My poisonous trait is that I’m a colossal simp for Closing Fantasy VII’s foul-mouthed, chain-smoking, dragoon pilot Cid. My love for this man spans a long time, from when he was a sequence of blobs stacked on prime of one another within the unique PlayStation recreation to when he was a unvoiced shopkeeper within the first Kingdom Hearts. As such, I used to be desirous to see him in Closing Fantasy 7 Rebirth, even when he doesn’t get promoted to playable get together member this time round. After going again and reacquainting myself with the unique recreation, I’m fairly pleased with how Sq. Enix approached the character almost 30 years later.
Spoilers for unique Closing Fantasy 7 comply with, however nothing main from Rebirth.
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In most ways in which depend, Cid continues to be the identical man followers know and love from FF7 in Rebirth. He’s the pilot of Tiny Bronco, acts just like the dad within the room regardless of being allegedly solely 32 years previous, and is mostly grumpy in direction of everybody. However he’s additionally overtly kindhearted in a manner that possibly didn’t all the time come throughout within the unique recreation. Certainly one of his earliest scenes in Rebirth exhibits him realizing he knew Aerith’s mom, Ifalna, and is disheartened to listen to of her passing since they final met years prior. This prompts him to supply his pilot companies free of charge, all as a result of he desires to assist the daughter of somebody he as soon as cared for.
The place unique Cid was usually outlined as crass, angsty, and imply (sure, there’s nuance, we’re getting there), Rebirth Cid’s doesn’t really feel fairly as excessive and as a substitute goes for a extra understated assured however nonetheless caring bravado. His no-nonsense practicality feels distinct within the face of some actual weirdos in FF7’s crew, however now it’s somewhat extra reined in. Cid was prickly within the unique recreation, however that aspect of him was all the time meant to masks the protecting and supportive particular person he was deep down.
Some long-time followers will seemingly body this as “altering” him, however I’d argue it brings out the perfect of who Cid all the time was. He’s nonetheless a grouch, however not indiscriminately so. My hope is this may enable Sq. Enix to higher body future storylines, particularly the one involving his future spouse, Shera. After I was excited to see Cid once more, some pals who had performed Closing Fantasy 7 extra just lately had been shocked to listen to this, given he has a fame throughout the neighborhood. I hadn’t seen Cid work together with Shera in years, however I went again and watched the scenes between the 2 within the unique Closing Fantasy 7, and was shocked at how uncomfortable it was to see the 2’s dynamic.
Closing Fantasy makes Cid a nicer man
When the crew first meets Shera, they’re mistaken in assuming she is Cid’s spouse at this level, most likely as a result of the best way he talks to her is textbook abusive husband in a manner somebody within the ‘90s would write a sitcom couple. He berates her for not making their company tea, asks if she’s blind, after which goes off to work on one thing whereas she tends to Cloud and firm. Once they inform her to not fear about them, she instantly takes the blame on herself and says that is simply how Cid is. She explains that he sabotaged his personal rocket launch to make sure she wasn’t killed within the blast, and now she feels as if she’s liable for ruining his desires. Because of this she places up with the best way he treats her and says she’ll “stay [her] life for him.”
Watching a person discuss all the way down to a lady as she does home duties wasn’t nice in 1997 and is even worse to look again on now. That is alleged to be a revealing second that exhibits that he’s secretly a caring, variety particular person regardless of him being abrasive to a whole lot of the folks he meets. However within the years since Closing Fantasy 7, we’ve got collectively misplaced persistence for abusive habits. Even when Cid resents Shera for her half in destroying his dream, that may be communicated in a far more healthy manner. Thorny relationships, particularly between individuals who supposedly care about one another, don’t need to be mean-spirited and hurtful. They’ll simply be clumsy, awkward, and ultimately restorative.
My hope is that as a result of Cid appears a bit extra even-tempered in Rebirth, his relationship with Shera could be explored in a manner that feels much less brazenly misogynistic and abusive 30 years later. Firming down his antagonism in Rebirth in favor of creating him a stern and passionate pilot who hoots and hollers his manner into everybody’s hearts, makes for a much more likable and up to date take. And contemplating how Rebirth’s story performs into his bigger arc, I’m to see how Sq. handles it.
Closing Fantasy 7 Rebirth is, regardless of some weighty moments, a reasonably joyful recreation. It makes use of most of its prolonged time with the solid to only allow them to hang around, vibe, and play some foolish mini-games. Recreating Cid as he was in 1997 would have been diametrically against the imaginative and prescient of the Closing Fantasy 7 universe Rebirth is making an attempt to create. The Remake sequence has the perfect variations of those characters thus far, and chipping away a number of the sharp edges to get to Cid’s coronary heart of gold is the way you modernize the character. He’s one other instance of those video games recognizing {that a} remake doesn’t need to uncritically mimic one thing from a long time in the past.
The Honey Bee Inn was as soon as a brothel and stage for homosexual panic, the place Remake retools it to be a queer-inclusive nightclub. Cid continues to be a stingy previous man however doesn’t need to be uncomfortably merciless to somebody he cares about. If Sq. Enix retains him as such within the subsequent recreation and may higher body his relationship with Shera, he’ll be one other bullet level on the checklist of issues the group bought proper this time round.
However deliver his cigarettes again, Sq. Enix. That man smells like an ashtray, I do know it.