History Main / BossCorridor

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[[quoteright:256:[[VideoGame/MegaMan2 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Mega_Man_2_9215.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:256:[[ThisIsGonnaSuck Nothing good can come of this]].]]

** Subverted in Twilight Princess' Snowpeak Ruins, where the corridor turns out to be the actual boss room (instead of the usual circular arena it seems to be on the map).

** In ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance'', both player characters have a long stretch after the last save point in [[spoiler:The World That Never Was]] towards the bosses. Sora gets a broken bridge with a dead end towards his battle with [[spoiler:Xemnas, which ends with [[TheHeroDies his death]] at the hands of Young Xehanort]]. Riku has to climb a tower on a pipe through Flowmotion, where he discovers [[spoiler:a dying Sora trapped in a nightmare, and the [[HPToOne Anti-Black Coat]] waiting]].

* The ''VideoGame/FinalFantasy'' series makes use of this sometimes, and often has a corridor or bridge right before a game's final boss or PointOfNoReturn.

* ''VideoGame/The3rdBirthday'': There is one before the FinalBoss fight against [[spoiler:Hyde]]. It's a white space out-of-time with blood floating in the atmosphere.[[/folder]]

* A long enemy-free room loaded with nothing but health and ammo appears before every major boss fight in ''VideoGame/JetForceGemini''. If the boss kills you you'll be dropped back into the Boss Corridor [[AntiFrustrationFeatures so you can quickly top up on supplies and immediately try again]].

* The ''VideoGame/DiabloIII: Reaper of Souls'' campaign ends in Pandemonium Fortress, where Malthael is hiding. Levels 1 and 2 of the Fortress are full maps. Level 3 is just a single lopsided walkway, hanging in a huge foggy space, descending to "The Heart of the Fortress", which looks like a massive, ominous death orb.

* These show up often in ''VideoGame/{{Metroid}}'' games.
* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' has several, such as the one before the Deku Tree boss, the one before the Spirit Temple boss, the one before the Forest Temple boss, the one before the Water Temple boss (which is sloped and has three bladetraps), and the stairs in the final dungeon, especially the final stairway with stained-glass windows and a carpet, which is right before Ganondorf.
** In both ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker The Wind Waker]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'', the fight against Ganondorf is preceded by a long, decrepit upstairs corridor. The former game gradually mutes the background music to hype the upcoming battle via QuieterThanSilence, while the latter game gradually replaces the Hyrule Castle theme with Ganondorf's {{Leitmotif}}.

* ''VideoGame/MetalGear'':
** The path leading to Psycho Mantis in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' is a good example. When you got the key to open the door, even the rest of the building seems entirely deserted, warning you that something is about to happen.
** At the endgame of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'', you have to cross a long corridor to the control room where the [[spoiler:[[AIIsACrapshoot world controlling supercomputer]]]] is located. While the corridor is technically empty, the walls are covered in microwave radiation generators that almost bake Snake alive as he struggles to reach the other end.

* ''VideoGame/BloodstainedRitualOfTheNight'': Being the SpiritualSuccessor to ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'' this trope happens a lot.
** [[spoiler:Zangetsu the first time]] is fought in a perfectly normal corridor that connects to a different area of the castle.
** The corridor before Bloodless is empty.
** The room where Gebel is fought is preceded by a very epic Castlevania-style staircase.
* Most bosses in ''VideoGame/{{Aquaria}}'' have these, usually with a save point in or near it. Since most of the game takes place underwater, some boss corridors are vertical, emptying out at the top or bottom of the BossRoom.

* ''VideoGame/HollowKnight'':
** The corridor preceding the first fight with Hornet in Greenpath qualifies as this.
** Optional boss Nosk has a very long and winding one. Fortunately, near the end you can [[DoorToBefore open a shortcut to the beginning]], making it much quicker to return to the boss if you lose on your first attempt.
** The interior of the Temple of the Black Egg is also an example, although by this point of the game, you have the Crystal Heart (super dash) ability to speed through it.
* ''VideoGame/{{Purple}}'' has a corridor for each boss, between the ominous gate and boss chamber, and with boss mugshot right before the chamber to boot.
* A miniboss corridor appears in ''VideoGame/{{Bug}}'' for the only MiniBoss in the game. It's actually a dangerous area since there's rolling and bouncing tumbleweed hazards that fly out from behind ObstructiveForeground. Funnily, at the start of the corridor, you see a sign stating "Beware! [[GiantMook Big Ants]]!", and then you face off against three ''tiny'' ants that run away from you. Until you reach the end, [[OhCrap confirming the sign's statement]].
* Often used in the ''Franchise/{{Kirby}}'' series after Super Star. They often contain 3 Copy Essences and one Maxim Tomato, with the Copy Essences often being useful against the next boss. [[{{EasyLevelsHardBosses}} You're gonna need them.]]
* ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'' does this with many bosses, and always does with the final ones.
* Obani Draco of ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankUpYourArsenal'' is a Boss Corridor. The moon base's only purpose is to serve as a corridor filled towards the boss battle with the {{Sadist}}ic EvilDiva [[TheDragon Courtney Gears]] at the end. It is also one of only two places in the game (the other being [[{{PortTown}} Blackwater City]]) without a Titanium Bolt.

* ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor'' feature these in the final dungeon - one before the last boss, and one before Gloomtail (which later transforms into a heavily defended staircase to the lower levels).

* The original ''VideoGame/PaperMario'' has 3 separate corridors with Hyper Goombas before reaching Tubba-Blubba's heart, the walkway to the Lava Piranha, the hallway with the fake Peach (4 Duplighost enemies) at the end of Bowser's Castle, before the third and final room with a Bowser head door, where you fight [[spoiler:Jr Troopa for the [[AllYourPowersCombined final time]] after he wipes out the Koopa Bros.]], and finally, the upper halls of Peach's Castle, which lead to Bowser himself (these same halls are traversed in the game's prologue).
* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'':
** The EliteFour battles are often segued with staircases to the next zone in between. The one between the last Elite Four member and the Champion is always longer (except for the first generation games, where the corridor between the third and fourth Elite Four trainers is the longest, and the Champion, who happens to be TheRival, is in a smaller room past the door that is right behind the final Elite Four opponent).
** There are also straight corridors in the overworld sometimes, such as before dungeon bosses such as the criminal team leaders (an example is the hall on the top floor of Silph Co. before the second battle with Giovanni in the company's boardroom) and the Legendary Pokemon (the corridor on the top floor of Ho'oh's tower in the second generation, which leads to said Pokemon.) A Boss Corridor also precedes the second generation games' TrueFinalBoss, the player character from the first generation games, in Mt. Silver.
* ''VideoGame/StarOceanTheLastHope'' has before the final boss a long corridor, staircase and a single landing before another staircase, which includes giant torches at the sides lighting as the player walks forward.
* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'':
** There are a few boss corridors in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI'', such as the two caves in [[WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989 Atlantica]] that each lead to the two separate phases of the Ursula boss battle, but the big one is after slaying [[DiscOneFinalBoss Male]][[WesternAnimation/SleepingBeauty ficent]] in Hollow Bastion. Upon returning to the castle chapel, a hole appears behind the room's save point, and it leads to the elevator shaft and then the actual Boss Corridor, the Grand Hall where the Princesses of Heart are kept in stasis. This room is the last chance to explore a rather easy overworld (and do a few sidequests), as once you pass through this corridor and make it to the stairway at the other end, a cutscene starts that takes Sora into the boss fight against the [[spoiler: Ansem/Xehanort possessed Riku]], and all hell breaks loose after this fight that makes the game much harder from this point.
** In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', right before the boss battle with the [[Film/{{Tron}} Master Control Program and Sark]], the entrance to the former's lair is a long bridge from the last save point in Space Paranoids. And at the end of the game in The World That Never Was, you have to climb a staircase before the first boss with Xemnas.
** In all story modes of ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'', the PointOfNoReturn leading to the FinalBoss is marked by a long, narrow, jagged-walled corridor. It is one of the most foreboding things in the entire series to date.
** In ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance'', both player characters have a long stretch after the last save point in [[spoiler:The World That Never Was]] towards the bosses. Sora gets a broken bridge with a dead end towards his battle with [[spoiler:Xemnas, which ends with [[TheHeroDies his death]] at the hands of Young Xehanort]]. Riku has to climb a tower on a pipe through Flowmotion, where he discovers [[spoiler:a dying Sora trapped in a nightmare, and the [[HPToOne Anti-Black Coat]] waiting]].
*** Right before the final boss, [[spoiler:Meow Wow and Komory Bat invoke this trope by popping up on both sides of the entrance to The Castle That Never Was to create a Dreamline for Riku to help him enter]].

* ''VideoGame/TwoWorlds'' II: The corridor leading to the final boss has [[SuspiciousVideogameGenerosity lots and lots of potions]] along the walls.
* ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 1}}'' has the [[http://images.wikia.com/fallout/images/5/5a/Fo1_Demonstration_Vault_Command_Center.png "Corridor Of Revulsion"]] before the Master's room, covered in ''[[NauseaFuel living flesh]]''. It actually serves a purpose: you get {{Mind Rape}}d by the Master's PsychicPowers here unless you have the Psychic Nullifier item or the Mental Block perk. Once the fight actually begins, the corridor spawns reinforcements for the Master.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Faria}}'', all tower bosses but the final one lie on the top floor at the end of longish corridors, usually with one-way doors, running straight upward.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'', the Last Corridor (so named by the SavePoint there) is a stately hallway bathed in gorgeous yellow light which obviously leads the player straight to the final encounter with the King. However, one dialogue occurs in the middle of this corridor, and it includes a major {{Reveal}}. On a "No Mercy" run, [[spoiler:the FinalBoss[[note]]as the next two targets, Asgore and Flowey, [[PostFinalBoss suffer death by cutscene]][[/note]] Sans is fought ''in the corridor itself'']].

* The [[EldritchLocation Digital Shifts]] in ''VideoGame/DigimonStoryCyberSleuth'' all end on one of these, where the corrupted area gives way to a watery expanse consisting only of the Digital Shift's more surreal elements and the only solid ground is a narrow stretch leading up to either a powerful Digimon or an [[EldritchAbomination Eater]].

* ''VideoGame/StarFox64'' has this before the battle with [[spoiler:the fake]] Andross on Venom if you came from Bolse (the penultimate boss, Golemech, is also fought in a corridor, but since [[GetBackHereBoss it's running away]] and its "attacks" involve causing the corridor to become more crowded so that you [[CollisionDamage crash into stuff]], it doesn't count as this trope). If you come from Area 6, the single straight corridor is replaced by a branching group of corridors where you get different power-ups depending on which direction you choose to go at each branch. The optimal route will get you the exact same group of power-ups that would be found in the straight corridor in the from Bolse version--two laser upgrades, three shield rings, and a bomb.[[note]]It's left, right, left, left, right, right.[[/note]]

** In Silent Hill 2, the only way to leave the AbandonedHospital is through a long, twisted, dark corridor leading to an elevator. You encounter [[ImplacableMan recurring boss]] Pyramid Head in this corridor. Except that in this case, he appears right behind you and is invincible. Played straight for other bosses, such as the hall lined with newspapers before the Abstract Daddy, and the hanging cages before the final boss. The Flesh Lips has no build up, though, so can come as a surprise when you're tossed into a fight out of nowhere.
** In Silent Hill 3, in [[RecycledSet the same hospital]], Heather has to run down an incredibly long, creepy and empty corridor with no music but the sound of metal grates closing behind her in order to reach the boss Leonard.
* ''VideoGame/The3rdBirthday'': There is one before the FinalBoss fight against [[spoiler:Hyde]]. It's a white space out-of-time with blood floating in the atmosphere.[[/folder]]

*** The last major room in the Temple Of The Ancients is a long hall with murals of Meteor. This is the goal room, as [[BigBad Sephiroth is inside]]. He locks you in when you enter, and following him to the end of the room, where the Black Materia is, starts a conversation about [[AGodAmI his]] [[OmnicidalManiac plans]] and brings a Red Dragon down on AVALANCHE when he disappears. A second Boss corridor follows this one to the temple exit, where a stronger boss, the Demon's Gate, blocks the door out. [[spoiler:(This boss is the last boss fight that Aerith participates in, as she leaves the party afterwards to face Sephiroth by herself and is KilledOffForReal shortly afterward.)]]

* Almost every boss level of ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld2YoshisIsland'' has a corridor leading to the boss fight. Before the FinalBoss is a long [[AutoScrollingLevel auto-scrolling corridor]] with [[EvilSorcerer Kamek]] casting spells at Yoshi. Also, in one boss level (the one pitting you against Naval Piranha), you can even kill that boss (before she is even transformed by Kamek) while you are still in that corridor by pelting her with a single egg within a certain angle so that [[SkippableBoss you won't have to fight her!]]

* Almost every boss level of ''VideoGame/YoshisIsland'' has a corridor leading to the boss fight. In fact, in one boss level (the one pitting you against Naval Piranha), you can even kill that boss (before she is even transformed by [[EvilSorcerer Kamek]]) while you are still in that corridor by pelting her with a single egg within a certain angle so that you won't have to fight her!
--->'''Kamek''': Oh, my!

* ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou'' has the Shibuya River. Neku even [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] it.
-->'''Neku:''' This just screams "endgame."

*** The last major room in the Temple Of The Ancients is a long hall with murals of Meteor. This is the goal room, as [[BigBad Sephiroth is inside]]. He locks you in when you enter, and following him to the end of the room, where the Black Materia is, starts a conversation about [[AGodAmI his]] [[OmnicidalManiac plans]] and brings a Red Dragon down on AVALANCHE when he disappears. A second BossCorridor follows this one to the temple exit, where a stronger boss, the Demon's Gate, blocks the door out. [[spoiler:(This boss is the last boss fight that Aerith participates in, as she leaves the party afterwards to face Sephiroth by herself and is KilledOffForReal shortly afterward.)]]

* ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarOnline'' always has an extra long corridor before the teleporters to the final bosses of both episodes 1 and 2 regardless of the map layout.

* A staple of the 2D ''Franchise/MegaMan'' games. Even long past the point where Capcom knew they didn't actually need them anymore[[note]]The original reason they were there is that, in the original engine for the NES ''VideoGame/MegaManClassic'' games, a checkpoint could only occur on a screen that had actively been loaded in, like during vertical segments, rather than Mega Man simply walking into the screen like he would normally do in a horizontal segment; the engines for games from the SNES onward didn't have this limitation[[/note]], they were kept in as tradition (much like the ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' series' door loading screens). Note that [[VideoGame/MegaMan1 The first game's]] corridors has [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness several enemies and traps]] in them, making it the only game in the series to put something other than powerups in a boss corridor.

* ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'' games frequently have one before Dracula (or whoever is in the throne room), often to collect more hearts and whatnot. ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaRondoOfBlood Rondo of Blood]]'' has one for every boss, complete with its own music.
** A number of boss fights, especially in the Metroidvania games, happen ''in'' the corridor. That's because the bosses halt your progress through the castle.

** There are a few boss corridors in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI'', such as the two caves in [[Disney/TheLittleMermaid Atlantica]] that each lead to the two separate phases of the Ursula boss battle, but the big one is after slaying [[DiscOneFinalBoss Male]][[Disney/SleepingBeauty ficent]] in Hollow Bastion. Upon returning to the castle chapel, a hole appears behind the room's save point, and it leads to the elevator shaft and then the actual Boss Corridor, the Grand Hall where the Princesses of Heart are kept in stasis. This room is the last chance to explore a rather easy overworld (and do a few sidequests), as once you pass through this corridor and make it to the stairway at the other end, a cutscene starts that takes Sora into the boss fight against the [[spoiler: Ansem/Xehanort possessed Riku]], and all hell breaks loose after this fight that makes the game much harder from this point.

* ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'' has one of these before the Boss Fight with Sledge.

* A long corridor leads to each of the Bowser courses in ''VideoGame/SuperMario64''. In addition, one of the missions in Shifting Sand Land ends with Mario going down a red-block passageway inside the course's pyramid, which goes to the dual hand boss and the Star they are holding.
* One of these corridors precedes each of the world-end bosses in the ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBros'' games, and all of the Boom-Boom fights apart from the ship, airship fleet, and mega-tank levels in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3''.