"I see you're not walking as fast now. It seems the word "Magypsies" has made you curious. The Magypsies have mysterious powers, and have been protecting something here for a very long time. They're neither human nor beast, neither man nor woman. I have absolutely no idea how old they are. That explanation didn't explain much, did it? Basically, they're strange. All of them. Every one of them. That's just how they are. They ARE good-natured, though." — Alec

The Magypsies are characters in Mother 3. They are a tribe of human-resembling beings who live solely to guard the Seven Needles.

In the first two games of the Mother series, the main goal is to gather parts of the music. Mother 3 continues this trend in a more indirect manner, with the Needles being guarded by their respective Magypsies, who represent a musical mode.

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Known Members

Ionia mentions that their Magypsy ancestors were the ones who sealed away the Dark Dragon, and that many generations have guarded the seven Needles. The seven Magypsies seen during the course of the game are Ionia, Aeolia, Doria, Phrygia, Lydia, Mixolydia and Locria.

Characteristics

Though masculine bodies and facial hair are common features among them, the Magypsies behave and dress in an incredibly feminine manner.

They have extensive knowledge of PSI and are responsible for teaching PK Love to Lucas and Claus, as well as for teaching PK Starstorm to Kumatora. They are also capable of using PSI themselves. Although they seem to be immortal, since they have lived for at least 10,000 years, apparently they can be killed by any other means, as shown with Locria, whose memento is obtainable before pulling the respective Needle.

Similar to the Mr. Saturn's unique use of words such as "boing" and "zoom", the Magypsies frequently use a "♥" at the end of their sentences. The Magypsies raised Kumatora, who happens to have the same pink hair color as them. When the Needle which a Magypsy guards has been pulled, that Magypsy vanishes, having completed its task and promptly ending their "millennia-long life." Also, for some reason, without their makeup applied, the PSI abilities of Magypsies are severely hindered.

Etymology

As confirmed by Mother 3 soundtrack composer Shogo Sakai,[1] the seven Magypsies are named after the seven modular scales in music theory: Aeolian (Aeolia), Dorian (Doria), Ionian (Ionia), Locrian (Locria), Lydian (Lydia), Mixolydian (Mixolydia), and Phrygian (Phrygia).

The name "Magypsy" appears to be a portmanteau of "magic", referring to their knowledge of PSI, and "gypsy", which is possibly a reference to their feminine and mystic attributes.

Trivia

Alec describes the Magypsies as being neither men nor women, though in the fan-translated English version, they are referred to with both he & she pronouns rather than gender-neutral pronouns, such as they.

Each Magypsy seems to be associated with one color of the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum. Red (Aeolia), Orange (Phrygia), Yellow (Lydia), Green (Ionia), Blue (Mixolydia), and Violet (Doria). Since Locria betrayed the Magypsies, Locria wears white (normally associated as the traditional absence of color, though it's really the combination of all colors where black is the absence of color), instead of the traditional indigo. Kumatora however wears a similar indigo coat.

Magypsies all seem to be based on the Japanese stereotyping of an Okama (a crossdresser).

The Magypsies' shell-shaped homes appear remarkably similar to the huts in Magicant from EarthBound Beginnings.

The Memo menu refers to them as "sorcerers" since PSI is a stand-in for magic in the Mother series.