The Man known as Cid

[Dracos]

Well, I've been asked several times to formally write down my thoughts on what makes the man who is known as Cid.  What separates him from the chaff and defines him as an individual character, and more notably an archetype.   In essence, What is 'Cid'?

First, one must ask "Where did 'Cid' come from?"

My thoughts on this stem without the study of the Cids in Final Fantasy 2j and 3j as I do not trust the translations to the degree necessary to make the analyzations I'm doing.

The original 'Cid' in American recollection was first presented in Final Fantasy 4.  A burly man with a flowing red beard and googles.  His mallet always raised to the task he desired, whether creating or protecting.  He started with the classic cultural role of the progressive engineer.  His character is originally derived from the combination of the mythic archetype of the dwarf, a self made man harsh of tongue who stands firmly for what he believes in and the 'Great Engineer', a man who can do anything with his hands often streching belief.  Cid's traits are always both a virtue and a flaw, often leaving him blind in his motivation until it is almost to late, but always willing to turn around and do what is right.  He's fatherly to the younger characters in the game and shows throughout his heart of gold.  This is the module operatus for the Character of Cid.  It is his mold and what defines a 'Cid'.

The character of 'Cid' in Final Fantasy Five was also designed using this mold.  A brilliant inventor who sought to use his skills to make the lives of the common people better.  Imprisoned when he attempted to stop the machines that were threatening the lives he had sworn to protect, he survived, a battered man in a white labcoat.  While no fighter, He was a "Cid", deep in character and another incarnation of the archetype of the Great Engineer.  Airships were his within his capabilities, just like the previous Cid, making them a notably characteristic distinguishing Cid from the other 'inventor' types around, but it was more the inner heart of the character that denoted him as a 'Cid'.

Next we come upon perhaps the second best known 'Cid' in America.  For many, Cid in Final Fantasy 6 was the second 'Cid' they got to get acquainted with, and it might take a bit to truly appriciate him in his role as 'Cid'.  First off, he starts on the antagonist team.  How does this mesh with the mold of being Cid?  This is answered simply because he was doing what he thought was right at the time.  Providing a home for his daughter, using his talents to advance the power of his country, and give his daughter the power to be someone in a world of where the weak were trod over by the strong.  He stood by his beliefs, and when he saw the empire was corrupt at it's core, dangerous to those he sought to protect, he defected fighting in the spirit of the Great Engineer.  In this, he demonstrated that his character stemmed from the same deep heartfelt mold of the previous two 'Cid' characters.

Final Fantasy 7's 'Cid' was not 'Cid'.  A fast thinking, dirty talking punk, he stemmed from an entirely separate mold.  While still an 'engineer' in the technical sense, his character was formed from the archetype of the hick backyard inventor.  A cool character indeed, but not Cid.  More at home with a wrench in the machine then a mallet building it from the ground up.

Final Fantasy 8.... slapped Cid's name on someone who couldn't be farther from the Cid archetype if they had used a female character.  Fat, lazy, forgetful and lacking a cause, his character represented an attempt to create a generic FF rpg character.  It's an FF game, someone has to be named Cid.... an idiotic creed.

Final Fantasy 9 was also not 'Cid', bearing neither the dignity of the Great Engineer or the Courage of the Dwarf, he was a spoiled brat royal who's only tie to the original Cid character was that he made airships. ...well perhaps I am over cruel.  He did have the tie in to the Final Fantasy 6 Cid through the 'love' for his adopted daughter.  But he demonstrated none of the heroic nature that is associated with being Cid, nor the self sacrifice.

Final Fantasy the Movie should also be mentioned.  It's Cid was quite similar to the Cid in Final Fantasy 5.  Knowing knowledge that is considered heresy, Cid stands his ground and does what he must to protect those he cares about.  The tragic heroism of the character of Cid places him fairly strongly in the 'Cid' mold.

Final Fantasy X's Cid was a bit of a strech, but did indeed hold true to the Cid mold, demonstrating something he would give everything to protect, his daughter and his people, the heroic Grand Inventor persona who will survive the depths of hell to create that which needs to be built.  He represents a thick culture, actually quite after the archetype Heroic Uncle, and that is part of why despite his short presence in the game he manages to demonstrate the qualities of 'Cid'.  

Reading through here no conclusion should be necessary...it would be best if the reader could draw their own understanding of the 'Who is 'Cid'' from the explanations I have given, but, in the interest of academic contemplation, I will crystalize the essence of the character of Cid.

Cid is always a non-player character in a story/rpg/whatever.  He is denoted primarily by the blending of two archetypes:
The Dwarf as explained above
The Grand Engineer also explained above.
He always is protecting something and does so with fierce and passionate dedication.
He tinkers with stuff beyond others comprehension, but always has some higher purpose, usually his family and people.
Devil May Care...  Country...king...God... Doesn't Matter in his path to do what is right.  This is what endears the character primarily to most people whether they admit it or not.

perhaps later I'll write an addendum on how to create "Cid" in given RPG settings and how to bring him out... Anyhow it's late, adieu all.

Fearless Leader
Edit: A typo I noticed

[Anastasia]

I suppose that I should mention one more Cid....Thundergod Cid, aka Orlandu from Final Fantasy Tactics.  He's not in an official Final Fantasy numbered game, yet I feel he holds true to some of the important principles of the 'Cid' character.

On the surface, it is easy to tell that he does not fit into the first of the two 'Cid points' that Dracos illistrated.  He is not anything close to an engineer or a dwarf.  In fact, he's a far as possible from this part of the mould, he is a Excaliber bearing, Holy Exploding terror of the battlefield second to none in raw offensive capacity.  It is the other three points that deserve consideration in TG Cid's case.

He always is protecting something and does so with fierce and passionate dedication.

In Final Fantasy Tactics, TG Cid protects Ivalice from foriegn invasion thoughout the long 50 year war, as a noble born leader and knight.  He later joins Ramza's crusade to protect his country once again, this time from a decadent church and the vile Zodiac Demons.  Even when it flies in the face of his lord's wishes, he looks out for what he feels is best for Ivalice, which leads into the next point.

Devil May Care...  Country...king...God... Doesn't Matter in his path to do what is right.  This is what endears the character primarily to most people whether they admit it or not.

TG Cid shows this trait in the course of FFT as well.  He argues with his lord to abandon the Lion War due to the hardships it places on the people, even in the face of his lord's wrath.  Later, after he is betrayed by his lord Goltana and forsaken, he continues on to do what he feels is right, stopping the Zodiac Demons. In fact, one of the most telling lines about this is said by Olan, his adopted son.

Olan: I don't know why they're trying to collect holy stones.  If it's for the people, I won't interrupt. But, if it's for self gain, Orlandu won't allow it. He'll promise to kill in the name of 'T.G. Cid'.

This shows his willingness to go against the established church if need be to pursure what he sees as right.

Basically, I feel that even though he doesn't seem Cidish on the surface, he maintains some of the most vital traits of Cid in his actions.  TG Cid is a fitting title indeed.

[Serafita]

I'd just like to point that Cid in FF8 designed and built GARDEN, thus proving his licence to the Cid name in terms of engineering... but you probably don't care anyway.  ^_^  He was a useless fart who left responsibilities to others in the end... XD

[Dracos]

Nope, he didn't.  He bought them.  Someone else designed them.  Thus his lack of knowledge of what various parts were and his arrangment with the squid/moneygrubber beneath the Balamb garden.

Dracos