History AntiClimaxBoss / VideoGames

** Both of the above are exacerbated in ''VideoGame/DoomII'', where basically every encounter with the Cyberdemon and Spider Mastermind has some kind of gimmick making them way easier than they should be. For instance, in MAP 20, you encounter both of them in the same room... in a way nigh-guaranteed to make them hostile to each other, at which point the challenge becomes "wait for ten seconds and then kill the badly-injured survivor."

** Fanmade [=WADs=] and official expansions tend to inherit the problem of only really having the above trio to serve as bosses, despite usually being [[SequelDifficultySpike much harder]] to keep pace with the advancements in player skill and modern control methods. Unless they're willing to program in an entirely new boss, the most they can do is add more enemies to try to support the existing bosses, and/or put them together in combination with each other. ''[[VideoGame/FinalDoom The Plutonia Experiment]]'''s final boss, for instance, is basically just a Cyberdemon standing in front of a copy of the Icon of Sin -- once the Cyberdemon goes down, the Icon of Sin becomes almost a formality.

** ''VideoGame/Doom2016'' repeated history with the Spider Mastermind as the final boss and comparatively disappointing. The two previous boss fights were both two-stage encounters and therefore more difficult than the Mastermind's single-stage fight. It's still a hectic and challenging single-stage fight, but it's very easy to end it thinking "wait, why isn't it [[TurnsRed turning red]]?"
** ''VideoGame/DoomEternal: The Ancient Gods Part 2'''s Dark Lord plays with this trope, as he feels like a slog to fight. He can only be damaged at specific parts, but is inconsistent in when he leaves himself vulnerable. While you wait for him to leave himself open, he only throws out rather predictable attacks, and the backup he summons are very easily dealt with the Sentinel Hammer. The worst part is that he heals himself if he damages you with his sword, but it's also very easy to heal and restock during the fight as well. The entire fight devolves into waiting, using the Sentinel Hammer on mooks, more waiting, and damaging him hopefully without getting hit.

** In ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid'', Mother Brain has absurdly predictable attacks. Occasionally, you can get unlucky and die when it's supposed to just drain your life down to a certain point in preparation for a cutscene, but normally it's almost impossible to lose to this boss; even if you have to fall back to charged shots, it gets to its second phase pretty quick, and once [[spoiler:the titular Metroid revives you and you get the Hyper Beam]], it's almost a joke. If you grabbed the majority of the missile/super missile you can nearly beat her ''without looking at the screen'', just hold the shoulder button to aim Samus' arm cannon upwards and bang on the fire button. However, it's more for the story than the gameplay at this point, so it's still tense.

** In ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid'', Mother Brain has absurdly predictable attacks. Occasionally, you can get unlucky and die when it's supposed to just drain your life down to a certain point in preparation for a cutscene, but normally it's almost impossible to lose to this boss; even if you have to fall back to charged shots, it gets to its second phase pretty quick, and once [[spoiler:the titular Metroid revives you and you get the Hyper Beam]], it's almost a joke. However, it's more for the story than the gameplay at this point, so it's still tense.

* The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkFIIPfsHos Final "Boss"]] of the arcade version of ''VideoGame/BionicCommando'' is an unarmed general ''weaker'' than the generic Mook fought through the game.

** ''VideoGame/ShantaeAndThePiratesCurse'': The Pirate Master, the FinalBoss, is this if you fail to collect all 20 Dark Magic. With only two kinds of attacks that are easily blocked or avoided, and a lot of moments where he leaves himself wide-open to a series of hair-whips, there's a reason why he's one of the easiest bosses to defeat in the game without taking any damage[[note]]Second only to the first boss in the game[[/note]] according to the Global UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} Achievements stats. [[spoiler:Of course, if you do manage to collect all 20 Dark Magic, he will then change to his true form for a real challenge.]]

* A self-parody series named ''VideoGame/{{Parodius}}'' also has these. ''Parodius Da'' has an octopus who claims he's "The strongest" (A reference to Gofer from ''Gradius II''), but you can shoot his legs off or wait until they let go, much like the Xaerous Brain from the original ''Gradius''. In its {{Omake}} level, you find [[spoiler:a penguin waking up and sitting on a bomb. He takes out a sign out of {{Hammerspace}} that says "The End". You just ignite the bomb, watch him fly (and fall), and get the many bells that come out]].

** The final boss of ''[[https://mfgg.net/index.php?act=resdb&param=02&c=2&id=35583 Ultimate Mega Man]]'' is ''2'''s Wily Machine but with easily avoidable attacks and only one form.