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Stage Fatality

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Sometimes, in a Fighting Game, a plain old Finishing Move just won't do when the game commands that you "Finish Him!" Enter the Stage Fatality. These moves combine the usual lethality of a finishing move with everything trying to kill the loser.

Typically, not every stage will have a fatality to go with it, either because it wouldn't make sense or the developers just didn't think to make one. A lot of older fighting games, like Mortal Kombat II and Killer Instinct, will go with the Rule of Three for how many different stage fatalities there are.

Subtrope of Finishing Move and Everything Trying to Kill You.


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Other examples

  • Killer Instinct noted that you could perform such a move by making the stage a square arena. If one character was near the edge of the arena and about to get beaten down, the other could hit him over the edge, where he would be greeted with a long fall into a pool of lava or a castle moat, or even just crashing into a car parked on the street below. The sequel didn't do this, instead just requiring you to hit your enemy with certain moves (preferably launchers) at specific spots or over the edge of the arena. Also notable is that the sequel gave these moves the name of "Knockooooooooooffs!", and that it was the only way to properly finish off Gargos at the end of the game. The 2013 installment later on introduced Stage Ultras that functioned in a similar fashion, requiring the winner to initiate their Ultra Combo at a certain spot, with the loser once again suffering an unfortunate fate and the announcer giving a unique, booming one-liner for each one. In a neat reference to the previous games, one stage, The Pinnacle, has a Stage Ultra animation reminiscent of the rooftop-based stage fatalities of the first game (only replace rooftop with penthouse) while ending with the announcer bellowing out "KNOCK OFF!" exactly like in 2.
  • Bloodstorm obviously has these, in its attempt to one-up Mortal Kombat. They sometime required to be unlocked first, though. Some of them included being pierced by a stone stalagmite, taking an acid bath or being thrown upwards into a set of fans.
  • As do Naughty Dog's Way of the Warrior, as it was an obvious attempt at a Mortal Kombat killer. Some examples include being shredded by a spiky fan in the ceiling, falling through a church's rooftop (with a lovely final view of the bleeding corpse afterwards) and, perhaps the most memorable one, throwing your rival into lava...and then seeing their melted remains (hanging eye included!) jump out of it and into the screen.
  • Eternal Champions went the extra mile and includes stage fatalities for every one of its stages, triggered by defeating the enemy near that part of the stage that's going to maim them. Then, its sequel, Challenger from the Dark Side, ups the ante and provides all stages a second stage kill, in most cases even gorier than those in the original game's.
  • JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle has "Dramatic Finishes" for when the defeated opponent was finished by a strong enough attack and knocked in a certain direction. The Finish depended on the stage:
    • Dio's Castle: Thrown from the balcony.
    • Colosseum: Trampled to death by vampire horses.
    • DIO's Mansion: Thrown out a hole in the wall (and incinerated by sunlight, if the defeated player is a vampire or Pillar Man).
    • El Cairo: Thrown into a water tower. This is how Kakyoin dies in the manga.
    • Morioh: Dragged Off to Hell in Reimi's ghost alley.
    • Naples Station: Hooked by Pesci's Beach Boy and dragged away with a train.
    • Rome: Thrown into the back of a garbage truck.
    • Green Dolphin Street Prison: Stand Disk stolen by Whitesnake.
    • Kennedy Space Center: Thanks to C-MOON's Gravity Screw, forced to fall forever.
    • Philadelphia Coastline: Thrown into a sign warning hikers about bears.
    • Wall Eyes: Skull caved in by Joshu Higashikata wielding a rock.
  • For stages added in All Star Battle R:
  • Senran Kagura Estival Versus has its own variation (read: Fanservice) in the form of "Purupuru Finishes", awarded by knocking your opponent in a certain place on the stage. It ranges from being trapped in a Shinobi net (or cage) to even fall in a hot spring (and beginning to enjoy it?) or hanging on a balloon, completely naked!
  • Street Fighter V has a couple of variations (doesn't kill the opponent, but humiliates him/her).
    • Bustling Side Street: Knocking an opponent out on the left side of the stage has them break through the wall into a chinese restaurant. Doing this again inside the restaurant results in them getting knocked into the kitchen, where a bowl of noodles falls on their head, which they'll wear on their head should there be another round. Knocking them out on the right side results the opponent being thrown into a double-decker bus, which drives off with them inside during the victory sequence.
    • City in Chaos: On the left side of the stage is a hot dog stand, and the opponent will be knocked into the sign, and a giant plastic hot dog will land on their head, which they'll wear in the next round. On the right is a bank, and the opponent will be knocked through the glass doors. Knocking them out to the right again will knock them into the bank's safe, which will close with them inside.
    • Kanzuki Estate: A left side KO results in the opponent winding up in the Kanzuki family armory, where they'll end up on top of a samurai armor display, and in the next round, they'll end up wearing a samurai helmet. On the right side of the stage is a fireworks cannon, which the opponent will be shot out of.
    • Union Station: On the left side the opponent will be knocked through the wall of a bathroom. On the right side, they're knocked into the band of British Royal Guards playing instruments, and one of their hats comes flying off and lands on their head, which they'll wear in the next round.
    • Underground Arena: On the left is a bar, and the opponent will be knocked into the wall of drinks, and end up with the top half of a Russian doll on their head, which they'll wear the next round. Knock them out on the right side and they'll be thrown out through the doors into the cold, hitting a snowman which will fall apart on top of them.
    • Forgotten Waterfall: If the opponent is knocked out on the left, they'll end up with their head stuck in a log, as a group of concerned kiwis gathers around them. On the right they'll be knocked into Charlie Nash's sarcophagus, which then closes on them.
    • Hillside Plaza: When knocked out on the left, they'll be be knocked into a tunnel, and a group of Rio de Janeiro Carnival dancers will follow them. When the opponent returns the next round, they'll have a carnival hat on. On the right side of the stage, they'll bust up a fruit stand, and end up with a bunch of bananas on their head.
    • Apprentice Alley: On the left side, the opponent will smack against the wall in a yoga pose, imitating the pose of the man next to them, one of Dhalsim's apprentices. On the right side of the stage, a group of elephants will grab the opponent out of the air and begin knocking them around with their trunks.
    • Shadaloo Base: Knocking the opponent out on the left side will have them land in a flying machine manned by a Shadaloo soldier. The soldier is knocked out, and the machine flies off like a rocket. On the right side, they'll be knocked into an electric generator, which will shock them and blow up.
    • Lair of the Four Kings: On the left side, they'll smack against a giant computer monitor, which will then display a series of stats about whoever got knocked into it. Knock the opponent out on the right, and they'll end up with their face in the palm of an M. Bison statue, which attacks them with Psycho Power.
  • In Def Jam: Fight for NY, the stage is an useful asset in KO'ing your opponent. Grabbing an opponent slammed into a solid object wall goes into a sequence where they're slammed into said wall, crowds hold a fighter stunned by a strong blow and will actively participate in the KO if you grab the opponent, there's a subway that's more or less a gore-less expy of the Mortal Kombat example above, an arena where the only boundary is a circle of fire, and one with breakable windows large enough to defenestrate a sucker through. Hell, if you use a Blazin' Move in the latter three arenas and the other guy is in "DANGER" health, the move won't start; what you get is a cutscene where your character hammers the sucker a couple of times before tossing him straight into (or through) the arena's hazard.
  • Even the not-very-lethal Super Smash Bros. series has some of these. In the Wii U installment, the Great Cave Offensive stage has lava in a couple of places that will instantly defeat any fighter with over 100% damage - just about the only way to be defeated without going off the screen.
  • Saints Row 2: The Bodyguard diversion had these in a game that's otherwise not a fighting game. You had to protect a VIP from unruly fans at a variety of locations. You got points for beating down fans, but you got extra points if you grabbed them and threw them into a hazard that was nearby, such as the open trunck of a car that would close with them in it, a trampoline that spring them away, or the running engine of a jet aircraft.
  • Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame has this in the first level and the last one before the Final Boss. Normally, if you kill an enemy, they drop dead on the floor. In these levels you fight on rooftops and a bridge, respectively, where if your enemy's life bar reaches zero they drop off the bottom of the screen instead.
  • Dragon Ball Fighter Z has some Destructive Finishes that are performed by hitting the opponent with a hard attack as the final blow. When triggered, the defeated player is shown being thrown into a mountain or building in the background, destroying it in spectacular fashion.

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