Cecil Harvey/Dissidia (PSP)

Cecil Harvey is one of the Warriors of Cosmos in Dissidia Final Fantasy. He relies on his experience as both a Dark Knight and a Paladin, and may freely switch between either during battle. As a Paladin, aerial combat is his forte, combining fast movement with expert swordplay. When in Dark Knight form he is a formidable ground fighter, boasting both short and long range moves. As he travels alongside Firion, Cloud, and Tidus, he must deal with his feelings for Golbez, torn between fighting Golbez as an enemy and trusting him as a brother.

He is set to return, along with the other characters from Dissidia, in Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy.

Crystal and Attire
Cecil's outfits are based on Amano's designs. As a Dark Knight, Cecil wears nearly black armor with blue and gold trimmings and a helmet with spikes emerging from several places. As a Paladin, Cecil wears white and blue armor with gold trimmings and a cape, and wears no helmet. In his alternate outfit, Cecil's armor is recolored as in an alternate Amano artwork, giving his Paladin armor silver and red highlights and a red-orange cape, and his Dark Knight armor becomes a different shade of black also with red highlights. In Dissidia 012, Cecil's third outfit is based on his appearance in the opening FMV of the DS release of Final Fantasy IV, which is also how he appeared in the artwork of him by Airi Yoshioka. His Paladin armor is less blue with more silver highlights, and he has a different hairstyle, while his Dark Knight form is dark gray and has different details. Both forms also have differently designed shoulders and symmetrical spikes.

Cecil's crystal could be a reference to Final Fantasy IV's Crystals; the one present in Dissidia is half white and half black, possibly referring to the Light Crystals and Dark Crystals.

Cecil's Manikin version, Delusory Knight, is dark blue when in Dark Knight form and silver in Paladin form.

Dissidia 012
In the Jump Festa Trailer, Cecil is seen trying to protect Kain from Golbez.

Destiny Odyssey
Cecil is allied with Firion, Cloud, and Tidus. When asked by Cloud about why he is fighting, Cecil responds that he has not thought that way about the subject before. Cloud later confides in Cecil about Firion's reason for fighting and Cecil says that to Firion, the Wild Rose symbolizes peace.

Throughout Cecil's story, Golbez appears to give his younger brother what seems to be advice on seeking the Crystals. Although Golbez is the enemy, Cecil still wonders if he can be trusted as his brother. He eventually leaves with encouragement from Tidus and meets with Golbez, when they are interrupted by Exdeath. Believing Golbez a traitor, Exdeath attacks him, but Cecil defends his brother and engages Exdeath. After he prevails, Cecil asks Golbez to come with him, but Golbez refuses as he has been stained by darkness and cannot be redeemed. Cecil eventually meets Cosmos, who confirms that a strong will and strength is the key to finding the Crystals; Golbez was telling Cecil the truth. Cecil confronts Golbez again, and Golbez demands Cecil fight him. Cecil awakens his light powers and uses both light and darkness to defeat Golbez. After the battle, Cecil's Crystal appears, and although Cecil claims they made it shine together, Golbez replies that Cecil did it alone, which was the point Golbez was attempting to convey.

Shade Impulse
After Cosmos's death, the heroes continue to travel in order to defeat Chaos and honor Cosmos's sacrifice. Along the way, Cecil is suddenly attacked by Golbez who claims that in a world full of disorder his wish can be fulfilled. Cecil battles his brother once again and wins. After the battle, he asks his brother for an explanation, to which Golbez responds that he only wanted to test Cecil's bond to his friends because if he failed, he would not stand a chance against Chaos. After claiming that the bonds are incredibly strong and that he believes the Warriors of Cosmos are capable of anything, Golbez attempts to leave while saying that he does not have the right to be near Cecil. However, Cecil stops him and asks him to join them, telling his brother that if it is all about "bonds," the two of them also have one, so they should be comrades. Golbez tells Cecil that he is far too kind to be a knight, but once the light shines on him as well, they might fight side by side. Cecil soon gathers with the rest of the Warriors of Cosmos to strike down Chaos. As the tyrant falls, so does his power over the worlds. After peace is restored, Cecil watches everyone fade back to their home worlds, with him returning to his home in Baron. Before he fades back into his world, he tells his comrades that he will pass on the strength they have all given him. The moon cycles behind Cecil as he fades, which possibly represents his Lunarian heritage.

Battle
Cecil's fighting style is Split Soul, due to his ability to change between Paladin and Dark Knight forms. His Dark Knight form is skilled in slow, powerful attacks on the ground, while his Paladin form uses swift aerial combos. Both forms also have access to magic, and while he is primarily a melee fighter, he has several ranged attacks. Cecil automatically changes form whenever he uses a HP attack - using a ground attack makes him change into his Dark Knight form, while aerial HP attacks turn him into a Paladin. Cecil has slow ground movement as a Dark Knight, but is faster as a Paladin, although with the weakness of limited range. In addition, his constant form shifting can sometimes be difficult for players to master. His HP attacks are slow, leaving him vulnerable to punishment if he misses.

Boss
Cecil is fought in Distant Glory and Inward Chaos.

EX Mode
Soul Shift 6nnRbZiuHN0 Cecil's EX Mode is Job Augment, where he gains the Deathbringer sword while a Dark Knight, and the Mythgraven Blade in his Paladin form. Cecil gains Regen, and the abilities "Inner Strength" and "Proteus". Inner Strength boosts the Bravery damage Cecil does by 1.5 times, while Proteus allows him to change forms without attacking by pressing R and. This gives Cecil the ability to combo his attacks together in new ways by changing forms quickly.

Cecil's EX Burst is Soul Shift. The player must input three pairs of button combinations, allowing Cecil to attack the opponent with the power of both his forms. If the player fails to input all the commands correctly, Cecil will end the EX Burst as a Dark Knight and fire dark orbs at the opponent. If the player gets all the commands correct, Cecil will end the EX Burst as a Paladin and slash the opponent twice, leaving a cross shape in the aftermath.

Equipment
Cecil can equip Swords, Greatswords, Axes, Shields, Gauntlets, Helms, Light Armor, and Heavy Armor.

Allusions

 * In Destiny Odyssey IV-5, as Cecil is hovering in the air, he takes the iconic pose of his best friend and rival, Kain Highwind. Shortly afterwards, Cecil leaps at Golbez while a Paladin, and the two assume the same poses they take in the opening of the DS release of Final Fantasy IV. Later during the same scene, Cecil assumes the same pose he does while performing Darkness in the original Final Fantasy IV. He also assumes this pose during his EX Burst.
 * Cecil's EX mode, "Job Augment" is a reference to the Augment System introduced in Final Fantasy IV DS.
 * Cecil's line when fighting against himself is the same as the line he speaks at Mount Ordeals before he does battle with his Dark Knight self: "This is a fight for me and me alone."
 * Cecil's victory quote, "All that matters is what's inside," is a reference to a line spoken by Rydia during the ending of Final Fantasy IV: "All that matters is what's inside us. Isn't that right, Cecil?" Cecil's defeat quote, "I'm a coward," is a reference to a scene early in Final Fantasy IV, in which he tells Rosa Joanna Farrell, "I'm a coward. A coward who cannot even defy orders he knows he ought not follow." One of Cecil's opening quotes "This ends for you, not I!" is a reference to his quote before the final battle with Zeromus, "Zeromus, this is the end for you, not us!"
 * Cecil's exclusive weapons are all from Final Fantasy IV. The Dark Sword is Cecil's initially equipped weapon as a Dark Knight and the Mythgraven Blade is the weapon Cecil is equipped with after becoming a Paladin. The Lustrous Sword can be obtained from the Sealed Cave, and the Lightbringer is Cecil's strongest weapon in the Advance release. The Cimmerian Edge is Golbez's initially equipped weapon in the flashback scenes from Final Fantasy IV: The After Years where it was translated as "Ebony Blade" in the English version.
 * Cecil's moveset contains several references to Kain. Saint's Fall, otherwise known as Saint Dive, is one of Kain's Band Abilities in Final Fantasy IV: the After Years, performed by combining his Jump command with Rosa's White Magic, and the "Nightfall" attack heavily resembles the classic Dragoon Jump attack.
 * During Cecil's EX Burst, he says "Light and darkness cast aloft!," which comes from the Mysidian Legend.
 * In Cecil's story mode, one of the Destiny Point rewards is the Bomb summon. This is a reference to The Bomb Ring, which Cecil was told by the King Of Baron to take out at Mist, which destroyed the town.

Trivia

 * Cecil is the fifth to obtain his crystal according to Destiny Odyssey 78.
 * Cecil's EX Mode ability "Proteus" is named for the Greek sea god . According to Greek myth, Proteus was constantly sought out by people for his ability to foretell the future, and to avoid being found he constantly changed his form to hide himself. The adjective "protean" comes from the name of the god, and means "variable, able to change/assume different forms."
 * Cecil has the most exclusive equipment pieces in the game, having a total of three exclusive armor pieces and five exclusive weapons. Along with Gabranth this also makes him the only character to have an exclusive armor piece.
 * Cecil is the only Warrior of Cosmos to have his face covered by a helmet.
 * Cecil is the only character to have two victory poses, depending on which form he is in when he wins a battle. Cecil begins every fight in his Dark Knight form and therefore has only one intro pose.
 * In both his Paladin and Dark Knight forms, Cecil has an extra sword on his lower back that he does not draw or use in battle. Onion Knight, Terra, and Bartz also share this trait, as they carry daggers that are not used in battle.
 * Cecil is the only Warrior of Cosmos to use darkness based attacks, unless one counts Bartz while using Cecil's Soul Eater.
 * Cecil's HP attacks have the highest AP requirement for mastery of any attack in the game, each requiring 360 AP to master.
 * Cecil is one of three Cosmos warriors (the other being Squall and Shantotto) who does not have a chainable HP attack.

Cecil Harvey/Dissidia