| “ | 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 Stage 3 in Classic Mode.
Appearances[]
Ritual of the Night[]
Several Doppelgangers are found suspended in tanks of an unknown green liquid in the Secret Sorcery Lab. A single Doppelganger is fought as the boss of this area. It mimics Miriam's default appearance most accurately (without headgear), 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 attacks to Shards. It is considerably more agile than her.
The Doppelganger comes armed with a katana and is a master of this type of weapon, so it can perform all of its Techniques. These include:
- Helmsplitter: A quick overhead slam with its katana. The Doppelganger usually starts the fight with this move, and it is also one of its most used attacks during the whole encounter.
- Jinrai: An extremely quick dashing attack while swinging its sword that covers a great distance, allowing it to almost instantly close the gap with the player. It is also one of its most used attacks.
- Crimson Storm: The Doppelganger swings its katana downward, producing a large energy ball that is launched straightforward at great speed.
- Crescent Stroke: Performed if the player stays too close to it. The Doppelganger slashes its sword in an upward circular motion, tracing a perfect circle with its blade and producing a damaging crescent moon-shaped energy circle.
- Sansetsuzan: A three strike combo move and one of its most damaging attacks. The Doppelganger starts with a sideways slash; if it connects, it will immediately follow with a two-handed upward slash; and if this one also connects, it will end with a two-handed downward slash. If the player is caught by this Technique, the two following strikes are almost unavoidable, as they will get stunlocked. Same as when performed by the player, each successful strike will be aesthetically accompanied by a large kanji appearing on the screen: 大 ("great") on the first one, and 往 on the second and 生 on the third ("death/submission"), forming the full sentence 大往生 ("great death").
The Doppelganger can also cast a large Flamethrower from its hand and slowly rotate its 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 that performs a single claw swipe (the Dragon is the standard type but almost as big as an Abyssal Guardian). This attack is similar to Miriam's Draconic Rage, though the summoned Dragon's attack is slightly different.
If the player stands too close to the Doppelganger, it may perform a purple vertical slash, which knocks the player back a long distance. If the Doppelganger misses an attack, it will sometimes get stuck on a wall, giving the player an opportunity to score some free hits. Care must be taken, though, as it will break free shortly afterward.
The Doppelganger's main weakness is that once it commences an attack, it will remain committed to its animation until this ends, leaving it vulnerable on the rearguard in the meantime. An easy way to defeat it is to draw out the Directed Shield with a high enough Rank and let the Doppelganger attack first; while it is still occupied performing this attack, jump behind it and quickly start attacking at its back with a powerful quick weapon (like a Dagger or Rapier); as the enemy is finishing its attack, draw out the Directed Shield again, block the next attack, and once again take position behind it to continue attacking it, repeating this process until the boss is defeated.
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