<–VIII Strength X The Wheel of Fortune–>
This is my current Final Fantasy Friday post where I’ll be discussing which characters I think exemplify each card of the Major Arcana. If this is your first time here, please head over to my Final Fantasy Tarot page for explanation. Now onto the next card!
My choice for The Hermit is none other than Cid from Final Fantasy VI. This decision became easier the more I thought about it. The Hermit is a lonely figure whose time is spent in reflection, introspection, and analysis. By these descriptions, this is clearly not the Cid of the World of Balance, but the solitary elder of the World of Ruin, the name of the island you find him on giving testament to such.
It also bears mentioning that the Cid of this time spends his (last) days taking care of the injured Celes who could be considered the “light” the Hermit is carrying. They symbolism of this is hard to ignore, especially considering Cid can die in order to preserve this light.
Cid was a scientist who was integral in Celes’s augmentation/enhancement; however he never considered her merely a specimen, rather looking upon her as a granddaughter. The Hermit is an individual who can shine light on things previously mysterious and confusing, and Cid certainly does this for Celes who starts off that part of the narrative as The Fool of her own story (I always loved that FFVI arguably had two main and female characters. Terra for the first half and Celes for the second). The Hermit is more of that wise, older figure whose purpose is to provide insight and wisdom to those fated to forge ahead.
Alternates: Matoya (I), Bugenhagen (VII), Ramuh (IX)
Initially, I’d thought of Matoya sitting in her cave with her crystal ball, but on further reflection those were the only true hermit-like qualities she possessed. The first Final Fantasy wasn’t huge in character development, but by the time Square reached VI, they were experts at cohesive characters and their arcs.
The floating Bugenhagen from VII was another option as he was Nanaki’s (Red XIII’s) mentor and gave the rest of the party insight into the Gaia Hypothesis, which is a major theme of the game.
Ramuh in IX initially appears as old man when Garnet and the party end up on Pinnacle Rocks after fleeing Alexandria. He imparts an old story to her about Joseph and the Goddess Bell (which is a reference to FFIII), instructing the princess to put the parts in order before he will become one of her eidolons. The interesting thing is the story has only four parts, but five choices. You must pick how you want the tale to end.
No correct guesses this week! That’s okay; there are 13 more chances left. I’ll give an update of where everyone stands in the 11th week since that’s the halfway point.
Next week is X The Wheel of Fortune. This is a card of luck. Care to take a gamble?
<–VIII Strength X The Wheel of Fortune–>
The Shameful Narcissist Speaks 
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I should have thought of Matoya. Though VI Cid is actually a good choice. He is quite elderlike compared to some other Cids. I kind of forget about that Cid actually, but he’s a great one. Since Cid was chosen here, is he no longer eligible for any other card? Also, Wheel of Fortune, eh? Luck, eh? Setzer?
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Other Cids could be available just not that one! They have the same name, but I consider them different characters though they may share some attributes 🙂 I loved VI’s Cid with his yellow rain slicker haha. I love VII’s Cid with his gruff attitude and perpetual cigarette. The creators always made him a likable character regardless the iteration. They should throw a wrench in the machine and make one Cid the villain hehe.
I both loved and loathed how you never found about Setzer’s scars. He had them even before the World of Ruin. Well that’s why fans write fanfiction.
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Yeah, I never would have guessed the Hermit with my limited FF experiences. I’m thinking Cait Sith for the Wheel of Fortune. His attacks are always a gamble for damage.
My inner smartass wants to say Pat Sajak or Vanna White…
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What’s funny is I “figured” all of these out like two years ago, and now I’m looking at my notes like “Blech, what in the hell?” I was going to use the Sphere Grid from X, which isn’t a TERRIBLE concept, but it’s like, “No, there’s a person. I’m going to think of a person.”
Cait Sith’s attacks were totally random. Quina’s were, too! Sometimes they’d take of 1, sometimes 5000. I think they’re supposed to be similar/equivalent characters across games. Speaking of random, Cait Sith has one of those names that I don’t pronounce like I think most people do. I remember reading the origin of the name being from the Gaelic for “magic cat,” and it would be pronounced “kett-shih,” and because I’m an impressionable, young lass that stuck with me. I’ll say “kate-sith” if other people say that, since I don’t want to be THAT person, but the “Cait” part sounds like the first part of my flower girl’s name, and omg it’s late and this conversation has gotten very meta and weird.
Hehe, that was my first exposure to the “Wheel of Fortune,” too, then I sang Carmina Burana (O Fortuna) which is about the Wheel of Fortune…and whose lyrics are from “One Winged Angel.” Gah! It always comes right back around to VII…like a wheel *headdesk*
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It funny how our opinions of things change over time.
I’ve always said “Kate” Sith by your way sounds much more proper! Magic Cat makes sense for the character.
It’s amazing how many connections we can make back to the stories we treasure in life. This conversation is meta hilarious, but go get some sleep woman, lol
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Tee hee yes, it was quite late when I wrote that comment (circa 3am), but I’d pushed off checking my comments until after I did some editing and reading.
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