One of the staples of the Final Fantasy series has always been the appearance of a character named Cid who is often involved with the airship(s) or is some other type of intelligent character. Each game in the series has its own respective "Cid" character. This thread will take a look back on each the Cid's. I was going to include a picture of each, but the 3 NES Cid's had to be taken out since we can only have 10 pictures per post.
CID 1
The first Cid was a wise man who built airships in the Lefein region. In the original NES version it just mentions that a wise old man built them, but in the remake versions they refer to him as Cid. Likely a retroactive insertion to fix the fact that every title other than 1 had a Cid up until the PSX remake of FF1.
CID 2
The first ever Final Fantasy Cid was actually from FF2 since Cid 1 was inserted into FF1's plot to replace a nameless airship builder during the PSX remake. He had an airship you could use to travel between regions faster for a price. You inherit it from him later in the game.
CID 3
Pretty much the same backstory here only he does not charge you to use the airship like his FF2 counterpart did.
CID 4
Cid 4 (at the wheel of the airship) is where it gets more interesting. This was the first Cid to be a fully playable character. He was also an airship mechanic like his previous 3 counterparts.
CID 5
The 5th Cid (right) was not playable, but he did have a grandson named Mid (left) helping him out. I wouldn't have minded seeing some more Mid's alongside the Cid's, but anyhow. This Cid was an engineer who helps repair and modify machinery. He ends up fixing your airships among other things.
CID 6
The 6th Cid (top) was the first Cid to NOT be an airship mechanic. That job belonged to Setzer the gambler. This Cid did research for a magic facility and is one of the first to notice the evil intentions of the empire. He is the adoptive grandfather of Celes, one of the heroes.
CID 7
The second Cid to be fully playable. FF7's Cid was one of the more powerful characters and arguably my favorite Cid. He constantly swears throughout the game and is a smoker. Cid 7 is a pilot and FF7's airship has the same name as his last name....
CID 8
The Cid from FF8 was a departure from the airship mechanics and playable characters from previous games. Cid 8 was the headmaster of the school that the heroes attend. He serves more of a role as a mentor than anything.
CID 9
Cid 9 actually had 3 forms throughout the game. The first was as an Oglop, a large insect. The second was that of a frog. Then the third is his human form. I have mixed feelings on this Cid. His Oglop and Frog forms are hilarious, while his human form is boring and annoying. I hated his human form. If it were up to he would get turned back into an Oglop. His Frog form is playable for one brief moment in the game, during a mini-game. He is the Regent of Lindblum, following in the footsteps of Cid 8 by being an authority figure but also that of the airship mechanic Cid's by having designed a couple of the vehicles you get in the game.
CID 10
The 10th game's Cid was involved with the airship yet again. He is also the leader of the Al Bhed and Rikku's father. During the fight with Sin he helps you by moving the airship as a special command. He didn't create the ship but is its captain.
CID 12
This Cid was a step in a new direction. He was a villain! Up until this point, every single Cid had been either a good guy or a playable hero and Cid 12 changed that big time.
CID 13
Then finally we have Cid 13. He is the second Cid to be portrayed as a villain in the series.
There you have it, a look back on all of the Cid's from the main Final Fantasy series. I like that they have the Cid's as one of their staples and it's cool that they kept that tradition going all of these years. Here come some discussion questions:
Which Cid is your favorite and why?
Which Cid is your LEAST favorite, why?
Which type of Cid would you like to see more of: playable hero, airship mechanic, authority figure, or villain? Why?
My favorites are Cid 4 and Cid 7, the playable Cid's were the coolest for me. I liked that they were playable but still could serve the function of the airship mechanic. My least favorite by a rather wide margin is the human form of Cid 9. Perhaps part of it is due to how funny his Oglop and Frog forms were compared to his boring human form, but I just couldn't stand him. I'd want to see more playable Cid's and more villains. We have had enough airship mechanics, let's see some more variety from here on out.
Let's see what do the rest of you think about the Cid's, Discuss!
CID 1
The first Cid was a wise man who built airships in the Lefein region. In the original NES version it just mentions that a wise old man built them, but in the remake versions they refer to him as Cid. Likely a retroactive insertion to fix the fact that every title other than 1 had a Cid up until the PSX remake of FF1.
CID 2
The first ever Final Fantasy Cid was actually from FF2 since Cid 1 was inserted into FF1's plot to replace a nameless airship builder during the PSX remake. He had an airship you could use to travel between regions faster for a price. You inherit it from him later in the game.
CID 3
Pretty much the same backstory here only he does not charge you to use the airship like his FF2 counterpart did.
CID 4
Cid 4 (at the wheel of the airship) is where it gets more interesting. This was the first Cid to be a fully playable character. He was also an airship mechanic like his previous 3 counterparts.
CID 5
The 5th Cid (right) was not playable, but he did have a grandson named Mid (left) helping him out. I wouldn't have minded seeing some more Mid's alongside the Cid's, but anyhow. This Cid was an engineer who helps repair and modify machinery. He ends up fixing your airships among other things.
CID 6
The 6th Cid (top) was the first Cid to NOT be an airship mechanic. That job belonged to Setzer the gambler. This Cid did research for a magic facility and is one of the first to notice the evil intentions of the empire. He is the adoptive grandfather of Celes, one of the heroes.
CID 7
The second Cid to be fully playable. FF7's Cid was one of the more powerful characters and arguably my favorite Cid. He constantly swears throughout the game and is a smoker. Cid 7 is a pilot and FF7's airship has the same name as his last name....
CID 8
The Cid from FF8 was a departure from the airship mechanics and playable characters from previous games. Cid 8 was the headmaster of the school that the heroes attend. He serves more of a role as a mentor than anything.
CID 9
Cid 9 actually had 3 forms throughout the game. The first was as an Oglop, a large insect. The second was that of a frog. Then the third is his human form. I have mixed feelings on this Cid. His Oglop and Frog forms are hilarious, while his human form is boring and annoying. I hated his human form. If it were up to he would get turned back into an Oglop. His Frog form is playable for one brief moment in the game, during a mini-game. He is the Regent of Lindblum, following in the footsteps of Cid 8 by being an authority figure but also that of the airship mechanic Cid's by having designed a couple of the vehicles you get in the game.
CID 10
The 10th game's Cid was involved with the airship yet again. He is also the leader of the Al Bhed and Rikku's father. During the fight with Sin he helps you by moving the airship as a special command. He didn't create the ship but is its captain.
CID 12
This Cid was a step in a new direction. He was a villain! Up until this point, every single Cid had been either a good guy or a playable hero and Cid 12 changed that big time.
CID 13
Then finally we have Cid 13. He is the second Cid to be portrayed as a villain in the series.
There you have it, a look back on all of the Cid's from the main Final Fantasy series. I like that they have the Cid's as one of their staples and it's cool that they kept that tradition going all of these years. Here come some discussion questions:
Which Cid is your favorite and why?
Which Cid is your LEAST favorite, why?
Which type of Cid would you like to see more of: playable hero, airship mechanic, authority figure, or villain? Why?
My favorites are Cid 4 and Cid 7, the playable Cid's were the coolest for me. I liked that they were playable but still could serve the function of the airship mechanic. My least favorite by a rather wide margin is the human form of Cid 9. Perhaps part of it is due to how funny his Oglop and Frog forms were compared to his boring human form, but I just couldn't stand him. I'd want to see more playable Cid's and more villains. We have had enough airship mechanics, let's see some more variety from here on out.
Let's see what do the rest of you think about the Cid's, Discuss!
