History Main / CowardlyBoss

* The fight with Dr. Mueller in ''{{Splatterhouse}} 2'' is of this kind. He dies in one hit, but you got to chase him down his lab while he runs away throwing at you potassium bombs and [[InvincibleMinorMinion Invincible Minor Minions]] and trying to avoid some explosive traps.

* In ''CityOfHeroes'', some bosses (or at least mission notables) are programmed to run after hitting a certain health threshold, and you're supposed to stop them from running. If they escape (i.e. zone out of the map), you fail the mission, so there's no rematch.
* The Ghostring in ''RagnarokOnline'' can pack quite a wallop. However, and rather frustratingly for players, when its hitpoints drop below a certain threshold, it'll spam teleports and move randomly around the map in an attempt to avoid the player (to be precise: 50% chance of teleporting every time it attacks).

* Dr. Nefarious in ''RatchetAndClankUpYourArsenal'' combines this with ISurrenderSuckers.

* Asdrubael Vect in ''DawnOfWar: Soulstorm'' when assaulting the Dark Eldar stronghold. He often attempts to solo your base within his [[strike:Pimpmobile]] Dais of Destruction, but after taking fairly minor damage, he will scream to be taken back for repairs and repeat the process. The player can potentially tech up enough so that the next time he pays a visit, you can unleash your own wave of destruction and hopefully blow him up before he returns to the base, thereby winning the battle and beating the Dark Eldar.

* Deathgaze (also known as [=DoomGaze=] in the SNES version) in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' and his cameo in ''FinalFantasyIVTheAfterYears''.

* In ''VideoGame/FTLFasterThanLight'', the final boss will retreat whenever you reduce its hull to zero, each time losing a wing section (containing one weapon and two subsystems), but gaining a new attack and changing its strategy when you jump to its next location. It dies on the third attempt.

[[AC:SimulationGame]]
* The Rebel Flagship in ''VideoGame/FTLFasterThanLight.'' [[JustifiedTrope Justified]], as its main goal isn't to stop the player, but to destroy the Federation base -- if you prove too much of a nuisance, it's going to need to get repairs and reinforcements to do so.

* Jerry Ying from ''{{Stranglehold}}'', in keeping with his DirtyCoward persona after [[spoiler:killing Billie]] at the Chicago History Museum, runs off after losing only a quarter of his health in his first major clash with you and yelling "This isn't over yet, Tequila!" You then have to kill your way through a good number of more mooks before finally cornering him in the stage's final showdown.

* Boba Fett behaves this way in [[ThatOneLevel one level]] of JediAcademy. He'll harass you periodically as you try to accomplish the mission, and can't be defeated for good until you've accomplished all other objectives. Luckily, the level is skippable.

[[AC:MMOs]]

* Popple in ''[[VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiSuperstarSaga Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga]]'' runs away if you defeat his partner first.
** Kamek does this in VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiDreamTeam. You have to fight him in three different dream worlds to fix the doors in the real one, and only after the last battle does he actually go down/do you get experience for it.

* Mahasti of ''PrinceOfPersia: The Two Thrones''.

* 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.

* ''Wrestling/{{WWE}} [=SmackDown=] vs. Raw 2009'''s Road to [=WrestleMania=] mode actually has one of these - in Chris Jericho's story mode, he is being harassed by a masked man who will repeatedly escape by some way or another every time Jericho has the chance to get his hands on him he escapes. Depending on what choice you make at a crucial point, you either [[spoiler: eventually attack him and reveal him as Randy Orton]] or [[spoiler: never fight him.]]

* The Ghostring in ''RagnarokOnline'' can pack quite a wallop. However and rather frustratingly for players, when its hitpoints drop below a certain threshold, it'll spam teleports and move randomly around the map in an attempt to avoid the player (to be precise: 50% chance of teleporting every time it attacks).

* The second part of the boss fight with the giant possessed tree in ''DrawnToLife'' consists entirely of trying to track down a small, shadowy lizard thing that leaps erratically between the platforms of the area so you can shoot him. He dies in three hits and doesn't even try to attack; however, he is exceptionally annoying to keep track of and there are bunches shadowy tentacles scattered about the area that lash out at you if you get too close.

* Asdrubael Vect in ''DawnOfWar: Soulstorm'' when assaulting the Dark Eldar stronghold. He often attempts to solo your base within his [[strike:Pimpmobile]] Dais of Destruction, but when taken fairly minor damage he will scream to be taken back for repairs and repeat the process. The player can potentially tech up enough so that the next time he pays a visit you can unleash your own wave of destruction and hopefully blow him up before he returns to the base, thereby winning the battle and beating the Dark Eldar.
** Sometimes he gets stuck between his own units horrible pathfinding and the side of a cliff.

* Deathgaze (also known as DoomGaze in the SNES version) in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' and his cameo in ''FinalFantasyIVTheAfterYears''.

* 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.

* Darth Malak in ''KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' does this - ''twice''.

* Most boss monsters in the ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter'' series will either run, dig, swim or fly to another area after you've damaged them enough, and to finish the job you'll have to find them again. Marking them with a paintball, paint shot or paint-coated arrow will save you a lot of time figuring out exactly where they flee to.

* The ''VideoGame/MegaManXCommandMission'' gives us the [[FatBastard rotund]], [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder untrustworthy]], [[TheStarscream power-hungry would-be traitor]] Botos. He tries to attack X and crew, goes down like a chump, then runs for the hills a good couple of times, forcing you to waste time and energy chasing him down. Frustratingly, the game doesn't even let the player actually beat him properly. [[spoiler: That's because someone takes the liberty of [[OffWithHisHead relieving Botos of his head]] before you get to him.]]

* 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 Rebel Flagship in ''VideoGame/FTLFasterThanLight.'' [[JustifiedTrope Justified]], as its main goal isn't to stop the player, but to destroy the Federation base - if you prove too much of a nuisance, it's going to need to get repairs and reinforcements to do so.

* Jerry Ying from ''{{Stranglehold}}'', in keeping with his DirtyCoward persona after [[spoiler: killing Billie]] at the Chicago History Museum, runs off after losing only a quarter of his health in his first major clash with you and yelling "This isn't over yet, Tequila!" You then have to kill your way through a good number of more mooks before finally cornering him in the stage's final showdown.
* 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 the uses his Shadow Thrusters. If he uses those, he flies away again and you need to take out more minions before he fully heals.

* Several bosses in ''DragonAge'' ''Origins'' vanish and reappear in different locations after taking damage. The Arcane Horror miniboss in the Brecilian Ruins teleports whenever a character gets near it and leaves a lightning storm in its wake. The Giant Spider Queen in Ortan Thaig will retreat back to the ceilng after webbing you up and summons a couple of its offspring. Both pale in comparison to the [[FinalBoss Archdemon]]. He flies to different locations after taking enough damage while Darkspawn reinforcements hassle you. At one point he lands in a spot that melee characters ''can't reach'' (so if your party is a melee-centric one, you're in trouble), leaving him free to spam his ranged Spirit attacks.

* 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 to prevent it.

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* 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 the uses his Shadow Thrusters. If he uses those, he flys away again and you need to take out more minions before he fully heals.

* 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 in to them really hurts. He makes a comeback in ''Command'', along with smaller forms that pretty much act the same.

* The [[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 the uses his Shadow Thrusters. If he uses those, he flys away again and you need to take out more minions before he fully heals.

* Koji Shindo in ''Yakuza 2'' (''VideoGame/RyuGaGotoku'' 2) uses a katana in order to fight you, but runs after taking set amounts of damage. You eventually corner him in a Japanese courtyard, where Yayoi throws you a sword for the BladeLock duel to the finish.

* ''{{WWE}} [=SmackDown=] vs. Raw 2009'''s Road to [=WrestleMania=] mode actually has one of these - in Chris Jericho's story mode, he is being harassed by a masked man who will repeatedly escape by some way or another every time Jericho has the chance to get his hands on him he escapes. Depending on what choice you make at a crucial point, you either [[spoiler: eventually attack him and reveal him as Randy Orton]] or [[spoiler: never fight him.]]
* Ganryu, Paul, and Xiaoyu in the Campaign Scenario of ''[[{{Tekken}} Tekken 6]]''.

* The Stonecore, one of the new 5-man instances in ''WorldOfWarcraft Cataclysm'', has a gnome that is this and a BaitAndSwitchBoss. You find him at the beginning of the instance with a group of mooks, and when he takes some damage he flees to another group of mooks further in. Repeat twice more, and he finally takes a stand with a huge crowd of mooks and begins charging his ultimate spell of doom... when a gigantic gyreworm smashes through the cavern wall, wiping out the gnome and his backup in one fell swoop.

* Ultimate Weapon in ''FinalFantasyVII''.
* Deathgaze (also known as DoomGaze in the SNES version) in ''FinalFantasyVI'' and his cameo in ''FinalFantasyIVTheAfterYears''.

* The Jumbo Cactar in ''FinalFantasyVIII''. This rather annoying boss has a ton of HP and can kill a character in one shot regardless of stats. After a certain point, it thinks about running away. If it does, you have to do the whole fight from the beginning.

** ''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...
** They aren't bosses, but in ''PokemonMysteryDungeon'', Pokemon with the ability 'Run Away' will flee if they're hurt too much. (Even your own Pokemon do this, unless they're the head of the party.)

* The Greenbottle Fly in ''BreathOfFire 2'' is a minor example: you only fight him twice, but in between, he leads you on a chase through two boss fights and a minefield of enemies.

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* The worm boss at the beginning of ''{{Metroid}}: Zero Mission''.

* The fight with Dr. Mueller in ''Splatterhouse 2'' is of this kind. He dies in one hit, but you got to chase him down his lab while he runs away throwing at you potassium bombs and [[InvincibleMinorMinion Invincible Minor Minions]] and trying to avoid some explosive traps.

* Jerry Ying from ''Stranglehold'', in keeping with his DirtyCoward persona after [[spoiler: killing Billie]] at the Chicago History Museum, runs off after losing only a quarter of his health in his first major clash with you and yelling "This isn't over yet, Tequila!" You then have to kill your way through a good number of more mooks before finally cornering him in the stage's final showdown.

* The ''VideoGame/MegaManX Command Mission'' gives us the [[FatBastard rotund]], [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder untrustworthy]], [[TheStarscream power-hungry would-be traitor]] Botos. He tries to attack X and crew, goes down like a chump, then runs for the hills a good couple of times, forcing you to waste time and energy chasing him down. Frustratingly, the game doesn't even let the player actually beat him properly. [[spoiler: That's because someone takes the liberty of [[OffWithHisHead relieving Botos of his head]] before you get to him.]]

* Doom Gaze in ''FinalFantasyVI'' and his cameo in ''FinalFantasyIVTheAfterYears''.

* Ozzie from ''ChronoTrigger'' runs across the bridge, then animates the dead bodies into a giant skeleton to stall you. Then later in Magus' castle, he only confronts you in the second-to-last room, meaning you've defeated literally everything in Magus Castle except for Ozzie and Magus. And then Ozzie casts an impenetrable barrier on himself.