History Main / LeaningTowerOfMooks

* ''VideoGame/JimmyAndThePulsatingMass'': The Turtle Stack enemy, which decomposes into individual turtles when damaged enough.

* In ''VideoGame/MadouMonogatari'' for the Saturn, this is ''attempted'' by the Green Puyo enemies, where they summon 3 more of themselves to stack on top. As any ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyo'' player knows, four Puyos of the same color touching each other will remove the lot, killing it instead.

* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'': In "[[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS3E6SnowballEffectOneKrabsTrash One Krabs' Trash]]", several skeletal mooks do this in the scene where Mr. Krabs tries to steal the soda drink hat. He easily destroys them in one swipe.

** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioSunshine'': In Pinna Park, there's an enemy known as a "Dango". It has a tower of ten Strollin' Stus on top of its head. Defeating them nets Mario a blue coin.

*** Shy Guy Towers are shy guys standing on each other's shoulders.

** The Slime Stack is a stack of three differently-colored Slimes, and is significantly tougher than the sum of its parts. Sometimes, three normal slimes will even jump together to form one in mid-battle. On other occasions, three Metal Slimes will replicate the trick, forming a Metal Medley.

** ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheOrigamiKing'': One of the Spikes' attacks has them climb on top of each other's shoulders, in order to throw the topmost member on Mario's head.

* ''Anime/TransformersHeadmasters'': Weirdwolf, Skullcruncher and Mindwipe attempt the "''[[https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Trio_Formation Trio Formation]]''" to intimidate the Autobot Headmasters, but it falls apart when Apeface and Snapdragon hop on.

* The Mallow Men from ''Papa Louie 3: When Sundaes Attack!''.

* ''Franchise/DragonQuest'': The Slime Stack is a stack of three differently-colored Slimes, and is significantly tougher than the sum of its parts. Sometimes, three normal slimes will even jump together to form one in mid-battle. On other occasions, three Metal Slimes will replicate the trick, forming a Metal Medley.
** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestX'': Slime Stacks, Metal Medleys, and Gem Jamborees reappear in the game, while the Slime Sisters, a rarefied Slime Stack made up of 3 Pink Slimes, is introduced in the game.

** ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DLand'': You can encounter Goomba towers that are stacked three to eight goombas high.
** ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DWorld'': Some Fire Bros. stand at the top of ''very'' large piles of Goombas, forcing Mario and his friends to dispatch the Goombas in order to deal with the fire shooters.

** ''VideoGame/YoshisIsland'': Shy Stacks are stacks of two to five Shy Guys all in a tower. The sequel to adds {{pirate}} Shy Guys, and, consequentially, pirate Shy Stacks.

[[quoteright:174:[[VideoGame/SuperMario3DLand https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/goomba_tower_sm3dl.png]]]]

Apparently, some minions of the BigBad will assume that a good strategy is to climb upon one another into an unstable totem pole-like tower (This is why they're Mooks and not TheDragon). For the most part, this trope is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin. These often appear in video games, where the tower can be taken out Mook by Mook. Or possibly knocked over all at once by attacking the bottom one. Usually fairly comedic, though some Mooks can pull it off well, the totem being stronger than the sum of its parts.

** ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DLand'': You can encounter Goomba towers that are stacked 3-8 goombas high.

** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioOdyssey'': Mario can [[InvokedTrope Invoke]] this trope by capturing a Goomba and making it jump on another one. That Goomba can them jump on another one, and so on, and so forth, to make a tower of Goombas. In addition, Mario can encounter Goombas already standing on top of one another.

[[quoteright:174:[[Franchise/SuperMarioBros https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/goomba_tower_sm3dl_resize.png]]]]

* The Bone Pillar enemies in {{Franchise/Castlevania}} often do this.
* The tower moves in the ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea}}'' games eventually became this trope as well.
* Brown Cageberries in ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountryReturns'' do this in groups of 5. When they see you, they lunge foward and all fall apart onto the ground.
* One of the regular monsters of the ''Franchise/DragonQuest'' series is the Slime Stack, which is a stack of 3 differently-colored Slimes - significantly tougher than the sum of its parts. Sometimes, 3 normal slimes will even jump together to form one in mid-battle! (And sometimes, 3 Metal Slimes will replicate the trick, forming a Metal Medley.)

* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'':
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'': Kefka's first OneWingedAngel form looks like a tower of Siamese mooks on top of each other, themed like characters from Literature/TheDivineComedy, that you gradually fight from bottom to top.
** ''VideoGame/WorldOfFinalFantasy'': This is one of the main mechanics, in which both the player and enemies can attack in stacks, which possess the combined stats and abilities of the component monsters. Both the player’s and enemy’s stacks can be knocked off balance and even toppled as they take damage; some attacks are designed specifically to do this. There are also items and abilities that can restore stability to an unstable stack.
* ''VideoGame/JimmyAndThePulsatingMass'': The Turtle Stack enemy, which decomposes into individual turtles when damaged enough.
* ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsX Kingdom Hearts ?]]'': The Wibble Wobble is four small, Shadow-like Heartless stacked on top of each other. It is common in the Dwarf Woodlands.
* A non-enemy example in ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiBowsersInsideStory'': Several Emoglobins in the Airway have formed the "Emototem" that only lets you pass by completing a challenge to prove your worth.
* The Koopa Bros. in ''VideoGame/PaperMario'' do this as their signature attack, spinning in their shells toward Mario as one stack. This is at a point in the game in which ''dangerous'' enemies deal 2 damage, and unless you catch on to the trick of their PuzzleBoss (tipping them over) they'll make short work of you.
* The Wii Ware versions of ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeon'' allow ''you'' to do this with your team.

* In ''VideoGame/XenobladeChroniclesX'', among the various indigenous species are a series of turkey bird-like Saltats, who often go about their nature dancing and and making strange musical noises. Some of them can be seen stacking on top of each other as part of their natural behaviors.
** ''VideoGame/YoshisIsland'' and ''VideoGame/PaperMario'': Shy Stacks are stacks of 2 to 5 Shy Guys all in a tower. The sequel to the former adds {{pirate}} Shy Guys, and, consequentially, pirate Shy Stacks.

* The pygmies in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' fight in towers.

* Used successfully in ''WesternAnimation/{{Antz}}''. The Ants are trying to reach an opening high up in the chamber they are in. Of course, combining their efforts to achieve great things is their hat.
* ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'': In "Gooey Aliens That Control Your Mind", Dexter's family (under the control of [[PuppeteerParasite Puppeteer Parasites]]) perch on top of each others' shoulders to counter the [[PoweredArmor Dex-Transformer]] suit.

* This was a common tactic of the Ant Hill Mob in ''WesternAnimation/ThePerilsOfPenelopePitstop''.
* Non-video game example: In the ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' episode "One Krabs' Trash", several skeletal mooks do this in the scene where Mr. Krabs tries to steal the soda drink hat. He easily destroys them in one swipe.
* In ''Anime/TransformersHeadmasters'', Weirdwolf, Skullcruncher and Mindwipe attempt the “''[[https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Trio_Formation Trio Formation]]''” to intimidate the Autobot Headmasters, but it falls apart when Apeface and Snapdragon hop on.

* Kefka's first OneWingedAngel form in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' looks like a tower of Siamese mooks on top of each other, themed like characters from Literature/TheDivineComedy, that you gradually fight from bottom to top.
** One of the main mechanics of ''VideoGame/WorldOfFinalFantasy'', in which both the player and enemies can attack in stacks, which possess the combined stats and abilities of the component monsters. Both the player’s and enemy’s stacks can be knocked off balance and even toppled as they take damage; some attacks are designed specifically to do this. There are also items and abilities that can restore stability to an unstable stack.

* In ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DLand'', you can encounter Goomba towers that are stacked 3-8 goombas high.
* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioOdyssey'': Mario can [[InvokedTrope Invoke]] this trope by capturing a goomba and making it jump on another one. That goomba can them jump on another one, and so on, and so forth, to make a tower of goombas.
** In addition, Mario can encounter goombas standing on top of one another.
* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioSunshine'': In Pinna Park, there's an enemy known as a "Dango". It has a tower of ten Strollin' Stus on top of its head. Defeating them nets Mario a blue coin.

* ''VideoGame/YoshisCraftedWorld'' has these variants of enemies.
** Shy Guy Towers are shy guys standing on each other's shoulders.
** Mels are rectangular-bodied enemies that stand on each other's heads.
* Shy Stacks, from ''VideoGame/YoshisIsland'' and ''VideoGame/PaperMario'', are stacks of 2 to 5 Shy Guys all in a tower.
** The sequel to the former adds {{pirate}} Shy Guys, and, consequentially, pirate Shy Stacks.

[[quoteright:174:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/goomba_tower_sm3dl_resize.png]]

* Non-video game example: In the ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' episode "One Krabs' Trash", several skeletal mooks do this in the scene where Mr. Krabs tries to steal the soda drink hat. He easily destroys them in one swipe.

* Non-video game example: In the ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' episode "One Krabs' Trash", several skeletal mooks do this in the scene where Mr. Krabs tries to steal the soda drink hat. He easily destroys them in one swipe.

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