History Main / AdvancingBossOfDoom

** ''VideoGame/KirbyAndTheForgottenLand'': [[spoiler: Fecto Forgo, the final boss, begins as one of these, as a giant chimera blob attempting to swallow you as its main source of damage. Thankfully, the stress is slightly alleviated by the fact the path in the fight is endless.]]

** ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBrosWii'', ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBros2'', ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DLand'' and ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DWorld'': You don't fight Bowser directly, just try to escape him until you hit the actually useful switch at the end. (the latter two in a RiseToTheChallenge variation)

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyType0'' has Supersoldier Akkad. The core idea for this guy is "ten levels above the recommendation, run like hell" -- but he stops when attacks. If you're determined to fight him[[note]]which will earn you a Ribbon if you fight him in the right place[[/note]], the boss stays in whichever sector you're fighting him in.

** ''Videogame/DonkeyKongJungleBeat'' Sees Donkey Kong and Hoofer get chased by an Iguanagon (a giant arctic gecko-caterpillar-thing with hair]]). It is invincible the first time but they get an opportunity for revenge later.

* In ''VideoGame/SouthParkTheFracturedButWhole'', while chasing down Classi the stripper informant down a hallway on Night 1, she'll call on Spontaneous Bootay, an enormously obese stripper who will crush you with her ass. Rather than being turn-based like everything else, she will immediately move one step forward every few seconds and kill everything in her range, with the various strippers in your way trying to knock you back into her range. You can't actually defeat Bootay, with your goal instead to fight your way to the end of the hallway towards the exit. Bootay returns in the "Bring the Crunch" DLC, though this time, she actually follows the turn-based order, having a turn of her own along with everyone else.

* In ''VideoGame/SouthParkTheFracturedButWhole'', while chasing down Classi down a hallway, she'll call on Spontaneous Bootay, a gigantic obese stripper who will crush you with her ass. Rather than being turn-based like everything else, she will immediately move one step forward every few seconds and kill everything in her range, with the various strippers in your way trying to knock you back into her range. You can't actually defeat Bootay, with your goal instead to fight your way to the end of the hallway towards the exit. Bootay returns in the "Bring the Crunch" DLC, though this time, she actually follows the turn-based order, having a turn of her own along with everyone else.

* The ''Mega Man''-inspired doujin platformer ''VideoGame/{{Rosenkreuzstilette}}'' has the Demons Wall in Sepperin's Castle, with a similar chase to the aforementioned dragon from ''VideoGame/MegaMan2''. The difference here is it's a larger wall made of CreepyCoolCrosses and is much, much harder.

* Anubis Rex from ''VideoGame/PacManWorld' starts the battle by chasing Pac Man down a long, long corridor full of traps, which Pac Man must run forward like crazy or else be killed in a single hit. Once Pac Man made it out the corridor, Anubis Rex then controls the Sphinx into a WeaponizedLandmark - cue boss battle.

** [=LBP2=]'s Copernicus the Guard Turkey, who guards the Factory of a Better Tomorrow ([[AIIsACrapshoot or used to, anyway]]). He chases Sackboy, Clive, and the Sackbot army until he falls through the floor...
and then comes back while on fire and chases them some more before being done in for good by Clive.

* In the Nyakuza Metro chapter of ''Videogame/AHatInTime'', the finale "Rush Hour" consists of Hat Kid being hunted down by the Nyakuza and the Empress. You cannot fight them and the few times the Empress directly confronts you the goal is instead to make her blow up obstacles so that you can progress. The chase ends when [[spoiler:the Empress corners Hat Kid in an elevator, only for some cops to later come by causing her to panic and give up]] .

* The eponymous monster in ''Film/ItFollows'' is a non-video game example. It cannot be killed and can only be seen by its quarry, and while it can't seem to move faster than a brisk walk, it ''never'' gives up, and seems tireless. The heroine spends the entire movie trying to flee from the thing, but only manages to slow it down a few times.

** Armodullahan from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'' acts exactly like the [=X-ATM092=]. This time around, however, the party will be obstructed by several pendulum axes swinging in their path, and instead of being destroyed by an outside party, it falls into a pit.
** The Chocobo Eater from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' will occasionally push the party back towards a cliff, and if pushed too much will knock them over the edge. While this isn't a game over, it forces them to take a longer route to their destination while depriving them of chocobo assistance and other rewards from defeating the boss. The party can also push the Eater back themselves by reaching certain damage thresholds, potentially pushing it off the opposing cliff to instantly kill it.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' also has Vishap in the Steps of Faith, a massive dragon attacking Ishgard. Vishap mostly ignores the players (you are ants underfoot - he's that big), and instead slowly advances on Ishgard's defenses. The party must kill him before he destroys the final gate for a NonStandardGameOver.
* The ''VideoGame/HouseOfTheDead'' games like to make use of this:
** Strength in ''The House of the Dead 2'' is a giant zombie with a HockeyMaskAndChainsaw who chases you through a maze at the send of Stage 4.
** Death in ''The House of the Dead 3'' is a hulking zombie dressed as a security guard who chases you through the first two levels wielding an enormous club.
** Justice in ''The House of the Dead 4'' is a giant [[MultiArmedAndDangerous four-armed]] zombie who chases you through a sewer at the end of the first level.
* The stage 2 MiniBoss in ''VideoGame/JourneyToSilius'' is a HumongousMecha that advances towards you and will crush you if you don't destroy it fast enough.

** In ''VideoGame/KirbysDreamLand3'', the first boss is Whispy Woods, who initially spits fruit that you can spit back at him as well as air bullets, and is just as easy as in any other Kirby game, big deal. Once his health bar is depleted once, however, he TurnsRed, sporting an evil grinning face, and starts chasing you, spitting rotten fruit at you along the way. Still easy, fortunately.

** The second form of the fifth boss in ''VideoGame/Kirby64TheCrystalShards'', HR-E, is another example. Like Whispy Woods and Yadogaine above, it chases Kirby down a path, launching missiles and snapping at him with scissor-like claws. ''Un''like Whispy Woods and Yadogaine, however, the path here isn't endless - [[TimeLimitBoss Should you take too long fighting the boss]], the path will run out, and since Kirby can't fly forever in this game, he'll fall to his death. You're given a fairly generous amount of time, though, so it's not really an issue.

* ''VideoGame/{{Battletoads}}'' In the 11th stage, you control a motorized vehicle called a 'Clinger-Winger' as a Hypno Orb runs around and tries to catch up to you while you attempt to cut around corners and outspeed it. [[NintendoHard Notice that we said 'attempt.']] Eventually, though, the orb stops and fights you.

* Skullfish, one of the first major bosses in ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireIV'' will chase Ryu near the end of the North Chamba dungeon. If Ryu succeeds in escaping a collapsing bridge via QTE, Ryu will not enter the BossBattle in poisoned status.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Broforce}}'', the Deathfield, [[spoiler:Satan's third form]], cannot be fought, requiring you to run through an entire segment with the thing on your heels. [[spoiler:The final level has you up against Satan's True Form for the final showdown of the game.]]

** The Behemoth appears in ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaRondoOfBlood'' as a MiniBoss example of this. Except that in that game, you can kill it.

* ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar'': The Berserkers fit this pattern, as you can't kill them until they are outdoors (so you can deploy a KillSat), and many of the segments begin indoors and consist of trying to get outdoors in order to kill them - simply running away isn't enough, however, and they must be killed.
* ''VideoGame/{{Ikaruga}}'' The Chapter 3 MiniBoss.

* Two side missions in ''VideoGame/JediKnightJediAcademy'' pit you against Rancors that act in this manner. The normal one in the earlier mission ''can'' be killed if you hide in a spot it can't reach, then empty every single gun you have into it, but it'll simply respawn the instant it drops dead, so you'll still have to outrun it the next couple times you must enter the arena it's prowling. The second example is a cybernetically enhanced monster several times larger than a normal Rancor, and this one can't be killed until you lure it into some big machinery to crush it to death at the end of the mission. The whole assignment basically consists of running the hell away from the Rancor and Imperial Remnant troops alike, although thankfully the latter will usually switch their fire to the Rancor the moment it appears in their line of sight.

** ''VideoGame/KirbySuperStar'' Heavy Lobster pursues you through a long corridor inside the Halberd, during which time you must dodge walls to avoid being crushed. At the end of this sequence, you get to face Heavy Lobster in the open.

* The UsefulNotes/{{Wii}} and UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 versions of ''VideoGame/TheLordOfTheRingsAragornsQuest'' has the dreaded Balrog in the mines of Moria pursuing the Fellowship. While the Balrog himself is invincible, the player must occasionally stop and shoot him with fire arrows to hold him off while an AI-controlled ally opens a gate to continue the chase and escape. Subverted in that going too close to the Balrog doesn't kill you outright; it only drains your health slowly as you are scorched by the heat.

** ''VideoGame/MegaMan2'' The most iconic example (and, for a great many gamers, probably the most iconic Advancing Boss of Doom, period) is the giant robot dragon, pictured at the top of the page, which chases you over a long series of tiny platforms over a void and then turns into a standard boss fight once you reach a group of three platforms at the end of this chain.
** RomHack ''VideoGame/RockmanNoConstancy'' took it and [[NintendoHard cranked the speed level]] up. The boss is reused in ''VideoGame/IWannaBeTheGuy'', where it chases the Kid back and forth in between bouts of imitating the Yellow Devil.
** At one point in ROMHack ''VideoGame/Rockman4MinusInfinity'', you encounter a [[BossInMookClothing Jumbig]] that makes short hops towards you and has a high amount of hit points.

* [[WarmUpBoss Early on]] in ''VideoGame/OriAndTheWillOfTheWisps'', Ori is chased by [[DireBeast a giant wolf]], then has to fight him off [[KillItWithFire with a torch]]. Later, the possessed Kwolok also has a pre-fight chase, and Mora and Shriek have chase sequences in between their fight phases.
* The final boss of ''VideoGame/ParasiteEve'' starts off by chasing you down a series of corridors. [[GuideDangIt A bit of trial and error may be needed here]], as it is constantly only a couple feet behind you at all times, and taking the wrong turn even once guarantees an instant death once it touches you. However, once you escape the corridors, it transforms into the final boss, where you can defeat it once and for all.

* In ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankUpYourArsenal'', during the Momma Tyhrranoid boss battle; the second phase of the battle has her hunting Ratchet down in first person perspective while she tries to bombard him with rockets. She can only be fought after both of them enter the second arena.

* ''VideoGame/{{Alundra}}'' features a boss battle where the titular character, Alundra, must run across a highbridge while being chased by Nirude who is destroying it from behind by thrusting his body against it in a forward walking motion. Also of note: the animated ending sequence for the game depicts Nirude as an AdvancingWallOfDoom boss, as it appears that he's moving like a wall towards Alundra instead of like a walking human, as was seen during gameplay.

* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy''
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' has the Doom Train. You don't fight a boss on the Doom Train - YOU FIGHT THE TRAIN! Your characters are constantly running in front of it, stopping only to take swings at (or suplex) the train behind them.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyType0'' has Supersoldier Akkad. The core idea for this guy is "ten levels above the recommendation, run like hell" - but he stops when attacks. If you're determined to fight him[[note]]Which will earn you a Ribbon if you fight him in the right place[[/note]], the boss stays in whichever sector you're fighting him in.

* ''VideoGame/LegendOfGrimrock'' has The Undying One, a giant metal cube, who tries to roll over you, and who you cannot kill directly, unless you have the Weapon of Power.

** In the second game, you will eventually encounter The Swarm. You can't kill it with the small-arms at your disposal, but they will slow it down - if you simply turn and sprint away, it will overtake and kill you. To make things harder, it's chasing you through forking corridors, so without seeing where you're going, it's easy to get stuck. You encounter it several more times after this nerve-wracking chase, and eventually get to kill it.

** ''Videogame/DonkeyKongJungleBeat'' Sees Donkey Kong and Hoofer get chased by an iguanadon ([[CallASmeerpARabbit Which is actually more like a giant arctic gecko with hair]]). It is invincible the first time but they get an opportunity for revenge later.

** The intro boss battle against a Mechaniloid called the Mega Scorpia, which chases Zero to the right. Later in the game, Zero fights Fefnir after he [[OneWingedAngel turns into a tank]] and he chases you forever to the left. You can [[BoomHeadshot hit him in the head]], but you should really consider disabling the four fire guns and the treads first to simplify the battle.
** Later in the same game, Fefnir transforms into a tank that will chase Zero to the left while firing his flamethrowers.

* ''VideoGame/MegaManZero2'' has the intro boss battle against a Mega Scorpia Mechaniloid, which chases Zero to the right. Later in the game, Zero fights Fefnir after he [[OneWingedAngel turns into a tank]] and he chases you forever to the left. You can [[BoomHeadshot hit him in the head]], but you should really consider disabling the four fire guns and the treads first to simplify the battle.

*** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'' was the Demon Wall's debut. It moves a few pixels to the right every turn, instakilling the party when it reaches them.
*** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' has two Demon Walls back to back. The first is much tougher but can be escaped from, while the second is inescapable but easier to defeat.
*** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' has the Demon Wall as a boss in Amdapor Keep, and it returns in Amdapor Keep (Hard) as part of a trash gauntlet wherein the party must defeat waves of trash before the four Demon Walls surrounding them close in on them. The Demon Tome and Demon of the Tome are similar bosses based on the Demon Wall, but do not have any advancing mechanics.
*** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'' also has Demon Walls as optional encounters. One such Demon Wall is encountered as a hunt in Steyliff Grove, and as per tradition will chase the party down a long hallway, insta-killing them at the end. Other Demon Walls can be encountered as normal enemies elsewhere, but are stationary.
*** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyCrystalChroniclesTheCrystalBearers'' has the Demon Wall in the Yuke ruins. Failing to beat it in time results in... getting pushed over a ledge you can't climb over before it retreats. You most likely WON'T beat it the first time, either, since its health exceeds that of basically every monster you've encountered to that point. You can come back and fight it again later once you've upgraded your powers enough.
*** ''VideoGame/SecretOfMana'', from the ''VideoGame/WorldOfMana'' spinoff/sister-series, has a boss similar to the Demon Wall called Wall Face. Take too long or kill the eyes, and it'll start pushing you into the only instant-death trap in the entire game. (It has a PaletteSwap, but it doesn't advance.)

*** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' has the Demon Wall as a boss in Amdapor Keep, and it returns in Amdapor Keep (Hard) as part of a trash gauntlet wherein the party must defeat waves of trash before the four Demon Walls surrounding them close in on them. The Demon Tome and Demon of the Wall are similar bosses based on the Demon Wall, but do not have any advancing mechanics.

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'' has a boss called Demon Wall. It moves a few pixels to the right every turn, instakilling the party when it reaches them.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' has the Phantom Train attempting to run down the player characters as they fight. This is the only instance in the game where the player characters are running constantly as the battle is happening. However, despite appearances it has no bearing on gameplay—the train never catches the party and it plays like any other boss fight.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' has [[SpiderTank X-ATM092]], which only has to be fought when it first appears. After that, it chases you, and you have to fight it if it catches you. If you're strong enough, you can destroy it by fighting it enough, but you're rewarded based on how few times you fight it, and destroying it deprives you of watching a really cool cutscene.
** Armodullahan from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'' acts exactly like the [=X-ATM092=]. This time around, however, the party will be obstructed by several pendulum axes swinging in their path, and instead of being destroyed by an outside party, it falls into a pit.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' has two Demon Walls back to back. The first is much tougher but can be escaped from, while the second is inescapable but easier to defeat.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV''
*** The Demon Wall appears as a boss in Amdapor Keep, and returns in Amdapor Keep (Hard) as part of a trash gauntlet wherein the party must defeat waves of trash before the four Demon Walls surrounding them close in on them. The Demon Tome and Demon of the Wall are similar bosses based on the Demon Wall, but do not have any advancing mechanics.
*** Vishap in 2.55, a massive dragon attacking Ishgard. Vishap mostly ignores the players (you are ants underfoot - he's that big), and instead slowly advances on Ishgard's defenses. The party must kill him before he destroys the final gate for a NonStandardGameOver.

** ''VideoGame/SecretOfMana'' also has a version of it. Take too long or kill the eyes, and it'll start pushing you into the only instant-death trap in the entire game. (It has a PaletteSwap, but it doesn't advance.)
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyCrystalChronicles: The Crystal Bearers'' has the Demon Wall in the Yuke ruins. Failing to beat it in time results in... getting pushed over a ledge you can't climb over before it retreats. You most likely WON'T beat it the first time, either, since its health exceeds that of basically every monster you've encountered to that point. You can come back and fight it again later once you've upgraded your powers enough.

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV: Shadowbringers'' brings the Chthonic Riddle, Therion, which is faced on a long platform with little outcroppings on the side, which are the only way to dodge its ultimate WaveMotionGun attack. Therion will leap forward after the first two casts of said attack, blocking the way to half of the outcroppings and reducing the battlefield to an uncomfortably cramped rectangle. Thankfully it stops there, but you still have to deal with [[BossArenaUrgency the outcroppings slowly collapsing after each ultimate]].

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' has multiple Demon Walls, the first of which really has to be fled from, but later iterations can be [=DPSed=] down before they crush you.

*** The Demon Wall is also in 2.0. There were previously two giant gnats fought during the boss fight as well, but they were removed in patch 2.2.

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' has the Phantom Train attempting to run down the player characters as they fight. This is the only instance in the game where the player characters are running constantly as the battle is happening.

** RomHack ''VideoGame/RockmanNoConstancy'' took it and [[NintendoHard cranked the speed level]] UpToEleven. The boss is reused in ''VideoGame/IWannaBeTheGuy'', where it chases the Kid back and forth in between bouts of imitating the Yellow Devil.

* In ''VideoGame/Onimusha2SamuraisDestiny'', the final boss's OneWingedAngel form is basically this; the boss alternates chasing behind you in an endless landscape and shooting you with a myriad of demon-based projectiles. He's easy to escape from, but if he ever manages to catch up with you, it's basically instant death.