History Main / BeginWithAFinisher

* ''VideoGame/Persona3'' and ''VideoGame/Persona4'' have their strongest {{Bonus Boss}}es periodically cast a [[YinYangBomb Megidolaon]] that will do [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill 9999 damage to the party in a game where the HP cap is 999.]] However, if you [[SchmuckBait start the battle breaking one of]] [[GuideDangIt the unwritten rules,]] the very first action they'll take is this very OneHitKill attack. Even if you use a method to avoid dying to it, [[DevelopersForesight the boss will simply keep spamming it until you die.]]

* ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'': If you enter battle with the Part 1 BonusBoss [[SchmuckBait breaking one of his rules]], you won't even get to see your battle menu open because he'll immediately cast [[spoiler:Gaea Rage]] as soon as everyone finishes spawning, dealing [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill several times the HP cap]] in damage to the entire party.

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'': The BonusBoss Shinryu always opens the fight with Tidal Wave/Tsunami, a powerful water-elemental attack that hits the entire party for massive damage.

* ''VideoGame/GoldenSun'': By holding enough un-equipped Djinn, a character can unleash a powerful Summon attack, at the cost of those Djinn becoming unusable for several turns. An effective strategy for bosses throughout the series, up to and including [[BonusBoss Bonus Bosses]], is to un-equip all the party's Djinn before the battle and fire off every Summon available to take the boss down on the first turn. (However, since equipped Djinn provide stat boosts and abilities, any boss that isn't overwhelmed by the Summon barrage can easily take down the weakened party - and the final bosses of each game have multiple stages specifically to block this strategy.)

* ''VideoGame/EtrianOdyssey V'': The TrueFinalBoss ([[spoiler:Star Devourer]]), fought at the very end of the BonusDungeon (Empyreal Bridge), will begin the fight by performing a TotalPartyKill with a skill called Full Burst. If you somehow survive this (i.e. using Hygieia's Bowl to fully protect the party), all parts of the boss minus the core will disintegrate, giving you a chance to inflict damage onto it while it spends the next turns regenerating the lost parts. Another option is disabling (i.e. binding or ailing) one or more of the parts in the first turn, since the Full Burst move will only work when ''all'' parts of the boss are available and active.

* ''VideoGame/BlackAndWhite 2'': A Creature can use its unique FinishingMove at the beginning of a fight if its opponent is far smaller or already wounded, virtually guaranteeing a one-hit knockout.

->''[Kung Lao throws his hat]''\\

-->-- '''LetsPlay/DashieGames''', ''[[https://youtu.be/f9KQE_bfvqI?t=944 LIU KANG AND KUNG LAO BOUT TO DROP THAT MIXTAPE! [MK11] #03]] (VideoGame/MortalKombat11)''

* Most of Kenshiro's Hokuto Shinken arsenal in ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar'' is composed of killing moves, meaning that this is more often than not the default for him.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': When Redcloak decides to kill [[spoiler:Durkon Thundershield]] during parley, he [[https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1209.html opens]] with a surprise Implosion, a [[SpellLevels top-level]] save-or-die spell that would deny a powerful enemy a chance to retaliate, prevent [[DeathIsCheap resurrection]], and [[NeverFoundTheBody destroy the evidence]]. [[spoiler:Durkon resists the spell long enough to escape.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Machinima]]
* In ''Machinima/VideoGameChampionshipWrestling'', the match between [[{{VideoGame/Undertale}} Sans]] and [[VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc Monokuma]] at [[SeasonFinale Killscreen V]] began this way, with Sans interrupting Monokuma's monologue by using every single one of his signature and finishing moves in rapid succession.
-->'''Sans''': [[MythologyGag huh. always wondered why people never use their finisher first.]]
[[/folder]]

* ''ComicBook/XMen'': Cyclops' famous "I want this thing off my lawn" moment. The X-Men are attacked by a giant Sentinel robot. This would normally result in a controlled tactical escalation while working to minimise civilian casualties -- but on this occasion the Sentinel has attacked them at the X-Mansion, and there's nothing in the line of fire except trees. So Cyclops simply takes off his visor and unleashes the full power of his optic blasts.

See also AlphaStrike and DeathOrGloryAttack, which needn't be the first attack; and HPToOne, which doesn't quite finish off the opponent on its own. Related to TheWorfEffect and TheWorfBarrage. NoSell is what happens when any attack completely fails to work on the other guy.

* ''WebAnimation/DeathBattle'': As soon as the fight starts out in ComicBook/{{Carnage}} and [[Manga/ElfenLied Lucy]], the latter ''immediately'' uses her psychic vectors to tear the former to shreds, an attack which would have normally killed most people in an instant. However, Carnage easily survives this thanks to his extremely powerful HealingFactor. [[spoiler:Lucy still wins however as her vectors' nuclear capability proved more than enough to overpower Carnage's healing factor and disintegrate him.]]

* In Machinima/VideoGameChampionshipWrestling, the match between [[{{VideoGame/Undertale}} Sans]] and [[VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc Monokuma]] at [[SeasonFinale Killscreen V]] began this way, with Sans interrupting Monokuma's monologue by using every single one of his signature and finishing moves in rapid succession.
-->'''Sans''': huh. \\
'''Sans''': [[ContinuityNod always wondered why people never use their finisher first.]]

* ''WebAnimation/DeathBattle'': As soon as the fight starts out in ComicBook/{{Carnage}} and [[Manga/ElfenLied Lucy]], the latter ''immediately'' uses her psychic vectors to tear the former to shreds, an attack which would have normally killed most people in an instant. However, Carnage easily survives this thanks to his extremely powerful HealingFactor.

* Mike Tyson (or [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute Mr Dream]]) infamously opens his fight in ''VideoGame/PunchOut'' with his most powerful attack: ''[[NoKillLikeOverkill 90 seconds]]'' of nothing but OneHitKill uppercuts. If you avoid them all, he'll switch to fighting you more traditionally, but he'll still pepper in the uppercut.

* ''WebAnimation/DeathBattle'': As soon as the fight starts out in ComicBook/{{Carnage}} and [[Manga/ElfenLied Lucy]], the latter ''immediately'' uses her psychic vectors to tear the former to shreds, an attack which would have normally killed most people. However, Carnage easily survives this thanks to his extremely powerful HealingFactor.

-->-- '''LetsPlay/DashieGames''', ''[[https://youtu.be/f9KQE_bfvqI?t=944 LIU KANG AND KUNG LAO BOUT TO DROP THAT MIXTAPE! [MK11] #03]]''

* ''VideoGame/EldenRing'': PlayedWith by Malenia, Blade of Miquela, ''the'' SuperBoss of the game who enters her [[SequentialBoss first phase]] by simply walking towards you in an ominous fashion and holding off on her ultimate ability, the Waterfowl Dance, until you bring her down to 80% HP or so. However, after you "defeat" her, her second phase, [[spoiler:as Malenia, Goddess of Rot]], opens with her ''other'' ultimate, Scarlet Aeonia, very likely killing you in a single hit as soon as the cutscene stops playing. This is because at the start of the fight, Malenia barely takes notice of you, since you are a lowly Tarnished and she is a [[WarGod warrior demi-goddess]] who has [[WorldsBestWarrior never been bested in combat]]. It's only after you defeat her regular techniques that she takes you seriously enough to [[GodzillaThreshold tap into the Scarlet Rot]] -- and to nuke you where you stand.

* The recharge system in {{TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons}} Fifth Edition encourages this by giving certain powerful attacks (such as a dragon's breath weapon) a single use, with a chance (usually one in six or two in six) to recharge each turn. Using it immediately makes it more likely for the attack to recharge before the fight ends. Additionally, challenge ratings are calculated with the assumption that a creature will always use the most damaging attack it has, meaning a lich is expected to open with finger of death or disintegrate, not magic missile or ray of frost.

* [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] by the ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged'' Broly special:
-->'''Goku:''' ''(after being beaten quite handily)'' I see you're new here. What we do is, we start small, and then work our way ''up'' to our more powerful moves.

-->'''Goku:''' ''(weakly)'' ... oh. Good for you.

* In ''Manga/OnePunchMan'', Genos immediately resorts to incinerating the entire House of Evolution with his cannons [[DungeonBypass rather than go inside]]. Unfortunately, the most important parts of the facility are underground.

* In the ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged'' related "Cell vs." videos (where BigBad Cell is challenged by various anime and video game characters in the week leading up to his duel with [[IdiotHero Goku]] to decide the fate of the world), [[ArrogantKungFuGuy Ken Masters]] from ''Franchise/StreetFighter'' attempts to pull this when he fights Cell. As soon as the bout begins, Ken launches into his super combo... and due to the unimaginable difference in power (Ken is barely above a BadassNormal on the ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' power scale, while Cell is a [[FromASingleCell nigh-immortal]] PhysicalGod who can blow up planets without even trying) Cell effortlessly parries every blow as soon as Ken goes to throw it. And then turns Ken into ATwinkleInTheSky with a punch that is probably a love tap for Cell.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'', the final boss of the Genocide route, [[spoiler:Sans]], opens his fight by unleashing a huge barrage that's extreme even by the game's BulletHell standards. This is even more surprising since he also gets the first move in the fight, unlike every other enemy in the game. [[spoiler:This turns out to be his ''second'' strongest attack--the strongest requires you to take his SchmuckBait.]]