| “ | A demon that assumes the form of whatever it intends to kill. | „ |
| ~ Description from Ritual of the Night |
The Doppelganger is a boss in Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. A pair of them serve as the bosses of the third stage in Classic Mode.
Appearances[]
Ritual of the Night[]
Doppelgangers are found suspended in tanks of an unknown green liquid until someone approaches them, at which point they break out and attack. The Doppelganger boss mimics Miriam's default appearance (without headgear) most accurately, except for the clothes and eyes that are tinted purple instead. Its moveset is predetermined but is based on many of her attacks, ranging from melee weapons to Shards. It is considerably more agile than her, being capable of ramming attacks.
A single Doppelganger is fought as the boss of the Secret Sorcery Lab. It usually starts the fight by performing a quick overhead slam with its katana. It can also execute a quick dashing attack that covers the entire room's length, allowing to almost instantly close the distance between itself and the player; this move is telegraphed by initially crouching while holding the katana behind its body. It can also cast a large flamethrower from its hand and slowly rotate an arm around to cover the entire room with the flame. One of its most powerful attacks is opening a large magical portal and summoning a giant dragon from within.
If the player stands too close to the Doppelganger, it may perform either a Crescent Stroke (the same Technique Miriam can use with certain katanas) or a purple vertical slash, which knocks the player back a long distance. If the player is caught by one of its sword slashing attacks, the Doppelganger may follow it with two successive and powerful attacks which are almost unavoidable, as the player will get stunlocked by them - each successful hit will be aesthetically accompanied by a large kanji appearing on the screen.
If the player manages to evade some of the Doppelganger's attacks, it may sometimes get stuck on walls, giving them an opportunity to unleash damage on it. Care must be taken, though, as it will break free after a moment.
Like most of the other bosses, if the Doppelganger is defeated without taking any damage, an extra, purely honorary Boss Medal (the Doppelganger Medal) will be rewarded.
Classic Mode[]
Two Doppelgangers are simultaneously fought as the bosses of Stage 3. They mimic Miriam and Zangetsu, respectively. The one that mimics Miriam has a moveset based on her abilities in Classic Mode, and it walks at the same pace as she does in the mode. The one that mimics Zangetsu uses weaker versions of his attacks from the main story.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Although Doppelgangers are said to assume the form of anything that they intend to kill at the moment, the one in the Secret Sorcery Lab is only known to copy Miriam's form in the main game, whether it is fighting her, Zangetsu, Bloodless or Aurora.
- The inclusion of this enemy in the game is likely inspired by the Doppelganger from the Castlevania franchise. The Doppelgangers in Classic Mode also parallel the Mummy Men from the first Castlevania game, as two bosses that are fought simultaneously in the heights above the castle's courtyard.
External links[]
- Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night — Bestiary at GameFAQs