The Highwind is an airship in Final Fantasy VII. Owned by Cid Highwind and manufactured by the Shinra Electric Power Company, the airship was used by Rufus Shinra, before being stolen by Cid for Tifa Lockhart and the group. It would eventually be used as Cloud Strife's primary means of transportation around the planet in the battle against Sephiroth.
In gameplay, the Highwind is the player's primary airship in Final Fantasy VII. It can land on plains in the overworld and only patches that are big enough for it to fit. Additionally, the Highwind is also used as a part of Cid's Limit Break Highwind, in which the ship rains 18 missiles down on random targets.
History[]
Development and Shinra control[]
Highwind in the sky.
The Highwind was designed and built by Cid Highwind, the chief aeronautical engineer for the Shinra Electric Power Company, and built with their funding,[2] and named after Cid.[2][1] During Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-, a poster of the newly-constructed airship, then in its testing phase, was on display in the Showcase Room of Shinra Building.[2] Sometime after the failed launch of Shinra No. 26 rocket, the airship was confiscated from Cid,[3] and then stationed in the Junon airfield.[note 1]
President Rufus Shinra took command of the Highwind during the hunt for the rogue SOLDIER member, Sephiroth, and during "That Which Waits in the Northernmost Reaches", commandeered it to the Northern Cave inside the North Crater. The time taken to arrange the mutiny of the Highwind crew took roughly seven days.[citation needed] Cloud's party ran into Shinra at the cave, and the Highwind took off when the Weapons sleeping in the crater awaken.[note 2]
Use by Cloud[]
In "In a World Approaching Its End", the Highwind was docked in Junon, where Rufus planned to execute Tifa Lockhart and Barret Wallace as scapegoats for the Meteor crisis. Cait Sith and Yuffie Kisaragi infiltrated Junon and rescued Barret, while Cid convinces the airship's crew to abandon Shinra and return to serve him. The airship stolen from Shinra, Tifa jumped off the Mako Cannon onto the Highwind, and from then on the ship served as the party's main transport and headquarters.
The "Lady Luck" painting on the side of the Highwind. This painting returns on the Shera's main deck floor.
At the end of "Mako Cannon Rampage", before the party descended to the Northern Cave for the final battle, the Highwind revealed two jet boosts at the back, replacing the two propellers. In "The Planet's Judgment", after defeating Sephiroth, the party was stuck deep within the planet, and the Highwind dove into the crater to rescue them.[note 3]
As the ship was blasted out of the crater by Holy, its tails fell off along with some of the shell. Cid pulled an emergency lever that jettisoned the rest of the load and transformed the Highwind into its final form as two long wings unfold from its sides. The final Highwind model was propelled by a single engine, and appeared to be an emergency measure for when the ship takes too much damage. Highwind soared the skies as the Meteor crashes into Midgar, and the lifestream welled up to save the planet.
It is unknown what became of the Highwind afterward, as Cid replaced it with a new airship, the Shera.
Characteristics[]
The Highwind is an immense vessel capable of traveling the planet. The vehicle primarily uses propellers to fly, but can be converted to jet propulsion, taking it from a 173 knot speed to to a 386 knot speed.[note 4] For its 15,200 horsepower takeoff engine, the vessel uses a 96-cylinder airship engine made by Cid by connecting four Shinra-made Ha-13s air-cooled radial aircraft engines (each two-tiered 24-cylinder enginers with a takeoff output of 3,800 horsepower), with two engines moving a single propeller. For its 22,400 horsepower jet propulsion engine, the vessel uses a 192-cylinder airship engine made by connecting eight Shinra-made Ha-54 liquid-cooled inverted-V 24-cylinder aircraft engines (each with a takeoff output of 2,800 horsepower).[1]
The vehicle is a rigid airship with a unique design. It has a metal-covered hull and a body that, while following the outline of an airship, diverges greatly in shape. Around the left engine, the ship's name is spray painted on in red, along with a painting of "Lady Luck", a woman in a bikini. Below the main body of the ship is an anchor by a gondola, and near this is the bridge. By the bridge are a chocobo stable and an operations room.
Gameplay[]
As a vehicle[]
World map model, v1 (top) and v2 (bottom).
The player can steer the Highwind on the world map and land it on grassy areas. Areas that cannot be reached with the Highwind, such as the Ancient Forest and the Materia Caves, can be reached instead with certain Chocobo obtained by breeding.
Inside the Highwind, the player can talk with other party members (whose dialogue often refreshes in-between story events), keep a Chocobo in a stable, and use the operations room that serves as a save point and a free heal. The vehicle is also used to chase down Ultimate Weapon.
Cid's Limit Break[]
Cid's ultimate Limit Break is "Highwind" where missiles (presumably being fired from the Highwind off screen) rain on the party's enemies. It is one of the most powerful Limits in the game.
Musical themes[]
The main musical theme of the Highwind is track 3 on disc 4 of the Final Fantasy VII: Original Soundtrack, "The Highwind Takes to the Skies". It is a stirring arrangement of "Main Theme of Final Fantasy VII" and might have been inspired by the Final Fantasy V track "In Search of Light".
"Gold Saucer - The Highwind Takes to the Skies (X'mas Edit)" is a track on the X'mas Collections music from SQUARE ENIX.
"The Highwind Takes to the Skies" is included on the fourth disc of Final Fantasy VII Vinyl Limited Edition compilation album. The rearranged version of "The Highwind Takes to the Skies" is included in the fifth disc of Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Compilation Album. The original version of "The Highwind Takes to the Skies" from Final Fantasy VII is included in the music player in Final Fantasy XV. It is the second track of the Memories of FFVII album that is available by default.
Other appearances[]
On the Way to a Smile -Episode: Denzel- Final Fantasy VII[]
The Highwind toy model.
A toy version of the Highwind appears in a scene.
Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call[]
Highwind in an FMS.
Highwind appears in an Airship Field Music Sequence for the theme, "The Highwind Takes to the Skies".
Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade[]
This section in Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade is empty or needs to be expanded. You can help the Final Fantasy Wiki by expanding it.Non-Final Fantasy guest appearances[]
Kingdom Hearts series[]
In Kingdom Hearts, Riku challenges Sora to a race; if Sora wins, he can name their raft what the player wishes. However, if Riku wins, he calls it "Highwind". The name of the raft is used for the name of the Gummi Ship later in the game.
"Highwind" is used in Kingdom Hearts II for the default model of the Gummi Ship. Also, there's a special Gummi Ship model named "Highwind Alpha" which resembles Highwind.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[]
The Highwind appears on the Northern Cave stage in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Behind the scenes[]
Wallpaper of Highwind and Aeris.
When the player's party first visits Junon in Final Fantasy VII, Highwind is stationed on Junon airfield. Onboard the cargo ship, Aerith Gainsborough confides in Cloud a desire to ride the airship.[4] A wallpaper released by Square—also visible during the installation of the 1998 PC release of Final Fantasy VII, on the CD sleeve, and on the screen to change to disc 2—shows Aeris watching the Highwind on Junon airfield. However, the Highwind is not acquired until after she leaves the party. The re-creation of this key art for the Final Fantasy VII Remake 
features Aerith on the empty air strip, as Highwind does not appear in the game.
In Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-, the player can see a blimp that resembles the Highwind in Junon's Airport. It can be seen more clearly with a map viewer.
Merchandise[]
Final Fantasy Mechanical Arts are a line produced by Square Enix of small replicas of vehicles from Final Fantasy titles. Introduced in February 2007, they are high detailed die-cast models with a display stand. The Highwind statue is sized at 6.1”L (155mm).
Gallery[]
Etymology[]
"Highwind" is a recurring name in the Final Fantasy series associated with dragoons. In-lore, the airship Highwind is named after its pilot, Cid Highwind.[2]
"High wind" is typical of wind speeds that place a seven on the Beaufort scale. When wind travels this fast (approximately 32 to 38 miles per hour), the sea heaps up. Streaks of foam from breaking waves are blown in the direction the wind is traveling, and there are moderate amounts of airborne spray. On land, high wind moves entire trees, and effort is required to walk against it.
Notes[]
Annotations[]
- ↑ In Final Fantasy VII, the player can spot the Highwind stationed in Junon during "The Stowaway Strategy".
- ↑ It is not shown how Cid avoided capture during this time, but Tifa and Barret were taken away on the Highwind during the Weapons' rise, as seen in the cutscene in "That Which Waits in the Northernmost Regions".
- ↑ The cause of the nose-dive rescuing the party at the end of "The Planet's Judgment" not explained, and Cid's consternation implied the crew acted on their own, or that the ship, tethered near the crater entrance, was pulled down.
- ↑ The jet propulsion speed in lore does not affect gameplay, and the vehicle will not move significantly faster on the world map in-game.
Citations[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 Final Fantasy Ultimania Archive Volume 2, p. 92
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- script § "Chapter 3"
- ↑ Final Fantasy VII script § "A Sleeping Village Dreaming of Outer Space"
- ↑ Final Fantasy VII script § "Dangerous Voyage"