal battle followed by '''seven''' ambushes. This is also the case for the "Defeat the assassins" trials in the Wandering Dungeon. That said, these are generally considered the easiest trials compared with those that require you to "clear abhorrent crystals" or find numerous Geostones.
171* ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 4}}'':
172** Near the end of the Institute storyline, [[ProtectionMission you defend the Synths who are hacking Liberty Prime]] from hordes of Brotherhood of Steel EliteMooks being flown in by Vertibird, including [[BigBad Elder Maxson]] and his [[QuirkyMinibossSquad highest ranking commanders]].
173** In the final battle of the Automatron DLC, the Mechanist summons waves of increasingly stronger MechaMooks, with a few KingMook enemies thrown in.
174* ''VideoGame/EtrianOdyssey'' has a skill called Challenger, which allows its user to lure a series of enemies into battle so the party can defeat them and increase experience. Depending on how upgraded this skill is, the number of consecutive battles can range from two to eight, and each upgrade also increases the chance to summon a shining enemy (whose defeat adds extra experience points, though they're prone to flee so it's important to kill them quickly). This skill can be accessed by the Masurao in ''VideoGame/EtrianOdysseyVBeyondTheMyth'', and by the Hero in ''VideoGame/EtrianOdysseyNexus''.
175[[/folder]]
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177[[folder:Shoot 'Em Up]]
178* The indie game ''VideoGame/{{Meritous}}'' has these in the form of Treasure Rooms. When you enter one, the doors close and the monochrome graphics turn red, as droves of enemies warp into the room in short bursts. After you've killed them all, you get a metric ton of PSI crystals, as well as some treasure chests which may have either a bonus of crystals, a free upgrade to one of your abilities, or one of the upgrade items (which, while not necessary to complete the game, make things much easier).
179* Planetary defense fleets in ''VideoGame/EscapeVelocity''. If you've got a good ship, this is primarily a [[MarathonBoss test of patience]], since it means fighting 50-''1000'' enemies 1-5 at a time.
180* In the freeware game ''Hurrican'', the first boss of the penultimate level is a massive onslaught of enemies, unlike with the other bosses (where hitting a certain point causes damage), destroying individual enemies causes the boss life meter to go down.
181* ''VideoGame/RushNAttack'' has said melee at the end of the stage; quite dangerous for the OneHitpointWonder equipped [[WithThisHerring with a knife]].
182* ''VideoGame/BioHazardBattle'' has the boss of stage 7, which is nothing but a TON of deceptively weak, floating mechanical-looking objects that tend to crash into the player's ship as well as firing a lot of shots.
183* ''VideoGame/AlienShooter'' and its cousin ''Zombie Shooter''. Late-game levels have hundreds upon hundreds of enemies ''in every room'', and no, it's not an exaggeration for emphasis.
184* ''VideoGame/HeavyBarrel'' usually had this during [[ElevatorActionSequence elevator sequences]].
185* ''VideoGame/{{Commando}}'' ended every level with this.
186* ''VideoGame/RadiantSilvergun'' has 17VA-50 boss fight that consists of five increasingly difficult waves of multiple enemies. The closest this has to a boss is a cannon at the end but even that is accompanied by numerous smaller enemies.
187[[/folder]]
188
189[[folder:Simulation Games]]
190* ''[[VideoGame/RogueSquadron Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike]]'' features a walkabout level where you have to survive multiple waves of {{mook}}s.
191[[/folder]]
192
193[[folder:Sports Games]]
194* The Showdown swordplay event in ''VideoGame/WiiSportsResort''. The event has the player take down dozens of sword wielding miis. Most of them are KO'd in one hit but some take two and the final enemy (a boss if you will) has to be hit 3 times.
195* The Fielders' Challenge in ''[[VideoGame/BackyardSports Backyard Baseball 2005]]'' has elements of this; you have to win against an unlimited number of robots.
196[[/folder]]
197
198[[folder:Stealth Based Games]]
199* ''VideoGame/MetalGear'':
200** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'' has the circular chamber in which [[spoiler:Raiden and Snake face off against about 70 Mooks]]. It's also home to the infamous FissionMailed screen.
201** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'' features a Multi-Mook Melee [[spoiler:while defending an unconscious Meryl from a group of {{Elite Mook}}s before fighting Screaming Mantis]].
202[[/folder]]
203
204[[folder:Survival Horror]]
205* In Karim's chapter of ''VideoGame/EternalDarkness'', upon finding the Ancient's essence, he is subjected to a large gauntlet of zombies and Bonethieevs, and even a couple of [[GiantMook Horrors]], in order to earn the right to approach it. Earlier in the chapter, after acquiring a Ram Dao, a smaller-scale gauntlet must be fought through.
206* ''VideoGame/ThePersistence'':
207** Zimri has to fight massive waves of enemy to progress past Decks 1, 2, and 4 in lieu of a boss fight. Decks 1 and 2 are merciful enough to give her weapons with infinite ammo, but deck 4, being the final deck, forces you to fight the biggest mass of monsters yet with only the finite equipment you've scavenged from the wreck of the ship.
208** Certain loot chests are surrounded by defective clone printers that continuously spawn mad engineers until they run out of power. You'll have to kill all the engineers and the occasional Berserker before you can open the chest and reap your rewards.
209* Many ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' games have Mercenaries mode as a bonus unlocked after completing the main game, a score-attack mode in which you are given a ton of ammo and must kill as many enemies as you can within the time limit (extendable by shooting hourglasses scattered across the map). It was eventually turned into its own separate spinoff game, ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilTheMercenaries3D'' on the Platform/Nintendo3DS.
210[[/folder]]
211
212[[folder:Third Person Shooters]]
213* The Lupino Showdown from the original ''VideoGame/MaxPayne'', which has Max fighting roughly thirteen mooks that swarm in one after another after him before Jack Lupino himself makes his entrance with two of his personal guard and a sawed-off shotgun. In the sequel, after you beat the game once you unlock the "Dead Man Walking" mode, where you can fight an endless stream of enemies spawning constantly in an enclosed area.
214* ''VideoGame/{{Wet}}'''s arena stages have Rubi blasting up mook after mook while trying to make it to the markers that allow her to disable the doors that they spawn from. Once all the doors are disabled, it's just a matter of mopping up anyone still standing before moving on to the next area.
215* Certain areas of the free-roam section of ''VideoGame/GlobalAgenda'' are this, as are most of the PlayerVersusEnvironment missions.
216* Some levels of ''VideoGame/PN03'' end with this in place of a BossBattle, such Mission 4, or accompanying a ReactorBoss, as in Mission 6.
217* ''VideoGame/Splatoon2'' has Salmon Run, a game mode that uses the constant stream variety. In it, a team of four is deposited on an island where they have to survive [[TimedMission three timed waves]] of Salmonids mobbing them, all while trying to collect the golden power eggs dropped by the [[EliteMook Boss Salmonids]]. Players having to reach a collection quota before time runs out on each wave, and the difficulty (i.e., the amount of boss enemies and the egg quota) ranges from Intern, Apprentice, Part-Timer, Go-Getter, Profreshional, and [[HarderThanHard Hazard Level Max]] depending on the collective ranking of the team members.
218[[/folder]]
219
220[[folder:Turn Based Strategy]]
221* Featured in ''VideoGame/CrushCrumbleAndChomp'', where the combined forces of humanity are the "mooks" amassed against you.
222[[/folder]]
223
224[[folder:Wide Open Sandbox]]
225* The first ''VideoGame/{{Shenmue}}'' game has one of these, where you fight 97 Mooks with 3 Minibosses mixed in. It's in the main game, but after you complete it you're allowed to go through it again, at least on the Dreamcast version. This one is especially notable as it was 1.) the largest melee fight on a console at the time, and 2.) ALL of the combatants had a unique model and skin.
226* A feature of the BigBad's headquarters in ''VideoGame/ScarfaceTheWorldIsYours''. Fortunately enough mooks zapped and taunted allowed moments of invincibility. Space 'em out, you'll need 'em.
227* The first hunter encounter inside the first military base you enter in ''VideoGame/{{Prototype}}''. As you kill your first hunter, then the next two, more and more pour in at once. Subverted in that the number that enter the base each time caps out and they don't become tougher over time.
228* Parodied by ''VideoGame/SaintsRowTheThird'', in which the ''intro mission'' climaxes with one, as do many, many others. They also appear as side missions, and the first DLC introduced [[PunnyName Whored Mode]] to multiplayer.
229* The ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' adventure map series ''VideoGame/{{Diversity}}'' has one in every map, in the form of the Arena Branch. Each one tasks you with killing a certain amount of a different mob in several different levels, and rewards you with the [[PlotCoupon Yellow Wool]] after clearing all levels. The first two maps just have {{mooks}} to kill, while ''Diversity 3'' spices things up with MiniBoss encounters after each level.
230[[/folder]]
231
232[[folder:Other]]
233* The Battledome on ''Website/{{Neopets}}'' has the recurring Obelisk Battleground event, in which users join one of six factions, and ones in the faction that defeats the most enemies wins a [[AchievementSystem hidden avatar]] and a choice of buffs to certain site activities that lasts until the following round starts. Merely joining the winning faction isn't enough, however; an individual user needs to defeat a minimum of 10 opponents alone in order to be eligible for the rewards.
234[[/folder]]

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