FF7 Rebirth is continuing the story of the FF7 Remake series, which means that Cait Sith is due to appear as the Gold Saucer returns to the story. Cait Sith’s reappearance has kicked off a debate among the fans about his name, but it really shouldn’t have because his name is mud, as he’s the worst character in Final Fantasy VII.
We won’t get into FF7 spoilers here (that’ll happen further below), so to keep it brief and spoiler-free — Cait Sith is an animatronic cat robot that controls a massive Moogle doll, which it rides into battle. The party first encounters Cait Sith in the Gold Saucer, who offers to read their fortune as the party is tracking Sephiroth through the region. Cait Sith joins the party and fights alongside them in battle, with the cat and Moogle acting as one.
Related: FF7 Rebirth: Everything New in the Latest Trailer
Square Enix Dropped A Pronunciation Bomb On The Fanbase
FF7 was a PlayStation 1 game, so it lacked any voice acting, which meant that fans had to spend years interpreting the pronunciation of Cait Sith’s name. Cait Sith will be playable in FF7 Rebirth, so the characters must say his name, answering the debate once and for all. A recent post on the official Final Fantasy VII Twitter page finally clarified matters, as Cait Sith’s name is pronounced Kate Sihth.
This has led to arguments online about how Square Enix is wrong and Cait Sith should be pronounced in different ways. The concept of Cait Sith comes from a creature in Celtic folklore, which actually appeared in Final Fantasy games that came before FF7. This has led to arguments that the name should be pronounced using the original Celtic pronunciation, while others disagree, based on the fact that they’ve been saying something different for decades. For my part, I’ve been pronouncing it as Kate Sith since FF7 came out, but I’d change after playing FF7 Rebirth, much like how I eventually switched from Aeris to Aerith.
Cait Sith Is The Worst Character In FF7
As a huge fan of the original Final Fantasy VII, I’ve been dreading the return of Cait Sith simply because he’s the worst character in the game due to how out of place he feels. The FF7 party is full of these fantastic, iconic characters, with even the strangest among them (Red XIII) fitting the game’s overall vibe. Then, you have this giant teddy bear robot who stands out like the custom character in a cutscene every time he shows up.
NOTE: FF7 and Potential FF7 Rebirth/Future Remake Games Spoilers Below
Cait Sith also sticks out in different ways, as he’s actually a spy planted by the Shinra Executives, with Reeve from FF7 Remake piloting the cat robot. There’s never a good reason given for why the party keep him around initially, as they’re international terrorists who are on the run from the most powerful corporations in the world, yet they let this robot duo into their ranks just… because.
Cait Sith eventually betrays the party, but he does redeem himself toward the end of the game, but the damage is done. He then just hangs around for most of the game, save for giving updates from the Shinra & Midgar side.
I’ve replayed FF7 many times over the years, yet I’ve never done a playthrough where I’ve included Cait Sith in the party just because I dislike him so much. He looks stupid, his random chance Limit Breaks suck, and he’s nowhere near as entertaining as any other party members. I also anticipate hating him even more in FF7 Rebirth because at least the other characters looked rough in FF7 on the PS1 due to the limitations of the hardware. In FF7 Rebirth, Cait Sith will stand out even more than the realistic depiction of the FF7 party members.
Cait Sith Is Also Pretty Bad In The FF7 Spin-Offs
Cait Sith reappeared in the FF7 spinoffs that have been released over the years, but he hasn’t fared much better, thanks to the baffling choice to give him an annoying Scottish accent. That’s right: the version of Cait Sith in Advent Children and Dirge of Cerberus sounds like a high-pitched Shrek, just in case you thought he couldn’t get any more appealing.
Dirge of Cerberus also has the cardinal sin of making Cait Sith playable during parts of the game. He plays the same role as Mary Jane in Marvel’s Spider-Man, as Cait Sith is all about stealth sections, which are as fun as they sound. This means that the fast-paced anime action game, where the awesome Vincent Valentine trades bullets with the members of the Deepground, has to grind to a halt, while a cartoon cat drags its backside between different barrels, while it hides from foes.
The only reason Cait Sith isn’t the worst character in the Compilation of FF7 is because some later heroes and villains managed to overtake him. Genesis from Crisis Core might be the worst, being the crimson Marty Stu he is, while the Remnants of Sephiroth constantly chirping about “Mother” in Advent Children aren’t far behind. Cait Sith’s diminished role in the spinoffs worked to his advantage, as he hasn’t been around enough to be hated.
Cait Sith Is Playable In FF7 Rebirth, But Vincent & Cid Won’t Be
Cait Sith is fully playable in FF7 Rebirth, but that comes at a cost, as both Vincent Valentine and Cid Highwind will be guest party members, similar to how Red XIII worked in FF7 Remake. This means you’ll be playing as Cait Sith in FF7 Rebirth, but those actually popular characters that people like are reduced to AI-controlled characters. Oh, joy!
Related: FF7 Rebirth Will End At Series’ Most Iconic Scene
Cait Sith’s appearance in FF7 Rebirth might be the thing that changes my opinion. After all, FF7 Remake made me appreciate FF7 characters like Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie a lot more, as well as the novel characters like Kyrie and Lester. Square Enix will have to perform a miracle to do this, as over twenty-five years of disdain won’t be easy to wash away. We finally know how Cait Sith’s name is pronounced, but will the developers make us care about him before the credits roll?
