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The Castlevania Dungeon Forums => General Castlevania Discussion => Topic started by: jestercolony on April 17, 2014, 02:26:45 AM

Title: Question about Sypha.
Post by: jestercolony on April 17, 2014, 02:26:45 AM
So, we all know who she is. Cloaked in mystery until you find out her actually identify in CVIII. She comes complete with whacking stick, and powerful magical spells. But something has kinda struck me with surprise. Back in that time period, she herself claims to be a vampire hunter but in the end falls to spell via the evil Cyclops, who turns her to stone. Due to her magical abilities would Sypha be considered a Witch or Sorceress/mage...etc(?)
Title: Re: Question about Sypha.
Post by: Shiroi Koumori on April 17, 2014, 04:24:48 AM
I consider her as a witch.
Title: Re: Question about Sypha.
Post by: Nagumo on April 17, 2014, 04:27:29 AM
I'm not sure what the connenction is between the question and the text that preceeds it.  :P

What's the difference between a sorceress and a witch?
Title: Re: Question about Sypha.
Post by: Shiroi Koumori on April 17, 2014, 04:38:55 AM
There's no difference between a sorceress and a witch. But for continuity's sake, taking Yoko's character description as a witch, i just consider her as a witch.
Title: Re: Question about Sypha.
Post by: Jorge D. Fuentes on April 17, 2014, 06:17:27 AM
Sypha's a witch.
She uses elemental anima magic (Fire, Ice, Lightning), by harnessing the energy of spirits to control the elements.

The fact that she works for the Church is precisely to prove to the Church that witches aren't evil and have been oppressed by the church wrongfully.  Supposedly her witch sisters were hunted down by people whose hearts were clouded by evil (an effort in which Carmilla took part), and escaped and took refuge in a monestary, where she lived for some time and became a Monk, while developing her powers until mastering them.

When the monsters of legend started attacking villages after Dracula summoned them to do his bidding once he became a powerful sorcerer, the Eastern Orthodox Church decided to fight the hordes of monsters back so it sent an army to fight them.  In addition, the Church sent a special team of people with powers to deal with the threat in secret.  Sypha was part of this team.  The Church knew that the Wallachian populace was afraid of witches and pretty much any people with supernatural abilities, so they sent Sypha in disguise.  Unfortunately, the team failed and Sypha was captured and petrified by Cyclops*.

When the Eastern Orthodox Church sent Trevor Belmont, that was their absolute last resort; the army had failed, the special team had failed, and there was no other known person that could both be trusted and be powerful enough to take on the Dracula threat.

*Personal note: I actually think that the Cyclops is Medusa's Pet, and Medusa actually petrified Sypha while the Haunted Ship was docked near the Statue Garden where the Cyclops presides.  Personally, I think the 'special team' tried to hop on that ship and was spotted.  But that's fanfic material. :P
Title: Re: Question about Sypha.
Post by: theANdROId on April 17, 2014, 10:06:17 AM
Surely we all know how to tell if someone is a witch!

She's a witch! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrzMhU_4m-g#ws)
Title: Re: Question about Sypha.
Post by: mariosmentor on April 17, 2014, 12:07:05 PM
Surely we all know how to tell if someone is a witch!

She's a witch! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrzMhU_4m-g#ws)

Ya got that right!
Title: Re: Question about Sypha.
Post by: Super Waffle on April 17, 2014, 12:07:43 PM
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v177/tenshousouhazan/sypha-02.png) (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v177/tenshousouhazan/sypha.jpg)

as compared to

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v177/tenshousouhazan/aliorumnas.jpg) (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v177/tenshousouhazan/34e68sw.jpg)

In the post-Pachislot III continuity she's a renegade Aliorumnas / Salem Witch / whatever who decided to use her powers to be a good guy.  She's like a Reverse Saruman.

A groundbreaking theory proposed in http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7657198/1/Ordination (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7657198/1/Ordination)


edit:  Come to think of it this theory actually works in the old continuity too.  Her sprites in SotN floated around casting magic shit exactly like an Aliorumnas / Salem Witch / something.
Title: Re: Question about Sypha.
Post by: beingthehero on April 17, 2014, 12:22:19 PM
I guess they forgot that she's supposed to be disguised as a dude
Title: Re: Question about Sypha.
Post by: Super Waffle on April 17, 2014, 12:36:57 PM
That can be explained by maybe the Pachislot game takes place after Dracula's Curse and/or they just needed an excuse to Angela-fy her.
Title: Re: Question about Sypha.
Post by: Super Waffle on April 24, 2014, 04:36:14 PM
One random guy from a totally different board agreed with my theory.

wooooooooo.
Title: Re: Question about Sypha.
Post by: X on April 24, 2014, 05:33:38 PM
I don't think Sypha's a Salem Witch because Salem Massachusetts didn't exist back in 1476. The reason why Salem witches were called as such was because of the town they were from. I think Sypha's most likely a witch/sorceress.
Title: Re: Question about Sypha.
Post by: Super Waffle on April 24, 2014, 09:39:31 PM
They're not even supposed to be from Salem.  They were always called Aliorumnas (or more specifically アリオルムナス) back in the Japanese version of SotN.  Which is... uh, Greek, I think.  So blame the translators for that.
Title: Re: Question about Sypha.
Post by: Shiroi Koumori on April 24, 2014, 10:21:51 PM
They are not greek.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aliorumnas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aliorumnas)

The japanese meaning for that name is:
Witches believed by the Goths. Ancestor of the Huns, Avars and Hungarians. Banished by the Gothic king Filimer, married the desert Genie.
source: http://myrmecoleon.sytes.net/iib/view/ALR001.html (http://myrmecoleon.sytes.net/iib/view/ALR001.html)
Title: Re: Question about Sypha.
Post by: TatteredSeraph on April 25, 2014, 01:29:00 AM
Urgh.  I absolutely cannot stand Sypha's Pachislot design.  It's overly sexified (same with Angela's design).  It just... seems a bit out of place to me, and way too modern. 
I've always considered her to be a white witch of some sort, but I must admit that the turned rogue Aliorumnas theory's an interesting one. :)
Title: Re: Question about Sypha.
Post by: Mike Belmont on April 25, 2014, 02:17:57 PM
To be honest, I have notting against the Pachislot Sypha. I prefer her over the Judgment version. In fact, I see her as a younger version of the Dracula`s Curse one.
Title: Re: Question about Sypha.
Post by: Super Waffle on April 25, 2014, 09:57:39 PM
To be honest, I have notting against the Pachislot Sypha. I prefer her over the Judgment version.
Shhh, don't tell them that.  CVD thinks big boobs and skintight bodysuits are perfectly okay but Girl In Miniskirt And Wizard Robe is grossly sexist.
Title: Re: Question about Sypha.
Post by: Kale on April 25, 2014, 10:23:27 PM
CV3 is still the best one. The simple blue design is just awesome.
Title: Re: Question about Sypha.
Post by: Super Waffle on April 28, 2014, 09:33:33 PM
Too manly imo.
Title: Re: Question about Sypha.
Post by: X on April 29, 2014, 10:29:06 AM
Quote
Too manly imo.

Well that was the point cause Sypha was in disguise. She couldn't very well walk around as is wielding magic, otherwise she would have been executed by the populous. Also nobody would question someone wearing a monk's outfit as they were part of the church authority. For these reasons (if no others) is why I consider her Judgment and Patchislot attire unfitting for her. The classic CVIII is where it's at.
Title: Re: Question about Sypha.
Post by: Nagumo on April 29, 2014, 12:35:29 PM
Her Judgment incarnation is from a period before she went to fight Dracula, though. It doesn't matter what she dressed like before that time, does it? Also, Pachislot Sypha is AU anyway. I guess her alternate self likes more skimpy outfits. Her personality is completely different too, lol.
Title: Re: Question about Sypha.
Post by: uzo on April 29, 2014, 03:26:20 PM
Short skirt aside, the Pachislot one I think was the best one she had. It felt like the original, but updated to fit a higher resolution.
Title: Re: Question about Sypha.
Post by: KaZudra on April 29, 2014, 05:16:46 PM
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v177/tenshousouhazan/sypha-02.png) (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v177/tenshousouhazan/sypha.jpg)


I don't get it, her portrait has red hair, but the full body looks like she has blonde hair




Also I do like the robe and boots, I think the rest of her seems too modern IMO
Title: Re: Question about Sypha.
Post by: Mike Belmont on April 29, 2014, 05:31:59 PM
In the american version of CVIII ending with Sypha as your partner, you can see that her hair is blonde. I dunno if the other versions differs in that. A redhead Sypha? Well, thats the MS version of Sypha in the LoS saga...

EDIT: The Judgment version isn`t blonde, too. A light brown to my eyes. I prefer her in blond, `cause is the first version I met :).

And speaking of the "mistery" of her gender at the beggining of the game, I think that is managed like the Samus secret at the ending of the first Metroid game. I remember when I finished the game the first time with Sypha and discover that is a woman (and that hug with Trevor was touching :)). But, to be honest, the name Sypha is a little strange to be a male one, at least to me...
Title: Re: Question about Sypha.
Post by: Kale on April 29, 2014, 07:29:03 PM
That's because the name is actually Cipher, that was badly translated. Probably used because it means hidden, cryptic, encrypted, etc that pointed to the Gender thing.

Another Cipher... is from Matrix.

http://matrix.wikia.com/wiki/Cypher (http://matrix.wikia.com/wiki/Cypher)
Title: Re: Question about Sypha.
Post by: Mike Belmont on April 29, 2014, 08:31:12 PM
That's because the name is actually Cipher, that was badly translated. Probably used because it means hidden, cryptic, encrypted, etc that pointed to the Gender thing.

Another Cipher... is from Matrix.

http://matrix.wikia.com/wiki/Cypher (http://matrix.wikia.com/wiki/Cypher)

You`re right. If the name were translated correct in that years, then the mistery about Sypha/Cipher gender would be a real mistery. In fact, I prefer the name Sypha to her...
Title: Re: Question about Sypha.
Post by: Super Waffle on April 29, 2014, 10:43:37 PM
That's because the name is actually Cipher, that was badly translated. Probably used because it means hidden, cryptic, encrypted, etc that pointed to the Gender thing.

Another Cipher... is from Matrix.

http://matrix.wikia.com/wiki/Cypher (http://matrix.wikia.com/wiki/Cypher)
Yeah, and NeverDead (another Konami property) involved a dead chick named Cypher who was obviously modeled as Not-Sypha, and she married to NeverDead's version of Not-Simon.

http://i.imgur.com/Ai74cyc.jpg (http://i.imgur.com/Ai74cyc.jpg)

Her name was even spelled the exact same way as Sypha's in the Japanese version.  I think I made a thread a while ago proposing a conspiracy theory about how Cipher's design may have started in Konami's art department as an early version of Pachislot Sypha.  They have some of the same "skimpy girl with hood" motif going.
Title: Re: Question about Sypha.
Post by: K.K. Drunkinski on April 29, 2014, 11:12:30 PM
Obviously, the designers of Captain N never saw the ending of CVIII:

(http://i.gyazo.com/c4e259c81d1b9b62cbcad7f44aba4cfd.png)
Title: Re: Question about Sypha.
Post by: X on April 30, 2014, 10:44:06 AM
Jesus K.K. Drunkinski, don't scare us away, lol!  :-X
Title: Re: Question about Sypha.
Post by: beingthehero on April 30, 2014, 11:08:03 AM
That's because the name is actually Cipher, that was badly translated.

Huh, so HoD got it right with Cipher's Charm.
Title: Re: Question about Sypha.
Post by: Mike Belmont on April 30, 2014, 01:33:49 PM
Obviously, the designers of Captain N never saw the ending of CVIII:

(http://i.gyazo.com/c4e259c81d1b9b62cbcad7f44aba4cfd.png)

I think that the designers of Captain N ignore completely what Castlevania and Megaman are about :rollseyes:...
Title: Re: Question about Sypha.
Post by: Super Waffle on April 30, 2014, 11:00:51 PM
That's not sexy.
Title: Re: Question about Sypha.
Post by: GummiCandyful on May 01, 2014, 11:35:47 AM
This Kojima-esque Sypha isn't too bad, though it goes against the whole disguising herself as a male thing, IMO.(http://i59.tinypic.com/2d194bk.jpg)

Back on topic, I always believed that she was more of a sorceress/mage than a witch.
Title: Re: Question about Sypha.
Post by: crisis on May 01, 2014, 11:43:21 AM
now thats what i call a perfect reinterpretation of Syhpa. i would also like to see a modernized interpretation for Grant y Alucard, perhaps even  John/Eric
Title: Re: Question about Sypha.
Post by: GummiCandyful on May 01, 2014, 04:24:01 PM
Agreed. Ever since Judgment I've come to prefer fan renditions of Sypha since they tend to design her a whole lot better than Konami has.

As for your request regarding Grant and Alucard, the very same artist of that drawing has also done the other three heroes of Dracula's Curse (http://safebooru.org/index.php?page=post&s=view&id=432316). 
Title: Re: Question about Sypha.
Post by: beingthehero on May 01, 2014, 06:58:14 PM
Did the same person also do the Kojima-ized version of Shanoa?

http://safebooru.org/index.php?page=post&s=view&id=28400 (http://safebooru.org/index.php?page=post&s=view&id=28400)

If so I love them forever
Title: Re: Question about Sypha.
Post by: Shiroi Koumori on May 01, 2014, 09:15:01 PM
yeah I think so. both came from the same source in pixiv.
Title: Re: Question about Sypha.
Post by: X on May 02, 2014, 12:01:40 AM
Looks like the artist in question copied Kojima's style almost perfectly. You can even see the veeeeery tiny feet and the scissor legs in action  ;D
Title: Re: Question about Sypha.
Post by: TatteredSeraph on May 02, 2014, 01:45:54 AM
The one of Al was posted in the fan-art section of here a while ago.  The artist's done a brilliant job, and yeah, I agree, that in at least some cases, it's a better job than what Konami have done.
Title: Re: Question about Sypha.
Post by: Nagumo on May 02, 2014, 04:22:17 AM
This Kojima-esque Sypha isn't too bad, though it goes against the whole disguising herself as a male thing, IMO.   

You could argue man and women kind of blend in with each other in the IGA-verse. Problem solved!
Title: Re: Question about Sypha.
Post by: beingthehero on May 02, 2014, 04:28:12 AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oShTJ90fC34 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oShTJ90fC34)
Title: Re: Question about Sypha.
Post by: Nagumo on May 02, 2014, 04:53:44 AM
*bows and exits stage*
Title: Re: Question about Sypha.
Post by: Super Waffle on May 02, 2014, 03:14:17 PM
(http://i.imgur.com/7XIfuVS.jpg)

(http://i.imgur.com/PfS7HXm.jpg)

(http://i.imgur.com/EbRTqvU.png)

uguu.
Title: Re: Question about Sypha.
Post by: Gunlord on May 02, 2014, 11:59:02 PM
Das kawaii, prunyuu~
Title: Re: Question about Sypha.
Post by: The Zeldaniac on May 10, 2014, 06:27:34 AM
In LoS: Mirror of Fate, if you read the bio for the "Spirit of Belnades" ability, it says something along the lines of "The Belnades family was blessed with magical powers in return for their faith in and loyalty to God and their church." So I'd just assume Sypha's been blessed, as I've read in an in-game description.