Doppelganger

Not to be confused with Fake Trevor, Sypha, or Grant.

Doppelganger
The Doppelganger taking Trevor's form in Pachislot.
Japanese name(s)	ドッペルゲンガー Dopperugengā ラルフ ドッペルゲンガー Rarufu Dopperugengā (Ralph Doppelganger)
Alternate name(s)	Doppleganger Leon Fake Trevor Doppelganger
Abilities	Assumes the form of its victims
Type(s)	Demon (doppelgänger)
Origins	Egyptian mythology European mythology (Germany)
Appearances	Dracula's Curse Chronicles Symphony of the Night Lament of Innocence Curse of Darkness Portrait of Ruin Encore of the Night

The Doppelganger is a recurrent boss in the Castlevania series. It is a demon that takes the form of another being, usually its victims. The idea of humans having 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.

Name JPN Alt. Name Doppelganger ドッペルゲンガー Dopperugengā - Location 9. Villa

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.

(original/arranged) Name JPN HP EXP Doppelganger - 31 30,000 Location 6. Floating Corridor

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.

No. Name JPN Level HP 34 Doppleganger10 Doppleganger Lv. 10 10 120 Strong Immune Weak Absorb EXP - - - - 500 Location Drop Guard Outer Wall - Life Vessel, Gladius Description "Shape-shifting demon."

• 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.

No. Name JPN Level HP 129 Doppleganger40 Doppleganger Lv. 40 40 777 Strong Immune Weak Absorb EXP - - - - 2,001 Location Drop Guard Reverse Caverns - Life Vessel Description "Shape-shifting demon."

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.

No. Name JPN HP 72 Doppelganger (Leon Fake) - 1,000 Tolerance Weakness - - Drop Location - Dark Palace of Waterfalls Description "A monster that looks like Leon. The weapons are not perfect copies."

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 and its three unholy water-based attacks, the Doppelganger has replaced its whip attacks and leap charge with four melee attacks: a downward kick, a fast two-hit punch combo, a single punch, or a three-attack punch combo.

No. Name JPN HP 73 Doppelganger (Leon Fake) - 1,500 Tolerance Weakness - - Drop Location HP Max Up Pagoda of the Misty Moon Description "A Doppelganger that is only a copy of Leon's appearance and fights with its fists."

In Joachim Mode, the boss counterpart of Joachim is referred to as "Doppelganger".

No. Name JPN HP 78 Joachim (Doppelganger) - 1,500 Tolerance Weakness Knife, Axe, Crystal Ice, Holy Water, Cross Drop Location Green Orb Dark Palace of Waterfalls Description "He was turned into a vampire by Walter, and imprisoned because he rebelled."

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, although he's differentiated from the real Trevor by his pale blue hue and weakness to Light. Additionally, during the first fight, his health must be depleted entirely, rather than one-fourth depleted as in the first Trevor fight.

During the second encounter with the Doppelganger, it's also resistant to the Dark element.

• Lv.16
• Lv.40

No. Name JPN HP - Trevor Doppelganger Lv.16 ラルフ ドッペルゲンガー Lv.16 Rarufu Dopperugengā Lv.16 (Ralph Doppelganger Lv.16) 2,100 Tolerance Weakness - Light Location Drop Steal EXP Garibaldi Temple Crest - 145 Description "-"

No. Name JPN HP - Trevor Doppelganger Lv.40 ラルフ ドッペルゲンガー Lv.40 Rarufu Dopperugengā Lv.40 (Ralph Doppelganger Lv.40) 4,700 Tolerance Weakness Dark Light Location Drop Steal EXP Abandoned Castle Crest - 2,220 Description "-"

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.

No. Name JPN HP 135 Doppelganger - 2,000 Tolerance Weakness - Slash Location Common Drop Rare Drop EXP SP Nest of Evil Guards: Greatest Five 2,000 99 Description "A demon who assumes the form of its intended victims before killing them."

Castlevania Puzzle: Encore of the Night

• Doppelganger
• Doppelganger II

Name Title HP EXP Doppelganger 600 +1 level Drop Steal Location ??? ??? Outer Wall List of Spells Skill Cost Effect ???

Name Title HP EXP Doppelganger II 2,700 +1 level Drop Steal Location Gurthang ~1 gold, 25 silver Underground Caverns List of Spells Skill Cost Effect Soul Steal Instantly does (unknown formula) damage to opponent and heals caster for same amount.

Pachislot Akumajō Dracula III

Trevor's Doppelganger also makes an appearance in this game.

Enemy Data

Main article: Doppelganger/Enemy Data

Item Data

Item Data: Doppelganger
Image	Name - Game   Type - Users Description	Attributes / Consume	Statistics / Sell	Found	Notes
	Life Vessel [alt] - Symphony of the Night   Item (standard) - any				[edit]
	Increases the player's maximum HP (life) capacity.		Maximum HP +5 (Alucard); maximum HP +10 (Richter and Maria)	Find: Found throughout the castle, often in containers Drop: Most bosses	Effect: Restores all life and increases Max HP
	Gladius (jpn) - Symphony of the Night   Sword - Alucard				[edit]
	Sword of ancient Rome Ancient Roman sword	Attrib: Cut	ATT +3	Find: Outer Wall (after defeating Doppleganger10)
	HP Max Up - Lament of Innocence   Item - Leon Belmont				[edit]
	Increases the amount of Leon's maximum HP count by 10.		Max HP +10	Find: House of Sacred Remains, Garden Forgotten by Time, Anti-Soul Mysteries Lab, Dark Palace of Waterfalls, Ghostly Theatre, Pagoda of the Misty Moon
	Green Orb (jpn) - Lament of Innocence   Orb - Leon Belmont				[edit]
	Magical Orb: Glows Green.			Drop: Joachim	Special: Force Cannon (Knife), High Speed Edge (Axe), Flame Sparks (Holy Water), Holy Light (Cross), Drain Stone (Crystal), Rampage Pumpkin (Pumpkin)
	Doppelganger - Quick Change - Dawn of Sorrow   Ability Soul - Soma				[edit]
	Switch souls and equipment using the X button.			Find: Garden of Madness
	Crest - Curse of Darkness   Pick-Up - Trevor Belmont				[edit]
	All stats increased.		ATK +5, DEF +5, HP +50, Hearts +5	Find: Aiolon Ruins, Dracula's Castle Drop: All bosses, excepted Isaac's second fight, Death and Dracula. Conditions: Item disappears if the player does not pick it up before leaving the Boss Room.
	Greatest Five (jpn) - Portrait of Ruin   Dual Crush - Jonathan, Charlotte				[edit]
	Summon four[sic] legendary warriors to join the battle.	Attrib: Strike, Holy Consume: 250 MP		Find: Nest of Evil (...)	Effect: Suspends the enemies' actions for a while and the duo will summon the five greatest Belmonts to attack.

Gallery

Screenshots

A cartoon-like image which appears before fighting the Doppelganger in Chronicles.

Doppleganger10 enemy list entry from The Dracula X Chronicles version of Symphony of the Night.

Japanese entry.

Doppleganger40 enemy list entry from The Dracula X Chronicles version of Symphony of the Night.

Alucard battles Doppleganger40 in the Reverse Caverns in Symphony of the Night.

Doppelganger enemy list entry from Lament of Innocence. (Japanese version)

Doppelganger enemy list entry from Lament of Innocence. (Japanese version)

Mina's doppelganger from Dawn of Sorrow.

Close-up.

Trevor Doppelganger from Pachislot Akumajō Dracula III.

Trevor Doppelganger from Pachislot Akumajō Dracula III.

Animations

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

Doppleganger10's appearance in Symphony of the Night.

Sword attack.

Sub-weapon attack.

Bat Form attack.

Using Mist Form to dodge Soul Steal.

Castlevania: Lament of Innocence

Dark Palace of Waterfalls

Doppelganger's three-attack whip combo.

Seven-attack whip combo.

Throwing unholy water.

Cross Blazer attack.

Flaming leap attack.

Dodging by quick step.

Doppelganger defeated (Crazy Mode only).

Pagoda of the Misty Moon

Doppelganger's appearance in Lament of Innocence.

Throwing unholy water.

Cross Blazer attack.

Single punch attacks.

Three-attack punch combo.

Four-attack punch combo.

Downward kick attacks.

Flaming leap attack.

Dodging by quick step.

Doppelganger defeated.

Videos

Symphony of the Night - Library Monsters

SotN - Luck Mode Boss Fight - Doppleganger10

Doppleganger10 from Symphony of the Night (DXC).
(Japanese)

Doppleganger40 from Symphony of the Night (DXC).
(NTSC)

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. 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).
  • If this is done however, 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