Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth fans split by Cait Sith controversy
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth has cleared up a bizarre fact about one of its characters, but players are in two minds about Square Enix's big Cait Sith reveal
05th Oct 2023 11:00
Images via Square Enix
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth fans split by Cait Sith controversy
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth has cleared up a bizarre fact about one of its characters, but players are in two minds about Square Enix's big Cait Sith reveal
05th Oct 2023 11:00
Images via Square Enix
It's easy to forget just how long Final Fantasy has been around, and with many of us playing every entry of Square Enix's long-running series (multiple times), it wouldn't be too out of the ordinary for players to presume they know it all.
The fantasy franchise had been established long before it hit the West with Final Fantasy VII, and even though it has been a part of our video game world for some time since, there are still omissions that fans have either skimmed over or dodged entirely. Now, it looks like one pronunciation is about to tear fandom apart.
Final Fantasy clears up Cait Sith pronunciation
It's like a hyper-focussed scrap over whether it's pronounced "GIF" or "JIF," and we have just as much patience for it.
Square Enix has revealed that in the upcoming Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, fans will be reintroduced to cat-like team member Cait Sith from the original game. Unfortunately, it turns out that his name sounds different to what players have presumed.
In an era where characters simply wouldn't speak, players presumed that the cat's surname was pronounced how it was spelled - much like the baddies from Star Wars. Now, Square Enix has cleared up on Twitter that the character's name is pronounced as "Kate Sihth."
Given that Cat-sith is seemingly based on the Celtic fairy creature, many have been using the Gaelic pronunciation and calling him "Ket Shee" for years. This fits with the Japanese pronunciation, which was much closer to his Gaelic roots. Now, it's been bastardised by the West.
Fans react to bizarre Cait Sith pronunciation post
Fans have been pretty stunned by the shocking shift, especially as the company has added that the pronunciation will exist "in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth," implying it's different elsewhere. One naysayer said, "It’s finally over. And my 13-year old self’s pronunciation stands as canon 😭"
Another said, "I'm gonna rebuke that just to keep it going. 😎" A third said, "It's canon to mispronounce it now." It's a truly strange reveal, but hey, we'll take it. At least the online arguments will be pronouncing Cait's name right while they slander them.
About The Author
Joseph Kime
Joseph Kime is the Senior Trending News Journalist for GGRecon from Devon, UK. Before graduating from MarJon University with a degree in Journalism, he started writing music reviews for his own website before writing for the likes of FANDOM, Zavvi and The Digital Fix. He is host of the Big Screen Book Club podcast, and author of Building A Universe, a book that chronicles the history of superhero movies. His favourite games include DOOM (2016), Celeste and Pokemon Emerald.
