Cecil Harvey (セシル・ハーヴィ, Seshiru Hāvi) is a fictional character in the Square Co., Ltd. RPG Final Fantasy IV for the Super Famicom (Super Nintendo Entertainment System). He is of the typical hero archetype with both strengths he uses to thwart adversity and flaws he must overcome during the course of the game.

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Cecil is one of two sons born to the Lunarian KluYa, who fell in love with a young woman and settled down on Earth many years before the events of Final Fantasy IV. Shortly thereafter, KluYa dies, and after being orphaned at a young age Cecil is taken in by the King of Baron and raised as a Dark Knight. He becomes best friends with other Baron residents, Kain Highwind the Dragoon and Cid Pollendina the engineer. He also develops a romantic relationship with the beautiful Rosa Farrell the White Mage. Eventually he is promoted into the command of Baron's airship fleet, the "Red Wings". When the King orders Cecil to rob the magical town of Mysidia of its Water Crystal, Cecil begins to question his king's morality in issuing the order. For his disobedience, Cecil is relieved of his command as Captain of the Red Wings and ordered to deliver a Bomb Ring (Package in the American release) to the village Mist. After the ring releases a fiery explosion, presumably killing most of the inhabitants, he renounces his loyalty to the throne. He becomes involved in a plot involving Golbez, the mysterious new captain of the Red Wings, and his desire to gather the various crystals of the world.

Like in the other Final Fantasy games, Cecil encounters many other characters who assist him in his journey to find the crystals. Eventually, Cecil learns that the only way to conquer the evil threatening the world is by becoming a Paladin, and literally defeating his own dark side in the process. Cecil is the only character in Final Fantasy IV to change his character class.

Skills As A Dark Knight

When Cecil is a Dark Knight, he is seen using some dark magic spell by himself at the beginning of the game. But later, when he is taken control of, he has no longer the ability to use those black magic spells anymore.

Dark

In the Japanese version, Cecil's Dark ability sends waves of dark energy from Cecil's blade, causing damage to all enemies at the cost of some of Cecil's own HP. Dark Wave does not appear as a usable ability in the original American release of Final Fantasy II. However, during the mirror battle with Cecil's doppelganger on Mount Ordeals, the enemy Cecil uses the attack. This omission causes the mirror fight in the original USA release to make less sense; an American player would not have realized the wave drained the HP of the Dark Knight reflection with each use. The Dark ability was restored in the US PlayStation and Game Boy Advance remake.

Skills As A Paladin

After becoming a Paladin, Cecil obtains two new skills, though he loses Dark Wave.

Cover/Off

Cover, an ability that appears in many Final Fantasy games. When using Cover, Cecil protects another character in the party by taking their own damage. After using the skill, the command Off appears in its place. The sole purpose of Off is to discontinue Covering a character. The move is also performed automatically if a character has low HP. Cecil will not use Cover if his own HP is low. However, he will continue to automatically block other characters if their HP is low until Cecil dies.

White Magic

Like the Knights of the first Final Fantasy, Paladin Cecil possesses great strength and physical ability, as well as the ability to use a limited amount of white magic. White magic involves spells that heal or protect your character, or is used offensively against undead enemies.

Cameo

Cecil appears as an armor salesman of the Gothica Era location Ebon Keep in Secret of Evermore. The music track for the village is even titled "Cecil's Town."

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