Cait Sith (Final Fantasy)

Cait Sith
Final Fantasy character
Cait Sith artwork by Tetsuya Nomura for Final Fantasy VII.
First game	Final Fantasy VII (1997)
Created by	Tetsuya Nomura[1]
Designed by	Tetsuya Nomura Masaaki Kazeno (Remake)[2] Roberto Ferrari (Reeve, Remake)[3]
Voiced by	English Greg Ellis (Advent Children)[4] Paul Tinto (Rebirth)[4] Jamieson Price (Reeve, Advent Children)[5] Jon Root (Reeve, Remake)[5] Japanese Hideo Ishikawa[4] Banjō Ginga (Reeve)[6]
In-universe information
Weapon	Megaphone

Cait Sith (ケット・シー, Ketto Shī) (

Conception and creation

Named after the Scottish mythology fairy

Originally, it was planned to have the character to be able to capture monsters, and fight using a whip and throwing cards.[10] In the final game he has a Limit Break attack usable after taking or dealing enough damage during the course of battles, where a slot machine will appear on the screen. Depending on the outcome, one of several various effects will occur, including either instantly defeating all present enemies, or with the player's party instantly defeated instead.^[11] For Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, part of a series of titles serving as a remaking of the original game, battle director Teruki Endo had a difficult time developing his gameplay aspect. Believing there were two approaches to gameplay archetypes, "standard" and "oddball", he went with the latter due to Cait Sith's appearance while tweaking it up until the final stages of develop to ensure "it didn't have too many quirks".^[12]

Design

In a change from previous entries in the Final Fantasy series, the development team worked off of Nomura's character designs directly.

For Final Fantasy VII Remake, the character's model was reimagined by Masaaki Kazeno. Kazeno aimed for cuteness in his design and unveiled it at a meeting during Remake's development, only to be surprised when he was informed Cait Sith was not going to be a playable character until the next title, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.^[2] His height was shortened as of Rebirth, now standing 80 cm (2 ft 8 in) tall.^[15] Reeve meanwhile was redesigned by artist Roberto Ferrari for the games, given a black pinstripe suit, which Ferrari felt made him look "suave".^[3]

Appearances

Cait Sith is a robotic talking

C.J. Andriessen of Destructoid expressed a heavy disdain for the character, stating that while he initially assumed Cait Sith would be one of his favorites in Final Fantasy VII due to his design and choice of weapon, his perspective was soured his quickly by the double-cross. While he acknowledged the character sacrifices himself later on in the game's story, the betrayal caused him to develop a particular grudge for Cait Sith that lasted well after he had completed the game.^[21] Scott Baird of Gamepur shared similar sentiments towards the character's betrayal, but also criticized his design, stating he felt it was out of place and "stands out like the custom character in a cutscene every time he shows up." He further expressed that Cait Sith was not as entertaining as the other characters in VII, and found the decision to give him a Scottish accent in later entries related to VII to be "baffling" and "annoying", though felt he was spared of being the worst character in those games due to his limited usage compared to other equally disliked characters.^[9]

James Stephanie Sterling in her own article for Destructoid on the other hand defended the character, stating that "his character arc was perhaps the most resonant". She further called Reeve a representation of most modern people and a good example of the regular salaryman in a business trying to do good for others despite his company constantly doing harm. Sterling further emphasized that while Cait Sith was Reeve's puppet, he was a puppet himself through the game for ShinRa's higher ups and their own ambitions, until he rebels and earned his redemption by standing up to them. She cited Cait Sith as an example of a reformed villain, a character archetype she felt many enjoyed, and pointed out that through much of the story he didn't have a choice in his actions, and quickly attempts to make amends afterward.^[22]

Sterling went further in her examination of the character, and stated that she was confused by the criticism towards Cait Sith's design. Sterling hadn't seen him as "annoying" or "trying to be a 'cool' mascot-type character" as seen in other games, but instead something that felt true to older Final Fantasy design in its levity, an element Sterling pointed out later games in the series emphasized and were celebrated for. Cait Sith to her had a "memorable, distinctive and comical look, something that was needed to offset the darker, rather po-faced appearance of the rest of the cast", and his humorous appearance helped offset how the rest of the party was shown as "brooding and containing their androgynous rage".^[22] This sentiment was shared by Zachari Greif of Game Rant, who called Cait Sith the "party's backbone", particularly in Rebirth. He pointed out that while the player was likely aware of his impending betrayal given the original game, the development team emphasized his cuter aspects. This helped to portray him as someone "there to bring smiles and lift the team up", often looking out for them and helping as needed, and further punctuated by the sacrifice of one of his bodies to ensure the party's safe escape from the Temple of Ancients.^[23]

Patrick Holleman in his book Reverse Design: Final Fantasy VII compared Cait Sith's relation to the rest of the group to a straight man in a comedy group, in that he provides contrast to the rest of the group and their survivor status. He felt that this was a deliberate choice as it helped solidify the group and what they had in common. He also felt it was necessary to not separate Reeve from him as a character, noting that while his manner of speaking was different from when he was in control of Cait Sith, he still had a vested interest in helping the party. He also emphasized how his role in ShinRa as a company diminishes during the course of the game until he is removed entirely, and stated that while Reeve didn't share the same connection to the past motivating him as he does the other characters, he shared another in how he outlived the context that gave him an identity.^[24]

References