What sets Devil Hand apart from the other kinds of doppelganger fights? (i.e. Dante) Or does it just show how good God Hands moveset is that it can also work for a Boss?
Well here’s the trick, God Hand doesn’t use Gene’s actual moveset on Azel or the Double God Hand Gene at the end of the arena. All of their attacks are reactable, and unlike you, they have the ability to block like common enemies, and even have a few new attacks. When you use roulette wheel moves, they’re effectively instantaneous because time slows for the cinematics. When they use it, it’s all in real-time.
This guy lets Azel attack a bit more:
Pay careful attention, the only time Azel does an unreactable attack is after his block is attacked and he repels you, which is a situation that’s in-of itself reactable.
The trick is, if you want a good doppelganger fight, then change the moves so the doppelganger has fair versions of them. (or in God Hand’s case, only let the doppelganger use the slower moves available to Gene)
This article is a callback to https://critpoints.net/2015/05/19/why-is-dante-such-a-lame-fight-in-dmc4/ where I argue that Dante doesn’t really work as a boss fight because his attacks aren’t reactable, because they were designed for the player to use them, unlike the other bosses that always have reactable attacks.
Celia Alexis Wagar's CritPoints 