History Main / ZeroEffortBoss

** Chingiz and his [[DaddysLittleVillain equally evil daughter, Meghana]] from ''Literature/DaggersOfDarkness''; you spend the entire book trying to lift a curse Chinghiz inflicted on you, and after you succeed, you confront Chinghiz... [[spoiler: only for him to be KilldMidSentence by his daughter, who backstabbed him in the last second]]. She will then goad you into a fight, but as it turns out [[spoiler: you're supposed to refuse the fight, causing the second death curse to backfire and destroy Meghana for you]]. The entire confrontation lasts for 3 pages without as much of a fight, although you could still die from making the wrong choices.

* TheFortressOfTheBlackCauldron: [[PlayedforLaughs Played for laughs]] with the elf shaman. He is responsible for the torture and murder of many innocents, and he has emprisoned a vampiress (one of the most dangerous creatures in this world), feeding on the power of her tainted blood. When he sees you and the PB, who warned you of the threat his curses represents, he starts an intimidating ritual dance and throws a small duel effigy at you...

** If you are a [[FarmBoy farmer]], the effigy just bounces of your brow, and when his chants and his dance start to irritate you, you just walk up to him and break his neck. The barbarian laughs and explain you what the shaman wanted to do.

** Following in his Malice spawn's footsteps, Ganondorf's final form, [[spoiler:Demon Dragon]], is as simple as jumping off [[spoiler:the Light Dragon]], landing on him where his weak points are, hitting the weak points a few times to destroy them, then repeating the process, with the last weak point being on his head but not much harder to get to than the others. His only attack is energy balls that are easy to dodge.

* In ''VideoGame/MegaManMaker'', you can place [[VideoGame/MegaMan2 Bubble Man]] (normally a pretty middle-of-the-road boss) out of water. This causes him to stare in confusion for a few seconds and then start [[OcularGushers crying out rivers of tantrummy tears]]. In this state, he is completely immobile and takes way more damage than normal, and his only attack is to fire off a Bubble Lead every few seconds that deals low damage and is very easy to dodge. Fellow aquatic Robot Master [[VideoGame/MegaMan9 Splash Woman]] is also significantly downgraded by this, but she at least grits her teeth and puts up a fight with her Laser Trident, making it possible to lose to her if you get careless.

*** The final Jenova fight is basically impossible to lose unless you've been doing a low-level run of the game. It only has 45,000 HP, and if you take more than 15 turns to beat it, it will cast Ultima and you automatically win. This attack is easily survivable if you've been playing the game normally. Interestingly, winning this fight in this fashion decreases the HP totals of the next two bosses.

*** [[spoiler:Kasumi/Sumire Yoshizawa]]. She's not tough by default, but if you know that she only uses Physical and Bless type attacks and equip a Persona with Null, Drain, or especially Reflect on both damage types before the battle she becomes completely incapable of actually harming Joker.

** True to the source game, [[VideoGame/{{Earthbound}} Buzz Buzz]] is defeated by literally swatting him away (he's a really tiny Mr.G&W who starts with 300% damage).

* The Starman Junior in ''VideoGame/EarthBound'' ''might'' have been a pretty tough opponent on his own, given he has enough hit points to last him a while and attacks with PSI skills that are quite powerful in the early game. However, you have a computer-controlled Buzz Buzz with you for the battle, and the bot will always have him put up a shield that absorbs all damage, and to replace it when it runs out. The only possible way to lose is to spend hours leveling up in the starting area until you get the physical shield spell that will override the magic shield Buzz Buzz uses.

** ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}} 1'': the Lieutenant (who could be the FinalBoss depending on the [[DragonAscendant order you]] [[DragonTheirFeet go in]]) is a powerful foe when faced in direct combat, but the easiest way to beat him is to simply ignore him and set off his base's self-destruct sequence, then walk out the front door. He dies in the ensuing explosion. In fact, since he's on the opposite end of the floor where the self-destruct terminal is, and you need to blow up the base ''anyway'' to complete the game, you have to go out of your way and seek him out in order to get an actual fight. Part of this is also the CombatDiplomacyStealth trinity that ''Fallout'' largely codified: a combat-focused character will have to set the terminal while the base is on high alert, meaning the Lieutenant will actively pursue them, while speech or stealth-focused characters have nothing blocking their path except a handful of cultists who run rather than fight.

* In ''VideoGame/MarkOfTheNinja'', when The Ninja finally reaches Karajan, he's shown with the "terrorized" indicator over his head, and he's so out of it that he won't realize The Ninja is in his safe room in spite of the door opened and walking in right in front of him until The Ninja makes the killing move.

** The Boss in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'' is a MirrorBoss and FinalExamBoss, and fighting her is a true test of skill. However, after defeating her, you have to [[ShootTheDog finish her off yourself]]. Snake will even pull the trigger for you if you take too long.
** The Sorrow from the same game straddles the line between this and HopelessBossFight. The "fight" is simply wading through a river. Whether you make it to the end or not doesn't matter in terms of story, since either way, you have to take the revival pill. The only difference is that you get a bonus piece of camouflage for making it to the end.
** After beating The Boss, Snake and EVA head off in their plane...only to be accosted by [[spoiler:Ocelot]] demanding one last pistol duel. No matter what you do in this "fight", the end result is the same — no one gets shot, and Snake and his foe separate on relatively good terms.

** The giant alligator from ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2'' has it even worse: its boss fight (if it can even be considered one) consists of releasing an incredibly obvious gas canister from the wall, waiting for the gator to put said canister in its mouth, and then firing ''one shot'' at it. [[YourHeadASplode Cue the raining head chunks.]]

The most common version is TheManBehindTheCurtain[=/=]NonActionBigBad variety. You have slaughtered the BigBad's {{Mooks}}, infiltrated the EvilTowerOfOminousness, battled through the [[EliteMooks Elite Guard]], and barely survived the fight against TheDragon. All that's left is the weak, unarmed, defenseless mastermind behind it all. A subversion of AuthorityEqualsAsskicking, usually the DragonInChief was intended to be the real FinalBoss, and [[PostFinalBoss this one-shot kill is meant to provide closure to the story]]. Or maybe it's just PlayedForLaughs that the [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Dark Lord Bludentiers]] is a fat slob who can barely lift a sword. Sometimes, there is an actual battle, but it's effectively won on the penultimate hit, requiring the player to finish off a vastly weakened enemy.

* In ''VideoGame/ArmoryAndMachine'', we have the Writhing Mass in the Bio Swamp. Every enemy in the Bio Swamp has moves that either do nothing or ''damage themselves'', and the boss is no exception. The only way to lose against it is to use Explosive Trap (which will kill it but greatly damages yourself too) and have your maximum HP below 920, since you win if you survive that. The [[BonusBoss Star Writhing Mass]] is an upgraded version of it found in the BonusDungeon, boasts [[DamageSpongeBoss the most health in the game]]... and it ''still'' uses moves that do nothing or hurt itself.

* Death is normally one of hardest bosses in the franchise, but in ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaIISimonsQuest'', you can simply go right past him and collect the mansion's PlotCoupon. Should you choose to actually fight Death to obtain the powerful Golden Knife weapon, you don't even need to be ''present'' to win; you can simply drop a Garlic in front of him, and then set the controller down to call a friend or fix a plate of nachos; Death will remain stunlocked in place, completely unable to move or attack, until he's destroyed.

* ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2'': The boss fight of Gaius' first [[CompanionSpecificSidequest character episode]] involves the party defending themselves from [[FantasticRacism anti-Rieze Maxian]] Elympion civilians. They have consistent reinforcements, but they do very little damage and each of them goes down almost instantly. The only way to lose at all is to disable the party's AI and [[DeathOfAThousandCuts wait for the enemy units to very slowly deplete everyone's HP]].

* Death is normally one of hardest bosses in the franchise, but in ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaIISimonsQuest'', you can simply go right past him and collect the mansion's PlotCoupon. Should you choose to actually fight Death to obtain the powerful Golden Knife weapon, you don't even need to be ''present'' to win; you can simply drop a Garlic in front of him, and then set the controller down to call a friend or fix a plate of nachos.

** [[spoiler:Mettaton NEO]] on the Genocide route not only goes down in a single hit like the rest of the enemies, he ''doesn't even attack''.
*** In fact, most bosses on the Genocide route fit this trope, as [[spoiler:Toriel, Papyrus, Muffet, Asgore, and Flowey can all be killed immediately in one hit. Sans, the final boss of the route, also ''technically'' fits this trope, as he only has one hit point, however he averts it by dodging the protagonist's attacks.]]
** On the True Pacifist run is [[spoiler:the Snowdrake amalgamate, a monster (or rather, melted mass of monsters) thoroughly gnarled up by the experiments done on them]]. Their attacks are pathetically weak, and oftentimes don't even make it to your dodge window. They're also the easiest of the enemies in the dungeon to spare normally, leaving you alone simply after selecting the same ACT command three times.

** ''VideoGame/ShantaeAndThePiratesCurseRiskysRevenge'' does something similar with the Hypno Baron, only this time, it's his [[OurLichesAreDifferent skull]] that's trying to bounce away in hapless terror after you destroy his body. Taking the hopping skull out not only gives you the last [[MacGuffin Magic Seal]], he also [[MoneySpider drops 5 gems]].

* ''Videogame/{{killer7}}'':

** Monstar. This ghostly creature ''looks'' dangerous, but it only has 20 HP and a single attack that does 1 damage. His defense power is 1 (in a game where 0 is possible), which is the only reason you'd have any trouble with him at all early in the game... and he's fought very ''late'' in the game. He's even easier if you have the Defend Plus badge equipped (which you should), which reduces all damage by 1 (making you completely immune to Monstar's attack).
** Peach and Twink's battle against Kammy Koopa in the final dungeon. While you technically control both characters, they only have one action each, making the fight impossible to lose. This is justified in that [[spoiler: Monstar is actually a group of star children using illusion magic]].
* Bowser Jr. in your first encounter in ''VIdeoGame/PaperMarioStickerStar'' is this. Sure, he'll regenerate after being jumped on, but you ''need'' to use the [[LimitBreak Scissors Sticker]] you automatically get before the fight, which [[OneHitKill defeats him in one hit.]]

* The last phase of the final boss of ''VideoGame/AHatInTime'' has you constantly regaining health — faster than the boss can possibly dish it out — because [[spoiler:all the {{Mook}}s are taking your side, and realize you will reset time if you win, so they're deliberately killing each other in order to provide you with Healing Pons]].

* ''VideoGame/{{Portal 2}}'' has a fight with [=GLaDOS=] that is honestly just a simple puzzle where you can't die, with comments by Wheatley and [=GLaDOS=]. Naturally, this is just the DiscOneFinalBoss.

* A staple of the ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'' games, as the bosses are just regular humans and thusly vulnerable to getting a blade shoved into their neck, no more or less than every other person. There are still some targets that you could call a boss fight, but those are mostly people that know how to block your attacks. Justified in that it is about assassinations, and in most encounters, you are supposed to get them when they don't expect it. The straightest example would be in ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIII'', where [[spoiler:in the present, Daniel Cross suffers a sequence of the bleeding effect, meaning that he runs around in a big room like a lunatic and you can just wait on the spot you are standing until he comes around]]. [[spoiler:Vidic is even more extreme, as he is killed in what is essentially a cutscene where you have to press X once.]]
** The first target in ''Brotherhood'', the executioner, is such an easy target that it's actually a lot harder to kill him ''without'' satisfying the optional objective.

** Peach and Twink's battle against Kammy Koopa in the final dungeon. While you technically control both characters, they only have one action each, making the fight impossible to lose.

Compare BreatherBoss and AntiClimaxBoss. Not to be confused with a CutsceneBoss, which is not only zero-effort, but zero-interactivity. Compare ClippedWingAngel, where a transformation is inferior or has an easily exploitable weakness.

** Mettaton on the Genocide route not only goes down in a single hit like the rest of the enemies, he ''doesn't even attack''.

* The so-called "final boss" in ''The ComicBook/IncredibleHulk'' for the Super NES and Genesis/Mega Drive is the Leader, one of the Hulk's deadliest foes in the comics, thanks to his tremendous intellect... but in the game, all he does is stand in one place and laugh. Though he laughs off normal punches, just one uppercut is enough to defeat him, sending him tumbling down a BottomlessPit.

* In the ''VideoGame/LegoStarWars: The Skywalker Saga'' adaptation of ''Film/TheLastJedi'', Rey gets into a scuffle with Luke on Ach-To. He has only one health bar in a game where the vast majority of bosses have at least two, his health is extremely low, to the point that you can knock most of it off in a single basic combo, and he's foregone a lightsaber in favor of a MartialArtsStaff, meaning his damage is not much better. It's not at all unlikely for him to go down in under ten seconds, especially since most players will be heavily upgraded by the time they get to him.

* In the ''VideoGame/LegoStarWars: The Skywalker Saga'' adaptation of ''Film/TheLastJedi'', Rey gets into a scuffle with Luke on Ach-To. He has only one health bar in a game where the vast majority of bosses have at least two, his health is extremely low, to the point that you can knock most of it off in a single basic combo, and he's foregone a lightsaber in favor of a SimpleStaff, meaning his damage is not much better. It's not at all unlikely for him to go down in under ten seconds, especially since most players will be heavily upgraded by the time they get to him.

* ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2'': The boss fight of Gaius' first character episode involves the party defending themselves from [[FantasticRacism anti-Rieze Maxian]] Elympions civilians. They have consistent reinforcements, but they do very little damage and each of them goes down almost instantly. The only way to lose at all is to disable the party's AI and [[DeathOfAThousandCuts wait for the enemy units to very slowly deplete your HP]].