History Main / DuelingPlayerCharacters

* Near the end of ''VideoGame/Splatoon2: Octo Expansion'', Agent 8 must fight [[spoiler:Agent 3, the protagonist of ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon}}''[='=]s Hero Mode, who has been BrainwashedAndCrazy by the Telephone]]. [[spoiler:Completing the expansion will unlock the BonusBoss, in which Agent 8 imagines what it would have been like to fight Agent 3 if they weren't brainwashed.]]

* Near the end of ''VideoGame/Splatoon2: Octo Expansion'', Agent 8 must fight [[spoiler:Agent 3, the protagonist of ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon}}''[='=]s Hero Mode, who has been BrainwashedAndCrazy by the Telephone]]. [[spoiler:Completing the expansion will unlock the BonusBoss, in which Agent 8 relives their memory of fighting Agent 3 as an Octarian soldier two years prior.]]

** ''VideoGame/YakuzaLikeADragon'' takes this ''UpToEleven'' with the fact that the above-mentioned [[DualBoss Majima and Saejima]] are both fought ''[[OhCrap at the same time!]]'' And if that wasn't enough… [[spoiler:Kiryu is once again a boss character! Again, pray to SEGA that he doesn't instantly kill you with his Tiger Drop.]]

** At the end of "The Path to the Ruins", [[VideoGame/Mother3 Lucas]] and [[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} Pokémon Trainer a.k.a. Red]] (who at this point only has Squirtle) fight VideoGame/{{Wario|Ware}} in vengeance of [[VideoGame/EarthBound Ness]]. The player only has control over the former two.

* In ''[[VideoGame/LEGOAdaptationGame LEGO Star Wars]]'', you play through most of the last level of Episode III as either Obi-Wan or Anakin. Come the last stage, the character not being used becomes the boss (although you can still switch control of the characters even during the duel). [[DoomedByCanon There's only one way it'll turn out]] despite who wins. Oddly, this does actually give an easy victory, activate the second player and simply kill them without them defending.

* In ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry4'', the main protagonist of the previous games, Dante, is the very first enemy fought in the game by Nero during the tutorial level and becomes his pursued target for half the game. Of particular note is Dante's second boss fight, which has been called as one of the most difficult in the series.
* ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry5'' has a variation where late in the game, Dante has to fight [[spoiler:V's familiars, who have all the moves that you've unlocked for them]].
** In the ''Special Edition'', [[spoiler:Vergil's FinalBoss fight is against Dante]].

* In ''VideoGame/LegacyOfKain: Defiance'', one of the boss fights is a duel between the two protagonists, Kain and Raziel. For the first half of the fight, you control Kain trying to beat Raziel into submission, before control switches to Raziel halfway through.

* In the ''Videogame/{{Yakuza}}'' series, in the games with multiple protagonists, there are occasionally boss battles where two of the protagonists face off against one another (typically Kiryu and another character). In ''VideoGame/Yakuza5'', you're given the option of choosing which character you wish to control for that battle.

* In ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry 4'', the main protagonist of the previous games, Dante, is the very first enemy fought in the game by Nero during the tutorial level and becomes his pursued target for half the game. Of particular note is Dante's second boss fight, which has been called as one of the most difficult in the series.
* ''Videogame/DevilMayCry5'' has a variation where late in the game, Dante has to fight [[spoiler:V's familiars, who have all the moves that you've unlocked for them]].

* In the ''Subspace Emissary'' of ''[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBros Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]'', this happens numerous times:

** At the end of "The Path to the Ruins", [[VideoGame/{{Mother3}} Lucas]] and [[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} Pokémon Trainer a.k.a. Red]] (who at this point only has Squirtle) fight VideoGame/{{Wario|Ware}} in vengeance of [[VideoGame/EarthBound Ness]]. The player only has control over the former two.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Ghostbusters 1990}}'' for the UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis, the player is given a choice between Peter, Ray, and Egon at the beginning. The two that are not picked will later be fought as bosses with the in-story justification of being possessed. Essentially, you are fighting the demons, which means that you have to avoid your friends' attacks.

* ''VideoGame/{{RosenkreuzStilette}}'':

* ''Videogame/ThunderForce'':

If the battle is fought to the death, it can become a powerful PlayerPunch, especially the player [[SadisticChoice is forced to decide]] which character lives and who dies. Even if it's not to the death, the outcome of who wins may cause the story to branch off in different paths.

* ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'':
** A rivalry between [[TheHero Serph]] and [[TheLancer Heat]] comes to a head when Mick tempts Heat with Sera, leading to a fight between the two. You can decide whether you fight back seriously or not. [[spoiler:Heat is just faking it as a distraction, and tells Serph to play along — he's still loyal, though if you fail to trust Heat and do fight back seriously, then it can come back to bite you in the sequel.]]
** On a NewGamePlus, you can fight the Demi-Fiend of ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'' as a BonusBoss.
* ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'' gives you the chance to fight and recruit [[VideoGame/DevilMayCry Dante]]. You also have the option to face off against [[VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVsTheSoullessArmy Raidou Kuzunoha XIV]] instead, if you wish.

* In ''VideoGame/BlasterMasterZeroIII'', Jason gets into a HopelessBossFight against Kane Gardner, the protagonist of the Japanese version of the original game, ''Metafight'', in the first area. [[spoiler:In the GoldenEnding, you can choose to face off against Kane or Jason in the final boss fight, but the ending is the same regardless of your choice.]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Rosenkreuzstilette}}'':

** ''[[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney Ace Attorney: Trials & Tribulations]]'' has an inversion with ''dueling antagonists''. Phoenix needs to spend time recuperating in the hospital while learning more about the long history attached to the case and the game's main prosecutor, Godot, is also temporarily unavailable. For one day of court, and [[RuleOfCool to the screams of any pretense of courtroom professionalism]], [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Miles Edgeworth]] fills in for Wright as the Defense while [[TheBaroness Franziska von Karma]] returns as the Prosecution.

** ''Sonic Rush'' has Sonic vs Blaze at the [[ClimaxBoss end of Dead Line Zone]], with Blaze declaring she'll fight the Eggmans alone while Sonic tries to tell her it doesn't work that way around here. Blaze, whose loner attitude has been challenged throughout the game, finally snaps and decides to clash with Sonic to force him to stay out of her way.

* ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'' gives you the chance to fight and recruit [[VideoGame/DevilMayCry Dante]].

Most single-player video games have a single PlayerCharacter whom the player steers throughout the adventure. Some feature [[AndNowForSomeoneCompletelyDifferent more of them, with the player controlling each one of them in turns]]. And then there are some that pit one player character against another, controlled by the player and the [[VideoGameAI AI]], respectively. If the two playable characters are [[TheRival rivals]] or ArchEnemies to one another this is all but guaranteed to happen at some point.

* In ''VideoGame/LegacyOfKain: Defiance'', one of the boss fights is a duel between the two protagonists, Kain and Raziel. For the first half of the fight, you control Kain trying to beat Raziel into submission, before control switches to Raziel half way through.

* ''VideoGame/BeatDownFistsOfVengeance'' sees the male characters who are not picked as the player character getting fought in order to join your gang, which means depending on who you select at the beginning you'll have to fight either two or three of them.
* In the ''Videogame/{{Yakuza}}'' series, in the games with multiple protagonists there are occasionally boss battles where two of the protagonists face off against one another (typically Kiryu and another character). In ''VideoGame/Yakuza5'', you're given the option of choosing which character you wish to control for that battle.
** Notably in ''VideoGame/Yakuza4'', Kiryu fights against ''two'' of the newly introduced protagonists of this game - [[DualBoss Akiyama and Tanimura]]. Despite being outnumbered, it's ultimately the latter two that are winded compared to Kiryu, who [[CurbStompBattle didn't even break a sweat]].
*** Before that, Kiryu himself can be fought against as [[MightyGlacier Saejima]] in an earlier chapter. [[ThisIsGonnaSuck Pray to SEGA]] that he doesn't use his signature [[CounterAttack Tiger Drop]] against you...
*** Though in this case Kiryu and Saejima are on equal footing and fight to a standstill, until Saejima's wounds from his prison escape re-open.
** [[AvertedTrope Averted]] in ''VideoGame/Yakuza0'', however, as Kiryu and Majima never even meet throughout the entirety of the game... [[spoiler: until TheStinger, that is.]]

** ''VideoGame/YakuzaLikeADragon'' takes this ''UpToEleven'' with the fact that the above-mentioned [[DualBoss Majima and Saejima]] are both fought ''[[OhCrap at the same time!]]'' And if that wasn't enough... [[spoiler: Kiryu is once again a boss character! Again, pray to SEGA that he doesn't instantly kill you with his Tiger Drop.]]
* In ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry 4'', the main protagonist of the previous games Dante is the very first enemy fought in the game by Nero during the tutorial level and becomes his pursued target for half the game. Of particular note is Dante's second boss fight, which has been called as one of the most difficult in the series.
* ''Videogame/DevilMayCry5'' has a variation where late in the game Dante has to fight [[spoiler:V's familiars, who have all the moves that you've unlocked for them]].
** In the ''Special Edition'', [[spoiler:Vergil's FinalBoss fight is against Dante.]]
* In ''[[VideoGame/{{Croixleur}} Croixleur Sigma]]'', [[spoiler:clearing the story in less than 10 minutes will put you up in an extra fight against Francesca. Defeating her will unlock her for use in the game. Likewise if you choose Fran, then Lucrezia will be your final opponent.]]
* In ''Videogame/AWayOut'', [[spoiler:Leo and Vincent end up fighting one another in the final level after it's revealed that Vincent is an undercover cop who was using Leo to get to the villain. The ending of the game depends on who survives the confrontation]].
* ''VideoGame/{{Monolith}}'' opens with Null fighting D-13 as a WarmUpBoss. Defeating the FinalBoss with Null lets you play as D-13, who fights Null [[BookEnds as its final boss]], [[spoiler:but this time Null is under the influence of the Power Eternal.]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Hearthstone}}'': The Great Dalaran Heist singleplayer mode from ''Rise of Shadows'' had the player take control of nine {{Villain Protagonist}}s in order to rob the city. In the following singleplayer mode, Tombs of Terror, all of them returned as bosses (except Vessina, who became a playable card in ''Saviors of Uldum'', and Rakanishu, who's a boss-exclusive minion). The Warlock representative, Tekahn, is the FinalBoss of the whole set.

* Half of the Vault Hunters in ''Videogame/BorderlandsThePreSequel'' would chronologically later be fought as bosses in other Borderlands games (which is inevitable given that this set of Vault Hunters worked for the BigBad of ''Videogame/Borderlands2'', Handsome Jack). Wilhelm and Nisha are fought in 2 while Aurelia Hammerlock would be fought in 3.

* PlayedWith in the original ''VideoGame/{{Dishonored}}'' and its DLC: the fight against the SkippableBoss Daud becomes this trope retroactively, after Daud is PromotedToPlayable in the AnotherSideAnotherStory DLC ''Knife of Dunwall''. The next DLC starring him, ''The Brigmore Witches'', subverts it twice: Daud fights Corvo in the first mission, but it turns out to be AllJustADream; they fight for real after the last mission but it takes place entirely off-screen, with the narration picking up just as Corvo disarms Daud who then asks for his life (with the success determined by Daud's [[KarmaMeter Chaos level]]).

** In ''Time Crisis 5: True Mastermind Edition'', [[spoiler:Keith Martin, player 1 character of ''Time Crisis II'', is the stage 4 boss and the apparent traitor of the VSSE. After defeating him, he reveals that he's GoodAllAlong and that the real traitor is your MissionControl Robert Baxter, player 2 character of ''Time Crisis II'', who you fight in the final stage.]]

** ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'' has the characters split into 4 teams of 3, with two of the other teams serving as Boss Battles during the game -- Team Sonic and Team Chaotix fight Team Rose and Team Dark, whilst Team Dark and Team Rose fight Team Sonic and Team Chaotix.

** ''VideoGame/SonicBattle'', a Sonic fighting game, takes all this to its logical conclusion.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Ghostbusters 1990}}'' for the UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis, the player is given a choice between Peter, Ray, and Egon at the beginning. The two that are not picked will later be fought as bosses with the in-story justification of being possessed. Essentially you are fighting the demons which means that you have to avoid your friends attacks.
* In ''VideoGame/AzureStrikerGunvolt2'', rivals Gunvolt and Copen run into each other in the midpoint of [[AnIcePerson Tenjian]]'s level as a MiniBoss, [[spoiler:and later, where either hero is the TrueFinalBoss.]] In both occasions, if you're playing as Gunvolt the Boss would be Copen, and vice-versa.

** The FinalBoss is [[spoiler:the Soul of Cinder, an incarnation of everyone who has ever linked the First Flame. Naturally, this includes ''you'', the [[VideoGame/DarkSoulsI Chosen Undead]], and the ''other'' you, the [[VideoGame/DarkSoulsII Bearer of the Curse]].]]
** The second mandatory boss of ''[[DownloadableContent the Ringed City]]'', Halflight, Spear of the Church, is essentially a player character with a couple of flunkies and some tricks up his sleeve that you don't have access to... unless you're playing online, in which case you're fighting an actual PlayerCharacter in a PlayerVersusPlayer battle. And they have the same unique abilities that Halflight has.
* In ''VideoGame/FortuneSummoners'', there's a brief section where you play as [[LovableAlphaBitch Stella]] in a flashback explaining how she got to the section of dungeon you just reached. When you reach the present, she challenges Arche to a duel, serving as a BossFight (something of a CurbstompBattle, since she's a SquishyWizard and the battle takes place in a small arena), before joining the PlayerParty.
* In ''VideoGame/LiveALive'', [[spoiler:The Final chapter has you either fight the character you played as the chapter before, Oersted, who has turned into the GreaterScopeVillain, the Demon King Odio, or doing a [[RoleReversalBoss reverse boss rush]] against the rest of the protagonists which is guaranteed to net you a BadEnding.]]
* In ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'', an Imperial Flashpoint sees you [[FullyAbsorbedFinale hunt down and eliminate the protagonist of the original]] ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic''. Needless to say, [[spoiler:Darth Revan]] puts up a hell of a fight. One of the Sith Warrior story missions also has you fight it out with [[spoiler:either a Light Side or Dark Side version of yourself (which one you fight depends on your own alignment)]]. A later Expansion, "Shadow of Revan" has the former as the new ArcVillain.

* In ''VideoGame/LegendOfMana'', Escad and Daena come to blows over disagreeing about what to do with Irwin. You're forced to take a side (refusing to take a side will have them choose ''for'' you), and the battle is to the death. No matter what, one party member isn't coming out of that fight alive. [[PoorCommunicationKills And then it's all made moot when]] [[spoiler:Daena's third option is outright rejected by Matilda and you're driven to kill Irwin anyway.]]

** A rivalry between [[TheHero Serph]] and [[TheLancer Heat]] comes to a head when Mick tempts Heat with Sera, leading to a fight between the two. You can decide whether you fight back seriously or not. [[spoiler:Heat is just faking it as a distraction, and tells Serph to play along -- he's still loyal, though if you fail to trust Heat and do fight back seriously, then it can come back to bite you in the sequel.]]

* ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'', Gives you the chance to fight and recruit [[VideoGame/DevilMayCry Dante]]

*** This also retroactively makes [[spoiler:the secret boss of KH2 Final Mix, Lingering Will, this.]]

* If the player chooses to side with a certain faction in ''VideoGame/DeusExInvisibleWar'', they must fight the protagonist of the [[VideoGame/DeusEx first game]] - J.C. Denton as the end-game boss.
* In ''VideoGame/EternalSonata'' [[spoiler:Chopin is your final enemy. He realizes that the game world is his DyingDream and he attempts to survive it by trying to destroy it and everyone inside it.]] The game is interesting in this case since winning the fight will [[spoiler:end up with Chopin dying of his tuberculosis in RealLife]] while losing it on purpose ends with [[spoiler:everyone in the otherworld ceasing to exist, but Chopin waking up and deciding that he wants to live]].

* Subverted in ''VideoGame/GoldenSunTheLostAge'': The previous game allows you to transfer your party's stats to the second game, despite starring Felix (who Isaac spends the first game chasing after and failing to prevent him from [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt lighting the elemental beacons]]). Both parties keep barely missing each other until Jupiter Lighthouse, at which point Isaac's party is split apart and defeated by the tower's bosses ([[CutsceneIncompetence particularly grating]] if you'd done a lot of LevelGrinding), then Felix's party defeats them. The climactic battle between Isaac and Felix... doesn't take place, as Isaac now understands why Felix was running around trying to light the elemental beacons (both because the BigBad was holding his sister hostage, and because [[spoiler:if the beacons remain unlit, the world ''will'' eventually crumble away, whereas if they're lit, humanity ''might'' abuse the power of the elements to fight destructive wars and destroy the world]]).

* In the original ''VideoGame/Persona5'', The Traitor, [[spoiler: Goro Akechi]], is fought just before the penultimate dungeon's[[labelnote: *]]third-to-last in ''Royal''[[/labelnote]] end, with his [[BolivianArmyEnding ultimate outcome]] being uncertain.
** In ''[[UpdatedRerelease Royal]]'', [[spoiler: Akechi]] can be fought in the third-to-last rank of his Confidant, with the other two progressing with the story like in the original game.
** Also in ''Royal'' [[spoiler: during the visit to [[VeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon Maruki's Palace]], "Kasumi", who is actually [[TheReveal revealed]] to be Sumire, the thought-to-be deceased sister of the former, briefly turns against Joker and Akechi, forcing Joker to [[DuelBoss bring her to her senses.]]]]
*** Royal also comes with some bonus challenge fights, including two DLC fights where you can battle the protagonists of Persona 3 and Persona 4.
* In ''VideoGame/MarvelUltimateAlliance3TheBlackOrder'', the final Gauntlet in the ''Shadow of Doom'' expansion, "The Ultimate Gauntlet", consists of ten challenges framed as Alliances from parallel dimensions battling each other. The first nine challenges pit you against fractions of the entire 51-character roster -- Challenge 1 is the Guardians of the Galaxy[[note]]Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, and Rocket & Groot[[/note]], Challenge 2 is the Web Warriors[[note]]Spider-Man, Miles Morales, Spider-Gwen, and Venom[[/note]], Challenge 3 is the Marvel Knights[[note]]Morbius, Moon Knight, the Punisher, and Blade[[/note]] and the Defenders[[note]]Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Daredevil, and Elektra[[/note]], Challenge 4 is the Avengers[[note]]the first wave consists of Hawkeye, the Wasp, and the Falcon, the second wave consists of the Scarlet Witch and the Black Widow, and the final wave consists of Captain America, Iron Man, the Hulk, and the Black Panther[[/note]], Challenge 5 is the X-Men[[note]]the first wave consists of the Wolverine, Gambit, and Storm, the second wave consists of Deadpool and Cable, the third wave consists of Psylocke, Nightcrawler, and Iceman, and the final wave consists of Cyclops, Colossus, and the Phoenix[[/note]], Challenge 6 is three sets of miscellaneous heroes[[note]]first you fight Elsa Bloodstone and Ghost Rider, then you fight Thor and Loki, and finally you battle Doctor Strange[[/note]], Challenge 7 is a group of female heroes[[note]]Captain Marvel, Ms. Marvel, and Crystal[[/note]], Challenge 8 is the Fantastic Four[[note]]Mister Fantastic, the Invisible Woman, the Human Torch, and the Thing[[/note]] and Challenge 9 is three villains[[note]]Magneto, Thanos, and Doctor Doom in his God Emperor form[[/note]]. The tenth and final challenge has you fight the following characters one after another: Doctor Strange in his masked costume from the late sixties-early seventies, Spider-Man in his Symbiote suit, Daredevil's black costume from ''The Man Without Fear'', Captain Marvel in her Ms. Marvel costume, the Punisher in his ''Age of Apocalypse'' costume, Wolverine as Old Man Logan, Star-Lord in his ''Annihilation: Conquest'' costume, Crystal in her Avengers uniform, Thor as Ultimate Thor, Mister Fantastic in his Future Foundation uniform, and Iron Man in his Extremis armor.
* In ''VideoGame/GameOfThrones'', you have to choose between [[TheAtoner Alester]] and [[AntiHero Mors]] as the main character for the last 2 chapters, with the other aiding you in the final battle against [[BigBad Valar]]. After defeating Valar [[spoiler: the two turn on each other when its revealed that Alester was the one who helped Valar kill Mors' family on orders from [[GreaterScopeVillain Tywin Lannister]], with the PostFinalBoss being whichever character you didn't pick.]]
* In ''VideoGame/FugaMelodiesOfSteel'', the Chapter 11 boss is [[spoiler:Britz, one of the last characters to join your party, decived by the BigBad into fighting the heroes under the assumption that his mother and sister won't be harmed. You cannot use any of the player character's skills or the Soul Cannon, and depending on what level Britz's affinity is at with everyone else prior to his defection, then he'll either rejoin the player group realized he's been duped, or take his own life by self-destructing his tank after the match is over.]]

* In ''[[VideoGame/RType R-Type Final]]'', if you have met a certain condition, you will traverse a dark forest and pit against [[spoiler:[[AndThenJohnWasAZombie R-13A Cerberus]], the only protagonist in ''Delta'' who failed to escape the forest and ended up turned into a Bydo.[[note]]Ceberus' Wave Cannon [[ShockAndAwe absorbs energy and fires devastating lightning bolts]] , which makes it unable to break through the forest's barrier, while everyone else has a proper WaveMotionGun for blasting through the barrier. CripplingOverspecialization indeed.[[/note]] It is more of a MercyKill rather than a proper duel.]]

* At the end of ''VideoGame/InTheHunt'', if two players are present they will fight each other until either player runs out of lives, with the winner becoming the new leader of D.A.S. If the timer runs out before either player's life stock is depleted, ''[[DownerEnding both players will be destroyed]].''

* In the (non-canon) BrutalBonusLevel of ''VideoGame/AceCombatZeroTheBelkanWar'' you, as Cipher, must fight the TrueFinalBoss -- Mobius One, the protagonist of ''VideoGame/AceCombat04ShatteredSkies''. This has since become a staple in the ''VideoGame/AceCombat'' series to include protagonists of previous games as bosses in the non-canon bonus levels. Perhaps the farthest callback is the bonus level of ''VideoGame/AceCombatXSkiesOfDeception'', where the bonus aces were the ZOE Commander (simply identified as ZOE) in his red ADF-01 Falken and Scarface One (just credited as Scarface) in the XFA-27, which was the ultimate plane all the way back in ''VideoGame/AceCombat2''.
* ''VideoGame/MechWarrior 4'' has the player, Ian Dresari, fighting to reclaim his family's right to rule; [[MultipleEndings depending on your choices]] he leaves his sister to die to claim a weapons cache and the throne, or sacrifices the cache and saves his sister to put her on the throne. The ExpansionPack ''Black Knight'' assumes the former choice, with Dresari becoming a tyrant whom the [[PrivateMilitaryContractors Black Knight Legion]] is hired to take down.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Monolith}}'', you fight the protagonist of hard mode, D-13, as the protagonist of normal mode, Null, in the tutorial. [[spoiler: Then, you fight Null who's [[DrunkOnTheDarkSide Drunk on the Dark Side]] as [[TrueFinalBoss D-13's final boss]]. ]]
* Near the end of ''VideoGame/Splatoon2: Octo Expansion'', Agent 8 must fight [[spoiler:Agent 3, the protagonist of ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon}}''[='=]s Hero Mode, who has been BrainwashedAndCrazy by the Telephone.]] [[spoiler:Completing the expansion will unlock the BonusBoss, in which Agent 8 relives their memory of fighting Agent 3 as an Octarian soldier two years prior.]]
* In ''Videogame/TheLastOfUsPartII'', [[spoiler:the two main playable characters are antagonists to one another which culminates in a fight between Ellie and Abby from the perspective of the latter late in the game. The final fight is another fight between the two, this time a FisticuffsBoss where you control Ellie]].

** In ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedValhalla'', a questline added in December 2021 has Eivor get into a fight against [[Kassandra, the canonical protagonist of ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedOdyssey'']], mistakenly believing them to be behind the nightmares on the Isle of Sky. The fight is just a cutscene where the two fight to a standstill, but you do get to challenge her to a drinking contest and flyting (the viking equivalent of a rap battle).

** Shovel Knight is the most evident and literal of this, considering he does '''everything''' he can do when a player along with acting like a player, down to how he uses the Relics and even healing himself with Ichor. He even uses TheComputerIsACheatingBastard items and abilities that you can't actually obtain by that point in the game. Maybe he's on NG+.

* All the [[PlayerCharacter playable knights]] in ''VideoGame/ShovelKnight'' (Shovel Knight, Plague Knight, Specter Knight and King Knight) become this due to how they all are bosses in each other's stories. Shovel Knight, however, is the most evident and literal of this, considering he does '''everything''' he can do when a player along with acting like a player, down to how he uses the Relics and even healing himself with Ichor.

* In ''VideoGame/BlasterMasterZeroIII'', Jason gets into a HopelessBossFight against Kane Gardner, the protagonist of the Japanese version of the game, ''Metafight'', in the first area. [[spoiler:In the GoldenEnding, you can choose to face off against Kane or Jason in the final boss fight, but the ending is the same regardless of your choice.]]

* Midway through ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiBowsersInsideStory'', the Mario Bros. fight Bowser after finally getting out from his insides. Bowser has the attacks he learned while under the player's command. Bowser is much less competent when controlled by AI; he fails attack commands regularly and never uses defensive commands. However, his HP is much greater than he had when controlled by the player.

* During the Divertissement chapter of [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel Trails of Cold Steel II]], you control Lloyd Bannings, protagonist of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsFromZeroAndTrailsToAzure'', with the boss of the chapter being Rean Schwarzer, protagonist of the game.

* All the [[PlayerCharacter playable knights]] in ''VideoGame/ShovelKnight'' (Shovel Knight, Plague Knight, Specter Knight and King Knight) become this due to how they all are bosses in each other's stories. Shovel Knight, however, is the most evident and literal of this, considering he does '''everything''' he can do when a player along with acting like a player, down to how he uses the Relics. [[spoiler:Oh, and he can even heal himself with Ichor]].

* In ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry 4'', the main protagonist of the previous games Dante is the very first enemy fought in the game by Nero during the tutorial level and becomes his pursued target for half the game.