Welcome one and all to our third issue of The Iterations of Cid! Some of you may remember our article about Final Fantasy Cids I though IV where we explored the Cid who looks like Santa, and another with a passion for goggles. In the second installation of Cid's in the series, where we explored Cid's V though VIII, which included the Cid whose dream it was to travel in space. We're now taking a look at the awesome Cids from games IX through XIII. We have some really great ones in this issue, so stick around and enjoy!
Warning, this article contains spoilers
Final Fantasy IX
Playable: Briefly
Airship related: Yes
Facial Hair: Oh goodness, yes
Cid Fabool from Final Fantasy IX. The loveable cheater with the epic facial hair and the unfortunate luck. We first meet Cid in Lindblum on Disc One. The gang is a bit confused at first, because what is before them is not the Great Regent of Lindblum, but instead an insect with a giant moustache. Fear not, heroes, for it is indeed the Regent. We are told that someone snuck in during the night and attacked him. But it is revealed that that was not the case.
Quote:
When Hilda found out about my little affair, she used her magic and turned me into an oglop. Then she stormed off in the new airship, which I named Hilda Garde. Pretty ironic, eh?
-Cid
Oh, Cid. You shame and disappoint us. It's a good thing you have a moustache larger than your body and shaped like a boomerang, or we would not approve of you at all. Regardless of the affair, Cid still tries to do what is right for Lindblum and his people. We find out after meeting him that he is the one who orchestrated the kidnapping of Princess Garnet.
Quote:
I once promised your father , that should anything happen, I would protect you. We've known about the disturbances in Alexandria for some time. But had we acted directly, it would've started a war. So, I asked Baku for help. He and I go way back. The play was the perfect cover to enter Alexandria and get you out. No one would suspect Lindblum was behind it. We were forced to take action, because we knew Alexandria would never seek our help. I'm relieved we were able to get you here.
-Cid
But wait, you might say, how does this tie in to airships? He is a Cid. There needs to be some airshiping. Well, there is my friend/anonymous reader! Before the game, as mentioned in the cheating text up above, Cid engineered the very first airship that can fly without mist. That might not seem so cool, but it is a totally big deal in FFIX world. He named it the Hilda Garde after the wife he cheated on. You know who I'm talking about, the one who stole it and ran away. He has since been trying to develop the Hilda Garde II, but he says his mind isn't the same as an oglop.
Cid shows his caring heart further in the game when he leaves Lindblum open for attack to aid Bermucia in its troubles. This sadly leaves his home open to attack by Alexandrian forces who decimate the city and take it over. He then informs the party of how to get to Kuja on the Outer Continent, hoping that by taking down Kuja, Brahne will no longer have access to her Black Mage Soldiers.
Later on in the game, Cid manages to get the Hilda Garde II functioning roughly. He tells the party how he saw that Kuja had possession of the Hilda Garde and wants to go get it back. But, feeling useless in his current state, he tries to get Dr. Tot to turn him back to his human self. Unfortunately, it backfires, turning him in to a frog instead, making him Quina's new best friend.
Cid travels with the party to Kuja's lair and is captured with everyone and imprisoned. He uses his tiny form to his advantage in what is one of the most comical events of the game, and helps retrieve the keys to the party members cells to set them free. His wife is eventually rescued, and she turns him back in to his majestic human form.
Quote:
Regent Cid
Oh! My darling Hilda! I finally found you !"
Hilda
I do not remember ever marrying a toad."
Regent Cid
I-It's me ! Cid!
Hilda
Of course, that moustache... It really is you!
Regent Cid
Hilda, come back to the castle and return me to my former self !
Hilda
Dreadfully sorry, my sugar cup, but I surrendered your favourite airship to a man named Kuja.
Regent Cid
Forget about it ! As long as you're alright !
Hilda
"Oh, my sweet froggy-woggy!"
Once returned to his former self, Cid turns the Blue Narcissis into the Hilda Garde III, and Hilda proves most uselful in helping on the quest to Terra. For his conclusion to the game, he and his loving wife adopt Eiko, leading to a happy ending for all.
We also note earlier in the game that he is a Tetra Master Champion.
Final Fantasy X/X-2
Playable: No
Airship related: Yes
Facial Hair: Not much, but it is there
Cid from Final Fantasy X is a bald Al Bhed man with a tattoo on his head. He is the uncle to Summoner Yuna and the father to Rikku. While Yuna's father, Braska visited the Al Bhed, he fell in love with Cid's sister and they were married. This would be a happy love story except Yuna's mother was then killed. By Sin. Yep.
Moving on to the events of Final Fantasy X, Cid is pretty much the head honcho of the Al Bhed and is responsible for the abductions of many summoners. He wants to stop their pilgrimages because he doesn't believe that summoners should be sacrificing their lives.
Quote:
Tidus
I said, where is she? Answer me! Answer me, damn you!
Cid
What'll you do when you find her, eh?
Tidus
I didn't know anything about what a summoner is supposed to do. And I told her all those things without even knowing. I've got to tell her. I've got to tell her I'm sorry!
Cid
That's it? You're gonna tell her you're sorry? And then you just drag her to Zanarkand and make her fight Sin, huh? You're all the same--let the summoner die so we can live in peace!
Tidus
No! I'm not gonna let Yuna die!
Cid
Boy, don't forget those words, 'cause if you do... I'm gonna make you regret it.
The Guado attack the home of the Al Bhed. Cid takes action and piles everyone on his airship and takes off. He blows up Home, the place of residence for the outcast Al Bhed. They mourn for a short period of time before moving on.
Realizing that Tidus really cares for Yuna and doesn't just want to use her as a human sacrifice, he agrees to bring them to Bevelle to rescue Yuna. Later on in the game, he returns for everyone in Zanarkand, giving the player access to an airship to travel around Spira. The airship is crucial in helping to defeat Sin.
Cid comes off a bit brash and direct at times, but inside he has a good heart. He cares for Yuna and Rikku and what he does he does for what he believes to be right and just. He believes that sacrificing the summoners is selfish and letting them continue their pilgrimages would be as bad as killing them themselves.
Quote:
Auron
After rescuing Yuna, then what? You want to keep her safe, correct? Would you seek to stop her pilgrimage?
Cid
Of course! If she continues this fool pilgrimage, she will die! Sure as if you killed her yourself. No hare-brained law or teaching can send my little niece to her death! When I save her, I'll make her give up being a summoner quicker than a desert melts ice!
Auron
Even against her will?
Cid
Better than a dog's death! And I'll take down anyone who don't agree!
In X-2 Cid has opened up a tourist attraction in Zanarkand to help fund the rebuild of Home. Rikku points out to him the insensitivity of it all, explaining that it would be like turning the ruins of Home in to an amusement park, and Cid goes off to pout. Eventually he needs to be rescued from the Thunder Plains, and he joins Rikku and Brother (Rikku's brother) on their airship where he argues with them and then drinks. Ahh, family reunions.
Final Fantasy XII
Playable: No
Airship related: Yes
Facial Hair: Yes indeed
Cidolfus Demen Bunansa, or Dr. Cid for the less pretentious, is a scientist for the Archadian Empire. He learned how to manufacture Nethicite, the strongest source of magical power in the world of XII, while on an expedition of unknown nature in the Jagd Difohr. There, he met Venat who taught him how to synthesize Nethicite in to artificial Nethicite. This was considered a vast leap in technology, creating numerous weapons and airships.
Cid became seemingly insane. Venat often appeared to him while invisible to others, making him seem crazy to others (no kidding). He appointed his son as a Judge, but his son couldn't stand to watch his mental health deteriorate, so he left and became the super cool Sky Pirate Balthier.
Quote:
We must see the real thing to be sure. Nabudis taught us much! Yes, it's well hidden. They'll be off chasing after shadows, the fools. Ah, yes! The reins of history back in the hands of man.
-Cid
Cid found the Midlight Shard in the Kingdom of Nabradia. He decided that it would be a really good idea to use the stone at Nabudis because he is impatient and thought it would be cool. There was an explosion which sank Nabudis in to a chasm, which became the Necrohol of Nabudis. That’s what I call a good day at work.
During Final Fantasy XII, Cid and Vayne try to get a hold of the Dawn and Dusk Shards. After Vaan, who found the dusk shard when sneaking in to the Royal Palace of Rabanastre, turned over his shard to Judge Ghis to prevent the party from being executed, the shard soon ends up in the hands of our main man Cid.
Later in the game, the party heads to Archades to destroy the Dusk Shard. In Draklor, they met Reddas, a sky pirate with impressive facial hair. The party engages in an epic battle with Cid, but before Reddas can deliver the finishing strike, Venat comes to Cid’s rescue. Cid escapes and tells Ashe to head to Giruvegan where Cid himself is headed.
Quote:
Ashelia B’nargin Dalmasca! Just how far will you go for power? Does your lust for nethicite consume you? Am I right? I am, aren’t I. A worthy daughter of the Dynast-King! You would do well to go to Giruvegan. Who knows? You may receive a new Stone for your trouble.
-Cid
When the group arrives at Giruvegan, Ashe receives the Treaty Blade, with which she is told to cut new shards from the Sun-Cryst to battle the empire. The party realized that Cid lied to them and tricked them so they would see the Occuria and be told to go to the Sun-Cryst.
When they get to the Sun-Cryst, Reddas reveals that he is Judge Zecht (gasp!) who wants Cid to pay for what he did to Nabudis. You know with the destroying it an all. Cid arrives and reintegrates the three shards of deifacted nethicite in to the Sun-Cryst, creating large quantities of Mist which cover all of Ivalice. This allows Cid to activate his super-ultra-mega ultimate weapon, the Sky Fortress Bahamut, which is indeed an airship.
Cid is battled once again and is defeated. His says his goodbyes to his son as his body is consumed by the Mist and he begins to fade away.
Quote:
Cid: Spend your pity elsewhere. If you are so set on running, hadn’t you best be off? Fool of a pirate.
Final Fantasy XIII
Playable: No
Airship related: You could say so
Facial Hair: No
Cid Raines is a non-playable character from Final Fantasy XIII with a luscious head of hair. We first meet Cid after Snow is kidnapped at Lake Bresha. He is taken aboard the Lindblum, an airship belonging to the Wide-Area Response Brigade, which Cid commands. He tells Snow that the Sanctum plans to publicly execute the l’Cie (Snow and company) and that he wants to overthow the Sanctum to give control of Cocoon back to the people. That’s some stuff to be dropping on a guy you just recently met. Snow, believing his focus is to save Cocoon, agrees to help Cid find his fellow l’Cie.
Quote:
The public fears what it doesn’t know… Strike down the phantoms before their eyes, and they sleep like babies.
-Cid
The party meets Cid later on in the game waiting for them. He drops a bombshell on them all, revealing that their focus is indeed to destroy Cocoon. The fal’Cie wants the death of the citizens of Cocoon in hopes that it will summon the Maker, who would reconstruct the world. Cid was planning to overthrow the fal’Cie, but was turned in to a l’Cie instead and his Focus was to guide the party to destroy Cocoon. Bummer. But Cid decides to stand up for what he believes in one last time and fight the party as some weird Cie’th creature thing in a frustrating battle that I lost like 4 times. He basically tries to kill the party to save Coccon. But the party fight back because being killed kind of sucks.
Cid encourages the party to choose their own fate before being turned to crystal and disappearing. Late in the game it is revealed that he was revived to become the new Primarch, leader of Cocoon. The cavalry later captures their former leader and Rygdea shoots him to free him from the fal’Cie.
Quote:
Ironic isn’t it? The only thing I wanted was a moment of triumph. How it ends isn’t important. Just do what you know it right. Trust yourselves.
-Cid
These are just four more of the incredible Cid's throughout the Final Fantasy series. Was your favorite mentioned here today? What do you think about the first antagonist Cid's in the series? What about Cid Fabool's magnificent moustache? Thanks for reading, I hope you had fun!
