History Main / NoFinalBossForYou

* In Tales of Souls, ''[[VideoGame/SoulSeries SoulcaliburIII]]''[='=]s Story Mode, if you lose a match, even once, the game will end when you beat Zasalamel/Abyss. If you don't lose ([[GuideDangIt and know to make some specific decisions during the game]]), you will also face Olcadan and Night Terror (although if you lose to Olcadan you won't face Night Terror). This is of note because Namco has never done this before in one of their {{Fighting Game}}s. Olcadan is hard to beat, but [[SNKBoss Night Terror]] is NintendoHard.

* In order to fight Akuma or Rugal, or their Shin/God incarnations in ''VideoGame/CapcomVsSNK2MarkOfTheMillennium'', you need fulfill certain conditions (i.e. getting a certain score and amount of Dramatic [=KOs=], and encountering and beating one of the mid-bosses.) Fail to do so, and your run will end after the tournament's final.

[[folder: Action Game]]

[[folder: Action RPG]]
* This happens in ''several'' of the free-roaming ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'' games with MultipleEndings — most notoriously ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight'' and ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaPortraitOfRuin'', in which the trigger to achieve or evade the bad ending [[note]]make that bad ending'''s''' in ''Symphony'''s case[[/note]] occurs roughly ''halfway through the game'', and ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaAriaOfSorrow'' and ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaDawnOfSorrow'', in which being able to bypass the first bad ending depends on [[RandomNumberGod being able to acquire]] and correctly use some [[RandomlyDrops specific Souls]] (with the added caveat of having to [[MoonLogicPuzzle figure out what Souls you need and how to use them]] in the former, and fight an additional boss in the latter).
* A very similar scenario occurs in ''VideoGame/BloodstainedRitualOfTheNight'' — the game ends with the battle with Gebel (and a GameOver screen instead of credits) unless a series of specific conditions are met beforehand.

[[folder: Beat-Em-Up]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Streets of Rage}}'' 3 allows you to complete only the first five of its seven levels on Easy difficulty. Once you beat the boss of level 5, [[spoiler:it taunts you that you have not discovered the location of its hostage (the chief of police), and Dr. Zan admits to the rest of the group that they need to do better]]. [[DifficultyByRegion This only applies to the North American version]]; the Japanese version will let you complete the entire game regardless of difficulty level.

[[folder: Fighting Games]]
* In ''VideoGame/SoulCaliburIII''[='=]s Story Mode, if you lose a match, even once, the game will end when you beat Zasalamel/Abyss. If you don't lose (and know to make some specific decisions during the game), you will also face Olcadan and Night Terror (although if you lose to Olcadan you won't face Night Terror). This is of note because Namco has never done this before in one of their {{Fighting Game}}s. Olcadan is hard to beat, but Night Terror is NintendoHard.

[[folder: First-Person Shooter]]
* The [[HarderThanHard Trauma]] mode ending from ''VideoGame/{{Painkiller}}'' skips the game's final chapter (including the final boss) entirely, and instead gives you a genuinely happy ending where Daniel gets let into Heaven to reunite with his wife.

* Playing the 'Easy' and 'Normal' modes in ''VideoGame/TetrisAttack'', on the VS. Story Mode: 'Easy' takes Yoshi through 10 stages, from Lakitu to Naval Pirahna, but is followed by a premature happy wave from Yoshi and 'CONGRATULATIONS' screen. 'Normal' allows Yoshi to make it to Stage 11, and play against Kamek, but ends prematurely with a handy secret game tip. The only way to reach Bowser, witness the true ending and see the rainbow credits scene is to play the 'Hard' mode.

[[folder: Real-Time Strategy]]
* In ''VideoGame/{{Lost Magic}}'', you don't get to fight [[BigBad the Diva of the Twilight]] if you elect to hold onto the Wand of Light in the late-game HostageForMacguffin SadisticChoice, then elect to kill the Sage of Wind instead of sparing her at the end of your BrainwashedAndCrazy Sage-killing rampage in the final chapter. Instead, you report back to her and [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness promptly get zapped to death]]. [[DownerEnding Isaac's posthumous narration]] hammers home that the Diva of the Twilight proceeded to exterminate humanity, and it's all his fault for making all the wrong choices.

[[folder: Role-Playing Games]]

** In ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'', if you choose Yuzu's route, in which you escape the lockdown, you won't fight Babel, the final boss in other routes. Instead, you fight [[spoiler:Amane and Izuna]], who guard the lockdown as final bosses (said battle isn't that much easier, since angels on the field [[ManaBurn absorb your mana]], and you don't have access to some powerful endgame demons from the other routes). Also, day 7 isn't one big {{Boss Rush}} like on other routes, since it contains only 2 battles (including the final battle) on Yuzu's route. The ending [[DownerEnding isn't exactly happy]] though.

*** Averted in [[UpdatedReRelease Redux]], where finishing the Womb of Grief storyline gives you the option to go for the Chaos+ Ending where you also fight Mem Aleph.

[[folder: Sports]]

[[folder: Survival Horror]]

* In ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil'', if you don't do the sidequests to get the good ending, you'll miss out on the final Tyrant fight.

[[folder: Shoot-Em-Up ]]

* The seventh and final stage of ''VideoGame/GigaWing'', including the {{Final|Boss}} [[DualBoss Bosses]], requires a no-continue run up to the end of stage 6. If you use a continue before then, [[spoiler:you get locked into a HeroicSacrifice BittersweetEnding]].

[[folder: Visual Novel ]]

[[folder: Western RPG ]]

[[folder: Webcomics ]]

That's right, No Final Boss for You. It's when a game with a final boss denies you that final boss because you did something different. Sometimes, it's [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential something]] [[LastSecondEndingChoice bad]] -- in which case being denied that closure is a NonstandardGameOver. Other times, your "crime" is [[EasyModeMockery playing the game with training wheels on]]. But for whatever the reason, you don't get to fight a final boss, hence the name.

* In ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'', you don't fight the disco ball in the sky, Kagutsuchi, in the demon ending. Why? Because demons are not allowed to create their own world, and the Demi-Fiend is demonic enough to fall under this rule.

->''"You may have sought the power of creation, but no matter how strong your conviction, a demon can never acquire a Reason. [[SpannerInTheWorks Whether or not you were aware of that, you purged the world of those who sympathized with the other philosophies of creation.]] Your body is brimming with strength, yet your soul is empty. I see before me [[OmnicidalManiac the incarnation of bane itself.]] ...Now, there is no reason for this world to exist. I shall have to wait for the next opportunity. You are responsible for the death of this world. I cannot forgive such a transgression! Begone, demon! May you be cursed eternally! False seeker of power, you are evil incarnate!"''

->''"[[PlayerCharacter You]] may have sought the power of creation, but no matter how strong your conviction, a demon can never acquire a Reason. [[SpannerInTheWorks Whether or not you were aware of that, you purged the world of those who sympathized with the other philosophies of creation.]] Your body is brimming with strength, yet your soul is empty. I see before me [[OmnicidalManiac the incarnation of bane itself.]] ...Now, there is no reason for [[PrimordialChaos this world]] to exist. I shall have to wait for the next opportunity. [[NiceJobBreakingItHero You are responsible for the death of this world.]] I cannot forgive such a transgression! [[GetOut Begone, demon!]] May you be cursed eternally! False seeker of power, you are evil incarnate!"''

* In the SNES version of ''VideoGame/KillerInstinct'', you can only fight Eyedol if your difficulty level is set to 3+ stars. Playing with only one or two stars will end the game once you defeat Fulgore.

folder: Role-Playing Games ]]

[[folder: Action Game ]]

* Playing the 'Easy' and 'Normal' modes in ''VideoGame/TetrisAttack'', on the VS. Story Mode: 'Easy' takes Yoshi through 10 stages, from Lakitu to Naval Pirahna, but is followed by a premature happy wave from Yoshi and 'CONGRATULATIONS' screen. 'Normal' allows Yoshi to make it to Stage 11, and play against Kamek, but ends prematurely with a handy secret game tip. The only way to reach Bowser, witness the true ending and see the rainbow credits scene is to play the 'Hard' mode.

[[folder: Action RPG ]]

[[folder: Beat-Em-Up ]]

[[folder: Eastern RPG ]]

* In ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'', you don't fight the disco ball in the sky, Kagutsuchi, in the demon ending. Why? Because demons are not allowed to create their own world, and the Demi-Fiend is demonic enough to fall under this rule.
** In ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'', if you choose Yuzu's route, in which you escape the lockdown, you won't fight Babel, the final boss in other routes. Instead, you fight [[spoiler:Amane and Izuna]], who guard the lockdown as final bosses (said battle isn't that much easier, since angels on the field [[ManaBurn absorb your mana]], and you don't have access to some powerful endgame demons from the other routes). Also, day 7 isn't one big {{Boss Rush}} like on other routes, since it contains only 2 battles (including the final battle) on Yuzu's route. The ending [[DownerEnding isn't exactly happy]] though.
** While you are still given ''a'' final boss, the Chaos route of ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'' doesn't allow you to face the super-tough final boss of the other two routes, Mem Aleph, [[spoiler:because on this route you decided to ''ally'' with her]]. Instead, you're given a match with Zelenin. Said fight is as easy as, if not easier than, the fight with her in the final chapter on the Neutral Route -- in which she's the ''first'' of the many bosses you'll face in the chapter.
** In ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}'', if you [[spoiler:kill Ryoji]], the game will skip ahead to graduation day in March, with the rest of the cast going about their lives, oblivious to the world's impending destruction.
** In ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}'', if you fail to identify the true killer, the game will also skip ahead to the protagonist's departure in March, with the ending questioning whether you made the right decision.
** In ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'', you can choose to eschew the traditional Law, Neutral, and Chaos routes in favor of a fourth ending: the "Nothingness" ending. Defeating the sole boss of this route, [[ZeroEffortBoss if you can even call it one]], results in an ending in which [[spoiler:you destroy the entire universe. It's the only route in which you don't fight Merkabah or Lucifer]].
** In ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse'', it's the ''Law and Chaos'' paths that lead to this trope. [[spoiler:On Law, Lucifer becomes the FinalBoss and immediately afterwards you get an ending similar to ''IV''[='=]s Law ending, with Tokyo being sucked into a black hole and Mikado being ushered into an era of peace, though with the caveat that Flynn is still at large. On Chaos, with Merkabah already dead, you get an ending similar to ''IV''[='=]s Chaos ending, in which Lucifer crowns you the new king of Tokyo and Mikado in a society where MightMakesRight and both cities run ablaze with eternal individual warfare, though he also tasks you with eventually defeating Flynn to complete the picture.]] Either way, [[spoiler:you don't get to enter the Cosmic Egg, you don't get to kill the Divine Powers for real, and you don't get to fight the real FinalBoss, YHVH]].
* Should you make it to the end of ''VideoGame/RomancingWalker'' without a high enough relationship with anyone in your BattleHarem, you have no choice but to retreat and wait as the FinalBoss [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt destroys the universe]]. You can also trigger the same NonstandardGameOver if you ''do'' have a high enough relationship with any of your partners, but [[PressXToDie decide to leave the Astral Plane anyway]].
* ''VideoGame/{{Kinder}}'' forces the player into obtaining the False End [[note]]Killer End in its remake, ''Re:Kinder''[[/note]], should at least one party member have died before the events in the apartments are completed. The only way to make it to the final boss is to manage to keep them alive, leading to the True End.
* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVI'': If you beat the BonusBoss Nokturnus in less than 20 turns, he's so impressed by your strength that he goes and curb-stomps the FinalBoss for you. You almost feel sorry for the poor bastard watching his every attack fail. While being strong enough to do this means beating the boss is relatively easy, the ending doesn't play out any differently if you beat Mortamor in 10 or 50 turns.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Fighting Game]]

[[folder: First-Person Shooter ]]

[[folder: Real-Time Strategy ]]

* In ''VideoGame/{{Lost Magic}}'', you don't get to fight [[BigBad the Diva of the Twilight]] if you elect to hold onto the Wand of Light in the late-game HostageForMacguffin SadisticChoice, then elect to kill the Sage of Wind instead of sparing her at the end of your BrainwashedAndCrazy Sage-killing rampage in the final chapter. Instead, you report back to her and [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness promptly get zapped to death]]. [[DownerEnding Isaac's posthumous narration]] hammers home that the Diva of the Twilight proceeded to exterminate humanity, and it's all his fault for making all the wrong choices. YouBastard.

[[folder: Sports]]

* In ''VideoGame/TonyHawksUnderground'', you reach the end of the game, and [[{{Jerkass}} Eric]] [[TheRival Sparrow]] turns up and taunts the player character with the [[MacGuffin tape of their]] achievements from earlier in the game, which only Eric & the main character were witness to, before challenging the player to follow Eric's run across the entirety of the New Jersey level, whilst Eric is throwing things at them. Play through the game a second time, and as Eric pulls out the tape and starts taunting the main character, [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim they just punch him out and take the tape]]. Different from other versions of the trope, this one plays out as [[GoldenEnding a better ending than the original]], because you manage to give Eric his just desserts without giving in to his goading. Also a subversion because it actually requires the proverbial final boss to be "fought" once before.

[[folder: Survival Horror ]]

* In the NewGamePlus of ''VideoGame/HauntingGround'', you can get a key that will let you get an early ending if you use it on the front gates. The ending is actually worth it to watch because you get to see the BigBad get his comeuppance (and an old crippled man falling downstairs).
* If you don't [[spoiler:travel to the past and]] defeat Wiseman in a sidequest in ''VideoGame/BatenKaitosOrigins'', then you won't get to fight [[spoiler:Verus-Wiseman]] at the end of the game.
* In ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil'', if you don't do the sidequests to get the good ending, you'll miss out on the final Tyrant fight.

->''"[[PlayerCharacter You]] may have sought the power of creation, but no matter how strong your conviction, a demon can never acquire a Reason. [[SpannerInTheWorks Whether or not you were aware of that, you purged the world of those who sympathized with the other philosophies of creation.]] Your body is brimming with strength, yet your soul is empty. I see before me [[OmnicidalManiac the incarnation of bane itself.]] ...Now, there is no reason for [[PrimordealChaos this world]] to exist. I shall have to wait for the next opportunity. [[NiceJobBreakingItHero You are responsible for the death of this world.]] I cannot forgive such a transgression! [[GetOut Begone, demon!]] May you be cursed eternally! False seeker of power, you are evil incarnate!"''

->''"You may have sought the power of creation, but no matter how strong your conviction, a demon can never acquire a Reason. Whether or not you were aware of that, you purged the world of those who sympathized with the other philosophies of creation. Your body is brimming with strength, yet your soul is empty. I see before me the incarnation of bane itself. ...Now, there is no reason for this world to exist. I shall have to wait for the next opportunity. You are responsible for the death of this world. I cannot forgive such a transgression! Begone, demon! May you be cursed eternally! False seeker of power, you are evil incarnate!"''
-->-- '''Kagutsuchi''', ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne''

[[folder: Sports ]]

* In ''VideoGame/TonyHawksUnderground'', you reach the end of the game, and [[{{Jerkass}} Eric]] [[TheRival Sparrow]] turns up and taunts the player character with the [[MacGuffin tape of their]] achievements from earlier in the game, which only Eric & the main character were witness to, before challenging the player to follow Eric's run across the entirety of the New Jersey level, whilst Eric is throwing things at them. Play through the game a second time, and as Eric pulls out the tape and starts taunting the main character, [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim they just punch him out and take the tape]].

[[folder: Fighting Game ]]

* In ''VideoGame/SoulCaliburIII''[='=]s Story Mode, if you lose a match, even once, the game will end when you beat Zasalamel/Abyss. If you don't lose (and know to make some specific decisions during the game), you will also face Olcadan and Night Terror (although if you lose to Olcadan you won't face Night Terror). This is of note because Namco has never done this before in one of their FightingGames. Olcadan is hard to beat, but Night Terror is NintendoHard.

* In order to fight Akuma or Rugal, or their Shin/God incarnations in ''VideoGame/CapcomVsSNK2MarkOfTheMillennium'', you need fulfill certain conditions (i.e. getting a certain score and amount of Dramatic [=KOs=], and encountering and beating one of the mid-bosses.) Fail to do so, and your run will end after the rival battle.

* In order to fight Akuma or Rugal, or their Shin/God incarnations in ''VideoGame/CapcomVsSNK2MarkOfTheMillennium'', you need fulfill certain conditions. Fail to do so, and your run will end after the rival battle.

* In order to fight Akuma or Rugal, or their Shin/God incarnations in ''VideoGame/CapcomVsSNK2'', you need fulfill certain conditions. Fail to do so, and your run will end after the rival battle.

* In ''VideoGame/LostMagic'', you don't get to fight [[BigBad the Diva of the Twilight]] if you elect to hold onto the Wand of Light in the late-game HostageForMacguffin SadisticChoice, then elect to kill the Sage of Wind instead of sparing her at the end of your BrainwashedAndCrazy Sage-killing rampage in the final chapter. Instead, you report back to her and [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness promptly get zapped to death]]. [[DownerEnding Isaac's posthumous narration]] hammers home that the Diva of the Twilight proceeded to exterminate humanity, and it's all his fault for making all the wrong choices. YouBastard.

** In ''[[VideoGame/TouhouHisoutensoku Hisoutensoku]]'' both Sanae and Cirno fail to fight against the strange giant they were chasing about. Sanae ended up sparring with [[spoiler:one of her shrine's goddesses]], and Cirno ended up fighting [[spoiler:Alice's Goliath Doll experiment]]. Fun fact: [[spoiler:they were chasing after a hot-air balloon]]. Meiling's case is arguable, since [[spoiler:it was just a dream fueled by a tengu manga after all]].

* At the end of certain ''[[VideoGame/LivePowerfulProBaseball Power Pro-kun Pocket]]'' games you might not fight the final boss for either bad or ''good'' reasons.

* If you play ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'''s normal path more than once in a row without seeing either of the other endings, the expected final boss will be skipped [[spoiler:because Flowey knows when you warp reality and travel back in time, that he already lost in one timeline (and what you'd do immediately afterward), and that the other human souls can and will overpower his final boss form and whoop the tar out of him. Seeing one of the other endings allows a "True Reset", which wipes Flowey's memories; the neutral ending does not grant this option]]. There's still ''a'' final boss... it's just what would normally be the penultimate boss.

* This happens in ''several'' of the free-roaming ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'' games with MultipleEndings -- most notoriously ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight'' and ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaPortraitOfRuin'', in which the trigger to achieve or evade the bad ending [[note]]make that bad ending'''s''' in ''Symphony'''s case[[/note]] occurs roughly ''halfway through the game'', and ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaAriaOfSorrow'' and ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaDawnOfSorrow'', in which being able to bypass the first bad ending depends on [[RandomNumberGod being able to acquire]] and correctly use some [[RandomlyDrops specific Souls]] (with the added caveat of having to [[MoonLogicPuzzle figure out what Souls you need and how to use them]] in the former, and fight an additional boss in the latter).

* If you play ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'''s normal path more than once in a row without seeing either of the other endings, the expected final boss will be skipped [[spoiler:because Flowey knows when you reset, and knows he'll just lose again, so he doesn't bother to fight you. Seeing one of the other endings allows a "True Reset", which wipes Flowey's memories; the neutral ending does not grant this option]]. There's still ''a'' final boss... it's just what would normally be the penultimate boss.

** On ''[[VideoGame/TouhouHisoutenScarletWeatherRhapsody Scarlet Weather Rhapsody]]'', you will not be able to fight the "true" culprit of the game's incidents if you so much as choose either Remilia or Patchouli. You'll still get an ending, but you'll ultimately not resolve the incident. You also cannot fight the culprit in the culprit's story mode, but, well... [[CaptainObvious that's kinda obvious]].

** On ''[[VideoGame/TouhouHisoutenScarletWeatherRhapsody Scarlet Weather Rhapsody]]'', you will not be able to fight the "true" culprit of the game's incidents if you so much as choose either Remilia or Patchouli. You'll still get an ending, but you'll ultimately not resolve the incident. You also cannot fight the culprit in the culprit's story mode, but, well... [[CaptainObvious That's kinda obvious]].

** In the fan game ''Azure Reflections'', unless you defeat Sakuya without using continues or timing out any of the spell cards leading up to her, the game ends after her boss battle.

** On ''[[VideoGame/TouhouHisoutenScharletWeatherRhapsody Scarlet Weather Rhapsody]]'', you will not be able to fight the "true" culprit of the game's incidents if you so much as choose either Remilia or Patchouli. You'll still get an ending, but you'll ultimately not resolve the incident. You also cannot fight the culprit in the culprit's story mode, but, well... [[CaptainObvious That's kinda obvious]].

** On ''Scarlet Weather Rhapsody'', you will not be able to fight the "true" culprit of the game's incidents if you so much as choose either Remilia or Patchouli. You'll still get an ending, but you'll ultimately not resolve the incident. You also cannot fight the culprit in the culprit's story mode, but, well... [[CaptainObvious That's kinda obvious]].
** In ''Hisoutensoku'' both Sanae and Cirno fail to fight against the strange giant they were chasing about. Sanae ended up sparring with [[spoiler:one of her shrine's goddesses]], and Cirno ended up fighting [[spoiler:Alice's Goliath Doll experiment]]. Fun fact: [[spoiler:they were chasing after a hot-air balloon]]. Meiling's case is arguable, since [[spoiler:it was just a dream fueled by a tengu manga after all]].

* Completing a certain sidequest in ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion'' turns the Arena grand champion from a tough battle to something amounting to an execution.