History Main / HighAltitudeBattle

[[folder:Film]]

%%* ''Film/IronMan'': This happens in the climax, [[spoiler:and it serves a tactical purpose]].
%%* ''Film/ManOfSteel'': ''Franchise/{{Superman}} and General Zod have one.

* ''WesternAnimation/Rio2'': Subverted -- apparently, red and blue macaws like to resolve their issues through [[spoiler:a game of air football.]]

* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Philippine_SeaThe Battle of the Philippine Sea]] was the largest Carrier battle in history and the last of five major carrier battles in the Pacific War between American and Japanese forces, with over 2,000 aircraft operating from 24 carriers and numerous airfields. (About 900 American carrier aircraft and about 750 Japanese aircraft divided between 450 carrier aircraft and 300 land-based aircraft) The aerial portion of the battle was also one of the most one-sided in history and is infamously known as "[[CurbStompBattle The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot]]".
* The later Battle of Leyte Gulf would feature nearly 40 aircraft carriers on both sides, with again nearly 2,000 planes involved between both forces. UsefulNotes/WorldWarII proved that whoever controlled the skies could control the battlefield.

* The largest single air battle in history occurred over the Russian battlefield of Kursk during Operation Citadel. The largest aerial campaign in history was the Battle of Britain. One candidate for the largest naval battle in history, the Battle of the Philippine Sea, featured nearly 2,000 planes (956 Allied, 750 Japanese) operating from 24 carriers and numerous airfields, and would be known as "[[CurbStompBattle The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot]]" due to the massively one-sided victory for the Allied airmen. The later Battle of Leyte Gulf would feature nearly 40 aircraft carriers on both sides, with again nearly 2,000 planes involved between both forces. UsefulNotes/WorldWarII proved that whoever controlled the skies could control the battlefield.

* ''WebVideo/LifeSMP'': In Season 4, ''Limited Life'', as Grian correctly predicted on Day 4, most of the battles in the final few sessions take place in the sky; more accurately on the various sky bridges (or "[[Franchise/{{Terminator}} Skynet]]" as the players call it), with the players' main form of fighting being trying to shoot or hit each off or [[DeathFromAbove dropping TNT minecarts from above]]. Out-of-universe after the season, there is a tentative mutual agreement among the content creators to never use this strategy again.

** ''Contra III'': Stage 4 starts out with a high speed motorbike chase on a highway, and ends with you grabbing onto a helicopter and riding several missiles being launched at an alien battleship, blasting away its energy shields while jumping from missile to missile for dear life. This sequence was later repeated in ''Shattered Soldier''.
** ''Contra: Hard Corps'': The good end route has you chasing down a multi-stage rocket carrying the Alien Cell bomb by riding on top of smaller rockets. Once you reach the main rocket, you proceed to climb up its sides while shooting at alien mutants bursting out of its hull, before reaching the warhead containment unit and fighting the Alien Cell itself. Destroying the creature [[LoadBearingBoss causes the rocket to explode]] and throws you into the wild blue yonder...but thankfully [[BigDamnHeroes you're rescued by the Air Police]] in the nick of time.
** ''Hard Corps'': In a less fantastical vein, the ''Big Magnum'' route has the players face off against Colonel Bahamut's eponymous [[OrbitalBombardment Alien Cell-powered superweapon platform]] located in the Earth's orbit. [[spoiler: [[BittersweetEnding The heroes don't survive the battle, but they manage to take both Bahamut and the Alien Cell with them]]. Earth erects memorials of the Hard Corps to commemorate their HeroicSacrifice.]]

** ''Contra: Rebirth'': The first boss has the players fight a giant alien centipede amidst the wreckage of a space station falling to Earth, itself a CallBack to ''Neo Contra's'' final boss battle which involves fighting the giant head of [[spoiler: Bill Rizer]] during ''atmospheric reentry'' while standing on a piece of space station wreckage.

* ''VideoGame/StarFox'': Every level in the series, except ''VideoGame/StarFoxAdventures'' and the on-foot/tank/underwater sections in the other games (though the last boss is fought in ships like any other ''Star Fox'' game, while the very first boss, impossible to lose to since the player will have unlimited life energy at that point, has this in the skies of Sauria).

* ''LetsPlay/LifeSMP'': In Season 4, ''Limited Life'', as Grian correctly predicted on Day 4, most of the battles in the final few sessions take place in the sky; more accurately on the various sky bridges (or "[[Franchise/{{Terminator}} Skynet]]" as the players call it), with the players' main form of fighting being trying to shoot or hit each off or [[DeathFromAbove dropping TNT minecarts from above]]. Out-of-universe after the season, there is a mutual agreement among the content creators to never use this strategy again.

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTearsOfTheKingdom'': The fight against Colgera is fought in the air above the Wind Temple, itself floating in the sky high above Hebra Peak and in the middle of a permanent blizzard. While Link can take temporary respite on small chunks of floating rock, actually winning the battle requires him to spend most of it gliding around and riding on updrafts in order to be able to attack the boss as it flies through the open air, temporarily exposing its weak points as it dives past Link and pelts him with flying snow and whirlwinds.
** The FinalBattle against Ganondorf's OneWingedAngel form takes place high in the skies of Hyrule, at Sky Island level, skydiving at him while riding the divine White Dragon, [[spoiler:none other than Princess Zelda ScaledUp.]]

* ''LightNovel/FateZero'' has Gilgamesh in an ancient [[Literature/{{Ramayana}} Hindu spaceship]] [[RuleOfCool dog fighting]] [[BloodKnight Berserker]] on a magic-hijacked [=F15J=].

** ''Anime/GreatMazinger'': Tetsuya's giant robot had flight capablities since the beginning and several divisions of the enemy army had flier {{Robeast}}s. Often he had to fight very, very high.

* ''LetsPlay/LifeSMP'': In Season 4, ''Limited Life'', as Grian correctly predicted on Day 4, most of the battles in the final few sessions take place in the sky; more accurately on the various sky bridges (or "[[Franchise/{{Terminator}} Skynet]]" as the players call it), with the players' main form of fighting being trying to shoot or hit each off or dropping TNT minecarts from above. Out-of-universe after the season, there is a mutual agreement among the content creators to never use this strategy again.

!!Non-videogame examples

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap'': The Palace of Winds boss battle takes place who-knows-how-high in the air with Link ''riding'' the boss. How Link gets off afterward is unclear.

** The fight with Wyvern, the ''second'' Super Sonic boss encounter of ''VideoGame/SonicFrontiers'', takes place over the skies of Ares Island, pretty much ''surpassing'' the likes of the above-mentioned Metal Overlord or [[VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog Black Doom]] in sheer scale.

* ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsII'' features a BonusBoss in the form of the Ancient Dragon, who resides at the very top of the Dragon Shrine, a massive sanctuary built to overlook the Dragon Aerie, which is already high-up in the air compared to the rest of Drangleic. You'd better not stare at the near infinite void when wandering around the outskirts of the boss arena.

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' has two mid-air battles where the party fights on the airship's deck: first against Evrae, the guardian of Bevelle. Rikku and Tidus's ActionCommands can have Cid pull away and shoot the [[GlobalAirship Farenheit]]'s missiles at it. Then there's a SequentialBoss battle against Sin, where the Farenheit goes head-on against the abomination and [[spoiler:blows away two of its limbs with its primary cannons after the party has weakened them enough]]. There is also a BonusBoss battle against Penance in the European/International version after you defeat all of the [[spoiler:Dark Aeons]].
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXI: Chains of Promathia'' had a battle take place amongst an armada of airships. (Almost qualifying as a ScrappyLevel, given the sheer unforgiving difficulty of the fight at the time and the farming of a mission-specific consumable to even stand a chance). There's also the final battle against Promathia, taking place in the celestial realm looking down upon Vana'diel. Considering all the work that goes into getting to this final mission, it is not a simple throw-away "this looks cool" setting, but the setting only heightens the gravitas of the mission. The celestial battleground also features a BonusBoss which, before the introduction of ''The Treasures of Aht Urghan'' and Einherjar/Odin, was considered the most challenging BCNM-style battle in the game. May even still be the toughest six-man battle, but that's up to debate.

* ''VideoGame/PaperMario64'': What kicks off the game's main plot is [[AllOfYourBaseAreBelongToUs Princess Peach's castle being uprooted by Bowser's evil castle]] into the stratosphere; this is taken to the extreme as it's where the final fight takes place. In addition, Mario's quest for the sixth Star Spirit takes him to Flower Fields, where he must clear out the overcast caused by [[{{Cumulonemesis}} the living cloud Huff N. Puff]], then traverse up to the clouds to fight him.

* ''VideoGame/PaperMario64'': What kicks off the game's main plot is [[AllOfYourBaseBelongToUs Princess Peach's castle being uprooted by Bowser's evil castle]] into the stratosphere; this is taken to the extreme as it's where the final fight takes place. In addition, Mario's quest for the sixth Star Spirit takes him to Flower Fields, where he must clear out the overcast caused by [[{{Cumulonemesis}} the living cloud Huff N. Puff]], then traverse up to the clouds to fight him.

[[InWhichATropeIsDescribed In which]] the hero of a video game has to go up in the sky and defeat the enemy. It can be as simple as a dogfight between [[OldSchoolDogfight planes]] or [[UsefulNotes/{{Airships}} airships,]] or as complex as fighting enemies at a [[LevelsTakeFlight flying fortress]] in an all-out war. If the heroes and their opponents have the power of {{Flight}} to achieve this, this will lead to AirJousting. If they are falling from the sky instead, well, [[FreeFallFight that's another trope]].

** The ''second'' boss encounter of ''VideoGame/SonicFrontiers'' takes place over the skies of the game's island, pretty much ''surpassing'' the likes of the above-mentioned Metal Overlord or [[VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog Black Doom]] in sheer scale.

** In the third game, you pilot the Hovership through the wartorn skies of Marcadia, Metropolis, and Aridia, during the optional Galactic Rangers missions.

** The ''second'' boss encounter of ''VideoGame/SonicFrontiers'' takes place over the skies of the game's island, pretty much ''surpassing'' the likes of [[VideoGame/SonicHeroes Metal Overlord]] or [[VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog Black Doom]] in sheer scale.

* ''VideoGame/DarkForcesSaga'': ''Dark Forces'', ''Jedi Knight'', ''Jedi Outcast'', and ''Jedi Academy'' all have some variation on this: three of them have sequences that take place on Nar Shadaa, "the vertical city", complete with vast canyons between buildings, while the fourth has a mission that takes place on Coruscant itself.
* ''VideoGame/TheMatrixPathOfNeo'': the last few levels are '''almost''' all battles in the sky.

* ''VideoGame/KirbySuperStar Ultra'': You fight Kabula the zeppelin in the airspace of Mt. Dedede, with an UnexpectedGameplayChange to [[UnexpectedShmupLevel a shoot-em-up]]. Kaboola also appeared in the first game in the ''VideoGame/{{Kirby}}'' series. A mint leaf gives you the power to repeatedly spit out air puffs. An infinitely lasting version is what Kirby eats before he takes on the blimp. Also, every battle with Kracko takes place in a [[LevelInTheClouds cloudy arena, high in the sky]].

* ''VideoGame/SlyCooper'':
** ''VideoGame/Sly2BandOfThieves'': Near the end, when you fight [[spoiler: Clock-La (Neyla in Clockwerk's body), you [[SteppingStonesInTheSky run across debris falling from a destroyed airship]] to rescue the rest of the gang. Eventually you fight her while crawling around on her back.]]
** ''VideoGame/Sly3HonorAmongThieves'': Sly fights against General Tsao atop bamboo stalks midway through the stage, then at the end of the level [[spoiler: against a flying, animated dragon statue]].

* ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'':

** ''VideoGame/TrialsOfMana'' has one of the Benevodons fought atop Flammie. Strangely enough, Flammie is several times larger than the Benevodon, and she does nothing to help. It gets somewhat hilarious if you have Duran in your party and use any of his spells. Duran's magic casting animation involves him thrusting his sword into the ground. Poor Flammie.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* ''LightNovel/FateZero'' has Gilgamesh in an ancient [[Literature/{{Ramayana}} Hindu spaceship]] [[RuleOfCool dog fighting]] [[BloodKnight Berserker]] on a magic-hijacked F15J.
* ''Franchise/{{Mazinger}}'':
** ''Anime/MazingerZ'':
*** As soon as Mazinger-Z got a flying upgrade -right in that same episode- Kouji got a high-altitude battle against a rocket-shaped, missile-shooting {{Robeast}}. It was the first of many.
*** In another episode, the enemy tried to force Kouji to fight several dozens of feet above the ground so that Kouji's body and Mazinger's machinery were unable to endure the physical strain.

* ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi''[='=]s final battle of the SchoolFestival arc was at approximately 4000 metres aboard a blimp which served as a final PlaceOfPower.

* ''Manga/UshioAndTora'', since most Youkai can float or fly, this isn't uncommon. Notable examples include the battle against Fusuma (taking place on a plane), the duel between the Snake Demons Hitotsuki and Shibumori and of course, most of the battles against the Kokuen army made by Hakumen. [[spoiler: The final battle against Hakumen itself takes place over the Japanese Sea and across the Japanese skies before it's finally forced in a barrier near Okinawa.]]
* ''Manga/{{Yaiba}}'' seems rather fond of this, including battles against [[ButtMonkey the Spiderman]] (fought on a floating airship, later on a massive web suspended above a road), [[KnightOfCerebus Batguy]] (riding his pet vulture Shonosuke), [[{{Ninja}} Kotaro Fuuma]] (again, Shonosuke), [[BigBad Onimaru]] (using the flying powers of the Sword of Ryuujin), [[KillerRabbit Gekko]] (Likewise) and [[spoiler: Yamata no {{Orochi}}, with the monster itself serving as the battlefield for the final duel of Yaiba and Possessed!Onimaru.]]
* ''Anime/YuGiOh'' features a few examples, such as the Battle City Finals and the battle between the Egyptian Gods and the Great Leviathan. Likewise, Kaiba and Alister's duel was atop a plane.

[[folder:Webcomics]]

%%[[folder:Web Video]]

%%[[/folder]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Contra}}'' has several instances, many of which invoke RuleOfCool, ArtisticLicensePhysics ''and'' ArtisticLicenseBiology ''[[UpToEleven all at the same time]]''.

** ''VideoGame/AceCombat2'' and its remake ''VideoGame/AceCombatAssaultHorizonLegacy'' both have a high-altitude mission, "Rising High," that takes place at the upper limits of the player's operational ceiling--meaning there's going to be a ''lot'' of stall warnings.
** ''VideoGame/AceCombat3Electrosphere'' took the trope to its logical conclusion with a mission in '''''orbit''''', aptly named "Zero Gravity" -- the mission objective being the destruction of four enemy {{KillSat}}s in three minutes, then angling the nose up at a certain angle to survive atmospheric reentry. Naturally, the player is not allowed to use their regular planes on this mission; instead, an R-352 Sepia SpaceFighter is provided for this mission only, fitted with energy weapons that actually operate exactly like standard plane weapons. Interestingly enough for the franchise, the Sepia actually obeys Newtonian physics rather than aerodynamics and coasts sideways while turning, behaving quite realistically for that altitude. There is no upper altitude limit for the mission but the mission timer running out results in the Sepia being shot down by the satellites, while losing too much altitude before the satellites are destroyed results in the Sepia burning up from uncontrolled reentry. There's also another mission in the Japanese version where the player is tasked with shooting down bombers that cruise at a higher altitude than the player's fighter can even reach, forcing them to make quick jumps straight upwards to lock on and fire before they stall out.
** ''VideoGame/AceCombat5TheUnsungWar'' has a rather late mission where the player is tasked with intercepting a SpacePlane as it dips into the atmosphere to change direction via aerobraking, helped by internal sabotage of its aerodynamic control surfaces causing it to drop lower than planned by the antagonists so that the player can actually reach it.