History Main / ThrowTheMookAtThem

* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'', Diababa is regularly invincible to anything Link does to it when in its final phase. However, Ook swings in during the action of the boss fight for you to blow Bomblings into its face. {{Justified|Trope}} in that it had no control over the Bomblings being present, and that Ook provides them in a way that benefits you.

** In ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'', you can pick up and throw Galoombas, Mechakoopas, Bob-Ombs, Buzzy Beetles and previously-emptied Koopa Troopa shells[[note]]throwing the shells with the living Koopas within is still possible with the Cape's attack[[/note]] at any other regular Mook to kill them. Notably, the only way to hurt Bowser in the final battle is to kick the Mechakoopas he sends out up so they land on his head. This is also the only game in the ''Mario'' series where enemies and objects can be thrown upward (which is good, as it means you can throw an enemy or object to the high-placed Lakitu whenever it is pestering you); even in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioMaker'', this technique is reserved for the ''Super Mario World'' style only.
** ''VideoGame/SuperMario64 DS'' has only Yoshi as a playable character at the start. As such, he cannot punch enemies, but he can swallow them to stock up on eggs to throw. Both Big Bob-omb and Goomboss could not be beaten if they did not have their respective mooks to fuel Yoshi for eggs. If anyone other than Yoshi fights Goomboss, the fight will be slightly different in that you have to punch Goombas into Goomboss in order to hurt him.

** In the ''VideoGame/YoshisIsland'' series, enemies can be grabbed with Yoshi's tongue and then spit our or eaten to make eggs, which can then be thrown.

* In ''Videogame/DevilMayCry 4'', Mission 6 has The Containment Room. The "boss" is the glass which separates you and Agnus, and the mooks are Gladius—basically Flying Lizard Swords. You can go ahead and attack the glass itself, but you will do very little damage. the trick here is grab the critters with Buster and aim at the glass to throw it there. You fight Agnus more directly at the end of mission 9. While not the main gimmick of the fight this time around, he does still summon Gladius, and they can still be thrown at him for a good bit of damage.

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** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'' and ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2'' feature the Bouldergeist, a ghost that encases itself within stone. Normally it would be invincible to Mario's attacks. However, during the fight it will occasionally throw a black rock at Mario, which will become a Bomb Boo, which in turn Mario can use against the Bouldergeist to break apart his stone casing. When it reaches its vulnerable phase, [[IdiotBall guess what it still intentionally spawns?]] Kamella (in the first game) is similarly defeated by Koopa shells, and Giga Lakitu (second game) throws Spinies that can be spit at him with Yoshi.

* The eponymous protagonist of the ''VideoGame/{{Kirby}}'' series can inhale an enemy and spit it to another (when he doesn't [[PowerCopying copy that enemy]]). The games also frequently feature bosses that spawn mooks for the player to hurl back at them using Kirby's default powers, most notably Kracko. Some of the games where Kirby [[PowerCopying steals enemies' abilities]] use a variant in which some bosses that spawn enemies with especially suitable powers. However, there are plenty of {{subver|tedTrope}}sions featuring bosses who spawn mooks that give the player [[PoisonMushroom useless powers like Sleep]] or powers that are [[PowerUpLetDown utterly ineffective]] in that particular battle.

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* In ''Videogame/MetalGearSolid: VR Missions''

* [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] in ''Roleplay/DestroyTheGodmodder''. Usually this kind of thing works on the godmodder at least once. It's still useful, but not in the way you'd expect. If there's a tough enemy that just won't take damage, throw him at the godmodder and he takes tons of damage.

** In ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'', you can pick up and throw Galoombas, Mechakoopas, Bob-Ombs, Buzzy Beetles and Koopa Troopa shells at any other regular Mook to kill them. Notably, the only way to hurt Bowser in the final battle is to kick the Mechakoopas he sends out up so they land on his head. This is also the only game in the ''Mario'' series where enemies and objects can be thrown upward (which is good, as it means you can throw an enemy or object to the high-placed Lakitu whenever it is pestering you); even in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioMaker'', this technique is reserved for the ''Super Mario World'' style only.
** ''VideoGame/SuperMario64DS'' has only Yoshi as a playable character at the start. As such, he cannot punch enemies, but he can swallow them to stock up on eggs to throw. Both Big Bob-omb and Goomboss could not be beaten if they did not have their respective mooks to fuel Yoshi for eggs. If anyone other than Yoshi fights Goomboss, the fight will be slightly different in that you have to punch Goombas into Goomboss in order to hurt him.

* [[Franchise/{{Kirby}} King Dedede]] in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros Brawl'' inverts this by throwing his own minions at enemies. He can throw [[WaddlingHead Waddle Dees]] as a projectile with his Side+Special, or occasionally a [[ShockAndAwe Waddle Doo]], and more rarely throwing a highly-damaging [[SpikeBallsOfDoom Gordo]]. This was simplified in the fourth game, where he exclusively throws Gordos.

** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2'' has grabbing and throwing things at enemies as a core mechanic. If you don't have vegetables, mushroom blocks or eggs, you can always employ mooks at other mooks (note that some of them, like Pansers and Porcupos, cannot be grabbed).
** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'': The only way to hurt Bowser is to kick the Mecha Koopas he sends out up so they land on his head. Furthermore, you can pick up and throw Galoombas, Mechakoopas, Buzzy Beetles and Koopa Troopa shells at any other regular Mook to kill them.

* In ''Videogame/GodOfWar'', some {{Mook}}s can be thrown to other Mooks for massive damage when you use your GrappleMove against them, Kratos will automatically aim at the closest other Mook in front of him, with the "targeting reticule" being a PillarOfLight.

* Murray in ''Franchise/SlyCooper'' can pick up unconscious or juggled guards and throw them at their unlucky companions.

* ''VideoGame/MischiefMakers'': Your only attack is throwing. A bit different in that instead of throwing mooks at the boss... You just chuck the boss, the boss's weapons, it's projectiles or it's own FISTS at it . The Climax Boss has you throw nice phrases at it for some reason. You have to find the right ones, shake em to turn em nice, and chuck it.

* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'', Diababa is regularly invincible to anything Link does to it when in its final phase. However, [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome Ook swings in during the action of the boss fight for you to blow Bomblings into its face.]] {{Justified|Trope}} in that it had no control over the Bomblings being present, and that Ook provides them in a way that benefits you.

* In ''Videogame/DevilMayCry 4'', Mission 6 has The Containment Room. The "boss" is the glass which separates you and Agnus, and the mooks are Gladius—basically Flying Lizard Swords. You can go ahead and attack the glass itself, but you will do very little damage. the trick here is grab the critters with Buster and aim at the glass to throw it there.
** You fight Agnus more directly at the end of mission 9. While not the main gimmick of the fight this time around, he does still summon Gladius, and they can still be thrown at him for a good bit of damage.

* ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes''' Bad Girl had an attack sequence where she'd launch gimps at you with her baseball bat ([[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext don't ask]]). Usually, it's easy enough to just avoid them, but with a well-timed sword swing, Travis could send them flying back at her.

* ''VideoGame/{{Recettear}}'' features several bosses that end up having mooks as their main downfall.
** [[GiantEnemyCrab Volcanicrab]] will literally take no damage from any of your attacks initially. [[ActionBomb Bomb mooks]] appear eventually, however, which can flip him over to strike his underside for massive damage.

* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2'' has grabbing and throwing things at enemies as a core mechanic. If you don't have vegetables, mushroom blocks or eggs, you can always employ mooks at other mooks.
* The ''VideoGame/YoshisIsland'' series, enemies can be grabbed with Yoshi's tongue and then spit our or eaten to make eggs, which can then be thrown.
* ''VideoGame/SuperMario64DS'' has only Yoshi as a playable character at the start. As such, he cannot punch enemies, but he can swallow them to stock up on eggs to throw. Both Big Bob-omb and Goomboss could not be beaten if they did not have their respective mooks to fuel Yoshi for eggs. If anyone other than Yoshi fights Goomboss, the fight will be slightly different in that you have to punch Goombas into Goomboss in order to hurt him.
* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'' [[spoiler:and ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2'']] features the Bouldergeist, a ghost that encases itself within stone. Normally it would be invincible to Mario's attacks. However, during the fight it will occasionally throw a black rock at Mario, which will become a Bomb Boo, which in turn Mario can use against the Bouldergeist to break apart his stone casing. When it reaches its vulnerable phase, [[IdiotBall guess what it still intentionally spawns?]] Kamella is similarly defeated by Koopa shells, and Giga Lakitu's Spinies can be spit at him with Yoshi.
* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'': The only way to hurt Bowser is to kick the Mecha Koopas he sends out up so they land on his head. Furthermore, you can pick up and throw Goombas, Mechakoopas, Buzzy Beetles and Koopa Troopa shells at any other regular Mook to kill them.
* ''VideoGame/WarioWorld'': The Angler Mangler miniboss is completely invulnerable save for its lure, which dangles out of reach. The trick is to wait for it to summon a Barrel Buster mook, stun it, and do a SpinningPiledriver under the lure, which sends it flying up, hitting the lure.
* For obvious reasons, the ''VideoGame/{{Kirby}}'' games frequently feature bosses that spawn mooks for the player to hurl back at them using Kirby's default powers, most notably Kracko. Some of the games where Kirby [[PowerCopying steals enemies' abilities]] use a variant in which some bosses that spawn enemies with especially suitable powers. However, there are plenty of {{subver|tedTrope}}sions featuring bosses who spawn mooks that give the player [[PoisonMushroom useless powers like Sleep]] or powers that are [[PowerUpLetDown utterly ineffective]] in that particular battle.
** ''Franchise/{{Kirby}}'''s bread and butter abilities include inhaling an enemy and spitting it to another (when he doesn't [[PowerCopying copy that enemy]]).

** In general, said "right powerups" can be used everywhere else in the game to knock a foe into another.

Has nothing to do with ThrowTheBookAtThem.

* The SuperNintendo game ''VideoGame/TheNinjaWarriorsAgain'' had the FinalBoss behind glass like the Turtles in Time Shredder Boss, except in the background rather than the foreground. The outer shell was impervious to attacks aside from mook tosses.

This can be a tactic to fight bosses, particularly those who [[FlunkyBoss summons mooks]] to aid them. Some game puzzles may provide you with mooks for you to use as bombs to destroy objects or walls if they are {{Action Bomb}}s. The mooks in both cases here are often RespawningEnemies, because if they don't respawn it would render the boss a MaratonBoss, a puzzle a tedious one, or make it {{Unwinnable}} at worst.

A video game character has the ability to pick up his enemies and toss them as an attack. Common in Action and Platformer games. It can take various forms, such as the standard [[GrievousHarmWithABody grab and throw]] or it can be a kick or other method of launching foes away.

When a boss can be defeated by [[FlunkyBoss his accompanying]] {{mooks}} being used against him.

Please note that it only fits the trope if the mooks are directly beneficial to the player. It is not a weakness if they just [[BossArenaRecovery refill your life bar]] or keep you [[ShieldedCoreBoss separated from the boss]] (defeating them leading up to a chance to hit the boss).

'''Note:''' In boss fights, the mooks '''have''' to be thrown or punted (or launched from a cannon/catapult/etc.) or have their attacks reflected in order to count for this trope. Mooks being "mind controlled" into attacking the Boss is HelpfulMook. Controlling the mooks to attack the boss is BigDumbBody.

Outside bosses, some puzzles provide you with mooks for you to use as bombs to destroy objects or walls if they are {{Action Bomb}}s. There are obviously other ingenious variations of this, like them being normal mooks that you can throw to other mooks to make them both fall off a ledge or simply to damage them.

The mooks in both cases here are often RespawningEnemies, because if they don't respawn it would render the puzzle/boss a MarathonBoss at best, or make it {{Unwinnable}} at worst.

Having a GrappleMove is often obligatory (you can't throw what you can't grab). Sister trope of BossArenaIdiocy. Compare TennisBoss for when the boss's attacks can be thrown back at it. Also compare EquippableAlly, where it's your ''friends'' you're throwing around. Subtrope of TacticalSuicideBoss, since the boss would be invincible if it didn't have/spawn minions around it.

* The fan game ''MushroomKingdomFusion'' occasionally offers variants of its source games' bosses who veer into this, such as a version of [[VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2 Mouser]] who tosses Bob-omb enemies or a variant of [[VideoGame/SuperMarioLand King Totomesu]] with lots of hit points and an unusual vulnerability to the exploding Koopa variants that spawn endlessly during the battle.

* ''SonicAdventure'': During the battle with Chaos 6, you have to throw Chaos' [[BuffySpeak freezy-things]] back at him: He's only vulnerable when frozen.

* [[Franchise/{{Kirby}} King Dedede]] in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros Brawl'' inverts this by throwing his own minions at enemies. He can throw [[WaddlingHead Waddle Dees]] as a projectile with his Side+Special, or occasionally a [[{{ShockAndAwe}} Waddle Doo]], and more rarely throwing a highly-damaging [[SpikeBallsOfDoom Gordo]]. This was simplified in the fourth game, where he exclusively throws Gordos.

* Very common in ''WorldOfWarcraft''. For example, Tortos, a giant turtle, uses a powerful [[BreathWeapon breath attack]] every once in a while, which can only be interrupted by killing smaller turtles and then kicking their shells into the boss.

Having a GrappleMove is often obligatory (you can't throw what you can't grab). Sister trope of BossArenaIdiocy. Compare TennisBoss for when the boss's attacks can be thrown back at it. Subtrope of TacticalSuicideBoss, since the boss would be invincible if it didn't have/spawn minions around it.

Basically, when a boss can be defeated by [[FlunkyBoss his accompanying]] {{mooks}} being used against him. It can come in various forms, such as that [[GrievousHarmWithABody the mooks are thrown back at the boss]] or that their attacks are reflected onto him. Please note that it only fits the trope if the mooks are directly beneficial to the player. It is not a weakness if they just [[BossArenaRecovery refill your life bar]] or keep you [[ShieldedCoreBoss separated from the boss]] (defeating them leading up to a chance to hit the boss).

Compare SurroundedByIdiots, where someone is done in by the ''incompetence'' of their mooks. Has nothing to do with ThrowTheBookAtThem.

* [[Franchise/{{Kirby}} King Dedede]] in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros Brawl'' can throw [[WaddlingHead Waddle Dees]] as a projectile with his Side+Special, occasionally throwing a [[{{Oculothorax}} Waddle Doo]], and more rarely throwing a highly-damaging [[SpikeBallsOfDoom Gordo]]. This was removed in the fourth game, where he exclusively throws Gordos.

* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2'' has throwing things at enemies as a core mechanic. If you don't have vegetables, mushroom blocks or eggs, you can always employ mooks at other mooks.
* Various games of the ''VideoGame/YoshisIsland'' series have bosses that do this, all of which can be eaten to make eggs, which in turn can hurt the boss.

Compare SurroundedByIdiots, where someone is done in by the ''incompetence'' of their mooks.

Basically, when a boss has a weakness based on his accompanying {{mooks}} being used against him. It can come in various forms, such as that [[GrievousHarmWithABody the mooks are thrown back at the boss]] or that their attacks are reflected onto him. Please note that it only fits the trope if the mooks are directly beneficial to the player. It is not a weakness if they just [[BossArenaRecovery refill your life bar]] or keep you [[ShieldedCoreBoss separated from the boss]] (defeating them leading up to a chance to hit the boss).

Having a GrappleMove is often obligatory (you can't throw what you can't grab). Sister trope of BossArenaIdiocy. Compare TennisBoss for when the boss's attacks can be thrown back at it. Subtrope of TacticalSuicideBoss, since the boss would be invincible if it didn't have/spawn minions around it. Related to FlunkyBoss, it's also listed there as a "variation".

* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'' [[spoiler:and ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2'']] features the Bouldergeist, a ghost that encases itself within stone. Normally it would be invincible to Mario's attacks. However, during the fight it will occasionally throw a black rock at Mario, which will become a Bomb Boo, which in turn Mario can use against the Bouldergeist to break apart his stone casing. When it reaches its vulnerable phase, [[IdiotBall guess what it still intentionally spawns?]]