History Main / BaitAndSwitchBoss

** The Upper Undead Burg also has an example [[PlayingWithATrope where the "original" boss isn't killed or portrayed as weaker than its replacement (quite the opposite).]] The Hellkite Dragon [[{{Foreshadowing}} shows up briefly]] early in the level, which may lead a player to think it will be the level's boss. The Burg's actual boss, the [[OurDemonsAreDifferent Taurus Demon]], by contrast has [[GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere nowhere near as much foreshadowing.]] Then, soon after defeating that, the Hellkite Dragon appears again... [[OhCrap only to demonstrate]] [[CurbStompBattle just why it's]] [[BeefGate not the actual level boss.]]

* ''VideoGame/HollowKnight'''s ''Godmaster'' campaign seemingly sets up a fight between you and Tizo midway through one of the [[BossRush Pantheons]]. They go so far as to give him an intro with a BattleCry and a [[BossSubtitles boss subtitle]], only for the poor sap to [[DroppedABridgeOnHim have a bridge dropped on him]] in the form of the ''actual'' boss of the room, a Brooding Mawlek.

* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}''

** The Upper Undead Burg also has an example [[PlayingWithATrope where the "original" boss isn't killed or portrayed as weaker than its replacement (quite the opposite).]] The Hellkite Dragon [[{{Foreshadowing}} shows up briefly]] early in the level, which may lead a player to think it will be the level's boss. The Burg's actual boss, the [[ALoadOfBull Taurus]] [[OurDemonsAreDifferent Demon]], by contrast has [[GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere nowhere near as much foreshadowing.]] Then, soon after defeating that, the Hellkite Dragon appears again... [[OhCrap only to demonstrate]] [[CurbStompBattle just why it's]] [[BeefGate not the actual level boss.]]

** In an Avatar of Jarlsberg run, [[spoiler:you find the Avatar of Boris has already defeated the Sorceress, and Jarlsberg seizes the opportunity to get revenge on Boris for being the JerkJock to Jarlsberg's HollywoodNerd]].

** Zig-zagged at the end of ''VideoGame/MetroidFusion''. You get mauled by the big nasty-looking boss ''first,'' then the boss you ''thought'' just died shows up... and gets destroyed in one shot (at least giving you the firepower to kill the original enemy).

** This happens twice on ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime2Echoes''. Both times, you face off against an "alpha" version of a wild creature you've already faced before, but then it gets possessed by the Ing. Neither one is very far into the game.
** Zig-zagged at the end of ''VideoGame/MetroidFusion''. You get mauled by the big nasty-looking boss ''first,'' then the boss you ''thought'' just died shows up...and gets destroyed in one shot (at least giving you the firepower to kill the original enemy).

* ''VideoGame/Persona4'' involves the party fighting Shadow Rise, who will unleash a devastating attack when low on health. Then Teddie will jump in taking the damage of the attack for himself. Afterwards, his Shadow Teddie counterpart will awaken, initiating the second boss battle.

* ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyo'': In ''Puyo Puyo Tetris'', we are lead to believe that [[spoiler: Ex is the FinalBoss of the game. Nope. That's Tee, and it even happens again in the bonus chapter 10, Tee ends up as the last opponent you play against. Also serves as some clever BookEnds as Tee is the first character you play as in the game. In the final challange of the main story, you are playing as Ringo. The first challange, you are playing as Tee against Ringo.]]

** In ''[[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehogTripleTrouble Sonic Triple Trouble]]'', after you defeat Metal Sonic in act three of [[EternalEngine Atomic Destroyer Zone]], a sleeping Nack the Weasel awakens and it seems like you're going to fight him one last time, but then he panics and runs away from the true final boss, Dr. Robotnik.

** [[spoiler: Boss #4 Vanishing Point is offed by Kimmy Howell, Travis' insane fangirl from ''[[VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes2DesperateStruggle Desperate Struggle]]'' now the freakish lovechild of ''VideoGame/Bayonetta'' and ''Creator/ArianaGrande'' and an aspiring raked assassin who fights Travis instead.]]

* ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroesIII'': Continues the tradition:

** [[spoiler: Boss #7 Sniper Lee is blown to bits by Notorious, a masked pro wrestler super hero and WWWWWW World Champion. Travis seems to be an admirer of him. Instead, the player ends up fighting a new incarnation of Destroyman, the boss from the original ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes'', now a mass produced robot.]]

* In ''VideoGame/NeoTheWorldEndsWithYou'', Shoka is set up as the boss of Week 2, Day 6, with the mission being to erase her and the majority of the day revolving around how to save Motoi from Shoka [[CurbStompBattle wiping the floor with him]]. [[spoiler:You end up fighting Motoi instead, after you find out how much of a ManipulativeBastard he is.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/WolverineAndTheXMen'', a little mutant girl is released from a stasis box by Juggernaut. The first (apart from the manner of keeping her in stasis) way of demonstrating her powers? She flings said [[TheJuggernaut Totally Unstoppable Juggernaut]] a few miles away, knocking him out completely.

* ''VideoGame/IttleDew'': When you first enter the final room of the [[BonusDungeon Master Cave]], it looks like you'll be fighting a simple [[TheGoomba fishbun]]. Naturally, it gets replaced by something much more threatening.

* In Creator/{{SNK}}'s ''Buriki One'', you work your way up in the tournament and when you reach the final match, the guy you're supposed to be fighting is suddenly knocked through the entrance door (with said door flying off its hinges) and into the ring's steel cage before crumpling to the ground. Then an evil-looking guy with [[GoodScarsEvilScars scars]] all over his body slowly walks in, and then leaps straight into the ring in a single bound.

* ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes'' had three of these: [[spoiler:Boss #5, Letz Shake]], is taken out by [[spoiler:Henry (whom you don't fight until much later). This is played straight, with your character (and probably yourself) left angry and unfulfilled]]. Then, just before the fight with the final boss begins, [[spoiler:the real final boss punches straight through him, and one cutscene later, the real final battle begins]]. Then, after the final boss, you can watch the ending, where [[spoiler:an unnamed assassin kicks down the door while you're...[[ToiletHumor compromised]]. If you meet the requirements for the TrueFinalBoss, and select the 'real ending' option, he will then be chopped in half by the TrueFinalBoss (the aforementioned Henry), starting the fight]].
* ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes2DesperateStruggle'' has more, numerically speaking. Out of the 51 ranked assassins in the United States, [[spoiler:numbers 49 through 26 are cheerleaders who work with the 25th ranked assassin, [[JerkJock Charlie MacDonald]], to form a HumongousMecha. Assassins ranked 22 through 11 are participating with Travis (ranked 23rd by this point) in a free-for-all battle where they are killed by the tenth ranked assassin, [[PersonOfMassDestruction Dr. Letz Shake]] (ironically, the brain from the machine that Letz Shake used in the last game). Story-wise, the ninth ([[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney Million Gunman]]) and eighth ([[WeCanRebuildHim Neo Destroy Man]]) ranked assassins are this to Travis, although you do get to fight them as Shinobu. Finally, after Henry comes out of a coma thanks to Travis, he goes out and kills the fifth and sixth ranked bosses for Travis off-screen, giving the victories to Travis and sending him pictures of the aftermath; he also chides Travis for being upset about it because the game already has 15 bosses and more would be unreasonable.]] All in all, that's [[spoiler:39]] bosses that the player does not get to fight ([[spoiler:when Henry killed some assassins for Travis, he gave three names, but Travis only went from rank 7 to rank 5, which implies that one of the bosses worked as a team. That or [[WritersCannotDoMath the creators just can't do math]]]]).
* ''VideoGame/NoStraightRoads'': On the leadup to Yinu's battle, you are lead to believe that she's the artist you have to fight to claim the district, and you indeed do so...for about the first third, at which point her frighteningly overprotective mother gets increasingly involved and you have to fight ''her'' instead. Downplayed in that Yinu herself does still contribute throughout the majority of the fight, and gets one last phase at the end all to herself after you defeat her mother.
** Similarly, robotic boy band 1010 is set up to be the boss of their district, only for it to quickly become clear that the fight is actually against the band's creator and manager, Neon J. He's the one with a health bar you have to damage to progress the fight, and by the last phase he takes over entirely, with 1010 themselves being reduced to getting used as weapons. Tellingly, after Neon J is introduced, he's treated as the true boss/NSR artist of the district for the rest of the game.
* ''VideoGame/OnePieceUnlimitedCruise Episode 2'' plays this pretty straight with the battle against Donquixote Doflamingo. At first, it looks like you're going to fight against Bellamy, the relatively weak and easily dispatched villain from the Jaya arc. All of a sudden, a pink arm rises from the boss container and takes control of Bellamy. This is followed by the rest of Doflamingo's body, which proceeds to [[ThatOneBoss KICK. YOUR. ASS.]]
* Similarly, ''VideoGame/OnePieceUnlimitedWorldRed'' has themed levels based on the locales of major arcs from the show, each of which has that area's ArcVillain as the main antagonist. There are a couple of points, though, where they get replaced at the last minute by someone a bit bigger on One Piece's Badass Scale.

*** Much like the examples from the earlier games above, you beat the Elite Four and sit on the Champion's throne, [[spoiler: you think that the FinalBoss is Kukui (again, like Wishiwashi this was what happened in ''Sun and Moon''). Nope! Hau takes Kukui's place as the final opponent before the player becomes Champion.]]

* ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyo''
** In ''Puyo Puyo Tetris'', we are lead to believe that [[spoiler: Ex is the FinalBoss of the game. Nope. That's Tee, and it even happens again in the bonus chapter 10, Tee ends up as the last opponent you play against. Also serves as some clever BookEnds as Tee is the first character you play as in the game. In the final challange of the main story, you are playing as Ringo. The first challange, you are playing as Tee against Ringo.]]

* ''VideoGame/CliveBarkersUndying'' does this with the final boss fight, no less than ''four times''. Here we go:

* ''{{Subverted|Trope}}'' in ''VideoGame/LastScenario''. At the end of the DiscOneFinalDungeon, [[spoiler:Ortas, the guy who you'd been led to believe was the BigBad]], gets [[InTheBack and figuratively]] stabbed in the back by [[spoiler:Castor]], who reveals that [[TheManBehindTheMan he's been manipulating him all along]]. Despite being mortally wounded, [[spoiler:Ortas]] [[{{Determinator}} gets back up and fights you anyway]].

* [[TheUnfought The Panther King]] from ''VideoGame/ConkersBadFurDay''. At first, it looks like you're going to fight him at the end of the game's final level[[note]]which is not the StormingTheCastle-style level that one might expect from a confrontation with a long, but a bank heist with ''[[Film/TheMatrix Matrix]]'' [[BulletTime stunts]] — ''Conker's Bad Fur Day'' is weird like that[[/note]], but then a [[XenomorphXerox Xenomorph queen]] named Heinrich [[ChestBurster hatches out of his body]] (which was planned by [[TheStarscream Ze Professor]] to get rid of him), kills the Panther King, and as a result, the final boss battle actually pits Conker against her (this also means Ze Professor is bait-and-switched, as opening the vault to get the required suit ends up [[ThrownOutTheAirlock expelling the scientist to outer space]], meaning that Conker won't have to deal with him in-battle, either).

* ''Fanfic/MarriageOfHeavenAndHell'' begins to set up the Rating Game with Riser Phenex in Volume 2. However, this time around, he declines because his sister, Ravel, had been kidnapped and the EngagementChallenge is instead to find and rescue her.

* ''Tiny Barbarian DX'' has a doozy happening at the end of the apparent final level of Episode 4: the titular BarbarianHero enters the ceremonial chamber of the cult leader that's kidnapped his damsel, and immediately as you leap towards expecting an epic boss fight, [[spoiler: he immediately gets zapped in mid-air by [[OutsideContextProblem the tractor beam of a spaceship that was stationed there]], and gets whisked away. The damsel is so understandably frustrated by this that [[DamselOutOfDistress she breaks away from and decks her captor, then walks away]], setting up a TimeSkip for the next level]].