History Main / PostClimaxConfrontation

* In ''Anime/SailorMoon S'', after the defeat of the Death Busters and the destruction of [[GreaterScopeVillain Pharaoh 90]], the day is seemingly saved. After a tearful farewell, Chibiusa departs to the future, leaving Usagi and co. Unbeknownst to them, one last [[MonsterOfTheWeek Daimon pod]] survived in the burning remains of Mujin Academy, the villains' headquarters. It crawled into the Daimon oven and combined with it into Rangy. The Daimon immediately went into a pure heart collecting rampage. During the battle with the Sailor Senshi, it proved to be too powerful for them. [[spoiler:It took the intervention of a returning Chibiusa and a distraction by Tuxedo Mask to tip the scales and allow Sailor Moon to destroy the Daimon for good.]]

** In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'', the final battle with Liquid Ocelot happens ''after'' [[spoiler:Snake stops him from destroying JD and, in the process, ends up wiping out the ''entire'' Patriot Network instead, destroying the true Big Bads of the series. Of course, [[MagnificentBastard that was Ocelot's plan the entire time]]]].

%%Image removed per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=16681346110.13155900&page=1
%%See thread to discuss a replacement.

* Firstly, the major threat of the day MUST be resolved. The BigBad is defeated, or there is at least no sign that he survived just yet, there is no sign of TheManBehindTheMan, no other hidden enemies waiting somewhere nearby to ambush the heroes. Examples of this trope are rarely the BigBad.

* The FinalBoss of ''Literature/ACertainMagicalIndex'' of the ''New Testament'' series is [[spoiler:Coronzon]]. However, the final volume instead focuses on an enemy created from the aftermath of the battle, [[spoiler:an [[EvilDopelganger "Emanation"]] of Touma created from his subconscious regrets who wants to steal the real Touma's identity.]]

** In ''Anime/DragonBallZCoolersRevenge'', Cooler and his henchmen have been defeated, and the worn-out heroes relax and laugh--when Salza, TheDragon, re-emerges, NotQuiteDead. He tries to finish the weary heroes off but is defeated by Piccolo.

* ''Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren''. Just after the BigBad is defeated, Yazoo and Loz show up to harass Cloud, [[TakingYouWithMe trying to take him with them]], either for revenge or because they want their "brother" to go with them ([[PsychopathicManchild they're kind of childish]]). It doesn't end up being so much a fight as an explosion.

** After the final battle with [[spoiler: Kang the Conqueror]], the Leader makes one last attempt to kill Makoto and Bruno, but he is subdued by the Winter Soldier.

* In the final episode of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00'' Season 1, [[spoiler: Sestuna has just defeated the big bad, Alejendro Corner, and the GN-Xs have been defeated as well. It seems the story is coming to a close when Graham Aker suddenly arrives, and the two battle till both of their mobile suits explode, bringing the Season to an end.]]

* In ''Anime/{{Patlabor}} TheMovie'', the main characters succeed in dismantling the Ark (which they are in too) into the ocean before the typhoon hits it, and the crisis seems to be over. [[spoiler: However, when they regain consciousness having survived the events, a virus-infected prototype mecha that one of the characters was controlling emerges from the rubble and tries to kill everyone.]]
* This has become somewhat common in recent seasons of ''Anime/PrettyCure'' where one final MonsterOfTheWeek shows up after the BigBad is taken out and the Cures must defeat it. Usually, this also results in an EarlyBirdCameo from the next season's leading Cure.
* In ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'' (manga only), Kenshin explains to Saito that, due to one thing and another, his body is rapidly deteriorating and soon he won't be able to fight anymore. Thus he offers Saito a duel to settle things once and for all, to put to rest the ghost of their bitter past. [[{{Subverted}} Saito declines]], stating that Kenshin is no longer the man he wanted to defeat. It's as much bittersweet as it's heartwarming.
* ''Anime/SailorMoon S''. After the defeat of the Death Busters and the destruction of [[GreaterScopeVillain Pharaoh 90]], the day is seemingly saved. After a tearful farewell, Chibiusa departs to the future, leaving Usagi and co. Unbeknownst to them, one last [[MonsterOfTheWeek Daimon pod]] survived in the burning remains of Mujin Academy, the villains' headquarters. It crawled into the Daimon oven and combined with it into Rangy. The Daimon immediately went into a pure heart collecting rampage. During the battle with the Sailor Senshi, it proved to be too powerful for them. [[spoiler:It took the intervention of a returning Chibiusa and a distraction by Tuxedo Mask to tip the scales and allow Sailor Moon to destroy the Daimon for good.]]
* In ''Anime/SakuraWarsTheMovie'', the Imperial Combat Revue kills Brent Furlong to stop his evil plans and Ikki Yoneda knocks out and arrests Haruyoshi Tanuma. But Patrick Hamilton still remains and when Maria Tachibana encounters him on the rooftops, she runs out of bullets. Unfortunately for Patrick, Maria quickly uses a spirit bullet developed by Kohran Li and finally kills him.

%% * In ''Manga/TwentiethCenturyBoys'', this is what the majority of the last two volumes (titled ''21st Century Boys'') is based around.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheBoxtrolls'', Eggs and the boxtrolls have defeated Archibald Snatcher's SpiderTank and exposed his lies about the boxtrolls being baby-eating monsters... when Snatcher emerges from [[ItMakesSenseInContext the remains of a giant cheese wheel]], [[GRatedDrug drunk on one of his]] [[BodyHorror "cheese fits"]], and holds Winnie hostage, blackmailing Lord Portley-Rind into handing over his hat and escorting Snatcher to his exclusive "tasting room". Fortunately, Snatcher's [[DeathByGluttony cheese obsession]] [[SelfDisposingVillain proves to be his own undoing]].
* In ''[[Recap/FuturamaM1BendersBigScore Futurama: Bender's Big Score]]'', after the climactic space battle against the scammer aliens (which ended with their ship being destroyed by a doomsday device), their leader Nudar comes back, having survived thanks to a [[AppliedPhlebotinum doom-proof platinum vest]] to make a last attempt to gain the [[TimeTravel time code]]. Lars [[HeroicSacrifice sacrifices himself]] to kill Nudar.

* Every single installment of the ''Franchise/{{Alien}}'' Quadrilogy features one of these for our heroes just as it seems that they have already managed to escape any and all further encounters with the franchise's titular Xenomorph species, and even the installments from outside of the original Quadrilogy get in on the usage of this trope in one way or another as well:

** In ''Film/{{Alien 3}}'', Ripley successfully kills off the lone Xenomorph Runner specimen known as the "Dragon" in using a combination of molten lead and freezing sprinkler water, only for a man who resembles the Bishop Android along with a number of Weyland-Yutani soldiers to come and confront her regarding a Royal Chestburster currently incubating right inside of her, but rather than hand the new Xenomorph Queen embryo inside of her over to the Weyland-Yutani Coorporation, she instead chooses to throw herself right on down into the molten lead furnace below herself.
** In ''Film/{{Alien Resurrection}}'', the Newborn Xenomorph specimen sneaks aboard the Betty just as Ripley 8 and her surviving comrades each attempt to escape the already doomed USM Auriga, only for Ripley 8 to throw some of her acid-for-blood over onto a nearby glass window, causing the Newborn Xenomorph specimen to get sucked right out into outer space piece-meal and likewise finally end the Xenomorph menace once again immediately afterwards.
** In ''Film/{{AVP Alien Vs Predator}}'', it at first glance at the very least appears that this trope's gonna be played straight by having the Antarctic Queen breach the icy surface for one last battle round against both Scar the Yautja and Alexa Woods and also by having her eventually get stranded right down at the bottom of the ocean, but shortly thereafter, Scar's body then gets taken right on back aboard his original starship, allowing "Chet" the Predalien to be later born aboard it and likewise ultimately set up the whole entire plot of the immediately following film mentioned below, thusly making this example a [[SubvertedTrope subversion]].
** In ''Film/{{Aliens Vs Predator Requiem}}'', a rare outright [[AvertedTrope aversion]] for the franchise as a whole occurs with the main human survivors being rescued by still surviving soldiers just following a tactical nuclear strike against Gunnison, Colorado that results in the deaths of both Wolf the Yautja and "Chet" the Predalien.

* In ''Film/AustinPowersInternationalManOfMystery'', Austin and Vanessa are celebrating their honeymoon three months after stopping Dr. Evil's plan, when Random Task, the [[ImprobableWeaponUser shoe-throwing assassin]] reappears to kill them. They stop him using the [[ChekhovsGun penis enlargement pump]].
* ''{{Film/Avatar}}'': After the humans' assault on the Home Tree fails, Colonel Quaritch suits up in an AMP mech to battle Jake Sully personally.

* From the third entry in the ''Franchise/EvilDead'' franchise, ''Film/ArmyOfDarkness'', after Ash Williams comes back from the medieval age, he must blow away a random deadite who attacks his workplace.
-->'''Ash''': Hail to the king, baby.

* After Will, Elizabeth, Jack, Norrington, and the Royal Navy defeat Barbossa and the cursed crew of the Black Pearl in ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanTheCurseOfTheBlackPearl'', the next scene is the Port Royal gallows, where Jack Sparrow is to be hanged for piracy (and a whole bunch of other crimes). Will shows up to interrupt the hanging, and he and Jack end up fighting the Royal Navy one last time.

* In the Creator/LiamNeeson movie ''Film/RunAllNight'', after Jimmy Conlon [[StormingTheCastle invaded the pub]] and killed [[BigBad Shawn Maguire]] and his men in a shootout, he returns to his son Mike and his family, only to be fatally wounded by [[PsychoForHire Mr. Price]], a professional assassin hired by Maguire earlier and whom Jimmy spared in a BattleAmongstTheFlames. Jimmy eventually kills Mr. Price via BoomHeadshot before succumbing to his wounds.

* The penultimate scene in ''Film/{{Serenity}}'' is a variation in which nothing actually comes of the confrontation. Having been spared by Mal in their earlier confrontation and subsequently ordered his men to provide medical attention for Mal and his crew, The Operative concedes defeat and walks away; he only kills for his cause, which is now lost. Mal tells him that if he ever sees him again, he might kill him. The Operative replies "you won't".
* ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan2'': The climactic battle against Electro is over, the villain is gone, the city is saved from certain doom and it seems everything is just fine — then suddenly Green Goblin appears, as one final challenge before the day is done.
* The last scene of Disney's ''Film/TheThreeMusketeers1993''. After the heroes defeat Cardinal Richelieu and Rochefort and save the King and Queen, they're confronted by a group of thugs who started pursuing D'Artagnan at the beginning of the movie. It's been so long since the audience saw them that their appearance is a surprise.
* The baseball game in ''[[Film/ThreeNinjas 3 Ninjas Kick Back]]'', which is, of course, followed by a PostGameRetaliation.

* ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' may be the most well-known example. The One Ring has been cast into the fires of Mordor, our heroes have gone their separate ways, and the hobbits are ready to return to their peaceful Shire... only to find that it has been taken over by Saruman, and they must take back their home from the evil Men that have enslaved their people. It was omitted from the Creator/PeterJackson films, though the omission didn't stop many filmgoers from experiencing EndingFatigue anyway.

* In ''Literature/DragonFlight'', after the big bad is dead, the dragons are freed, the war is over, our heroes return home.. only to learn that Dragons have been banished from the kingdom. this leads to quite a bit of shouting, and the interruption of a royal wedding.
** And again in ''Literature/DragonSpear'', after Darrym is defeated, Velika is rescued and all seems well..... the baby dragon princess is snatched...

* ''Literature/JamesBond''

* In the Literature/ModestyBlaise novel ''A Taste for Death'', the climax is the duel to the death and then the break-out of the prisoners being held by Delicata's gang. There follows a quieter chapter of Modesty recuperating from the injury she got in the duel, which is suddenly interrupted by Delicata showing up again and forcing a final showdown.
* ''Literature/TheOutsiders'' has [[spoiler: Dally's SuicideByCop, which occurs after the big rumble between the Greasers and the Socs.]]
* After the climactic battle in ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire'', [[spoiler:Barty Crouch Junior]], the Death Eater who organized the entire plot, reveals he's been impersonating [[spoiler:Mad-Eye Moody]] and tries to kill Harry. This Death Eater's critical mistake is that he wastes time with a JustBetweenYouAndMe speech, giving Dumbledore and company a chance to come to the rescue.

* The last chapter of ''Literature/{{Worm}}'' has [[VillainProtagonist Taylor]] escape the scene of the BigBad's defeat, having made an enemy of the entire world and driven herself insane in the process. She's found by Contessa, TheDragon of [[NebulousEvilOrganization Cauldron]], and they have a short discussion about doing the wrong things for the right reasons before Contessa shoots Taylor in the head [[spoiler: depowering her and saving her life.]]
* In ''Literature/TheWitcher'', [[BigBad Vilgefortz]] is killed in a fight with Geralt, Stefan Skellen's forces have been easily defeated by Geralt, Yennefer and Ciri, and [[VillainOfAnotherStory Emperor Emhyr vas Emreis]] shows up to kill Geralt and Yen and abduct Ciri, only to let all of them go after [[HeelRealization rediscovering his humanity]]. Yet there's a hundred pages left and the final confrontation of the series takes place in Rivia, where Geralt ends up defending non-humans in a pogrom completely unrelated to anything that's happened in the series, [[spoiler:and ends up mortally wounded by a random peasant with a pitchfork. Ciri seemingly saves him with her powers by taking his body to heal on an unknown island with Yennefer, and Ciri herself departs to travel TheMultiverse.]]
* The first two ''Literature/AlexRider'' books both have a final chapter where the BigBad (or, in the case of the second book, [[spoiler:the BigBad's clone]]) makes a final attempt to kill Alex after their plan has been foiled.
* ''Literature/TheLawOfInnocence'': The main plot is tied up when Mickey Haller proves himself innocent of first-degree murder charges, and walks out of court a free man, having established that the murder victim was actually killed by the mob. Then in the postcript final chapter, the Mafia hitman who did the murder pops up out of nowhere, and tries to kill Mickey too.

* The Season 5 finale of ''Series/{{Arrow}}'' features an epic showdown between Team Arrow and their allies and [[BigBad Prometheus']] army of villains. It ends with Prometheus' defeat, but he manages to slip away to an escape boat, causing Oliver to chase him down for one last fight.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'': In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E5TheAngelsTakeManhattan "The Angels Take Manhattan"]], Amy and Rory get sent back 50+ years in the past just as it seems that everything's fine.

* ''Franchise/PowerRangers''

* ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' seemed rather fond of this during the fourth season.

* Franchise/SuperSentai:
** Series/ChoudenshiBioman: After defeating Dr. Man’s King Megas robot, the Bioman fly to [[SupervillainLair Neo-Grad]] to try and talk him into recovering his humanity. Along the way, they encounter QuirkyMinibossSquad leader Farrah Cat, the last of the undefeated villains and finish her off after a short fight.
** Series/ChoushinseiFlashman: Just as their [[YourDaysAreNumbered limited time on Earth comes to an end]], Flashman infiltrates the villains’ lair and has even a final showdown with [[DragonAscendant Lee Keflen]] and Ley Nefel.

** ''Series/ReturnOfUltraman''
*** After reducing Yametaranese to a harmless pint-sized creature and lifting the laziness diesease unintentionally caused by the kaiju, Jack had to contend with Alien Sasahiller, the ManBehindTheMan of Yametaranese's invasion.

** ''Series/UltramanAce''
*** In one episode Ultraman Ace had to fight the FlamingSword-wielding monster Firemons, and ''then'' Firemons' master, Alien Fire.

* A heroic version of this occurs in the ending of the ''Theatre/{{Wicked}}'' musical; [[spoiler: After Elphaba has faked her death, Glinda, believing that her best friend really has been killed, returns to the Emerald City, kicks out the Wizard of Oz, and has Madam Morrible thrown in prison. Unfortunately, she promised Elphie she wouldn't clear her name afterwards, so Glinda has to take responsibility for Oz alone while Elphie goes into self-imposed exile with Fieyro.]]

* ''VideoGame/BatenKaitos'' has perhaps the most bizarre example. Xelha and Kalas go off into the Moonguile Forest in order for [[spoiler: Xelha to "release the ocean inside of her"]] when suddenly [[spoiler: the head of Emperor Geldoblame (thought to have been killed way back at the beginning of the second disk) pops out of the earth in an attempt to kill them. He is quickly defeated, and nothing more is spoken of it.]]
* ''VideoGame/MegaManXCommandMission'' pulls a rather sudden one. The Rebellion and its leader Epsilon have been defeated, X and the others are lauded as heroes, and X, Zero, & Axl are prepared to take an airlift back to their home. Story's over, right? [[spoiler: Nope. When the airlift arrives, it fires at the Resistance base, killing R, as it turns out that the Maverick Hunter's own Commander Redips had been [[PlayingBothSides manipulating both the Rebellion and the Resistance in order to get his hands on the Supra-Force Metal.]]]]
* [[MindScrew Depending on your interpretation of events]], the last sequence of ''VideoGame/{{Killer7}}'', [[spoiler: after Garcian assumes his true identity of Emir Parkreiner]], can easily fit this trope.

** In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'', the final battle with Liquid Ocelot happens ''after'' [[spoiler: Snake stops him from destroying JD and, in the process, ends up wiping out the ''entire'' Patriot Network instead, destroying the true Big Bads of the series. Though of course, [[MagnificentBastard that was Ocelot's plan the entire time]].]]
* In ''VideoGame/MythTheFallenLords'', you fight and defeat the BigBad in the epic and bloody 24th level, [[NeverTrustATitle which is titled "The Last Battle"]]. Then the survivors are magically teleported for the 25th level into another place where you have to throw the BigBad's severed head inside a bottomless hole to definitely remove his evil taint from the world. Except his lieutenant Soulblighter is there with a small army, waiting for what remains of the forces of light and seeking to retrieve his boss' head. He fails, only to flee and come back for the sequel as a DragonAscendant.

** In ''Videogame/PokemonXAndY'', after you beat the Elite Four and the Champion of the region, you receive a big parade for saving it from Lysandre and Team Flare. In the middle of it [[spoiler: the former king AZ challenges you to a Pokémon fight.]]
** This seems to have started somewhat of a tradition, as in ''[[Videogame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire]]'', after defeating Steven and becoming Champion of Hoenn, the player must fight [[spoiler: either [[TheRival May or Brendan]], who will Mega Evolve their now fully-evolved starter]], and in ''[[Videogame/PokemonSunAndMoon Sun and Moon]]'', after defeating the Elite Four and [[spoiler:Kukui]] and becoming Alola's first Champion, during the festival to commemorate the event, the player character and Lillie [[spoiler: sneak off to the Ruins of Conflict and the player finally engages [[OlympusMons Tapu Koko]], who must be either defeated or caught.]]
* ''VideoGame/PrayerOfTheFaithless'': Gauron is the main source of the conflict in the endgame, [[spoiler:since killing him will limit the Fog being produced and end the threat of him becoming a rampaging Hellspawn. However, there's still a lower-stake conflict to be settled with Vanessa, since she wants to die in the Tower of Sinners while the party wants her to live and/or atone for her crimes the hard way.]]
* At the end of ''VideoGame/WildArms1'', [[spoiler: Zeikfried and Motherfried have been defeated]], the efforts to drain Filgaia's life have been thwarted, and there's a good chance that its decay will even be reversed. The party takes the teleporter back to the earth [[spoiler: and Zeikfried suddenly attacks them on the way down, having separated himself from Mother and becoming Zeik Tuvai]].

* ''VideoGame/SuikodenIV'' has [[spoiler: the final duel with Troy]]. Leads to an AlasPoorVillain moment afterwards, as it's noted that they had no real reason to sacrifice their life.
* Sometimes employed in ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'' games. Specifically, in ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime2Echoes'', [[spoiler:the "real" final boss is Emperor Ing. During the EscapeSequence, you get ambushed by Dark Samus one last time, whom you must quickly defeat within the time limit]]. In ''VideoGame/MetroidFusion'', you fight an [[spoiler:Omega Metroid under nearly identical circumstances. Both fights are short and mainly just to avert WhatHappenedToTheMouse and showcase Samus regaining her normal power, respectively.]]
* In the UsefulNotes/GameGear game ''VideoGame/LegendOfIllusion Starring Mickey Mouse'', Mickey defeats the BigBad, restores everything, plays a BonusStage, and returns to his home kingdom... but then King Pete (who wasn't heard from since the game's first level was completed) shows up and a boss battle commences.
* In the Japan-exclusive RPG ''Anime/DragonBallZ: Super Saiya Densetsu'', if the player makes Goku go Super Saiyan during the final battle against Frieza and keeps him and Vegeta alive throughout the end of the game, then after the credits roll, Goku will encounter the {{superboss}}: Super Saiyan Vegeta.
* In ''VideoGame/Onimusha3DemonSiege'', [[spoiler:Ranmaru]] sneaks up on Leon and his family after everything seems to be resolved.
* In ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes'', the "Real Ending" leads to the long-awaited confrontation between Travis and Henry, despite the original conflict of the assassin rankings having been resolved in the previous fight.
* In ''VideoGame/DragonQuestMonstersJoker2'', the game itself takes place on an island you crashed on trying to get to a tournament. Once you beat the boss of the island/final boss of the game, you leave and go to the tournament, which is so incredibly easy and postscript-ish that it's mostly done offscreen save for the (still easy) final battle of it.
* ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'':
** In ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'', after defeating Legate Lanius in the final battle in one way or another, the game is pretty much over. However, if the player takes the [[TheChessmaster Mr. House]] or the WildCard path they will then have to deal with General Oliver and the NCR, who will not accept Vegas as an independent city-state. You'll then have to convince them in some way, or just kill them all.
** Even better, in ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 4}}'', after you complete the game by siding with the Minutemen and [[spoiler:destroying the Institute, you can work on an entirely optional mission where the Minutemen go to war with the Brotherhood of Steel and generally teach them a well-deserved lesson. Namely, by shelling their CoolAirship out of the sky and then holding the Castle against the remnants of the Brotherhood's army.]] And it is ''awesome''.
* The conflict of the ''Endwalker'' expansion in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' and the MythArc involving the [[TheManBehindTheMan Ascians]] is effectively concluded after [[spoiler:[[BigBad The Endsinger]]]] is defeated. Before the [[PlayerCharacter Warrior of Light]] returns home to their friends however, [[spoiler:[[ArchEnemy Zenos]]]] asks them to indulge in one last fight to the death, not as a hero but simply as someone who enjoys the thrill of combat. Even though he says he will not stop the Warrior if they choose to simply leave, [[ButThouMust he must be fought]] regardless of whether the Warrior agrees with his NotSoDifferentRemark or just wants him dead.
* The entire ''[[VideoGame/DragonAgeOriginsAwakening Awakening]]'' ExpansionPack for ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'': the Archdemon has been defeated, the Blight is quelled, the Darkspawn are slowly retreating back underground... well, the latter not quite. Turns out, there is one loose end to the Fifth Blight, which needs to be cleaned up before the Thaw and rebuilding can settle in. [[spoiler:Namely, the sentient Darkspawn Architect, who awakened the Archdemon in the first place, as well as his insane creation, the Mother.]]

* After the events of volume 1 of ''VideoGame/LegacyOfHeroes'', you have to fight a minor villain, Sunder, who gathers henchmen and storms the city while the most experienced heroes are still recovering from the fight with the BigBad.
* In the PSP remake of ''VideoGame/StarOcean1'', if Cyuss joined the party then after the final boss is defeated and right before he returns home to his timeline he'll challenge Roddick to a private match so the two can personally see which one of them is stronger. It doesn't matter whether you win the fight or not, but it does affect the dialogue between the two of them at the end.
* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'':
** At the end of ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', after Xemnas is apparently beaten he traps Sora and Riku into a final, 3-part fight with him before they can return home.
** ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'': The TrueFinalBoss battle, which takes place in the town square of a darkened Radiant Garden (where Aqua had previously fought Vanitas), and comes after the climax in The Keyblade Graveyard.
* In ''VideoGame/Persona4'', the killer has been caught, the fog has been lifted from Inaba, and the protagonist is bids all his friends a fond farewell before leaving. However, [[spoiler: if the player visits the Junes food court instead of returning home after saying his goodbyes, he'll meet up with the rest of the Investigation Team, who all realize that there are still loose plot threads left (such as how the Protagonist and the killer got their Personas) and that there might be someone else behind the entire incident. This sets the player on the path towards the TrueFinalBoss and the GoldenEnding.]]
* Having defeated the Antispiral and stopped the completion of the Time Prison, ''Third VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsZ: Jigoku-hen'' ends much like the other games in the series, with the heroes talking about what they plan to do after splitting up, and all seems right with the world, until the player realizes that they haven't fought an original final boss yet. Cue alarms as Shikuu (who'd showed up throughout the game but hadn't had a formal introduction yet) appears, challenging the heroes.

* Overlapping with {{Superboss}}, ''VideoGame/TheBouncer'' has Sion or Kou face a [[DuelBoss Duel Boss]] after resolving the plot, depending on [[GuideDangIt how you used them throughout the game]]; If it's Sion, then you fight [[OldMaster Wong Leung]] in a flashback, and if it's Kou, then he faces [[ActionGirl Leann Cadwell]] [[spoiler: to prove to LUKIS that he can [[TheMole continue keeping tabs on Dominique.]]]] Rather annoyingly, you only have one shot at defeating them, so [[TryNotToDie try not to die]] if you want to [[SecretCharacter unlock]] them.
* PlayedForLaughs in ''VideoGame/BanjoKazooie''. Banjo and Kazooie rescue Tooty as Grunty escapes, and their friends throw a party to celebrate. The credits roll, and it seems like the game's finished... only for the gang to realize that Grunty still needs to be defeated. Banjo and Kazooie run right back to where they rescued Tooty for the final showdown against Grunty.
* ''VideoGame/ScienceGirls'' pulls this one after our heroines have seemingly prevented the invasion, escaped the alien homeworld via wormhole and destroyed the transporter to Earth. [[spoiler: Too bad the alien hivemind got through earlier in the game, had time to start setting up and showed up to kidnap one of your party members.]]
* After Arkham's plan to bring Hell to Earth is brought crashing down by Dante and Vergil in ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry3DantesAwakening'', the final battle of the game is between the two sons of Sparda, with Sparda's sword Force Edge as the prize. [[spoiler:Dante gets the sword, but Vergil retrieves his half of the Amulet belonging to their mother, which is required to transform the sword]]. These then [[{{Prequel}} set up]] the events of the [[VideoGame/DevilMayCry1 first game]].
* Hwoarang's story in ''VideoGame/Tekken4'' has him beat Heihachi and win the King of Iron Fist Tournament in the match before the last one, where he goes to the Parking Garage stage and fights Jin Kazama. However, this is only semi-canon (Hwoarang didn't win the tournament and he never fought Jin but according to ''5'' he did go to the garage and get ambushed by the Korean military for his desertion that kicks off ''4'').
* ''Franchise/{{Blazblue}}'' has two, in the third and fourth games respectively.
** ''VideoGame/BlazblueChronophantasma'': After the FinalBoss has been dealt with [[spoiler: the giant superweapon, Takemikazuchi]], Ragna still has to remove its core to shut it down completely, said core being Nu-13. But by this point, the plot has more or less been resolved and serves more as a denouement.
** ''VideoGame/BlazblueCentralFiction'': After [[spoiler: defeating his ArchEnemy Yuuki Terumi/Susanoo]] for good, Ragna has two final fights with Noel and Jin respectively. [[spoiler: Because in order to restore the world back to normal, Ragna has to erase the memory of himself from everyone.]] This one is especially poignant since this serves as the GrandFinale for the series` current story arc.
* ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilCodeVeronica'' ends with [[spoiler: a brief but [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown no-holds-barred fight]] between Chris and Wesker as the base self-destructs after [[BigBad Alexia]] is dead.]]
* ''VideoGame/SpyroYearOfTheDragon'': The area after the final boss has another boss in it; a rematch with The Sorceress.
* Subverted in ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}''. After the credits of the True Pacifist ending, the screen shows static and [[spoiler:Asriel Dreemurr]] reappears in his [[spoiler:God of Hyperdeath]] form, saying "Did you really think it was over?!"... only for him to revert back to [[spoiler:his child self]] again and sheepishly state that they haven't done the Kickstarter credits yet.
** It is [[PlayedStraight played straight]] soon afterwards though, as if the player loads up Undertale again after [[GoldenEnding completing the True Pacifist route]] and watching the credits go by, Flowey will appear and confront the player (not the [[PlayerCharacter player character]] but [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou the actual player]] over how they are about to restart the game and [[HappyEndingOverride deprive everyone, including the player character, of their happily ever after]]. He then says that if he can't change your mind, you should at least wipe [[RippleEffectProofMemory his memory]] of the events of the game as well as everyone else's.
* ''VideoGame/{{Terraria}}'': In a sense, ridding the world of all the Corruption/Crimson and Hallow after defeating the [[spoiler:Moon Lord]], being the last practical goal of the entire playthrough now that it really has nothing left for you or the current world to benefit from, and with endgame armor, none of the enemies will pose much of a threat as you cleanse the world of them for good.
* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'' pulls this in epic fashion. Link claims the Triforce from TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon and uses it to destroy [[BigBad Demise]], then finally reunites with [[LivingMacguffin Zelda]]...only for [[TheDragon Ghirahim]] to reappear after being MIA for the entire third act. Ghirahim promptly kidnaps [[BarrierMaiden Zelda]] and uses a portal Link previously opened to travel into the past and [[spoiler: free Demise there instead]]. Link goes after him, naturally, and faces off with him one last time before going straight into the FinalBoss battle against [[spoiler: Demise himself]].
* ''VideoGame/{{Inscryption}}'' has the main threat of the third part of the game, [[spoiler:P03]], dealt with by his former colleagues after the player beats the last of his bosses. One of said colleagues then decides that [[spoiler:deleting the game world]] is the best course of action after everything that's happened, and the player is challenged to no-stakes duels by each of them as [[spoiler:their world ends]]. This is especially poignant with [[spoiler:Leshy]], who antagonized you throughout the entire first act; he will deliberately remove any stakes just so you can play a little longer before [[spoiler:everything ends]].
* ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'': Near the end of the Olympus lostbelt, after [[spoiler:Zeus has been defeated, Musashi has sacrificed herself to repel Chaos, the Foreign God has landed, and Kirschtaria Wodime has died after being backstabbed by Beryl]], the party is preparing to leave and return to the Wandering Sea, when [[spoiler:Caenis appears on the deck of their ship to challenge them to one final battle, out of respect for Wodime and his conviction.]]
* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsThroughDaybreak II'', [[spoiler:the main conflict of the story ends in Chapter 3 with defeat of Garden-Master, aka Auguste, and the retrieval of the 8th, and final, Genesis unit. The Final Chapter, meanwhile, spends most of its time showing the cast enjoying Aramis High School's festival, until Van suddenly decides to head to Trion Tower to settle things for good with [[DragonTheirFeet Grendel-Zolga]].]]

* In ''[[VisualNovel/ItLives It Lives Beneath]]'', this happens in the final chapter of the story. After finally dealing with zombie animals, the Society, and the Lake Ghost, everything is peaceful and the Main Character can have their happily ever after, right? Wrong. One last remaining member, Richard Sutcliffe, kidnaps them and ferries them to the middle of the lake locked in a coffin as revenge, leaving the Main Character to die a watery grave. Depending on the choices made, your character will indeed die, or they will break through, swim back to surface and confront Richard once and for all.

** In ''VideoGame/MetalGear2'', the final battle against the Metal Gear D is followed by a fistfight against its pilot [[TheDragon Gray]] [[FriendlyEnemy Fox]], then by a ''final'' final showdown against [[BigBad Big Boss himself]], [[CollapsingLair punctuated with an escape sequence]].

* The last episode of ''Anime/{{Scryed}}'' takes place after the defeat of the BigBad, as the heroes tie up some minor side conflicts, then they square off to determine once and for all which of them is the toughest fighter.

** ''[[Manga/JojosBizarreAdventurePhantomBlood Phantom Blood]]'' ends on this note, with Dio, reduced to a head after Jonathan beat him in their initial battle, coming after him to exact his revenge. [[spoiler:Which he unfortunately succeeds in doing by killing Jonathan but not his wife. Even when Jonathan attempts a TakingYouWithMe, this only delays Dio's plans as he eventually takes Johnathan's body as his own and returns to menace the Joestars' descendants again in ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders Stardust Crusaders]]''.]]

* Franchise/{{Blazblue}} has two, in the third and fourth games respectively.
** VideoGame/BlazblueChronophantasma: After the FinalBoss has been dealt with [[spoiler: the giant superweapon, Takemikazuchi]], Ragna still has to remove its core to shut it down completely, said core being Nu-13. But by this point, the plot has more or less been resolved and serves more as a denouement.
** VideoGame/BlazblueCentralFiction: After [[spoiler: defeating his ArchEnemy Yuuki Terumi/Susanoo]] for good, Ragna has two final fights with Noel and Jin respectively. [[spoiler: Because in order to restore the world back to normal, Ragna has to erase the memory of himself from everyone.]] This one is especially poignant since this serves as the GrandFinale for the series` current story arc.

[[folder:Visual Novel]]

* In ''[[VisualNovel/ItLives It Lives Beneath]]'', this happens in the final chapter of the story. After finally dealing with zombie animals, the Society, and the Lake Ghost, everything is peaceful and the Main Character can have their happily ever after, right? Wrong. One last remaining member, Richard Sutcliffe, kidnaps them and ferries them to the middle of the lake locked in a coffin as revenge, leaving the Main Character to die a watery grave. Depending on the choices made, your character will indeed die, or they will break through, swim back to surface and confront Richard once and for all.

* After the BigBad [=DaiMaOh=] Grenghost is defeated in ''Series/MadanSenkiRyukendo'', the next episode reveals that NobleDemon and rival Jackmoon is still alive. Since his master is destroyed, Jackmoon thinks his only purpose is to resolve his rivalry with TheHero.
* ''Franchise/KamenRider'' does this with the Neo-Heisei shows save for ''[[Series/KamenRiderOOO OOO]]'' and ''[[Series/KamenRiderFourze Fourze]]''. ''[[Series/KamenRiderDouble Double]]'' has the Energy Dopant, ''[[Series/KamenRiderWizard Wizard]]'' has Amadum, and ''[[Series/KamenRiderGaim Gaim]]'' has Kougane.
* Shaw has one with Blackwell in the GrandFinale of ''Series/PersonOfInterest'' sometime after the FinalBattle with Samaritan.
* The Season 5 finale of ''Series/{{Arrow}}'' features an epic showdown between Team Arrow and their allies and [[BigBad Prometheus']] army of villains. It ends with Prometheus' defeat, but he manages to slip away to an escape boat, causing Oliver to chase him down for one last fight.

* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesKuroNoKiseki II'', [[spoiler:the main conflict of the story ends in Chapter 3 with defeat of Garden-Master, aka Auguste, and the retrieval of the 8th, and final, Genesis unit. The Final Chapter, meanwhile, spends most of its time showing the cast enjoying Aramis High School's festival, until Van suddenly decides to head to Trion Tower to settle things for good with [[DragonTheirFeet Grendel-Zolga]].]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'', the family stops Syndrome's rampaging robot and exposes his plot to the government (who freeze his assets). However, when they arrive home they find Syndrome abducting their youngest son Jack-Jack, so they must rescue him and stop Syndrome for good.

** In ''Film/Godzilla1998'', after completely exploding the Madison Square Garden on some 200 baby Zillas, all seems fine for the humans right on up until Zilla Sr. reveals himself to actually still be alive after previously faking his death down within the Hudson River, leading the humans to lure him right on over towards and subsequently trap him atop the Brooklyn Bridge using a taxi where a squadron of fighter-jets then comes and actually kills him off this time around using a volley of twelve missiles to do so.

** ''Film/DiamondsAreForever'': After defeating Blofeld's schemes, My Wint and Mr Kidd turn up for a "Bombe Surprise".

** Series/ChoushinseiFlashman: Just as their [[YourDaysAreNumbered limited time on Earth comes to an end]], Flashman infiltrates the villains’ lair and has even a final showdown with [[DragonAscendant Lee Keflen]] and [[TheDarkChick Ley Nefel]].

* The FinalBoss of ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'' of the ''New Testament'' series is [[spoiler:Coronzon]]. However, the final volume instead focuses on an enemy created from the aftermath of the battle, [[spoiler:an [[EvilDopelganger "Emanation"]] of Touma created from his subconscious regrets who wants to steal the real Touma's identity.]]

** ''[[Manga/JojosBizarreAdventurePhantomBlood Phantom Blood]]'' ends on this note, with Dio, reduced to a head after Jonathan beat him in their initial battle, coming after him to exact his revenge. [[spoiler:Which he unfortunately succeeds in doing by killing Jonathan but not his wife. Even when Jonathan attempts a TakingYouWithMe, this only delays Dio's plans as he eventually takes Johnathan's body as his own and returns to menace the Joestars' descendants again in ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders Stardust Crusaders]]''.

* After Arkham's plan to bring Hell to Earth is brought crashing down by Dante and Vergil in ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry3DantesAwakening'', the final battle of the game is between the two sons of Sparda, with Sparda's sword Force Edge as the prize. [[spoiler:Dante gets the sword, but Vergil gets the locket belonging to their mother required to activate it, setting up the events of the first game]].