History Main / ColossusClimb

*** Many of the enemies can be approached this way; anything big enough can be climbed on. Only [[WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas Oogie's Manor]] makes it mandatory in the first game, but [[WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}} Cerberus]], [[WesternAnimation/SleepingBeauty Dragon Maleficent]] and Behemoths are all vulnerable to getting on their backs, and jumping up a Darkside's arm nets you three tech points for every combo finisher to the face. A subversion happens with [[WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid Giant Ursula]] where you don't have to climb since you're all underwater.

* ''LightNovel/RebuildWorld'': As part of a desperate gambit to save his vehicle, Akira first has a teammate pour out sensor jamming smoke at a MiniMecha from the vehicle, then engages his PoweredArmor’s ChameleonCamouflage, before jumping onto the back of the mech using his armor’s StickyShoes function to stay on, and shooting the back to create a weak point in the front of its DeflectorShields to exploit in a CombinationAttack with Carol, who has to CatchAFallingStar when Akira leaps off.

** The series also includes couple of downplayed examples among their normal boss fights, including the Octonozzle in ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon|1}}'', the Octo Oven in ''Splatoon 2'', the Octostomp in [[LegacyBossBattle both games]], and [[spoiler:Frye (who uses an Octostomp's husk as a coop for her eels)]] in ''VideoGame/Splatoon3''. Once one of these bosses [[TacticalSuicideBoss reveals its weak point]], the player has to quickly climb to the top of the boss so they can [[AttackItsWeakPoint attack it]] before it shakes them off.

*** The boss of the Wind Temple. They are two creatures that can fly, but Link does not fly. Consequently you spend the whole time standing on one or the other.
*** Multiple enemies require you to become tiny and go inside them to defeat them, including at least one form of the BigBad.

** BonusBoss The Forgotten One in ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaLamentOfInnocence'' is a colossal demon, but instead of climbing you fight him from an elevator.

** Similarly, Wee Mad Arthur in ''Literature/FeetOfClay'' can skitter up a man's pant leg and break his kneecap.

* In ''VideoGame/LaMulana'', Sakit [[spoiler:is immune to ranged weapons (i.e. your subweapons), so you have to wait for it to punch diagonally into the ground, then climb up its extended arm and whack at its face.]]

** The series also includes couple of downplayed examples among their normal boss fights, including the Octonozzle in ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon|1}}'', the Octo Oven in ''Splatoon 2'', the Octostomp in [[LegacyBossBattle both games]], and [[spoiler:Frye]] in ''VideoGame/Splatoon3''. Once one of these bosses [[TacticalSuicideBoss reveals its weak point]], the player has to quickly climb to the top of the boss so they can [[AttackItsWeakPoint attack it]] before it shakes them off.

** The series also includes couple of downplayed examples among their normal boss fights, including the Octonozzle in ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon|1}}'', the Octo Oven in ''Splatoon 2'', and the Octostomp in [[LegacyBossBattle both]]. Once one of these bosses [[TacticalSuicideBoss reveals its weak point]], the player has to quickly climb to the top of the boss so they can [[AttackItsWeakPoint attack it]] before it shakes them off.

** In ''VideoGame/{{Sonic Rush|Series}} Adventure'', the boss of Blizzard Peaks is a whale. Smack it open, jump inside to an obstacle course, then smack this weak spot at the end. Literally. While most bosses in this game take loads of hits, only 3 times of reaching this spot (different course each time too) is needed.

* Dungeon Man in ''VideoGame/EarthBound1994''.

* ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry4'' has a big one of these when Dante takes on the Savior in order to rescue Nero. This is combined with WombLevel as Nero takes it on from within.

* ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon}}'':

** The series also includes couple of downplayed examples among their normal boss fights, including the Octonozzle in ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon}}'', the Octo Oven in ''VideoGame/Splatoon2'', and the Octostomp in [[LegacyBossBattle both]]. Once one of these bosses [[TacticalSuicideBoss reveals its weak point]], the player has to quickly climb to the top of the boss so they can [[AttackItsWeakPoint attack it]] before it shakes them off.

* An early boss in ''VideoGame/StarFoxAssault'' needs to be hovered onto with the landmaster tank.

* In ''Webcomic/GodsWorld'', [[spoiler: Arby uses a GrapplingHookPistol to climb up the Creator.]]

* In ''Webcomic/GodsWorld'', Arby uses a Grappling-Hook Pistol to climb up the Creator.

** Two bosses in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'' don't have to be climbed as much as getting high enough to use [[GrapplingHookPistol the hookshot]] on their weak point on their back. Cue Link sitting on the boss frantically stabbing said weak point with his sword until he gets shaken off.
** ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaPhantomHourglass Phantom Hourglass]]'' also features a variation where you get catapulted on top of the boss.
** In ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword Skyward Sword]]'' there's the third fight against The Imprisoned, where you need to whack his seal back into his forehead by launching onto him with the Groosenator. A more-classic Colossus Climb is one of two viable strategies for the other two fights, as well.

** Two of the large field boss types in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'', the Stone Talus and the Hinox, can be climbed upon. For the former, it's pretty much required to AttackItsWeakPoint unless you have Bomb Arrows to hit it from a distance.

** Used in the boss fight against the HumongousMecha Quadraxis in ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime2Echoes''. In the third phase of the fight, Quadraxis' head separates from its legs and starts flying around the arena. The player must climb the Spider Ball tracks on the legs, use the Boost Ball to launch onto the head, and then lay bombs in the weak spots in order to damage it.

** Not to mention "Giantland", "Mickey and the Beanstalk", and, in a way, "WesternAnimation/RunawayBrain".

* On ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'', this is Rufus' preferred attack against human targets; he does it to Drakken at least once. The producers were careful not to over-use it.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Quack Pack}}'': In “Return of the T Squad”, Huey distracts a giant robot while his brothers Dewey and Louie climb into its head to disable it.

* ''Series/UltramanTaro'' has quite a few examples, where the protagonist, Kohtaro Higashi - Ultraman Taro's human host - gets flung upwards and ending on the backs or snouts of various kaiju. But one episode takes it UpToEleven with one of Higashi's friends, a gym trainer intending to impress some kids, where he uses a rope to climb atop the monster Bemstar, in an attempt [[EyeScream to stab Bemstar's eye]]. And it works!

* Dungeon Man in ''VideoGame/EarthBound''.

** Used in the boss fight against the HumongousMecha Quadraxis in ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime2Echoes''. In the second phase of the fight, Quadraxis' head separates from its legs and starts flying around the arena. The player must climb the Spider Ball tracks on the legs, use the Boost Ball to launch onto the head, and then lay bombs in the weak spots in order to damage it.

** ''Monster Hunter Tri'' introduces Jhen Mhoren, an Elder Dragon that hunters can jump on if he gets close enough to the Dragonship. In fact, it's necessary if you want to mine scales and ores from it as well as to hit the two weakpoints on it.
** ''Monster Hunter 4'' introduces Dalamandur, who remains the single largest monster in the franchise, being a 440 meter long snake-dragon. Part of the fight does involve climbing its body to reach its weakpoints. And it's suggested that that isn't even its maximum size: ''World'' features a Dalamandur skeleton in one level that is nearly the size of an entire biome, with its skull alone dwarfing most Elder Dragons.
** The fourth generation introduces "mounting", a mechanic that lets you climb almost ''all'' monsters. It's become an integral part of the Monster Hunter metagame.
** ''World'' includes both standard monster mounting and battles with Zorah Magdaros, an Elder Dragon who is more or less a giant walking volcano, whose first phase starts as this and transitions into a BattleshipRaid with some Climb elements. Zorah's so huge that standard hunter weapons are more or less useless against it; the ''smallest'' weapons that can hurt it at all are full-blown cannons.

** Disney's classic short of "The Brave Little Tailor" features Mickey defeating the giant in exactly this way.

** There have also been instances where Mickey has latched onto Pete's back or climbed up him, as in "Two Gun Mickey" or in the ''WesternAnimation/HouseOfMouse'' episode "The Broken Thermostat".

See also SteppingStonesInTheSky. When it happens in a shooter, it's a BattleshipRaid. Compare LevelInBossClothing

* In ''VideoGame/NintendoLand''[='s=] ''Metroid Blast'' attraction, Kraid increases in height after each successful attack on his weak point. If you're an on-foot player (playing with a Wii Remote and Nunchuck), you have to use the Grapple Beam to climb up platforms coming out of his body. If you're in the Gunship, its flight allows you to just get in the air above him anyway. If both an on-foot and Gunship player are teamed up, the former can Grapple Beam the base of the Gunship to hitch a ride as well.
* Kraid is generally battled this way in the main ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'' series as well; in the second phase of his boss battles in ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid'', ''VideoGame/MetroidZeroMission'' and ''VideoGame/MetroidDread'', Samus must jump on the spikes he fires from his stomach to reach a platform so she can shoot him.
* Used in the boss fight against the HumongousMecha Quadraxis in ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime2Echoes''. In the second phase of the fight, Quadraxis' head separates from its legs and starts flying around the arena. The player must climb the Spider Ball tracks on the legs, use the Boost Ball to launch onto the head, and then lay bombs in the weak spots in order to damage it.

** ''VideoGame/HalfGenieHero'': The first phase of the [[AttackOfThe50FootWhatever Giga Mermaid]]'s boss battle requires Shantae to climb around the scaffolding surrounding the aforementioned CuteGiant and destroy the locks keeping her chained up.

* In ''VideoGame/Sly3HonorAmongThieves'', the final mission of the second chapter has ASimplePlan to destroy an evil mask go awry when Carmelita Fox [[SpannerInTheWorks unexpectedly shows up]] and is [[AttackOfThe50FootWhatever transformed into a giant berserker]] by the mask. The mission ends with Sly climbing up her clothing and into her hair to break the mask off of her face.

** In ''VideoGame/{{Sonic Rush|Series}}'', the (sort of) final boss is a giant mech, and to attack you have to wait until it punches the stage, then run over its arm and shoulder to spin attack its head.

* ''Videogame/XenobladeChronicles1'' has this as its main conceit: the entire world consists of two giants, one organic and one mechanical, large enough to have entire cities and even multiple biomes on them. Thus, getting anywhere involves traveling across the surface (and occasionally the interior) of the giants. Fortunately they're both dormant, making travel much easier [[spoiler:for most of the game, anyway]].
* ''[[Franchise/XMen X-Men 2 in Clone Wars]]'' for the UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis does this quite impressively on its second, third, AND fourth levels. Video games typically struggle with portraying one of the X-Men's major antagonists, the colossal robots known as Sentinels; often they are shrunken down to only slightly larger than human so they make a more manageable obstacle for the player. ''Clone Wars'' gets around this by having the X-Men attack a Sentinel maintenance facility while the Sentinels are off-line. You spend two levels fighting your way up scaffolding to reach one of the Sentinel's heads, and one level going ''inside'' a Sentinel and fighting a BossBattle against its reactor core, then running partway back down the scaffolding before the facility explodes from the power overload. Parts of two Sentinels' bodies are visible in the background throughout the levels, and they are true to their gigantic depictions in the comic books and television shows.

* ''Webcomic/BronzeSkinInc'': Pretty much a necessity for the workers at Bronze Skin, whose job is to spread tanning lotion on giant women.