Cid Highwind - Final Fantasy
Cid Highwind is a playable character in Final Fantasy VII who appears in a number of other game titles, spin-offs , and remakes, including the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII. Also in Final Fantasy: Advent Children , a computer-animated film set after the events of the game, he makes an appearance. Cid Highwind is one of several characters in the Final Fantasy series named after Cid, and he owns an airship called the Highwind. He is a common choice for Final Fantasy cosplay enthusiasts, often depicted in fan art , and has also inspired a number of figures . He is voiced by Chris Edgerly in English and Kazuhiro Yamaji in Japanese, and on March 3, 2020 will be recreated in the highly anticipated Final Fantasy VII Remake . None
Profile
Cid Highwind was a mechanical scientist who dreamed of sending a rocket into space, but his wish never came true. Cid is skeptical of the Shinra Electric Power Company, and when a company executive attempts to hijack his plane, the Tiny Bronco, he joins forces with Cloud and his group in their battle against Shinra and turns against the megacorporation for good. He is also the owner of the main airship in Final Fantasy VII, the "Highwind," which the group uses to travel around the map.
Cid is best described as having a pirate-like personality. He swears often, almost always smokes, and has a very short fuse. Despite this, deep down, he is kind-hearted and is even chosen as the temporary group leader when Cloud and Tifa temporarily leave the group. Cid uses spears in combat, and his Limit abilities cause him to jump and land on enemies, dealing devastating damage with a number of attacks against multiple targets or a single target multiple times.
In Final Fantasy VII, Cid wears a dark shirt covered by a navy flight jacket over dark green military-style cargo pants. Around his neck, he wears a white pilot's scarf that hides most of his shirt. He has blond hair, blue eyes, and a light beard. He wears a pair of goggles with a pack of cigarettes tucked under the band. Cid is a heavy smoker and lights up after every battle. He wears boots and leather gloves, and uses a spear in combat, but he is a firearms enthusiast, as evidenced by the AK-47 and two M-14s stored in his "engineering room."
Background story
Cid is first seen working on restarting a rocket program that had been canceled by Shinra due to the actions of his assistant Shera, who was concerned about the rocket's integrity. He blames Shera for the program's cancellation and does not believe her concerns are valid, hurling several insults at her out of frustration. In reality, her concerns about the oxygen tanks were proven valid when an explosion trapped Cid during the rocket's attempted launch against Meteor. Because of this, Cid forgives Shera. Cid makes a cameo appearance in Before Crisis: Advent Children and Cerberus's Dirge. In Advent Children , he joins the party to fight against Bahamut SIN. In Cerberus' Dirge , he aids the Global Regenesis Organization in an attack on Deepground Headquarters, and later in the fight against WEAPON Omega.
Creation and Development
Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Omega Cid's role in the story has remained largely unchanged since the early production and development of the same game, with his dream of going into space falling through as in the final version. However, there have been some changes. For example, he was originally supposed to join the party after the Meteor was summoned, his role being to pilot the rocket that would stop the Meteor with the Materia payload. He was supposed to be unaware that the mission was a suicide mission, thanks to Shinra's trickery, which convinced him it was simply a mission to the moon. The party was supposed to jump onto the ship to save him, but was reportedly unable to convince Cid of the true nature of the mission before it was too late, and would escape with an escape pod, similar to the final version. His class was designed to mirror the "Dragoon" class, one of the original Final Fantasy classes.
Anecdotes
- Cid Highwind is the only character in the history of the Final Fantasy franchise to have a full name consisting of two distinct recurring names, "Cid" and "Highwind." He is thus introduced as an airship pilot and has a combat role as a dragon.
- The North American manual for Final Fantasy VII states that Cid's weapon of choice, the spear, is "handcrafted." If this is true, then Cid is the only known playable player capable of creating and forging their own weapon.
- In the English dubbed version of Final Fantasy, Cid has a southern North American accent and there were many lines in that game that included curses, which in turn were censored and "bleeped out", appearing as a jumble of symbols.
