Cissnei

Leader of the Gongaga Youth Coalition. She initially visited Gongaga after the reactor exploded as part of the relief effort, then ended up calling the village her home. Her past is shrouded in mystery, but her knack for both combat and leadership suggests she is no amateur. She employs those fighting skills while fending off fiends that have gone wild due to mako exposure.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth official website

Cissnei (real name unknown) is a recurring character in the Final Fantasy VII series. She is a supporting character in Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. Cissnei is also a playable character in Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-.

Cissnei is an operative with the Turks unit of the Shinra Electric Power Company's General Affairs division, led by Tseng. She eventually became the leader of the Gongaga Youth Coalition, but still works undercover for the company. She is thoughtful, outgoing, and motivated, carrying herself professionally and devoting herself to her duties. Cissnei is close friends with Zack Fair.

Cissnei is an experienced leader and trained in many forms of combat, wielding a shuriken in battle.

History[]

Before Final Fantasy VII[]

Cissnei was born in 1985 and raised as an orphan in a Shinra training facility.^[2] She was recruited into the Turks at a young age.^[1]

Avalanche Insurgency and Genesis War[]

Cissnei worked on a secret mission for the Turks prior to the Avalanche Insurgency.^[1]

Cissnei helped search for Hollander and defended Sector 8 alongside Reno, Rude, and Tseng from Genesis Rhapsodos's assault on Midgar during "Special Episode: Reno" in Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-.^[3] Upon meeting Zack Fair in Chapter 3 of Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-, she mentioned SOLDIER's lack of manpower, generously accepted his help, winked at him, and ran off. When Zack later saved Cissnei from Genesis copies, she expressed her childhood desire for freedom, debated the symbolism of wings, and thanked him for his help before departing.^[4]

Cissnei monitored Zack on a forced vacation in Costa del Sol due to Angeal Hewley's death and his growing distrust of Shinra during Chapter 6. She chatted with Zack, suggested relaxing, dissuaded him from contacting the company, and mentioned Lazard Deusericus's betrayal and Hollander's interrogation. Cissnei informed Zack that Aerith Gainsborough was under company surveillance because she was the last living Ancient.^[5]

After simultaneous attacks from Genesis's army, Cissnei, Zack, and Tseng headed to Junon to repel an assault. She and Tseng helped evacuate residents, directing Zack to Hollander's location. When Zack praised her skills and asked about her past, she revealed her tough upbringing, credited her Turk comrades for helping change her perspective, and urged him not to slack off and disappoint his fan club. Cissnei and Tseng were ultimately unable to secure Hollander, who was flown away by Genesis copies.^[5]

Cissnei emailed Zack about the chaotic state of SOLDIER following Lazard's disappearance in Chapter 7, noting its impact on President Shinra and that the Turks were handling most of the workload. In a follow-up email, she apologized for cutting his vacation short due to her assignment and encouraged him to return to the beach and take breaks to maintain his quality of work.^[6]

Cissnei was dispatched to Icicle Inn for a mission and emailed Zack during Chapter 8, asking if he was in Nibelheim and if he had finished reading or discarded Loveless. In a later email, she invited him to a stage production of Loveless upon their return to Midgar, hinting that it might provide clues to what he was looking for.^[6]

During "The Choices We Made in the Beginning and the End" in Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-, Tseng assigned Cissnei to locate Professor Hojo's escaped test subjects: Zack Fair and Cloud Strife.^[7] She found Zack and Cloud in the countryside during Chapter 9 of Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-, felt conflicted about her orders to capture them, and raised her weapon. Cissnei noticed Cloud's severe mako poisoning, lied to Tseng about losing the targets, and provided them keys to a motorcycle, enabling their escape.^[8]

Cissnei later encountered Zack in Gongaga, warned him about tight security due to Angeal Hewley sightings, and informed him that Shinra expected him to return home. She reminded that he killed Angeal, but confirmed he has been sighted regardless, thinking he was there to see Zack. Cissnei allowed Zack time to run, wanted to spare herself from delivering bad news to his parents, mentioned his mother was concerned about him getting married, but reassured him they were otherwise fine. After Zack joked about Cissnei being invited to the family, she remarked that it "already happened", admitted "Cissnei" was an alias, and reminded him to escape.^[8]

Cissnei helped Tseng enact his plan to save Zack and Cloud before the mobilized Shinra army could execute them during Chapter 10. Determined to find Zack and tell him her real name, she set off in a helicopter. She later radioed Reno and Rude for a status report and instructed them to relocate after they found nothing. Despite their efforts, Zack was killed.^[9]

Cissnei joined the other Turks in battle against Zirconiade during "The Concerto: Played Out to its Straining Point" in Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-, vanishing in an explosion after destroying the summon.^[10]

Original continuity[]

Meteor and Rebuilding Shinra[]

During the second epilogue of Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-, Cissnei and the rest of the Turks, including Verdot, assisted in evacuating Midgar during the imminent threat of Meteor summoned by Sephiroth.^[11] After Meteor was repelled, as mentioned in Final Fantasy VII: On the Way to a Smile, Final Fantasy VII The Kids Are Alright: A Turks Side Story, and Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, Cissnei and the other Turks collected intel around the world, shared what they found to their colleagues, and lived independent lives.^[12][13][14]

Remake continuity[]

Cissnei moved to Gongaga to assist with relief efforts following the mako reactor explosion. She became captain of the Gongaga Youth Coalition but secretly continued serving Shinra.^[15][2]

Gongaga Youth Coalition[]

Cissnei ambushed Cloud's party in Gongaga village "The Planet Stirs" in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, but ordered her troops to stand down upon recognizing Cloud and Cait Sith, though Cloud did not recognize her. She guided the party to Monument Hill for the best view of the ruined reactor where they all paid respects, and she invited them to rest at her house. After a few hours, Cissnei heard a Weapon roar from the reactor, mentioned it had been happening for a few days, explained that the GYC were unable to investigate, and added that she had seen "black wisps" there, leaving the party surprised.^[16]

As Cloud, Barret Wallace, Red XIII, and Cait Sith left to investigate, Cissnei stayed behind with Tifa Lockhart, Aerith Gainsborough, and Yuffie Kisaragi to safeguard the village. After a distant explosion, she provided the girls with chocobos and grappling guns before they set off to the reactor, believing something big was happening. After Cloud's party handled the situation at the reactor, Cissnei walked in on Barret delivering a rallying speech about saving the planet. She directed the group to a nearby airstrip to meet Cid Highwind and lent them chocobos for the trip.^[16]

During "Teach Me, Great Warrior", Cissnei interjected when Sotetsu, a member of the Gongaga Youth Coalition, asked Cloud and Yuffie to train him and the others. She reminded him that she had seen plenty of action herself and was determined to prove it by subjecting the coalition to hard training.^[17] Cissnei made Gongaga mushroom soup and planned to invite the Fairs over for a meal in "The Spice of Life", but was unhappy with how the recipe turned out. After Cloud and Aerith returned from Torgan's Farm with the requested ingredients, she and Aerith cooked a new batch together. As they prepared the meal, Cloud, Aerith, and Cissnei reminisced about their time with Shinra and the company's bomberry recipe, though Cissnei quickly dropped the subject.^[18]

Shinra sent Cissnei to inspect a secret Turks training facility during the "Protorelic Phenemon" in Gongaga, where she unexpectedly discovered Cloud's party inside. As the facility's security system began revealing sensitive information about her, she panicked. A fascinated Chadley probed her about being a Turk, but Cissnei stopped him. She reminded how she had previously covered for Cloud's party at the reactor and suggested they leave.^[16]

Cissnei insisted on personally confronting the fiends threatening Gongaga village in "Woodland Vigil" during "A Golden Key", despite her comrades urging her to stay back. Aerith convinced her to let her and Cloud assist, sending them to survey the area from an observation tower. Unbeknownst to Aerith, Cissnei closely followed them, though Cloud was aware of her presence. After the party defeated the dangerous fiend, Cissnei allowed Cloud to ask one question. Depending on his response, she vaguely confirmed her ties to Shinra and the Turks but quickly shushed him, requesting that he let her live her life.^[19]

Characteristics[]

Appearance[]

Cissnei is a young woman with a slim and athletic figure, fair skin, wavy shoulder-length red hair, and golden brown eyes. Many SOLDIER operatives consider her one of the "prettiest women in Midgar".^[4]

Cissnei wears the standard Turks uniform consisting of a black suit, white dress shirt, black tie, arched dress boots, and fingerless biker gloves. Her beach attire includes a cream-colored top with periwinkle trim, yellow mini athletic shorts with a periwinkle drawstring, a pink "07" graphic, and pink and cream-colored flip flops.

In Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Cissnei maintains the fingerless biker gloves, but adds a brown leather studded shoulder cauldron and a teal leather jacket vest with magenta trim over a white blouse. The three white belts—two supporting the vest and one securing her holster—along with slim-fitted magenta pants, two white thigh guards, and black open steel toe boots.

Personality[]

Wings symbolize freedom for those who have none. They don't symbolize monsters.

Cissnei, Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- § "Chapter 3"

Cissnei is calm and compassionate. She is confident, acts professional, and takes pride in her work. However, she sometimes struggles to prioritize her duties, often feeling empathy for others. Having been raised an orphan and joining the Turks at a young age, Cissnei has a strong will and dreams for a life of freedom.^[4] Due to her rough upbringing, Cissnei once struggled with trusting people and dealt with paranoia. However, her Turk colleagues befriended her over time, gradually changing her perspective and helping her become more open and trusting.^[1]

Cissnei is friends with Tseng, Reno, and Rude, who helped her regain a sense of trust and openness by showing support and kindness. When they are off-duty, they all spend time together. She is close friends with Zack. Though Cissnei acts playful and flirty toward him, she expresses concern for his well-being, opens up to him about her past, invited him to a production of Loveless, and chose to help him despite Shinra company orders.^[5][8][9] Unbeknownst to Zack, Cissnei created a fan club for him and sends out emails under the pseudonym "Black Suit".^[6] Their friendship inspired her to move to Gongaga, atone for Shinra's past actions, look after Zack's parents, and honor his legacy.^[1][2]

Abilities[]

Cissnei was trained in various forms of combat during her youth, shaping her into a quick and agile fighter capable of holding her own against groups of enemies.^[8][1] She wields a shuriken in battle, which can be augmented with materia.^[11] Cissnei is also a competent pilot and motorcyclist.^[8][9]

Gameplay[]

Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-[]

Each Turk has a weapon particular to him or her. In Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-, weapon upgrades can be purchased using RP (Rank Points) gained from completing missions. The weapon's attacks can take on elemental attributes by slotting appropriate Materia into the weapon.

Stat	Initial	Level up	Level 99
RP	1,000
HP	200	+70	7060
MP	120	+7	806
Attack	20	+2	216
Defense	30	+1	128
Magic	5.5

Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-[]

Zack gains Cissnei in his Digital Mind Wave after meeting her partway through chapter 4. Lining up three of Cissnei's icons during a modulating phase lets Zack use her Limit Break, Lucky Stars, that makes all attacks critical hits for a period of time. Zack's Emotion Gauge increases in accordance to the Level of Lucky Stars, which increases his attack power and probability of activating another Limit Break accordingly.

Other appearances[]

Dissidia Final Fantasy Opera Omnia[]

Cissnei appears as a playable character who is automatically recruited at the beginning of Act 3, Ch. 7 Pt. 2 of the main storyline.

Pictlogica Final Fantasy[]

Final Fantasy Artniks[]

Final Fantasy Brave Exvius[]

Final Fantasy Trading Card Game[]

Cissnei appears in Final Fantasy Trading Card Game as a Thunder-elemental card.

Other media[]

Dead Fantasy[]

For more information, see Dead Fantasy Wiki: Cissnei.

Cissnei has appeared in the two Dead Fantasy music videos where she is seen in the swimsuit she wore in Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- while on vacation in Costa Del Sol with Zack Fair.

In Dead Fantasy Obsessed, she performs the song "Obsessed" by Mariah Carey with Tifa Lockhart from Final Fantasy VII and Kasumi from the Dead or Alive videogame series as her back-up dancers. In Dead Fantasy Gee, she sings and dances along with Tifa, Kasumi, Yuna, Ayane, Rikku, Hitomi, Rinoa Heartilly, and Kairi performing "Gee" from Girls' Generation. Her singing voice is provided by Tiffany.

Behind the scenes[]

Cissnei debuted in Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII- as one of the myriad unnamed Turk members the player could choose. Her role is expanded on in Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-, where she is the only Turk who had previously only appeared in Before Crisis to appear. As the player can name Cissnei in Before Crisis, she never reveals her true name to Zack.

During development of Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-, "Tian" was considered as an alternate codename for Cissnei.^[20]

Voice[]

In the English releases of Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-, Cissnei is voiced by Carrie Savage and in the remaster Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- Reunion and in the second part of the remake project Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, she is voiced by Kayli Mills. She is voiced by Asumi Nakada in the Japanese releases.

Gallery[]

Etymology[]

Cissnei may be derived from cisne. [view · edit · purge]Cisne is the Portuguese and Spanish word for "swan".

Notes[]

Annotations[]

Citations[]

References[]

• Square Enix (2008). Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- [Game]. Square Enix. PlayStation Portable.
• Square Enix (2004). Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII- [Game]. Square Enix. NTT DoCoMo FOMA 900i Series.
• Studio BentStuff (2007). Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII Ultimania [Book]. Square Enix. ISBN 978-4-7575-2126-1.