Cait Sith (Final Fantasy VII)
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| Cait Sith | |
|---|---|
 Cait Sith artwork by Tetsuya Nomura |
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| Game series | Final Fantasy series and Compilation of Final Fantasy VII |
| First game | Final Fantasy VII |
| Character designer(s) | Tetsuya Nomura |
| Voice actor(s) (English) | Greg Ellis |
| Voice actor(s) (Japanese) | Hideo Ishikawa |
| In-Universe Information | |
| Class/Job | Toysaurus |
| Weapon | Megaphone |
| Race | robot |
Cait Sith (ケット・シー Ketto Shī?) is a playable character in the Squaresoft role playing game Final Fantasy VII. He was voiced by Hideo Ishikawa for the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII and Greg Ellis in the English version of the CGI film Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children.
During Final Fantasy VII, Cait Sith is a cat that sits on top of a giant stuffed moogle, to which he gives orders by using a megaphone. In subsequent publications, he's usually been seen on his own two feet. As a somewhat cartoonish character, he quite noticeably stands out from the game's overall dark theme. His name is derived from Celtic folklore, meaning "Fairy Cat." Several models of Cait Sith exist.[1]
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[edit] Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII
Cait Sith appears in Episode 20 of Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII to assist the Turks, while Reeve Tuesti (Cait Sith's controller) plays an overall small role in the game as architect of Midgar and minister of Shin-Ra's Housing and Urban Development.
[edit] Final Fantasy VII
Cait Sith initially joins the party in the Gold Saucer, a place that is something of a combined casino/amusement park. He joins after offering to use his abilities as a fortune teller to predict Cloud Strife's future. The prediction is a rather grim one, as he tells Cloud that he will find what he seeks but will also lose something dear, foreshadowing the ultimate fate of Aerith Gainsborough. He joins the party, arguing that he can't leave without knowing how this "rare fortune" will turn out.[2] Cait Sith has a rather eccentric and strange personality, and few of the other characters know what to make of him.
Later in the game, it is revealed that "Cait Sith" is actually an animatronic robot that is being controlled by remote by Reeve Tuesti, who is himself a reluctant member of the despotic Shin-Ra's board of directors, where he serves as the head of the Department of Urban Development. Reeve's intent was to use Cait Sith to infiltrate AVALANCHE and sabotage their resistance efforts on behalf of his employers.
When the team returns to the Gold Saucer to retrieve the Keystone required to gain entry to the Temple of the Ancients, Cait Sith's role as a spy becomes apparent, as he betrays the party by stealing the Keystone and handing it over to the Turks. However, Reeve has a change of heart, deciding that he wants to stay with the team and betray Shin-Ra. Untrusting, Cloud refuses, but instead of getting kicked out of the team, he coerces them into letting him remain with them, revealing that Barret Wallace's adopted daughter, Marlene, is in his custody. Feeling that they have no choice, AVALANCHE agrees to allow Cait Sith to remain with them.[3]
Later, in the Temple of the Ancients, it's revealed that in order to unlock its secret (the Black Materia), a mechanism inside the temple had to be activated. However, it's also discovered that activating it would cause the very structure to collapse upon itself, crushing anyone who attempted to retrieve the Black Materia.[4] Cait Sith was willing to sacrifice himself, as he was just a stuffed toy and the most expendable member of the team.[5] Cait Sith no.1's death is presented in a very dramatic fashion despite the fact that he was just a robot. Before he "dies," Aerith asks him to work his fortune-telling skills one more time to predict how compatible she and Cloud Strife were as a romantic couple. He comes to the conclusion that they are a perfect match.[6]
He then leaves to solve the puzzle of the Ancients that unlocks the Black Materia. He successfully unlocks the materia and is destroyed as the temple implodes. Moments later, however, another version of Cait Sith awkwardly arrives on the scene, hence completely negating any tragedy or sense of loss in the process. The reason for this was to desensitize players to the idea of tragedy in the death of a party member, allowing the upcoming death of Aerith — which would be delivered without the pre-established notion in mind that she would die — to be all the more shocking, for Aerith's death would not overtly be a sacrifice, but bear the semblance of a cold-blooded murder instead.
After the events of Final Fantasy VII, Reeve set up a new group called "the World Regenesis Organization" (WRO), their mission being to undo the damage Shin-Ra had inflicted on the Planet. Both he and Cait Sith make reappearances in the sequels Advent Children and Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII.
[edit] Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Cait Sith plays a small supporting role in Advent Children, but it's clear that his controller has kept in touch with the rest of the group. Cait Sith makes a brief appearance in the latter half of the film, fighting along with AVALANCHE when Midgar is overrun by Shadow Creepers and attacked by Bahamut SIN. Square-Enix has explained that the toysaurus moogle was cut due to the extra amount of work that would have been required to animate it. The creators notably point out that they already disliked animating both Cait Sith and Red XIII due to the level of detail required for their fur.[7] Although the script in Final Fantasy VII didn't attempt to localize any of the character's accents or speech patterns, Advent Children does, and Cait Sith was given a Scottish accent, to both match his quirky Japanese accent as well as his relation to Celtic mythology. Reeve does not physically appear in Advent Children, but he has a brief speaking role, having left a message in Cloud's voice mail. Like most of the other characters, the English dub of Reeve's voice uses a standard American English accent.
[edit] Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII
Cait Sith plays quite a large role in the follow-up to Advent Children, though his controller plays an even larger role as one of the game's main characters. Cait Sith is the only character other than Vincent Valentine to be playable in the game, while Reeve leads the WRO in its conflict with the Deep Ground SOLDIERs (the villains of the game) and its struggles to rebuild the world in the wake of what has gone before. While Cait Sith retains the Scottish accent of Advent Children, his use of language does not include any Scottish slang or speech patterns, unlike the film.
[edit] Trivia
- An enemy monster in Final Fantasy IV is named "Cait Sith," though it does not resemble the Cait Sith design used elsewhere in the series.
- Known as "Stray" in the English release of Final Fantasy VI, Cait Sith's current design initially appeared as an Esper in that title.
- Cait Sith, appearing as a stuffed-animal, is a weapon used by Lulu in Final Fantasy X.
- Cait Sith, appearing as a Mascot costume, is a Dressphere used by Rikku in Final Fantasy X-2.
- In Final Fantasy VII, within the honeybee inn in Wall Market, Cait Sith can be seen some time before his actual arrival through looking through the keyhole of one of the rooms, the robotic moogle is bouncing Cait Sith up and down in a spa.
- In the video game Kingdom Hearts II, there is a gummiship called Cait Sith. It looks like Cait Sith from Final Fantasy VII.
- Dirge of Cerberus provides several details on how Cait Sith operates and what methods Reeve uses to control him. In one scene, Cait Sith is seen mimicking Reeve's own motions, indicating that Reeve uses a form of motion-sensing control. However, in another scene, Cait Sith is seen moving on his own, alongside Reeve. This implies that Cait Sith has his own AI and Reeve himself doesn't need to control him manually. It is evident that Cait Sith is operable with varying levels of autonomy and that Reeve is not required to operate him manually. It is also evident that each subsequent Cait Sith retains at least some memory data from the previous incarnations, as a replacement Cait Sith ("Number Seven") is able to play back data recorded by "Number Six."
- In Dirge of Cerberus, at least two pop culture references are used in relation to Cait Sith. The stage where the player takes control of Cait Sith, entitled "Solid Cait" is a direct reference to Solid Snake, the main protagonist in the Metal Gear video games. The concept of the stage (Cait Sith trying to make it through the area undetected by the guards) also refers to the Metal Gear games, which have similar gameplay concepts. Another pop culture reference is when Cait Sith reappears on the Shera and says, "Number 5 is alive." This is a direct quotation from the 1986 sci-fi film Short Circuit.
- In Game Informer magazine, Cait Sith was called one of the "most useless characters in the game".
[edit] References
- ^ (1997) Famitsu: Final Fantasy VII Kaitai Shinsho (in Japanese). Famitsu, 20. ISBN 4-7577-0098-9.
- ^ Cloud: "What the!?" ... / Cloud: "What you pursue will be yours. But you will lose something dear." / Cait Sith: "I don't know if it's good OR bad... This's the first time I ever got something like THIS. Then shall we?" ... / Cait Sith: "As a fortune teller, I can't help but think about this. If I don't see what it leads to, I won't be able to relax. That's why I'm going with you!" ... / Cait Sith: "I'm goin no matter WHAT you say!"(Final Fantasy VII)
- ^ Cait Sith: "...Alright, yes, I am a Shinra employee. But we're not entirely enemies. ...Something bothers me. I think it's your way of life. You don't get paid. You don't get praised. Yet, you still risk your lives and continue on your journey. Seeing that makes me... It just makes me think about my life. I don't think I'd feel too good if things ended the way they are now." / Aerith: ".......And so on, and so on..." / Cloud: "He'll never tell the truth. Once a spy, always a spy. We can't go on with someone like that. C'mon, get real!!" / Cait Sith: "...just as I thought. Talking won't make a bit of difference. But I prepared something in case this happened. Why don't you listen to this?" / Marlene (through a transmitter): "Papa! Tifa!" / Aerith: "Hey! That's Marlene!" / Marlene (through the transmitter): "Hey! It's the flower lady! Flower lady..." / Cait Sith: "...So, you have to do as I say." / Cloud: "...you're the lowest..." / Cait Sith: "I didn't want to do this... using dirty tricks and taking hostages... But this is how it is... no compromises. So why don't we continue on as we did?" / Cloud: "...Well, we're stuck... We'll have to do what he says."(Final Fantasy VII)
- ^ Cloud: "This huge Temple? This is the Black Materia!? Then no one could take it." / Aerith: "Hmm, it's pretty hard. You see this is a model of the Temple. And inside it is a device, which gets smaller each time you solve a puzzle. As the model becomes smaller, you become smaller too. Until it's small enough to fit in the palm of your hand." / Cloud: "So, if we solve the puzzles, the Black Materia will get smaller and smaller and we can take it out?" / Aerith: "Yes, but there's one thing... You can only answer puzzles inside the Temple. So, anyone who solves the puzzle will be crushed by the Temple."(Final Fantasy VII)
- ^ Cait Sith (over the cell phone): "Hi, Cloud. This is Cait Sith. I overheard the whole story! Don't forget about me. Everything you said makes perfect sense! You can use my stuffed body for the future of the Planet."(Final Fantasy VII)
- ^ Aerith: "Why don't you read our fortunes?" / Cait Sith: "Say, that's right... I haven't done it in a while, huh? I'm so excited. Right or wrong, I'm still the same 'ol me. Now, what should I predict?" / Aerith: "Hmm, let's see how compatible Cloud and I are!" ... / Cait Sith: "This isn't good. I can't say it. Poor Tifa." ... / Aerith: "No! Tell me! I promise I won't get mad!" / Cait Sith: "Is that so? Then I'll tell you. Looks good. You are perfect for each other!"(Final Fantasy VII)
- ^ Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children director commentary
[edit] External links
- Cait Sith on Final Fantasy Wiki at Wikicities
- Cait Sith character profile at the official Square Enix Final Fantasy VII site
