Waku Waku 7 was the mechanical (but not thematic) successor to Galaxy Fight, in which EVERY fight was about as fun as the Fernandez battle. The final boss just sort of makes everything explode for most of his specials. Galaxy Fight also featured boundless arenas, which sounds like it would mean no being cornered and comboed to death, but in practice means you have the chance to flee pitifully for a couple seconds before your death. There is a broad mechanic of dash-centric moves exploiting this arena layout, all of which are red herrings and will get you killed.
Fernandez is pretty awful on your first couple tries, but if you've hardened your heart on the anvil of doom that is Galaxy Fight it holds no fear for you.