Syd

Syd
Syd as he appears in Gravity Rush 2
Biological Information
Age	30
Citizenship	Hekseville
Occupation	Police Detective Jellyfish guard (disbanded) Miner Senator
Association	Lhao Tribe
Physical Information
Gender	Male
Other
Appears In	Gravity Rush Gravity Rush 2
Voice actor	Go Shinomiya

“

Cat girl... Hmm, it's got a nice ring to it... Hey, you don't remember your name, right? Good, it's settled, then — I'll call you Kat. You can call me Syd! — Syd to Kat, Gravity Rush

”

Syd is a major support character in Gravity Rush and Gravity Rush 2. He is a former member of the Eto Senate before coming to Hekseville, where he became a police officer whom was promoted to a police detective prior to his later amalgamation into the Jellyfish Special Forces. He was assigned to the missing orphan case before disappearing to Banga, where he became a miner and handyman for the Banga Settlement.

History

Before Gravity Rush

Syd was a member of the Eto Senate, serving Kat (then known as Queen Alua) of Eto during that time. While everyone else ignored her plea's to help the people below, Syd took her side. He was stabbed in the back and killed trying to catch Alua when she was shoved over the edge of Eto, but was somehow resurrected.

Gravity Rush

At the beginning of Gravity Rush, Syd was a police officer. Shortly after, upon falsely taking the credit for taking care of a Nevi threat and stopping thugs from causing trouble, he was promoted to a detective. Syd is the one who gave Kat her name, as she could not remember her own. Throughout the game Syd's path crossed with Kat's multiple times, most notably when the situation involved Alias, and Syd often benefited from Kat's heroism. Later on, the police force merged with the Jellyfish military after D'nelica became mayor. When the Sea Anemone goes haywire and Kat is captured by the military, Syd commits treason in an attempt to save Kat, but is stopped by Cyanea, since his biggest role has yet to arise.

Another Story - Raven's Choice

Syd never actually appears in Gravity Rush 2's DLC story, though he is mentioned once, when an irritated Kat shows anger towards him for suddenly falling ill to get out of helping her and Raven gather gravity energy for Dr. Brahman's experiment.

Gravity Rush: The Animation - Overture

Syd appears in the first episode of Overture when Kat is fighting a swarm of Nevi that disrupted her meal. As Kat is fighting, Syd doesn't provide any direct assistance in fighting the Nevi, nor provide any useful words of encouragement, as Kat dryly remarks: "Right now, you're neither!"

In the second episode, Syd receives intel from Chaz telling him to check out the disturbance at Neu Hiraleon. He arrives after Kat and Raven had started fighting a pair of cyborgs, and saves Kat from receiving further punishment from one of them. He, along with the shifters, and Neu Hiraleon itself, are dragged into a gravity storm, kicking off Gravity Rush 2.

Gravity Rush 2

Syd is first seen working the mines along with Kat. They ignore direct orders to evacuate the area when a gravity storm hits, damaging two grav-suits in the process. Syd was badly "injured" when he is knocked out of the sky by the giant Nevi that threatened Banga. Throughout the first two chapters, Syd is seen performing minor odd jobs at the settlement, but still doing little to help Kat with the more important tasks until he is captured in Episode 8, Like a Radio. When Neu Hiraleon becomes sentient and attacks Jirga Para Lhao, Syd gets the idea to blow open a hole in the city's body for Kat and Raven to enter through in order to find the engine and destroy it.

Syd is killed when a part of Neu Hiraleon smashes part of Fort Bismalia, and doesn't appear again until Episode 23, Lamentations. Appearing as one of Kat's memories, his involvement with Kat's past is slower revealed until the final one, in which Syd confirms that he is in fact, dead. In Episode 26, A Song Without Voice, Syd is resurrected one final time, only this time in a familiar pinstripe suit, revealing that he was Alias the whole time. He arrives in Hekseville with an army of Nevi to stall The Darkness with a special device while Kat regains her composure. Knowing what needs to be done, Syd shares one final farewell with Kat just before she leaves. A year later, he checks in with Raven to see how she is, and informing her the Banga was in town in case she wanted to visit.

Characteristics

Physical appearance

Syd's appearance changes a lot throughout the series because he is never seen wearing a single, constant outfit. In terms of general appearance, Syd has white hair that reaches just above his shoulders, a slightly dark skin tone, and yellow eyes. He is one head taller than Kat, which puts him at roughly 180cm. He is seen wearing a necklace with a circular pendant as his casual outfit in Gravity Rush 2. The dark skin and white hair suggests that he is not actually from Hekseville, as those are an uncommon sight in the city but more common among the people of Eto.

Personality

Although his actions do not suggest it, Syd is highly intelligent as he seems to know a lot more about the Nevi than anyone else as well as Kat's past and her origins. He is the one on the Police Force who comes up with all sorts of weird and crazy schemes in order to catch Alias, plans which even his colleagues liked for some reason.

He expresses great confidence in his plans, which is likely what got him promoted, even though these usually tend to be ill-conceived and a sign for trouble for Kat. During Gravity Rush: Overture, he considers himself to be the brains rather than the brawn, to which Kat dryly remarks that he is neither.

Despite his talents and intelligence, Syd is quite the lounger. Often, he will send Kat away to do his jobs for him, only to once again take full credit for her efforts. In particular, Misai expresses a deep dislike towards Syd because of his methods of getting out of doing any work.

Though subtle, he is also quite excitable in certain instances.

Abilities

Syd is very gifted when it comes to craftsmanship; over the course of the series, he has made a replica of both Sacred Gems, patched up Kat's main outfit, and built a device he calls "The Miracle Hand". He has even built robotic copies of his Alias persona behind the scenes.

He also possesses a device that allows him to control the Nevi. It bears a resemblance to the symbol on Alias' shirt collar. It is first shown briefly during the climax of the first game but in Gravity Rush 2, he unveils its true power: the ability to control Nevi. Syd has worked as a police officer, detective, Jellyfish guard, miner, and royal servant.

Relationships

Kat/Alua

Syd is the second character that was saved by Kat. He is also the first character to befriend Kat and give her the name she now goes by. The two bond throughout the series, but he tends to use Kat as an instrument for his schemes, which most of the time ends with him getting all of the credit. He always seems to know where to be when Kat's help is needed. As Kat states numerous times, asking her for help is a sign for trouble. That said, he does look out for Kat, and he does have her back when she needs help herself, even going as far as to commit treason to save her from the government when she was frozen and forced to be transported to Neu Hiraleon. Syd usually ends up on the receiving end of Kat's dry and snarky comments, but they still value each other's friendship.

As a member of the Senate while Kat was Queen Alua, the dynamic between them during this time was more akin to a Lady and Knight. Syd was the only person in the kingdom who believed Kat could be a great queen and lead Eto.

Later on in Gravity Rush 2, Syd reveals that he created the Alias persona. This was done in order to help Kat gain the trust and respect of the locals by him acting as a villain for her sake, and it was also to prepare her for the dark void underneath Hekseville that would eventually reach the city.

Appearances

Gravity Rush

• Shadows over the City
• Home Sweet Home
• The Hekseville Phantom
• Letting Old Ghosts Die
• Fading Light
• An Unguarded Moment
• No Rest for the Virtuous
• A Time to Play (side mission)
• The Dreamlife of Ghosts (side mission)

He also appears in both episodes of Gravity Rush: The Animation - Overture.

Gravity Rush 2

Story Missions

Syd appears in every episode during Gravity Rush 2 (barring And the Soldier's Wife?) prior to returning to Hekseville, and isn't seen again until Lamentations. He later appears in:

• A Song Without Voice
• Black Cat

Side Missions

• The Machineries of Joy

Other appearances

• Syd makes a cameo appearance as one of Kat's minions in PlayStation All Stars Battle Royale via DLC.

Gallery

Syd in Police uniform

Syd's default attire from Gravity Rush 2

Syd after his reveal as Alias

Syd as he looked one hundred years ago before the events of Gravity Rush

The device Syd uses to control the Nevi.

Trivia

• Appearing in the opening cutscene, Syd is actually the first major character introduced in Gravity Rush, and he is one of two major characters (the other being Raven) to be introduced before the main protagonist.
  • He is the fourth character after Aujean, Eugie, and Raven to have his name revealed before giving Kat her nickname.
• According to Kat in Gravity Rush: The Animation - Overture, Syd is a wine enthusiast. This is briefly brought up again in the final episode in Gravity Rush 2, as he is hunting for a rare brand with a black cat on the label.
• Due to how important Syd's role would ultimately be in the game, Syd never appeared in any trailers for Gravity Rush 2, likely to avoid spoiling the story.
• During a conversation between Syd and Kat in the Gravity Rush 2's prologue episode, he tells her that he had a dream where he saved a princess just in time. This dream actually foreshadows the revelation that took place during "Lamentations".
• Syd is shown wearing six different outfits throughout the series; donning police uniform, detective attire, Special Forces uniform, casual clothing, Senator wardrobe, and his Alias suit.