Doppelganger

The Doppelganger is a recurring boss in the Castlevania series. It is a demon that takes the form of another being, usually its victims. The idea of humans having a doppelgänger comes from Egyptian mythology. It is said that if someone ever meets their doppelgänger, its intent is to murder them so it can take over their role in life.
==Origins==
A doppelgänger is a look-alike or double of a living person who is sometimes portrayed as a harbinger of bad luck. In some traditions, a doppelgänger seen by a person's relative or friend portends illness or danger, while seeing one's own doppelgänger is said to be an omen of death.
The name is a loanword from German "doppelgänger", consisting of the two substantives doppel ("double") and gänger ("walker" or "goer").
In Ancient Egyptian mythology, a ka was a tangible "spirit double" having the same memories and feelings as the person to whom the counterpart belonged.
==Appearances==
===Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse===
The Doppelganger was first introduced into the series at the end of the villa stage in Dracula's Curse. It is initially found in an amorphous, blob-like state that soon takes the form of whoever character the player is playing with at the moment (either Trevor, Sypha, Grant or Alucard), and attacks constantly while moving relentlessly toward the player. If the player selects another character while in battle, the Doppelganger will also take that form. This allows for some strategy, allowing the player move to a better position to fight back while the Doppelganger is in its morphing animation, or by letting them choose which form to fight against.
The Doppelganger will always use the same main weapon at the same level that the player whose image it is mimicking is using. It will always use the Banshee Boomerang in Trevor form, the Axe while in Grant form, and Flames while in Sypha form.
If fighting as Trevor, try bringing Holy Water to this fight. If playing as Sypha, use the Lightning Bolt spell.
When defeated, it will burn with its transforming ability out of control such that it quickly loops through all of its forms.
===Castlevania Chronicles===
The Doppelganger will form from Simon's reflection on a mirror and break out of it to attack. Again, it will attack relentlessly while moving toward the player. The Doppelganger is equipped with the same whip (Mysterious Whip, Chain Whip, or Morning Star Whip) and sub-weapon (Dagger, Holy Water, Axe, Boomerang, but not the Pocket Watch or Herb) the player has equipped at the moment. When it uses a sub-weapon, the player's heart supply decreases by one. Upon defeat, the Doppelganger will vomit a barrage of mirror shards while struggling for its life.
===Castlevania: Symphony of the Night===
In this game, Doppelganger is misspelled as "Doppleganger". This was not corrected in later versions and re-releases of Symphony of the Night.
The Doppleganger boss has the form of Alucard and appears twice in the game:
*Doppleganger10 is the second boss of the game (third if counting Dracula from the prologue). It uses a Short Sword (9 ATT, Cut) and the Dagger sub-weapon (6 ATT, Holy), and can turn into either mist or bat (15 ATT, Hit) forms before Alucard can. However, it is weak against many status effects, such that Curse attacks, like that produced by the Red Rust, can disable its sword attack for a considerable period of time. The sub-weapon can be blocked using a shield.
*Doppleganger40 is a stronger variant with new moves who can be fought as an optional boss in the Reverse Caverns. He can use the Rebound Stone sub-weapon (12 ATT, Holy), is equipped with the Gravity Boots and the Leap Stone, as well as having all of Doppleganger10's abilities (Wing Smash, 55 ATT, Hit). In addition, Doppleganger40 will use the Terminus Est (35 ATT, Cut + Poison) and Stone Sword (5 ATT, Stone), although the latter is rarely used. His Poison damage can be absorbed by equipping the Topaz Circlet, and his Stone attack can be neutralized by using a Fairy Familiar with a Hammer, Resist Stone, the Medusa Shield, the Axe Lord Armor or the Mirror Cuirass. Furthermore, Doppleganger40 is also vulnerable to those statuses, so using the Terminus Est, Medusa Shield or Stone Sword against him isn't a bad idea. The room he is fought in is much more compact than the previous long hall arena.
Additionally, both Dopplegangers have a very limited artificial intelligence that can be exploited. Just running toward one, jumping and then attacking in midair will make the Doppleganger to also jump, take the hit and get knocked back, allowing the player to repeat the process until it is defeated.
The Stopwatch can also make these fights trivial, as using it completely freezes the Doppleganger, leaving him at the mercy of Alucard's attacks, as it won't have invulnerability upon taking damage. On the other hand, the player should avoid using the stopwatch right after hitting the Doppleganger; if they do, it will be stuck in its invulnerability state for the duration of the effect.
Avoid using some "powerful" attacks, like Hydro Storm, as they will dodge with mist form. Crouching may cause the Doppleganger to do the same, striking with his sword when close to the player. When jumping, the boss may try to land on top of the player in order to inflict contact damage.
If the Doppleganger wins (the player dies), it performs its "hold up" posture.
===Castlevania: Lament of Innocence===
The Doppelganger boss (referred to as "Leon Fake" in Joachim Mode and Pumpkin Mode) is fought twice in this game, where it serves as a mid-boss for both levels in which it appears.
He is first encountered in the Dark Palace of Waterfalls. Here, he utilizes a copy of Leon's Whip of Alchemy and a variety of other attacks. The Doppelganger can quick step, execute a three-attack or seven-attack combo using the whip, execute a flaming leap charge that propels the Doppelganger forward, throw unholy water either at its feet or toward Leon, or use a duplicate of Leon's Cross Blazer (Holy Water + Purple Orb) attack, causing a cross-shaped flame to erupt around it.
Once defeated, the Doppelganger will flee into the sewers.(Normal Mode only)
In Crazy Mode, Leon must simultaneously battle two Doppelgangers, both of whom utilize this move-set.
He reappears as the mid-boss of the Pagoda of the Misty Moon. Palette-swapped with a red tint, he boasts more health than in the previous encounter, and has abandoned its copy of the Whip of Alchemy in favor of flaming fist attacks.
While still retaining its quick-step ability, flaming leap charge, and its three unholy water-based attacks, the Doppelganger has replaced its whip attacks with four melee attacks: a downward kick, a fast two-hit punch combo, a single punch, or a three-attack punch combo.
In Joachim Mode, the boss counterpart of Joachim is referred to as "Doppelganger".
===Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow===
While the player does not physically fight the Doppelganger in this game, Soma Cruz can obtain the Doppelganger's soul in the Garden of Madness. This soul allows him to switch quickly between two sets of equipment, gear and souls.
A doppelganger also appears during a cutscene that takes place in the center of the castle, where it takes the form of Mina Hakuba. In a gambit to turn Soma into the next Dark Lord, Celia Fortner kills this doppelganger, enraging Soma and almost letting himself turn, although Genya Arikado arrives just in time to inform him of the truth. Shortly afterward, the soul of Dmitrii Blinov escapes Soma's body and inhabits the body of the slain doppelganger, using it to revive himself.
===Castlevania: Curse of Darkness===
While no Doppelganger makes a canonical appearance in this game, in Trevor Mode both Trevor boss fights are replaced by battles with the Trevor Doppelganger.
He fights exactly as Trevor did in the main game, as well as having the exact same voice clips. Although he's differentiated from the real Trevor by his pale blue hue and weakness to Light instead of Dark. Additionally, during the first fight, his health must be depleted entirely, rather than one-fourth depleted as in the first Trevor fight (although his HP has been adjusted accordingly).
During the second encounter with the Doppelganger, it's also resistant to the Dark element.
<tabber>Lv.16=
|-|Lv.40=
</tabber>
===Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin===
The Doppelganger can be found in the deepest level of the Nest of Evil, acting as that area's final boss. The form this enemy takes for the battle is random, whether it is Jonathan or Charlotte (that is, the creature can appear as any of these two characters regardless of which character the player is currently controlling). Likewise, the Doppelganger will appear as any other protagonist character if playing on any of the game's many alternate modes.
To drastically decrease the difficulty of this battle, the player can remove all equipment from both characters before entering the room and re-equip the items after entering, as the Doppelganger will only copy the player's equipment as it was when they entered the room. To increase the difficulty, the opposite can be done and players can wear their best equipment upon entering the room (skills used by the Doppelganger will never be mastered).
A good tactic for starting the fight consists in casting 1,000 Blades immediately upon entering the room; doing so will inflict many hits, usually enough to send the Doppelganger into its recovery animation and maybe even slightly knock it back if the hits prove powerful enough. In contrast to other games, coming into contact with the Doppelganger will not deal any collision damage.
Being the last boss of the Nest of Evil, it is the only boss that produces a Magic Crystal upon defeat in the whole area.
Once the Doppelganger has been defeated in the Normal campaign, the player can enter the next room and claim the Greatest Five Dual Crush, the final and most powerful crush in the game.
When playing in Sisters Mode, Doppelgangers for both Stella and Loretta will be faced, who fight similarly to their boss battle in the Normal mode.
===Castlevania Puzzle: Encore of the Night===
<tabber>Doppelganger=
|-|Doppelganger II=
</tabber>
===Pachislot Akumajō Dracula III===
Trevor's Doppelganger also makes an appearance in this game.
==Enemy Data==
==Item Data==
==Gallery==
===Screenshots===
Here's Fake Simon.jpg|A cartoon-like image which appears before fighting the Doppelganger in Chronicles.
Dxc 036.png|Doppleganger10 enemy list entry from The Dracula X Chronicles version of Symphony of the Night.
Dracula X Symphony Doppelganger lv10 enemy list (Japan).jpg|Japanese entry.
Dxc 127.png|Doppleganger40 enemy list entry from The Dracula X Chronicles version of Symphony of the Night.
Symphony Reverse Caverns Doppleganger40 room.jpg|Alucard battles Doppleganger40 in the Reverse Caverns in Symphony of the Night.
Doppelganger1 (LoI JP-enemy list).png|Doppelganger enemy list entry from Lament of Innocence. (Japanese version)
Doppelganger red form (LoI JP enemy list).png|Doppelganger enemy list entry from Lament of Innocence. (Japanese version)
Doppleganger.png|Mina's doppelganger from Dawn of Sorrow.
Mina Doppelganger.JPG|Close-up.
Pachi Drac III 08.jpg|Trevor Doppelganger from Pachislot Akumajō Dracula III.
Doppelganger Top Page.JPG|Trevor Doppelganger from Pachislot Akumajō Dracula III.
===Animations===
====Castlevania: Symphony of the Night====
Doppelganger10 Appearances(SOTN).gif|Doppleganger10's appearance in Symphony of the Night.
Doppleganger10(Sword Attack).gif|Sword attack.
Doppleganger10(Sub-weapon Attack).gif|Sub-weapon attack.
Doppleganger10(Bat form).gif|Bat Form attack.
Doppleganger10(Mist form).gif|Using Mist Form to dodge Soul Steal.
====Castlevania: Lament of Innocence====
Doppelganger whip(LoI) (1).gif|Doppelganger's three-attack whip combo.
Doppelganger whip (2).gif|Seven-attack whip combo.
Doppelganger unholy water(LoI) (1).gif|Throwing unholy water.
Doppelganger unholy water (LoI) (2).gif
Doppelganger Cross Blazer（LoI）.gif|Cross Blazer attack.
Doppelganger flaming leap charge that propels（LoI).gif|Flaming leap attack.
Doppelganger quick step(LoI).gif|Dodging by quick step.
Doppelganger defeated (crazy mode only).gif|Doppelganger defeated (Crazy Mode only).
LoI Doppelganger red form Appearances (1).gif|Doppelganger's appearance in Lament of Innocence.
LoI Doppelganger red form unholy water (2).gif|Throwing unholy water.
LoI Doppelganger red form unholy water (1).gif
LoI Doppelganger red form Cross Blazer.gif|Cross Blazer attack.
LoI Doppelganger red form single punch.gif|Single punch attacks.
LoI Doppelganger red form three-attack punch combo.gif|Three-attack punch combo.
LoI Doppelganger red form four-attack punch combo..gif|Four-attack punch combo.
LoI Doppelganger red form downward kick.gif|Downward kick attacks.
LoI Doppelganger red form flaming leap attack..gif|Flaming leap attack.
LoI Doppelganger red form quick step.gif|Dodging by quick step.
LoI Doppelganger red form defeated.gif|Doppelganger defeated.
==Videos==
Castlevania- Symphony of the Night Library Monsters
SotN - Luck Mode Boss Fight - Doppleganger10
==Trivia==
*The Trevor Belmont Doppelganger in Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse will throw a red version of the Banshee Boomerang. However, in the Japanese version of the game, it throws the regular Banshee Boomerang that Trevor uses.
*Besides the two Doppelganger boss fights that take place in Symphony of the Night, the player also faces yet another boss battle midway through the Reverse Colosseum where they must fight fake versions of Trevor, Sypha and Grant. However, unlike the Doppelganger, who is a creature that can take the form of other living beings, these actually are a trio of zombies impersonating those characters.
*In Symphony of the Night, if Doppleganger40 is defeated before Doppleganger10 (normally done in Richter Mode or Maria Mode, or via sequence breaking), the latter will not appear.Castlevania SotN: glitches, tricks, secrets, unused items and more at YouTube. This implies both are the same Doppelganger, Doppleganger40 being a leveled-up version of himself, similar to how Alucard himself can level up (as hinted by the "LV" in the Doppelganger's Japanese name).
**However, if this is done, the Doppleganger10's Life Max up will be unobtainable.
*The rotating circular gate in the Outer Wall from where Doppleganger10 comes out in Symphony of the Night is a replica of the Aztec sun stone, mainly differing on their central parts, where the original slab has the face of an Aztec solar deity.
**Doppleganger40 is fought at the Reverse Caverns, the castle opposite of the normal castle. It is possible the portal took the Doppelganger to the Reverse Castle after his first defeat. Similar portals are seen in Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance, transporting characters between Castle A and Castle B.
*Doppleganger10's boss fight only triggers when entering the room from the left side. Entering the room from the right (via sequence breaking) will not load the boss.
*Shadow, a boss which appears in Harmony of Dissonance, is basically another type of doppelganger. However, instead of copying and adopting the form of the protagonist, it takes the form of a Black Panther, a Moth and an Evil Sword. It also shares the trait that its transform ability goes out of control upon defeat.
==See also==
*Fake Trevor, Fake Sypha and Fake Grant
*Shadow
==References==
es:Doppelganger
Category:Demons
Category:Doppelgängers
Category:Egyptian Monsters
Category:European Mythology
Category:Chronicles Bosses
Category:Curse of Darkness Bosses
Category:The Dracula X Chronicles Bosses
Category:Dracula's Curse Bosses
Category:Encore of the Night Bosses
Category:Lament of Innocence Bosses
Category:Portrait of Ruin Bosses
Category:Portrait of Ruin Optional Bosses
Category:Symphony of the Night Bosses
Category:Symphony of the Night Optional Bosses