History Main / DefeatMeansPlayable

** The ''[[VideoGame/AlienHominid Aliens]]'' can be obtained as playable character once you defeated them on their UFO.

* The otherwise-mediocre arcade game ''[[VideoGame/BigFight Big Fight: Big Trouble in the Atlantic Ocean]]'' is notable for the fact that all bosses except for the final two will pull a HeelFaceTurn and partner up with you after you beat them. Yes, this even includes the obligatory leather-clad {{dominatrix}} girl.

** In ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'', upon activating a COMP's Demon Summoning Program, a demon will come out to fight the user. Should the user emerge victorious, said demon will join the user's demon stock. This only applies to the first demon summoned by the Demon Summoning Program; the player will have to obtain other demons through the Auction or by fusion. Some specific Demons still make use of this trope, however. Several missions in the second game feature optional Demon bosses that will be unlocked for fusion upon defeat. Humorously, this rule also applies to Demons killed in scripted cutscenes (such as Kama in the second game).
* ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork'' has this in the 5th game. You need to defeat certain Navis before you can control them during Liberation Missions.
** A much less useful version also appears in the 6th game (though there are a few missions and one boss which must be fought by people you defeated). Also, 4-6 halfway have this through a second track of PowerCopying--once you beat certain bosses, you can do the FusionDance with them in any battle after that point (including rematches against that same boss).

** The second game has Visas Marr, who you can kill or spare. If you spare her, she joins the party.

* In ''[[VideoGame/PuyoPuyo Puyo Puyo! 15th Anniversary]]'', the player unlocks the characters returning from ''VideoGame/MadouMonogatari'' (the series ''Puyo Puyo'' spun off from) by defeating them in any character's story mode.

* In ''[[VideoGame/PuyoPuyo Puyo Puyo! 15th Anniversary]]'', the player unlocks the characters returning from ''Madou Monogatari'' (the series ''Puyo Puyo'' spun off from) by defeating them in any character's story mode.

* The character New Goblin is available to play in ''VideoGame/SpiderMan3'' (Xbox 360, PC and UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 consoles) during the final mission in the game in a boss fight against Sandman. Of course, once you have gone through battling him and having him unlocked on PlayStation Network and Xbox Live, you can experience a free roam gameplay, but only for crime fighting and racing across New York City, no story missions.

* The character New Goblin is available to play in ''VideoGame/SpiderMan3'' (Xbox 360, PC and PlayStation 3 consoles) during the final mission in the game in a boss fight against Sandman. Of course, once you have gone through battling him and having him unlocked on PlayStation Network and Xbox Live, you can experience a free roam gameplay, but only for crime fighting and racing across New York City, no story missions.

** In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', [[Disney/BeautyAndTheBeast Beast]] must be fought in a boss battle before he joins the party, given that he's being corrupted by Xaldin, and assumes that Sora and his friends are assassins sent by Belle.

*** On the Black Eagles route, if you didn't recruit Lysithea before the timeskip, you can beat her up in Chapter 14 and then convince her to join your party.
*** On the Blue Lions route, Lorenz pulls a FaceHeelTurn during the timeskip, while Ashe does the same on the Golden Deer route. You can get them to rejoin your party by beating them up.

* In ''VideoGame/EndlessFrontier'', [[VideoGame/CapcomVs Reiji and Xiaomu]] and the Personal Troopers join your group after fighting them as bosses. With the mechs however, that takes a couple tries first.

* In ''VideoGame/EndlessFrontier'', [[VideoGame/CapcomVsWhatever Reiji and Xiaomu]] and the Personal Troopers join your group after fighting them as bosses. With the mechs however, that takes a couple tries first.

** The games of the ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeon'' spinoff series (except for ''[[VideoGame/PokemonSuperMysteryDungeon Super]]'') are a straighter example, as enemy Pokémon have a chance to ask to join your team after being defeated.

* In the 2011 edition of ''WWE Smackdown Vs Raw'', the main roster characters who are unlocked via Universe mode must first be battled after fulfilling the unlock requirements. When this happens, Wrestling/VinceMcmahon appears and tells the wrestler you’re playing as they have another opponent to face before revealing the unlockable wrestler.

*** On the Black Eagles route, if you didn't recruit her before the timeskip, you can beat her up in Chapter 14 and then convince her to join your party.

** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'', [[spoiler:[=SpotPass=] characters Walhart and Priam will join your ranks if you defeat them. Priam can be taken down by anyone but Chrom has to be the one to fight Walhart.]]

* The character New Goblin is avaliable to play in ''VideoGame/SpiderMan3'' (Xbox 360, PC and PlayStation 3 consoles) during the final mission in the game in a boss fight against Sandman. Of course, once you have gone through battling him and having him unlocked on PlayStation Network and Xbox Live, you can experience a free roam gameplay, but only for crime fighting and racing across New York City, no story missions.

* The smartphone ports of ''[[VideoGame/DonPachi DoDonPachi]] [=DaiFukkatsu=]'' / ''[=DoDonPachi=] Resurrection'' allows you to unlock [[TrueFinalBoss Hibachi]] as a playable character in the smartphone-exclusive arrange mode by completing the first loop and the special second loop, said arrange mode on Normal difficulty or higher and with one credit. This includes defeating Hibachi, who waits at the end of the special second loop. You can also use a cheat code to unlock Hibachi, [[NoFairCheating but the effect will wear off upon exiting the game]], requiring you to input the code again every time you want to unlock Hibachi again, while the 2-loop-clear method unlocks it permanently.

* In the 2011 edition of ''WWE Smackdown Vs Raw'', the main roster characters who are unlocked via Universe mode must first be battled after fulfilling the unlock requirements. When this happens, Wrestling/VinceMcmahon appears and tells the wrestler you’re playing as they have another opponent to face before revealing the unlockablw wrestler.

** In ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'', upon activating a COMP's Demon Summoning Program, a demon will come out to fight the user. Should the user emerge victorious, said demon will join the user's demon stock. This only applies to the first demon summoned by the Demon Summoning Program; the player will have to obtain other demons through the Auction or by fusion.

* Subverted in ''VideoGame/Lunar2EternalBlueComplete'', where the party [[GenreSavvy clearly expects]] their StealthMentor [[spoiler:Ghaleon]] to join them after his last boss battle. Unfortunately, [[spoiler:he's kept alive by the power of the BigBad, so now that it's clear that he's a traitor he fades away.]] FridgeLogic makes that a NiceJobBreakingItHero, because there's only one way the BigBad could have found out just then [[spoiler:from them saying that they knew he was helping them all along and trying to recruit him instead of playing along.]]