History Main / ReactorBoss

* Level 7-4 of ''VideoGame/{{Ultrakill}}'' features a confrontation with an absolutely ginormous machine, it's so big that it's impossible to do any damage to it from the outside, resulting in you having to scale the giant robot and penetrate its defenses while fighting off hordes of enemies in order to make your way into the insides of the robot to destroy the reactor core located within its head, which acts as the actual boss.

* In ''VideoGame/TombRaiderUnderworld'', instead of a straight-out duel, the "final battle" is basically Lara running around the building-sized ForgottenSuperweapon dismantling it keystone by keystone, while the invincible BigBad [[spoiler: Natla]] flies around tossing fireballs at her.

It seems that the final battle in many First Person Shooters these days consists of you trying to blow up the enemy base's main reactor, typically guarded by automatic turrets, an endless swarm of {{Mooks}}, and occasionally emissions from the reactor itself.

[[folder: Shoot 'Em Up]]

* The Mammon Machine from ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'', which is an [[BonusBoss optional boss]] fought in the [[OminousFloatingCastle Black Omen]]. It's a bit of a pushover, though...

* Most entries in the ''VideoGame/XCOM'' franchise have endgame missions that play out more or less this way, with the player's forces fighting their way through [[FlunkyBoss a huge number of powerful enemies]] to reach the BigBad of the whole game, at which point the game ends with a CoupDeGraceCutscene. ''VideoGame/XCOMInterceptor'' is notable for having the "reactor" in question being [[StarKilling the star the enemy headquarters is orbiting, using a weapon that causes it to go nova]].

* ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'' ends with you blowing up the Citadel's main {{teleport|ation}}er. It's a TimedMission because you're trying to prevent Breen from teleporting away, and two gunships come in to shoot at you, but the teleporter itself does not move or defend itself.
* The objective of Guild-VS-Guild gameplay in ''VideoGame/RagnarokOnline'' is to destroy the enemy guild's Empirium Crystal, which is the core of the castle.
* Your final mission objective in ''[[VideoGame/FirstEncounterAssaultRecon F.E.A.R.]]'' is to destroy the Origin Facility's main reactor. However, there's a final "confrontation" with Alma shortly after this.
* The final "boss" of the FirstPersonShooter ''VideoGame/{{Area 51}}'' is the alien spaceship's main reactor. It puts up slightly more of a fight than the ''Half Life 2'' reactor, but not by much.

* The final battle against Nexus in ''VideoGame/{{Breakdown}}'' is in many ways a Reactor Boss fight, since he's essentially a giant red ball in the center of the room (which you punch to death after breaking out of a hallucinary LSD sequence it tries to send you into).
* In ''VideoGame/TombRaiderUnderworld'', instead of a straight-out duel, the "final battle" is basically Lara running around the building-sized ForgottenSuperweapon dismantling it keystone by keystone, while the invincible BigBad [[spoiler: Natla]] flies around tossing fireballs at her.
* ''VideoGame/StarFox64'' had a Reactor Boss late in the game, with the Bolse satellite. (Any remaining members of the Star Wolf team -- all of them, if you didn't take a route through Fichina -- would also appear.) This reactor would eventually start fighting back, as any panels on the core that were blown up would start firing lasers. Arguably, the mothership Saucerer from Katina also might count, since it doesn't directly attack, instead just releasing {{Mook}}s and then revealing its core after you destroyed the four hatches or took too long, at which point you had all of one minute to destroy said core. (Yes, it would eventually reveal the core even if you didn't shoot the hatches, presumably to keep you from running up the score. Which was annoying, since it was tough to hit the medal total before this happened.)
** Its predecessor, ''VideoGame/StarFox1'', had two reactor bosses. One in the Space Armada and one in Sector Z, which was twice as hard. Macbeth's boss could also be seen as a reactor boss.
** ''VideoGame/StarFox2'' has several of these, taking place at the end of [[BattleshipRaid Battleship Raids]], attacks on planetary bases, and during the final stage.
* ''VideoGame/StarBlade'' has ''two'' of these. ''Galaxian³'', which is basically a six-player ''[=StarBlade=]'', has one as a {{Time|LimitBoss}}d FinalBoss.

* The first three levels of each planet in ''VideoGame/{{Descent}} II'', and all but two of the levels in ''VideoGame/{{Descent}}'' featured reactor "bosses"; after destroying them you had a limited time to find the exit and escape. However, these battles were hardly anticlimactic: as there was generally a [[FlunkyBoss huge number of guard robots]] in the same room as the reactor, and the reactor itself wasn't defenseless, as it fired powerful energy blasts of its own.
** SpiritualSuccessor ''VideoGame/{{Overload}}'' continues the tradition, with most levels having a reactor to destroy as the main objective, and likewise for ''VideoGame/SublevelZero'', which is essentially a RogueLike ''Descent''.
* The FinalBoss of ''Thundercade'' is a literal nuclear reactor.

* The FinalBoss of ''VideoGame/{{Xenosaga}}'' Episode I is a giant reactor fused with a giant gnosis. Defeating it is necessary to shut down the Proto Merkahba and save the planet of Second Miltia from it.

* Inverted in ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'' where the final mission of one trial requires you to defend the reactor for 30 minutes. Generally considered one of the most boring missions in the game.
* In ''VideoGame/GunstarHeroes'', you destroy one after docking with the spaceship.
* ''VideoGame/SuperStarWars'', ''Super Empire Strikes Back'' and ''Super Return of the Jedi'' had the Tractor Beam Generator, Carbonite Freezing Chamber and Endor Shield Generator as bosses.
* ''VideoGame/StarWarsTrilogyArcade'' has as final boss the main reactor of the second Death Star.
* Many levels of ''VideoGame/{{PN03}}'', other than those ending with true boss battles or {{Multi Mook Melee}}s, have you destroy CAMS's energy cores, which are usually guarded by a number of {{sentry gun}}s.
* ''VideoGame/BionicCommando''. "So you think you can destroy the main system? You have no chance!"

* The final Gummi Ship mission in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', "Assault of the Dreadnought", has you flying inside a huge battleship and destroying the core. You don't actually need to destroy the core to finish the stage, but it does gets you bonuses.
* The ''VideoGame/{{Raiden}}'' series has a [[PowerCrystal Crystal-powered]] fortress as the FinalBoss of most of the games.
* The FinalBoss of ''VideoGame/FestersQuest'' is the spaceship's core, which is defended by several turrets, as well as the core itself firing homing bullets.
* One possible path in ''VideoGame/RType Final'' has you facing off with the source of all the enemies in the game: a stationary generator which can spontaneously create every single type of enemy and object in-game.
* The final boss of Chapter 5 of ''VideoGame/{{Mother 3}}'' is Mr. Genetor, which is Thunder Tower's generator.
* The final battle in ''Videogame/YsVITheArkOfNapishtim'' is against the core of the titular WeatherControlMachine.
* Chapters 15 and 16 of ''VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising'' (i.e. the [[spoiler: Aurum]] chapters) feature these. Pit even lampshades the lack of a traditional boss. Chapter 17's counts too, but with a twist: [[spoiler: you're technically fighting the Aurum Brain, but Pyrrhon is controlling it. Or is it controlling him...]]

* The ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' game for the N64 had one of these for the third level featuring the Visitors. You go to the center of their spaceship and try to destroy the core. The room is zero gravity and the core will shoot out lightning at you.
* ''VideoGame/AirFortress'' on the original NES required you to fight one of these for every level. Miniature versions were also scattered throughout.
* The ''VideoGame/{{Batman|Sunsoft}}'' game for the NES had the Machine Intelligence System and the Dual-Container Alarm as the bosses of the second and fourth stages, respectively.
* ''[[VideoGame/RaySeries RayStorm]]'' has the final boss. Beating it causes the colony to explode and [[ColonyDrop drop into]] [[HurlItIntoTheSun the gas giant it orbits]], destroying any threat of the Secilian Empire... and killing loads of innocent lives in the process.
* The Mammon Machine from ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'', which is an [[BonusBoss optional boss]] fought in the [[OminousFloatingCastle Black Omen]]. It's a bit of a pushover, though...
* ''VideoGame/XMen2CloneWars'' on the UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis featured this on the second level (The Sentinel Factory). There was even a [[ChekhovsGun conveniently placed emergency exit]] that you passed halfway through the level.
* The fourth stage of ''VideoGame/{{Ikaruga}}'' takes place [[BattleshipRaid in and around the flying fortress Misago]], and the end boss is the ship's core.

* In ''[[Videogame/BattleZone1998 BattleZone II]]'', the final ISDF mission has you entering the depths of the [[spoiler: artificial planet]], Core, to destroy the Scion's [[spoiler: central control computer]]. [[LoadBearingBoss Destroying it causes the world to begin to break apart]] - with you [[CollapsingLair still in its tunnels]], leaving you precious [[TimedMission little time to get to the extraction point before you're left behind]].
* In ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline'', when you attack the Voth Fortress Ship, there are two Reactor Bosses. First a [[MiniBoss Sub Power Core]] to open the way and then the main reactor for the end. And of course you must make the usual timed escape before it explodes when you kill the big one.
* In ''VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVsTheSoullessArmy'', there's a rather odd variant: the titular hero must stop a rampaging TransformingMecha, but cannot directly confront it. Instead, loyal NonHumanSidekick Gouto must board a rocket along a demon to reach the satellite powering it from space, defeat the automated defenses, and destroy it.
* In the final stage of ''Andro Dunos'', you have to blow up the reactor core, which is protected directly with a spinning shield and indirectly with a corridor-spanning laser sweeping back and forth in front of it. Naturally, it turns out to be a LoadBearingBoss.
* Even though ''Videogame/RatchetDeadlocked'' has a guy literally called ''Reactor'' that serves as a boss, he is not this trope. There are however [[spoiler: three Dreadzone Station generators that have to be destroyed during subsequent quests before you get to fight a FinalBoss. Each is protected by lasers and huge armies of local DemonicSpiders.]]

** And in Milky Way Wishes, there's the Heart of NOVA, which is "fought" at the end of an UnexpectedShmupLevel. The heart doesn't actually fight back directly, but you're required to fly through and destroy a rotating ring of pylons surrounding it, and accidentally crashing into them as they pass by hurts a ''lot''.

* ''VideoGame/StarFox64'' had a Reactor Boss late in the game, with the Bolse satellite. (Any remaining members of the Star Wolf team--all of them, if you didn't take a route through Fortuna--would also appear.) This reactor would eventually start fighting back, as any panels on the core that were blown up would start firing lasers. Arguably, the mothership from Katina also might count, since it doesn't directly attack, instead just releasing {{Mook}}s and then revealing its core after you destroyed the four hatches or took too long, at which point you had all of one minute to destroy said core. (Yes, it would eventually reveal the core even if you didn't shoot the hatches, presumably to keep you from running up the score. Which was annoying, since it was tough to hit the medal total before this happened.)

* The boss of ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'' level "Eternal Engine" is the power generator of the space colony ARK, which you fight as Tails riding his missile-equipped mecha.

** Similarly in the penultimate level of ''VideoGame/{{Halo 3}}'', you have to destroy the reactor of the Flood-infested High Charity, setting off a chain reaction to destroy the massive ship. Could be considered as a fight against the Gravemind itself, as the ship is literally covered wall-to-wall in Flood biomass.
* ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'' ends with you blowing up the Citadel's main {{teleporter|sAndTransporters}}. It's a TimedMission because you're trying to prevent Breen from teleporting away, and two gunships come in to shoot at you, but the teleporter itself does not move or defend itself.

* ''VideoGame/{{Resistance}}: Fall of Man'' ends with you and a squad of British commandos attempting to destroy the Chimera Master Tower's main reactor. This is actually one of the better ReactorBoss fights out there, as it involves a small war between the British commandos and a small army of Chimera Advanced Hybrids, a couple Titans, and even an Angel or two.
* The final battle against Nexus in ''VideoGame/{{Breakdown}}'' is in many ways a ReactorBoss fight, since he's essentially a giant red ball in the center of the room (which you punch to death after breaking out of a hallucinary LSD sequence it tries to send you into).

* ''VideoGame/StarFox64'' had a ReactorBoss late in the game, with the Bolse satellite. (Any remaining members of the Star Wolf team--all of them, if you didn't take a route through Fortuna--would also appear.) This reactor would eventually start fighting back, as any panels on the core that were blown up would start firing lasers. Arguably, the mothership from Katina also might count, since it doesn't directly attack, instead just releasing {{Mook}}s and then revealing its core after you destroyed the four hatches or took too long, at which point you had all of one minute to destroy said core. (Yes, it would eventually reveal the core even if you didn't shoot the hatches, presumably to keep you from running up the score. Which was annoying, since it was tough to hit the medal total before this happened.)

* The ''VideoGame/{{Raiden}}'' series has the [[PowerCrystal crystal-powered]] Cranassian Fortress as the FinalBoss of most of the games.

* Even though ''Videogame/RatchetDeadlocked'' has a guy literally called ''Reactor'' that serves as a boss, he is not this trope. There are however [[spoilers: three Dreadzone Station generators that have to be destroyed during subsequent quests before you get to fight a FinalBoss. Each is protected by lasers and huge armies of local DemonicSpiders.]]

This is usually done as an attempt to have a climactic action sequence while avoiding having an obvious FinalBoss battle, either because it wouldn't fit with the tone of the game, or because the design team's philosophy is that "boss battles are stupid".

* ''VideoGame/StarFox64'' had a ReactorBoss late in the game, with the Bolse satellite. (Any remaining members of the Star Wolf team--all of them, if you didn't take a route through Fortuna--would also appear). This reactor would eventually start fighting back, as any panels on the core that were blown up would start firing lasers. Arguably, the mothership from Katina also might count, since it doesn't directly attack, instead just releasing {{Mook}}s and then revealing its core after you destroyed the four hatches or took too long, at which point you had all of one minute to destroy said core. (Yes, it would eventually reveal the core even if you didn't shoot the hatches, presumably to keep you from running up the score. Which was annoying, since it was tough to hit the medal total before this happened.)