History Main / CowardlyBoss

* In '"VideoGame/ShadowOfTheColossus'', you have Phalanx, the thirteenth boss. Phalanx spends half of the battle out of range and the other half trying to flee from Wander. When Wander actually gets on it, [[spoiler:after a while it dives back into the sand, knocking Wander off its back. This is the only time Phalanx can actually hurt you, and it's a side-effect of fleeing rather than an actual offence.]]

* In VideoGame/ShadowOfTheColossus, you have Phalanx, the thirteenth boss. Phalanx spends half of the battle out of range and the other half trying to flee from Wander. When Wander actually gets on it, [[spoiler:after a while it dives back into the sand, knocking Wander off its back. This is the only time Phalanx can actually hurt you, and it's a side-effect of fleeing rather than an actual offence.]]

* The most cowardly boss ''ever'' is the penultimate Golem-style boss from ''[[VideoGame/StarFox Lylat Wars]]'' on the easy route. He runs away from you constantly, fleeing down an endless corridor, never attacking you in any way. But he conjures pillars out of the walls and floors which you have to avoid -- flying your Arwing into them really hurts. He makes a comeback in ''Command'', along with smaller forms that pretty much act the same.

* The [[VideoGame/StarFox1 original Star Fox's]] Professor Hangar started the fight by saying BYE BYE!! and flying away. You then needed to take out his minions and then deplete his massive health bar before he uses his Shadow Thrusters. If he uses those, he flies away again and you need to take out more minions before he fully heals.

** ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime'': The FinalBoss of the game, the titular Metroid Prime, runs away and burrows deeper into the Impact Crater after each phase, forcing Samus to follow it a short distance below.

* Titular creature from ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime'' is a downplayed example. While it retreats deeper into its lair as it looses each quarter of health (and turns OneWingedAngel after loosing all of it), Samus follows it as part of the same cutscene.

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening'': The Master Stalfos is the first MiniBoss of the fifth dungeon (Catfish Maw, whose second miniboss is a pair of Dodongo Snakes). It tries to confront Link in one room, but upon taking some damage it flies and has to be found elsewhere. Link has to chase him across a total of four miniboss rooms and inflict enough damage in every rematch to finally kill the Stalfos and retrieve the Hookshot.

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening'': The Master Stalfos is the first MiniBoss of the fifth dungeon (Catfish Maw, whose second miniboss is a pair of Dodongo Snakes). It tries to confront Link in one room, but upon taking some damage it flies and has to be found elsewhere. Link has to chase him across a total of four miniboss rooms and inflict enough damage in every rematch to finally kill the Stalfos and retrieve the Hookshot.

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'': The Skull Kid, fought in the Sacred Grove. He spends time sending puppets to Link (who, in that moment, is stuck in his wolf form) and never attacks directly, and upon taking damage he'll open up a different area of the grove and go there. Link has to chase him all over the place until making him give up and unveil the path to the Master Sword. Later in the game, Link is able to confront him in his human form, and can shoot arrows to attack him from a diatnce, making the fight much easier.

%% * The Master Stalfos of the fifth dungeon in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening''.
%% * ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'': The worm boss at the beginning of ''VideoGame/MetroidZeroMission'', if you don't defeat it within a short amount of time.
* In ''VideoGame/MetroidSamusReturns'', some of the Gamma Metroids will flee to another nearby room through some webbing in the walls after taking a certain amount of damage.
* ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime'': The FinalBoss of the game, the titular Metroid Prime, runs away and burrows deeper into the Impact Crater after each phase, forcing Samus to follow it a short distance below.

%% * Skull Kid in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess''. Although, in this case, he was actually trying to lead you somewhere.

* Most of the "bosses" of the first ''Videogame/SpyroTheDragon'' game fight you in various parts of a level, switching between them after each hit.

* The Overset Possessor in ''VideoGame/LuigisMansionDarkMoon'' is this and a FlunkyBoss. The arena is on a huge clock, and the Boss hides inside, sending a bunch of Mooks after you; defeating them causes the hand to move, and a new set of Mooks to appear. However, the Overset Possessor himself comes out after you defeat the ones at the four o'clock, eight o'clock, and midnight positions, and he's vulnerable then; like all the Possessors he has to be hit with the Poltergust three times to defeat.

*** Deathgaze (also known as [=DoomGaze=] in the SNES version roams the overworld and the player has to chase it down by airship. He has the same M.O. in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIVTheAfterYears''.

* In ''VideoGame/EtrianOdyssey IV'', your party's first encounter with a Bloodbear starts out like this. You fight it until its HP are knocked down to about 50%, at which point it runs away from you to a lower floor where you have to go to finish it off.

* The penultimate boss of ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime'', the titular Metroid Prime, runs away and burrows deeper into the Impact Crater after each phase, forcing Samus to follow it a short distance below.

* This is how Hunt mode is supposed to work in ''VideoGame/{{Evolve}}''. The monster encounters the hunters at a lower stage and they fight briefly, with the monster [[RegeneratingShieldStaticHealth loosing health]] and the hunters [[MaximumHPReduction taking strikes]], before they break apart again. If done correctly, several minor encounters will weaken both sides before one manages to finish the other off. If the monster player is feeling particularly obnoxious, this can easily become a GetBackHereBoss.

** Ultimate Weapon in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' flees the first few times you defeat it, only finally dying when he's above the Ancient Forest. When he shows up in ''VideoGame/WorldOfFinalFantasy'' he takes his queues from VI's Deathgaze. His HP can't be seen with Libra and he flees after a set period of time, but he does not heal between fights. The average player needs to engage him 3 times before he finally goes down.
%% ** Deathgaze (also known as [=DoomGaze=] in the SNES version) in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' and his cameo in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIVTheAfterYears''.
%% ** Kefka is one of these early in the game, when he's just a funny clown. Later on, it's the protagonists who run from him.

The biggest difference between this and a GetBackHereBoss is that the CowardlyBoss actually does stop and fight you at some points of the BossBattle, which is most often the best (or maybe only) opening you have to deplete its health. A GetBackHereBoss doesn't do this if it can help it, and you have to chase it constantly, usually fighting it on the fly.

%% * Mahasti of ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaTheTwoThrones''.

* In ''[[VideoGame/DoubleDragon Super/Return of Double Dragon]]'', the {{Acrofatic}} MonsterClown [=McGwire=] briefly attacks you after the truck ride in Mission 4 before running off, with you fighting him properly at the end of Mission 5.

Compare the RecurringBoss, who [[VillainExitStageLeft runs as a matter]] [[GameplayAndStorySegregation of the storyline]]. CowardlyMooks are when regular enemies behave like this. See also GetBackHereBoss.

* The Master Stalfos of the fifth dungeon in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening''.
* ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'':
** The worm boss at the beginning of ''VideoGame/MetroidZeroMission'', if you don't defeat it within a short amount of time.
** In ''VideoGame/MetroidSamusReturns'', some of the Gamma Metroids will flee to another nearby room through some webbing in the walls after taking a certain amount of damage.

* Skull Kid in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess''. Although, in this case, he was actually trying to lead you somewhere.

* The ''[[VideoGame/LegoAdaptationGame Lego Star Wars/Indiana Jones/Batman]]'' games feature lots of examples of this. Expect to do some mild platforming or puzzle solving in between each hit on a boss.
* Mahasti of ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaTheTwoThrones''.
* In the NES version of ''VideoGame/{{Jaws}}'', the titular shark will sometimes disappear after you wound it forcing you to track it down again. Often, it will have healed forcing you to start over before getting to the actual attempt to kill it. Possibly a [[SubvertedTrope subversion]], since the shark doesn't run away as much as the timer for attacking expires.

* Ganryu, Paul, and Xiaoyu in the Campaign Scenario of ''[[VideoGame/{{Tekken}} Tekken 6]]''.

* Dr. Nefarious in ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankUpYourArsenal'' combines this with ISurrenderSuckers.
* The FinalBoss of ''Kid Niki: Radical Ninja''.

** Sometimes he gets stuck between his own unit's horrible pathfinding and the side of a cliff.
** And then there's things like the Tau Barracuda, which are pretty good hunters.

** Ultimate Weapon in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' flees the first few times you defeat it, only finally dying when he's above the Ancient Forest.
*** When he shows up in ''VideoGame/WorldOfFinalFantasy'' he takes his queues from VI's Deathgaze. His HP can't be seen with Libra and he flees after a set period of time, but he does not heal between fights. The average player needs to engage him 3 times before he finally goes down.
** Deathgaze (also known as [=DoomGaze=] in the SNES version) in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' and his cameo in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIVTheAfterYears''.
** Kefka is one of these early in the game, when he's just a funny clown. Later on, it's the protagonists who run from him.

** The Legendary Dogs/Cats/[[FanWank Gerbils]] in ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'', Latios/Latias in ''VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire'', and Mesprit and Cresselia in ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'', unless you have a Pokemon that knows a move like Mean Look or the ability Arena Trap to prevent it. And even then, the beasts tend to just use Roar on you.
** And in Platinum, Mesprit, Cresselia, ''and'' the Legendary birds, Moltres, Articuno, and Zapdos, all fit this trope.
** ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'' gives us Tornadus and Thundurus. Unlike the rest, you can use the weather to determine their whereabouts. If it's raining like mad in your area, get your Repels and Master Ball ready...

* Not really a boss (like many other things on this page), but a really strong enemy. The Amazee Dayzee in the ''VideoGame/PaperMario'' games will run away as soon as it can. Made worse by the fact that it's super rare, and in the first game, it's the only thing that will give you exp at high levels (aside from Dry Bones, but those only yield Star Points if you [[KillItWithFire burn them to ashes]].) In Super Paper Mario, [[BetterToDieThanBeKilled it'll even jump into bottomless pits to escape you.]]

** The latter case is only a problem if you don't have a rogue who can keep the ballistae working. If you ''do'', then you can just pelt him with ballistae bolts until he charges back into the fight.