History Main / OnceIsNotEnough

* In most of the ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' games, zombies will eventually die for good if they take enough damage. However, in the UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube remake of the first game, while the zombies will eventually "die" after taking enough damage, if their heads aren't destroyed (or, failing that, if their corpses aren't [[KillItWithFire set alight]]), then their corpses don't simply disappear once the player leaves the room. Instead, they remain, and, after enough time has passed, they ''will'' come back to (un)life... [[OhCrap having mutated into the far deadlier Crimson Heads]].

* Done in ''VideoGame/MassEffect1'' with Krogans. When fighting Krogans, most of them, when "dead", will drop to the ground, then regenerate some health and get back up. Definitely hurts in the midst of a multi-foe firefight.
** In the story, the Krogan follower Wrex discovers that the BigBad[[spoiler:/[[TheDragon Dragon]]]] Saren has developed a cure for the Turian genophage which renders 90% of all Krogan women infertile. He very seriously considers whether Shepard is doing the right thing in trying to blow up the facility. [[spoiler: If you choose the "Renegade" option, you can argue with Wrex for a bit, then end up in a Mexican Standoff, in which you can choose to simply kill him rather than convince him otherwise. You bash him with your gun to knock him down, then shoot him... several times.]]

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

[[folder: Fan Works ]]

[[folder: Films -- Live-Action ]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

[[folder: Mythology and Religion]]

[[folder: Professional Wrestling ]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

[[folder: Webcomics ]]

[[folder: Web Video]]

[[folder: Other ]]

* Averted in ''Literature/{{Twilight}}''. It's mentioned that burning the bodies is one of the few ways to keep a vampire down for good, so the characters ''always'' make sure to incinerate their enemies, no matter how much damage they've sustained. Notably, Edward burns Victoria's body in ''Eclipse'' even though he just ripped off her head.

* Averted by antagonist Vergil in ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry3DantesAwakening'' who, having beaten down your player character, instantly and remorselessly stabs him ''again'' as soon as he sees Dante beginning a FingerTwitchingRevival.

* ''Literature/TheBible'': In 2 Kings 13, Elisha commands Joash to take arrows and strike the ground that he may have victory over Aram. Joash stops after three times. Elisha rebukes him, saying that if he had struck five or six times, he may have destroyed Aram. As it is, he will (and does indeed) only have three victories.

[[folder: Film ]]

Can be a JustifiedTrope when it's clear that the villain is of TheUndead or [[GoodThingYouCanHeal they can recover even from continual abuse,]] or the victim just isn't emotionally capable of beating someone to death. Beware of being WrongGenreSavvy; whaling on a downed villain may seem to work, but he may get a sudden surge of energy or overcome his shock at being hit and [[BarehandedBladeBlock catch whatever weapon is being used]]. The CrimeOfSelfDefense may also come into play if the victim is from a litigious society where there is a history of that happening and thus has irrational fear of it.

* Averted by antagonist Vergil in ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'' 3 who, having beaten down your player character, instantly and remorselessly stabs him ''again'' as soon as he sees Dante beginning a FingerTwitchingRevival.

* Mentioned in ''Film/TheQuickAndTheDead''. Up until that point, Russell Crowe's character has been able to win all his quick draw matches with only one bullet (he's a priest and refuses to kill them) until his next opponent makes a BadassBoast about how a bullet wouldn't put him down; he's right, it takes two.

* Averted it ''Literature/{{Twilight}}''. It's mentioned that burning the bodies is one of the few ways to keep a vampire down for good, so the characters ''always'' make sure to incinerate their enemies, no matter how much damage they've sustained. Notably, Edward burns Victoria's body in ''Eclipse'' even though he just ripped off her head.

* ''Film/StarWars''