Succubus

The Succubus is a recurring enemy character in the Castlevania series. Succubi are characterized by their ability to seduce their victims, followed by them consuming their life force. A succubus is a lower class demoness, the exact opposite of the high class vampire.Castlevania: Curse of Darkness comic (Tokyopop, 2008).
The first succubus in the series appeared in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.
==Origins==
A succubus or incubus is a demon from European folklore during the medieval ages, which takes the form of an attractive woman or man to seduce the opposite sex. They draw energy from men or women to sustain themselves, often until the point of exhaustion or death of the victim.
The word succubus is derived from the Latin succubare, meaning "to lie beneath". The male-form succubus, or incubus, draws its name from the Latin incubare, meaning "to lie upon".
Although the terms succubus and incubus have their roots in Latin, entities with the same characteristics have appeared in the Sumerian King list from 2400 B.C., where the father of the hero Gilgamesh is identified as Lilu, said to be a demon who disturbs and seduces women in their sleep; one of four types of demons to which "the dark maid Lilith" gave birth to.
Succubi and incubi are often said to appear to men or women in their dreams, although other versions state that they actually sit on the chests of their victims while they sleep. The feeling of pressure on the chest, as well as other sensations, such as hearing voices or having hallucinations, has caused the succubus and incubus myth to be linked to sleep paralysis.
==Powers and abilities==
Succubi or Incubi take on the appearance of very attractive men or women. They possess the ability to create illusions –ranging from taking the appearance of loved ones, to creating illusory dream worlds or sensations– to soothe their victims, lulling them into a false sense of security.Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (Konami, 1997).Castlevania: Lament of Innocence (Konami, 2003).Akumajō Dracula X: Tsuioku no Yasōkyoku (2008). The powers of a Succubus or Incubus reside in its claws. When these claws are damaged or destroyed, it is rendered powerless.
==Appearances==
===Castlevania: Symphony of the Night===
The Succubus disguises herself as Lisa, Alucard's mother, in order to deceive him. Throughout the castle, Alucard is able to rest in coffins to restore his health and save the game; one of these save points, located in the Underground Caverns, is different from the rest, colored in purple. If Alucard rests in this particular coffin, the Succubus appears to him in a nightmare and recreates the moment of Lisa's execution, taking her appearance. However, instead of convincing Alucard not to harm her executors, she instead urges him to exact revenge on them. The scene ends with Alucard seeing through the illusion and resulting in an encounter between him and the imposter Succubus. Due to her death in the dream world, her soul is sent wandering for eternity.
She has three main attacks:
#Spreads a swarm of petals, similar to Karasuman (17 ATT, Curse).
#Lengthens the finger bones of her wings (30 ATT, Cut).
#Creates several copies of herself and makes each of them to shoot two homing projectiles (25 ATT, Hit). The attack won't stop until either the real one or all of her copies are hit.
She has 666 HP, referencing the number of the beast.
The Succubus is a boss exclusive to Alucard. If Richter Belmont visits the room that normally houses the false save point, it will be empty, save for a single Heart that appears upon entrance to the room and floats to the floor.
If the Succubus defeats Alucard in The Dracula X Chronicles version of the game, she will say: "Come wander the darkness with me, love."
Rika Fukami voiced the Succubus in the Japanese version of Symphony of the Night, while Barbara Whitlow voiced her in the original English dub, and Jessica Straus voiced her in The Dracula X Chronicles.
The by Ayami Kojima depicts her with her breasts fully exposed. This has been censored in more recent versions of the game by cropping out most of her torso.
===Castlevania: Circle of the Moon===
Unlike her Symphony of the Night counterpart, in Circle of the Moon the Succubus doesn't take a prominent character role and instead appears only as a lesser enemy. She is one of the many lady bats that appear in the game, and her sprite is actually the basis for the rest of these types of enemies. Not for this should she be underestimated, though, as she boasts great mobility and flies all about the screen, running circles around Nathan and occasionally stopping in midair to shoot three simultaneous rays at different angles.
She drops the valuable Intelligence Ring, which greatly boosts INT (+50) while giving minor penalties to other stats. If the player manages to obtain two of these rings, rest assured they'll become able to perform some of the most devastating DSS attacks (such as summoning monsters) often without having to worry much about running out of MP.
Three stronger Succubi are encountered later in a room of the Battle Arena, attacking alongside three equally stronger Arachnes.
Note: Second stat listed is when encountered in the Battle Arena.
===Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow===
The Succubus is a stronger palette swap of Lilith. Succubuses encountered on either the Top Floor or the Chaotic Realm take the form of Mina Hakuba in order to deceive Soma Cruz. They lie on the floor as if injured and call out to him pleading for help, only to shed their disguise if approached or attacked. Additionally, in the staircase room with Bael rolling around, they will appear without disguise. There is also one particular room in The Arena where a bathtub with a floating rubber duck toy is occupied by a Succubus and a Lilith.
Once in their true form, they levitate above the floor and perform a short-distanced dash with an arm extended while saying "おいで" ("come"); if they make contact with Soma during this, they will latch onto him and drain his vitality.
It is revealed in this game that the soul of the Succubus is one of the three souls that comprise Dracula's power, the other being the Flame Demon and the Giant Bat, and all three are required to reach the true ending. The Succubus's soul, Death Touch, is an Enchanted Soul that gives the ability to absorb HP with every hit. It effectively turns the equipped weapon into a slightly weaker Mourneblade, healing 5 HP instead of 8, and has the same ability to heal when striking breakable objects, invincible enemies, and enemies that guard the actual hit, such as the Dead Crusader or the Great Armor.
===Castlevania: Lament of Innocence===
The Succubus is one of the five guardian monsters who maintain the seal placed on the entrance to the Pagoda of the Misty Moon. Her assigned area is the Ghostly Theatre. After Leon rings the Curtain Time Bell three times, the Succubus appears on the stage disguised as his lover, Sara Trantoul. Leon quickly sees through the illusion, however, and the Succubus reveals her true form.
After she's defeated, the Succubus reveals that Rinaldo had a daughter and implies that she had earlier adopted her guise in order to make him lower his guard.
===Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow===
The Succubus returns in Aria's sequel, Dawn of Sorrow. She can be found in The Pinnacle, the Cursed Clock Tower, the Demon Guest House and The Abyss. This time around, she disguises as Yoko Belnades to delude Soma and kicks him whenever he approaches her. Only by attacking Yoko's form will the Succubus reveal her true form. Her soul, Blood Sucker, is now a Bullet Soul that grants Soma the ability to drink an enemy's blood to replenish health.
===Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin===
The Succubus from Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin looks and behaves exactly like her counterpart from Dawn of Sorrow. She can be encountered in the Master's Keep and the Burnt Paradise. Due to the two playable characters, Jonathan and Charlotte, being able to switch around at will, the Succubus will say different things when encountered. In the case of Jonathan (or other characters identified as male), she'll say: "I'll play with you.", and when playing as Charlotte (or other characters identified as female), she'll exclaim: "Filthy cow!".
===Castlevania Puzzle: Encore of the Night===
The Succubus makes her playable debut in the Arcade Mode of Castlevania Puzzle: Encore of the Night.
===Castlevania: Harmony of Despair===
The Succubus appears in Chapter 2: Lord of Unseen Strings, and in Chapter 6: Come, Sweet Hour of Death. Her behavior and appearance is the same as from her previous two incarnations in Dawn of Sorrow and Portrait of Ruin. She once again disguises herself as Yoko Belnades.
==Item Data==
==Gallery==
==Other appearances==
===Pachislot Akumajō Dracula series===
 
The Succubus is a recurring boss in the Pachislot Akumajō Dracula trilogy.
In the second game, she summons duplicates of herself to hold Trevor down while she steals a kiss and drains his energy. She then unleashes an electrical attack.
She is not shown being destroyed at the end in either game, and instead just pouts in submission. Her design is largely based on the one from Lament of Innocence.
===CR Pachinko Akumajō Dracula series===
"A succubus that has taken on the appearance of a voluptuous woman. She has a tempestuous and sadistic, yet erotic personality. Her powers pale in comparison to her masochistic side she also displays. Due to the life force of human men being her primary nourishment, she charms men, and during this instance, sucks out their vitality."
==Merchandise==
NECA produced a seven inch tall action figure of the Succubus in their series of Castlevania figures. The figure was released on October 10, 2007.
The appearance of the Succubus appears to be modeled after her Symphony of the Night appearance. The figure also came bundled with an Axe accessory and a figure of the Flea Man enemy.
==Trivia==
*It is believed by some that the Succubus from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, designed by Ayami Kojima, could have been partially inspired by Sharon Tate in her interpretation of Sarah Shagal in Roman Polanski's The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967). However, this is unconfirmed.
*The character Magnus in the Castlevania: Nocturne of Recollection radio drama, is an incubus, which is the male equivalent to a succubus.
*In the Castlevania: Nocturne animated series, the antagonistic character, Drolta Tzuentes, transforms into a succubus-like form. In the final episode of the first season, "Devourer of Light", she performs an attack where she greatly enlarges the fingers on her wings, using them as sharp blades to stab her enemies; this attack is the same one used by the Succubus in Symphony of the Night.
Sharon Tate - The Fearless Vampire Killers - 01.jpg|Comparison between the Succubus from Symphony of the Night and Sharon Tate in The Fearless Vampire Killers.
Devourer of Light - Nocturne - 33.png|Drolta Tzuentes performing the same attack as the Succubus from Symphony of the Night.
==See also==
*Lady Bats
*Lilith
==References==
==External links==
*
*Succubus at the Villainous Benchmark Wiki
*Succubus (Castlevania) at the Villains Wiki
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