History Main / BombardierMook

* The Franchise/{{Castlevania}} franchise: Some enemies fly around, coming in from off-screen, and attack by throwing spears at that protagonist.

** ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaAriaOfSorrow'': Winged Skeletons.
** ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaCircleOfTheMoon'' Gremlins.

* ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaAriaOfSorrow'': Winged Skeletons fly around, coming in from off-screen, and attack by throwing spears at Soma.

[[caption-width-right:310: [[VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2 Here, have some bombs!]] ]]

[[AirborneMook Flying enemies]] are a long-time staple in videogames, and several distinct subtypes and trends occur within this group. While they often simply fly along present paths or swoop down at players from on high, many instead opt to stay well above the player and drop objects down on their heads.

Bombardier Mooks are often much trickier to deal with than regular flying {{Airborne Mook}}s. Most flying enemies need to come in contact with the player to damage them, which means they must periodically enter their melee range and thus make themselves vulnerable to attack as well. Bombardier Mooks do not have this weakness, and can spend their time circling well above the player's range, dropping their projectiles and safe from retribution. Some may be completely invulnerable in this manner, but it's more common for players to have one or two specialized tools, such as special powers or a long-range attack, that may let them bring Bombardier Mooks down to more manageable heights. Another common weakness is that these guys rarely have any significant physical attacks of their own, and may become entirely helpless once in close range.

Another limitation of Bombardier Mooks is that they're typically limited to attacking targets directly beneath them -- they don't usually have much horizontal range, and need to either position themselves to be above the player before attacking or wait for them to pass beneath their position. This gives players a degree of freedom in dodging their attacks. To make up for this, a Bombardier Mook's projectiles may be more powerful than standard attacks, may deal SplashDamage of some kind, or may be found in large concentrations that will force players to constantly keep moving to avoid the dropping payloads.

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'': During the wagon EscortMission, kargaroks fly overhead with bombs clutched in the claws that they try to drop on the wagon. Link must shoot them down with his bow and arrows to prevent this, as they won't come down into melee range.
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'': Hroks are stork-like enemies that perch on trees and fly off towards Link when they spot him, staying high above his reach and regurgitating large rocks in an attempt to crush him. In the early game they're entirely impossible to harm once they get into the air -- they never drop low enough for Link to reach, and can only be dealt with preemptively by dropping bombs on them when they're still roosting -- but become more manageable once Link gets the bow and arrows.
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds'': Keeleons float high in the air and periodically drop bombs down towards Link. Link must use the Fire or Ice rods to take them out, as their attacks are the only ones that reach high enough to actually touch the floating creatures.
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTearsOfTheKingdom'': The batlike Aerocudas are often encountered carrying items such as rocks, barrels, snowballs or other monsters to drop on Link. In combat, they prioritize grabbing loose rocks and similar items as ammo when these are available over simply dive-bombing Link.

** You also have Nikzov Jet Fighter's [[HomingProjectile laser guided bombs]] that track you while falling down.

** ''VideoGame/SonicForces'' has the Valkeens, [[note]] Which may or may not the Balkiries from Sonic 2 [[/note]] bird enemies that appear in Mortar Canyon which cannot be destroyed and can only be avoided. Nebulas also once again reappear in the game.

** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'' introduces the Amazing Flyin' Hammer Bros. While most Hammer Bros. enemies perch on reachable ledges from which to toss hammers, fireballs, boomerangs or whatever else at Mario, the Amazing Flyin' Hammer Bros. sit on flying platforms well above jumping range and toss endless streams of hammers over their sides and to the ground below.

** ''[[VideoGame/TinyToonAdventuresBustersHiddenTreasure Buster's Hidden Treasure]]'' has two such enemies. In the [[GreenHillZone grassland levels]], there are raven enemies who carry apples and drop them when Buster gets close to them. In [[EternalEngine Montana Max's factory]], there are planes that drop bombs, and unlike the ravens they don't wait for Buster to get near them before dropping bombs.

*** Kirov airships are something of a Soviet MascotMook, being a MightyGlacier zeppelin that drops bombs directly above its target. Despite the huge damage, self-repair and ability to move faster while damaging themselves, their very low speed makes them easy prey for dedicated AntiAir units.

*** The Aurora bomber goes so fast it's effectively invulnerable until it drops its payload, at which point it becomes very fragile indeed. It's also the single most expensive unit in the game.

** The ork Fighta-Bomma is a flying artillery unit, slowly firing highly-unaccurate Grot Bombs at targets from very long distances.

** Dwarven Gyrobombers are helicopter-like machines that carry payloads of bombs they drop straight down, and are especially effective against massed infantry. Their usefulness drops sharply once their bombs are expended -- they're reasonably tough, but aren't suited for melee and lack ranged weaponry.

* ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'': Inverted. Robo and Frog share the Dual-Tech "Bombing Run," wherein Robo stocks Frog up with bombs, and throws him in the air. Frog streaks through the air and drops the bombs on a horizontal line of enemies.

* ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterWorld'': Bazelgeuse is a wyvern that hunts by flying over its prey and scattering its explosive scales over the ground below, swooping down afterwards to prey on whatever died in the blast. It prefers to open fights with a bombing run of this sort, often not even landing, but unlike other examples of this trope it's a formidable fighter and just as dangerous up close as when flying overhead.

* ''VideoGame/MetalShinobiAssassin'' have robotic lanterns who attacks by floating above you and dropping exploding projectiles.

* ''VideoGame/DeepRockGalactic'': Mactera Goo Bombers are flying insects that chuck balls of goo that slow targets down on contact, and can also perform a carpet-bombing like maneuver to cover a large area in goo.

* ''VideoGame/{{Oddworld}}'': Flying sligs have a helicopter rotor attached to their tail rather than [[ArtificialLimbs mechanical legs]] of other sligs. This allows for them to move in more than just horizontal directions like ground sligs and go up and down or diagonally. Their weapon of choice? Bombs. Lots and lots of bombs.

*** Zirros resemble flying mushrooms attack exclusively by spitting bombs at Link. They normally stay well above Link's head, dipping down only to deliver a payload, and will retreat if Link approaches them, making dealing with them tricky.

* ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'':

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTearsOfTheKingdom'': The batlike Aerocudas are often encountered carrying items such as rocks, barrels, snowballs or other monsters to drop on Link.

* ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'': The Geth Bomber was a flying drone that was added to multiplayer via patch. It would fly around dropping bombs if it found a player character. As the only flying character in the game, it ignored low cover and the large blast radius of its bombs made it dangerous in confined areas.

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening'': In Toronbo Shores, there's a monkey that sits in a palm tree and throws coconuts down at you. If you hang around for long enough, it will throw a bomb as well. Its high perch means it cannot be reached by Link, but he can charge into the tree to knock the monkey down and send it scurrying away.

[[caption-width-right:310: [-[[VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2 Here, have some bombs!]]-] ]]