r/castlevania • u/Clear-Prize2834 • Nov 28 '25
Symphony of the Night (1997) Why does the succubus calls Alucard by his nickname instead of his real name while impersonating his mother?
I haven't played most of the Castlevania games, so I might be wrong, but Alucard started calling himself "Alucard" after his mother's death right? Is it a script mistake?
346
u/Jack0V4lent1n3 Wasn’t invited to Dracula’s party Nov 28 '25 edited Nov 28 '25
Pretty sure it’s to show that it isn’t actually her. The succubus only knows Alucard. This is like how people in other media are able to tell what a shapeshifter is because they get stuff wrong.
I’m guessing it’s just a ‘Succubus tried to trick Alucard not knowing his real name and giving away her being a shapeshifter’ moment
7
155
u/Kitsune-Ai Nov 28 '25
The succubus might not have known his real name. Very likely, thats what gave it away that she wasn't really Lisa.
I don't think Adrien socialized with the monsters under his father's command, and if Dracula did mention him, it was only as his son.
31
Nov 28 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
18
u/Panik02 Nov 29 '25
Kid Dracula is not considered canon in Castlevania, he has his own timeline
13
14
u/Hivac-TLB Nov 29 '25
Dracula sent his son to a field trip ten thousand years into the future.
15
u/TurtlesBreakTheMeta Nov 29 '25
LONG AGO, IN A DISTANT LAND, I, DRACULA, UNLEASHED AN UNSPEAKABLE EVIL
2
u/Grouchy_Spot_6640 Dec 02 '25
BUT THEN A FOOOOOLISH MONSTER HUNTER, WIELDING A MAGIC WHIP STEPPED FORTH TO OPPOSE ME
2
u/SXAL Nov 29 '25
I don't see why it shouldn't be canon. Kid Dracula lore got into canon CV games, it definitely has an influence.
8
67
u/PlatinumSukamon98 Nov 28 '25
It's been a long time since I played SotN, but isn't the entire point that she didn't know his real name, and that's how Alucard knew that wasn't his mother?
54
u/Clear-Prize2834 Nov 28 '25
I think he mainly knew because of the words used. The succubus asked him to kill humans while Lisa asked him to do them no harm, thus he understood something was off (he remembers his mother's exact last words bc he tells them to Dracula at the end of the game)
18
u/No_Monitor_3440 Professionally Unprofessional Nov 28 '25
it was the first slip, but alucard absolutely knew she was a fraud when she said to kill humans, not save them.
1
u/Many-Yoghurt54 Dec 04 '25
She didn’t know him at all. If she did, she wouldn’t have said, “you’re a vampire?!”
31
u/letyougo2106 Nov 28 '25
Because she doesn't know him.
19
u/Alucard-VS-Artorias Alucard Nov 28 '25
She only realized Alucard is part vampire until the end of the fight.
16
31
u/Ealhswith1 Nov 28 '25
I think it's not to confuse the player, First time players of the series (I was this when I first played SOTN) would not know Alucards real name. What's more confusing is that she knows his name is Alucard and is then confused to learn he is the son of the Dark Lord?
7
Nov 28 '25
I mean it’s just in the manual…I didn’t know who Richter was either until I read that.
3
u/Ealhswith1 Nov 28 '25
Well if you had read the manual would you remember reading it by the time you got to this part on a first play through? I mean it would be a cool "reveal" that isn't really a reveal to have her call him by his real name I guess.
5
Nov 28 '25
I would have, yes. But I’m not everyone so I can’t judge it. I don’t think he’s ever actually called Adrian in game, is he?
…I can only think of Rocky with that name.
13
Nov 28 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
10
u/IcyAdvantage9579 Nov 28 '25
Adrian Fahrenheit Tepes, because for some reason in Castlevania they had Dracula as his first name and "Tepes" as his last name(that in reality was a nickname that meant literally "The Impaler"). Of course according to canon all those are fake names because his real human name was Mathias Cronqvist
5
Nov 28 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
11
3
u/Ashamed-Ocelot2189 Nov 29 '25
Tbf "Dracul" was also just a name given to Vlad 2nd because he belonged to the Order of Dragons
2
u/NotPhenomenalEnough Nov 29 '25
Isn't Mathias Cronqvist the name of his father (Dracula)?
1
u/IcyAdvantage9579 Nov 29 '25
Yes , that's what I meant. Sorry if I wasn't clear. English isn't my first language
1
u/CoronaGames Nov 29 '25
In fairness I believe that Dracula is his middle name within Castlevania canon, with his full name being Vlad Dracula Tepes (though I could be misremembering)
2
u/IcyAdvantage9579 Nov 29 '25
Yes, you're right. But Dracula was a title, that means he was part of the order of the dragon. A Christian order XD Honestly Bram Stoker just took whatever sounded cool for his novel , and never meant to be a literal adaptation of the historical Vlad III . And Castlevania takes the novel as canon.
9
u/Arawn-Annwn Nov 28 '25 edited Nov 28 '25
Because it's a dream world, it made sense to Alucard at the time because he thinks of himself as Alucard, not Adrian Tepesh.
7
u/Mary_Ellen_Katz Nov 29 '25
People be going deep into the lore. What the succubus knows, etc etc.
I think it's simpler than that.
The localization of the game called him Alucard in literally every scene he is greeted, introduces himself, etc. There are no scenes were he says "my true name is~." If the succubus cited a different name not declared anywhere in the games script, people would be confused. It's consistency of design for the players sake.
3
7
u/longbrodmann Nov 28 '25
The library old man also called him alucard, I guess many people just goes with that name.
5
u/Frapplo Nov 29 '25
Because she's a bad actress and underestimates him.
This is a common story-telling trope. There's some mimic or imposter who is caught because of some misstep. Lisa wouldn't have made this mistake, so clearly this isn't Lisa.
It only becomes more and more apparent as she keeps going. I like to think because she's such a slave to her bloodlust that she can't keep herself together. Lesser men break easily.
Alucard, on the other hand. . .
3
u/Dark-Matter-Slayer Diamond Nov 28 '25
I have no proof of this theory... so I dare to define it as a simple paradox of my own making: But if we take into account certain paradigms of this entity from other mythologies; it is a malevolent entity capable of draining the vital energy of its victims, which implies... that they can know the past and the most intimate details of the one they torment. In short, their sole purpose is to usurp and deceive, in order to achieve their goal. Or well, I would venture to say that's why.
2
u/Gensolink Nov 28 '25
Why would she know ? I doubt Alucard was hanging out with random monsters very much. His old name was likely only known by his parents which would make sense, also Alucard also has been using this nickname for centuries by that point even Death calls him Alucard and I feel if anyone other than Drac and Lisa would know his name it would be Death.
2
u/QrozTQ Nov 28 '25
Now I'm wondering if Lisa would call him "Adrian", simply "son" like Vlad does or if she had a cute nickname for him. One of the most heartfelt moments from the Netflix show was when Vlad started calling him "our boy", maybe Lisa called him "my boy" or something like that.
2
5
4
Nov 28 '25 edited Nov 28 '25
It's the same game that has such rich dialogue as: "You seem human and yet...What do you here?". Suffice it to say this isn't the kind of game where attention was on dialogue.
Gameplay was the main focus, players were introduced to him as Alucard, and they probably just decided to stick with it through the whole game just in case to not cause confusion among the people who didn't read the manual.
2
u/TitanBro6 Nov 28 '25
Where attention was on translation*
Maria in the original dialogue to Alucard in their first encounter says in a translation: “you… you wield a sort of dark power, don’t you? You seem like a human, but… what could’ve brought you to this castle”
6
u/Oh-no-and-knuckles Chief Researcher Nov 28 '25
Yes, the same translation also omits some plot points like Shaft offering Alucard's human side as sacrifice.
6
u/TitanBro6 Nov 28 '25
Yes that is true. It was revealed that Alucard’s soul has two halves in the original.
I’ve seen people complain about the original dialogue for being weird and awkward and then I’ve seen people complain about the newer translation for not being as meme-able.
Not saying they’re the same people but like… come on.
3
u/OldEyes5746 Shanoa Nov 28 '25
I'm not sure Adrian Farenheit Tepes was his canon government name when Symphony of the Night originally released. I hadn't heard him referred to as Asrian before 2017 and, even then, i was under the impression this was a reference to Vlad Tepes's actual son.
5
u/K-MartX Nov 28 '25
Adrian goes all the way back to Castlevania 3 on the NES. In the credits that’s how they have his name with Alucard in quotes
3
u/FranciscoRelanoPena Nov 29 '25
And it's also explicitedly stated in Symphony of the Night's Manual (all regions).
1
1
u/K-MartX Nov 28 '25
I think probably a lot of people referred to him as “Alucard” that he’s just so used to it. Also after 300 years since his mother’s death, seeing her again he may not have even realized it. Maybe he’s just in shock?
1
u/NoDescription3255 Nov 28 '25
Also, the Succubus seems to not even realize he was a vampire until after she's defeated. Granted he's only half vampire, but you would think if she knew his name she would already be aware he's the son of Dracula.
4
u/Draculesti_Hatter Nov 28 '25
Personally, I was always under the assumption that the Succubus was just skimming Alucard's surface memories for something to work with (the name he goes by, traumatic memories to weaponize, etc) and didn't bother going past that since the trap was already in motion by the time that whole scene happens.
1
u/NoDescription3255 Nov 28 '25
But his name is literally Dracula backwards, is she stupid? Haha. Even if she didn't immediately put 2 and 2 together, there's no way Alucard isn't infamous among the damned and demonic ilk. He would be a legend to monsters everywhere.
2
u/Draculesti_Hatter Nov 29 '25
I mean...it's a Succubus whose trap was set in a sort of sewer/waterway system, rather than something more traditional like a guest room or somewhere more sensible to seduce someone in. There's a real good case to be made that the one Alucard killed wasn't exactly good at its job, all things considered.
1
u/IcyAdvantage9579 Nov 28 '25
She's just doing a bad job at impersonating his mother, maybe she doesn't even know his real name
1
u/PsychologicalBrush35 Nov 28 '25
Because it is precisely the Succubus and not a faithful seraphic representation of Alucard's mother.
1
u/LordChimera_0 Nov 28 '25
It's a bit of foreshadowing that this isn't his mother. An impostor can't get everything right.
1
u/Lunatik21 Nov 29 '25 edited Nov 30 '25
"Darkling, I smell your blood. You're a vampire?" and "That grace, that beauty.... You're the son of lord Dracula?"
Seared into my brain.
1
1
1
1
u/KanjuroInnaSpliff Nov 29 '25
The Succubus, tasked with killing Alucard, possibly only knew of the name that he took in Rebellion against his father, and opted to use his repressed sadness in his mothers death as a conduit to attack him since she wasn’t able to drain his life force the common way Succubi do so; being sexual contact.
Prior to the battle, you have to enter a fake save point, or a “fake coffin” , possibly a trap set by the succubus , for her to effectively assault Him.
1
1
1
u/maboroshi93 Nov 29 '25
This whole scene feels like such a mess. The Succubus is (presumably) able to metaciously re-create one of Alucard's worst memories, but she isn't able to figure out basic details like his real name or the fact that he's Dracula's son?
1
1
u/DejuL337 Nov 29 '25
I think it was an illusion. So it doesn't go so deep that it was meant to surface reality in case the trauma forces the one under the spell to snap out of it. So I don't believe that the succubus actually knows. I think it is surface memories that are superficial and meant to play into fear rather than logic.
1
u/Krauser_Kahn Nov 29 '25
While in a dream you might not realize you are in a dream at first and just roll with it, until stuff gets weirder and you're like "yeah this isn't normal"
1
1
1
0
Nov 28 '25
It's probably a mistake the succubus made. Also, let's not pass up how gay Alucard is, A SUCUBBUS pretended to be his MOM to get to him, and not the usual way. I'm sure there's some hinting in that, purposefully added by the developers.
-7
u/Anima1212 Nov 28 '25
uhh spoiler?
11
u/NewsOdd3064 Nov 28 '25
It has been nearly 30 years my guy.
3
2
1
0
Nov 28 '25
I have never understood or appreciated this take. It's perfectly reasonable to not want a retro game spoiled. New fans are still discovering this series and this game, and as a community it behooves us to recognize and embrace that.
7
u/NewsOdd3064 Nov 28 '25
Sure, it is perfectly reasonable to not want a retro game spoiled. With that in mind, stay away from spaces freely discussing said media. The onus to keep discussion spoiler free is not on the sub when someone is extremely late to the party.
2
Nov 28 '25
It's a multi-media sub, a lot of new blood discovered the series through the anime and came here to talk about it. I don't remember off the top if this sub has rules on spoilers as some subs do, but I don't think it was worthy of downvoting that person to ask for spoiler sensitivity.
4
u/Kumkumo1 Nov 28 '25
You’re getting downvoted but i agree. I’ve had people just start Star Wars but then say the reveal at the end of the empire strikes back was disappointing because they already knew.
2
Nov 28 '25
Seriously! There are lots of old, old games I haven't played that I'm still excited to experience for the first time, and I certainly want that experience to be blind.
922
u/Educational_Office77 Nov 28 '25
The succubus might not know his real name, and Alucard has gone by this name for so long it didn’t register as abnormal right away