Cloud Strife

Cloud Strife is the main protagonist in both Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. He also appears in the spin-off games Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus and Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-. In addition, he makes an appearance in Final Fantasy Tactics as a playable character earned through completing a series of side quests.

An arrogant swordsman at first, Cloud must come to terms with the fact his memories are false and rediscover who he truly is. In a theme that has carried over to many of his other appearances since Final Fantasy VII, Cloud attempts to leave his dark and tortured past behind. His archrival Sephiroth, having killed many of Cloud's friends, is the metaphorical embodiment of Cloud's dark memories, and the two have done battle several times.

Appearance
Cloud is of average height with a medium build. His blond hair is spiked, and in Final Fantasy VII featured one particularly large spike emerging into the air. For this reason, Cloud's spiked hair has become one of the trademarks of his appearance, although in later appearances the spikes have been toned down. Cloud was originally conceptualized with black hair, but this was changed, and his hair is meant to serve as a contrast to Sephiroth's silver hair. Cloud has blue eyes, which glow due to the Mako flowing through his body. Because "Mako eyes" are an icon of SOLDIER, Cloud is often mistaken as one. Presumably it is this Mako that allows him to wield his iconic Buster Sword, which is seemingly too heavy for non-SOLDIER members to use. Cloud was, however, capable of using it to limited effect as a Shinra guard with no special abilities.

Cloud's outfit in Final Fantasy VII, is the standard uniform for 1st Class SOLDIERs. The clothing consists of simple pants with a short-sleeved shirt, which are purple-blue in color, and a belt. Cloud also wears brown boots and gauntlets with a single pauldron over his left shoulder. This is also the uniform he wears for most of his other appearances, with slight variations. In Crisis Core, Cloud wears the uniform of a Shinra guard, consisting of blue clothing with several belts and straps and a gray-green piece of cloth around the collar. He also wears his helmet to hide his identity at times.

In Advent Children, Cloud's clothing design was made with fighting in mind, and the concept began with a black robe and was restructured into the final product seen in the film. Cloud's hair in particular was changed both to show the passage of time since the game, and to be more realistic. His clothing consists of a high collar black shirt with no sleeves, black pants and boots, and black cloth covering his left leg and arm. Cloud also gains an entirely new pauldron, and his chest is covered by two straps, held in place by a badge representing Fenrir, the animal that has come to be associated with Cloud.

In Kingdom Hearts, Cloud's costume was designed to resemble the outfit of Vincent Valentine. Cloud wears a tattered red cloak with dark blue pants and a shirt and brown boots. He wears gloves, the left of which has golden trimmings, almost like a claw. His costume also features many crossing belts. Cloud's most distinctive trait in this appearance is a demonic black wing protruding from his left shoulder, meant to symbolize both his connection to Sephiroth, and the dark powers he is using. In Kingdom Hearts II, Cloud appears identical to his Advent Children self.

Personality
In Final Fantasy VII, Cloud is somewhat cocky and selfish, agreeing to help AVALANCHE but only for the right price. However, during the events of the game he gradually develops into a better person, and shows genuine concern for the fate of the planet, a sharp contrast to his persona at the start of the game where he claimed he didn't care about the planet and only wanted his fee. Once his true memories are restored, Cloud largely remains the same in personality, although he is guilty over the events that he allowed to occur as a result of his false memories.

In Advent Children and many related appearances, Cloud is a much more somber and dark character. Tormented by his past, including the deaths of Zack and Aerith, Cloud distances himself from his friends and lives alone. He also contracts the fatal, incurable plague Geostigma, adding to his feelings of helplessness, and he tries to keep his affliction secret. However, during the film Cloud faces his past both metaphorically and literally, with the rebirth of Sephiroth, his visions of Aerith and shows of loyalty from his allies. These events allow him to forgive himself and move on, although as his appearances post-film are limited to Dirge of Cerberus, so it's unclear what this ultimately means in terms of his personality and lifestyle. In Crisis Core, Cloud is depicted as a rather shy person who idolizes both Zack and Sephiroth. However, when Sephiroth has burned down Nibelheim and badly wounded Zack and Tifa, Cloud does not hesitate to avenge them by hurling the madman to his apparent death whilst impaled with the Masamune.

Despite himself, Cloud holds those he cares about above all else and is always driven to protect them. His compassion is explored further when he brings Denzel back to Seventh Heaven and shares with Tifa an obligation to take care of the boy because of the guilt they felt for destroying Sector 7. Because Cloud saved him, Denzel looks up to him as an idol (much in contrast to Cloud's more fatal idolization for Sephiroth) and both share a strong bond as a result. This is further depicted when Denzel is the first Geostigma victim Cloud heals in Aerith's old church.

In The Reunion Files for Advent Children, Nomura explained that while Cloud was initially depicted as a more upbeat character at the end of VII, he chose to have Cloud be a character that fans would find more familiar, and the script was written to explain why Cloud had returned to such a frame of mind. Nomura also said that a great deal of care was taken to animate Cloud's face and expressions, and over thirty different models of his face were made. His face was modeled to keep "a stiff upper lip", with his emotions and thoughts being expressed through his eyes.

Childhood
Cloud's childhood thus far has only been covered in Final Fantasy VII, in flashbacks. Cloud was born in the sleepy mountain village of Nibelheim, and was neighbors with Tifa Lockhart. He grew up isolated from the rest of the village children, feeling himself somehow better than them, though it is implied that he longed for the friendship of the others. He developed a crush on Tifa, but hated her friends. Although the two consider each other (and are considered by others) to be childhood friends, by her own account Tifa didn't know Cloud that well despite the fact he was her neighbor.

When Cloud was nine, Tifa's mother died, but Tifa insisted that her mother had only gone up Mt. Nibel. Cloud followed, and when Tifa was injured, the townsfolk believed the whole expedition up the mountain to be Cloud's fault. Cloud's feelings of isolation and loneliness increased, and it was at this time he heard about Sephiroth. Resolving to become a hero like him, Cloud decided to set out and join SOLDIER. He called Tifa out the night before he left to tell her about his departure, silently hoping to impress her. Upon her request, he agreed to come save her if she ever found herself in trouble.

Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-
Despite his bravado, Cloud is unable to make it into SOLDIER and becomes an ordinary Shinra guard. In this role he meets a first-class SOLDIER named Zack Fair in Modeoheim, and the two become friends after learning they are both "backwater experts". Cloud later returns to Nibelheim, along with Zack and Sephiroth to investigate a damaged reactor in Mt. Nibel, and Tifa is to act as their guide. Ashamed of his failure to join SOLDIER, Cloud hides his identity from the townspeople. When they reach the reactor, Sephiroth discovers Professor Hojo's failed experiments with Mako soldiers and what he mistakenly assumed to be his mother, Jenova.

Falling into madness, Sephiroth immerses himself in the writings of Professor Gast and discovers his own dark past. He comes out from the basement of the Shinra Mansion and set about destroying the village. Cloud witnessed his mother's death in the ensuing fire and rushed to the reactor to confront Sephiroth. There he found both Tifa and Zack unconscious - both had tried to fight Sephiroth, but to no avail. A grief-stricken Cloud picked up Zack's Buster Sword, catching Sephiroth off guard in the reactor core, and impaling him. Wounded, Sephiroth was left as Cloud went to tend to Tifa. Sephiroth emerged from the reactor core, and when Cloud attacked again, Sephiroth stabbed him with the Masamune. Cloud summoned unknown strength, and used the katana as a lever to hurl Sephiroth into the Mako below. He collapsed afterward.

Cloud and Zack become test subjects of Professor Hojo when they are found afterward. Injecting them with Sephiroth's cells and exposing them to Mako, Hojo attempts to test his Jenova Reunion Theory and turn them into Sephiroth Clones. Four years later, Zack broke out of his confinement and helped a comatose Cloud escape, giving him a SOLDIER uniform that was in Shinra manor to wear. Due to the experiment Cloud was in a weak and delirious state as he had reacted more strongly to the experiments than Zack did. However as they escaped, Zack speaks continuously to the unresponsive Cloud about his life and his plans for both of them to become mercenaries in Midgar. When they finally arrive outside of Midgar, the Shinra forces that have been searching for them finally catch up. Zack fights back to defend both Cloud and himself against overwhelming numbers. In the end, after single-handedly and heroically massacring the majority of the hundreds of Shinra soldiers present, Zack is gunned down by the last few remaining soldiers and Cloud is left for dead after being seen in his vegetative state. However, having witnessed the whole chaos, Cloud manages to crawl over to where Zack is mortally wounded. In his last few seconds, a blood-soaked Zack entrusts the Buster Sword to Cloud, and tells him that his legacy will live on inside Cloud, before finally dying. After some time Cloud, deeply distressed, scrambles to his feet, Buster Sword in hand, and begins trudging off towards Midgar. His final words to Zack were, "Good-night, Zack".

It is at this time that Cloud's mind undergoes a radical transformation. Hojo's experimentations, combined with his own weakened psyche and the trauma of the events he has experienced, cause Cloud to impress Zack's memories into his own. What emerges in Cloud's mind is a reality in which he successfully joined SOLDIER and was Sephiroth's partner - Zack did not exist. Taking up Zack's plans (hinting that he may he been subtley aware of what Zack was telling him), Cloud arrives in Midgar as a mercenary, believing himself a former First Class SOLDIER. Since the official SOLDIER process is similar to the experiments Hojo performed on him, Cloud possesses the same abilities as a SOLDIER does and thus no one questions his claim.

Final Fantasy VII
Cloud reunites with Tifa and meets Barret Wallace, members of the anti-Shinra terrorist group AVALANCHE. On Tifa's recommendation, Barret hires Cloud to attack the Sector 1 Reactor, and the mission goes successfully. After blowing up the Sector 5 Reactor, Cloud becomes separated from the others, and meets Aeris Gainsborough. While Cloud is gone, Tifa allows herself to be captured by a Shinra informant, Don Corneo. Cloud and Aeris rescue her, and the Don admits that Shinra has found out AVALANCHE's base of operations is in Sector 7.

To crush AVALANCHE, Shinra drops the plate over Sector 7 of Midgar, crushing the entire area; Biggs, and Wedge and Jessie are killed trying to stop them, and Aeris is captured taking Barret's daughter Marlene to safety. Cloud then leads an attack on Shinra Headquarters to rescue Aeris. There he meets with Red XIII, and sees the headless remains of Jenova. However, the group is captured and imprisoned. During the night, Cloud awakens to find his guards slaughtered and the doors of the prison open. He, Barret, Tifa, Red XIII and Aeris follow a trail of blood to the top floor, only to find President Shinra impaled on Sephiroth's sword. Cloud fights briefly with the new head of Shinra, Rufus Shinra, and then escapes from Midgar on a motorcycle. The group stays at an inn located outside Midgar in Kalm. There Cloud tells his own memories of what happened on the day Nibelheim was burnt, with himself in Zack's place and Zack no longer present. Tifa, confused, doesn't say anything. His grudge with Sephiroth explained, the next day the group sets out to track Sephiroth down, going through the Mythril Mines where the Turks reveal Sephiroth is headed to Junon. Cloud and the group sneak into the Shinra controlled Junon and onto an oil tanker bound for Costa Del Sol, meeting Yuffie Kisaragi on the way.

The journey to find Sephiroth leads them through North Corel and the Gold Saucer, where the manager Dio gives Cloud and his friends a buggy to assist them in their travels and the robot Cait Sith joins their cause. The buggy eventually breaks down, forcing the group to stay at Red XIII's home Cosmo Canyon, where the Elder Bugenhagen reveals critical information about the planet and the Lifestream and the negative effects Shinra's drilling for Mako is having on them. When the group reaches Nibelheim, they find no trace of what happened.

Although Cloud and Tifa are confused, they explore the rebuilt town and find that no one remembers the town ever being burnt down. In the ruins of the Shinra Mansion, they find Vincent Valentine, who agrees to accompany them when they mention Sephiroth. In the mansion library, Sephiroth appears and alludes to a "reunion" that he feels Cloud should attend. Cloud and the group traverse Mt. Nibel and go to Rocket Town, where they attempt to steal Cid Highwind's plane and have it shot down by Shinra. Adding Cid to their roster of allies, the group returns to the Gold Saucer and claims the Keystone from Dio. Believing the Keystone to be pivotal to finding out what Sephiroth is planning, Cloud and the group are forced to stay the night when the trolley to the park breaks down. At this time, Cait Sith is revealed to be a Shinra spy, and steals the Keystone and turns it over to Tseng of the Turks.

Traveling to the Temple of the Ancients, Tseng is found wounded by Sephiroth, and he returns the Keystone. In the heart of the temple, Cloud finds Sephiroth, who reveals his plan to call the ultimate black magic, Meteor, which will cause a critical wound on the planet. The Lifestream will emerge to heal this wound, and Sephiroth will absorb its energy, becoming a God. Sephiroth leaves as Cloud discovers the temple itself is the Black Materia Sephiroth needs to call Meteor. Cait Sith sacrifices himself to get it, but Sephiroth returns, and for reasons then not made clear, Cloud hands him the Black Materia. He faints, and Aeris appears to him in a dream claiming only she can stop Sephiroth. When Cloud regains consciousness, Barret and Tifa tell him Aeris has left. Cloud pursues Aeris through the Sleeping Forest to the Forgotten Capital. He finds her praying on an altar in the center of the city's underground complex, but suddenly takes up the Buster Sword and attempts to attack her, his mind under Sephiroth's control. Stopping himself in the nick of time, Cloud watches as Sephiroth descends from above the altar and impales Aeris, killing her in an iconic scene. Her death enrages Cloud, who vows to never forgive Sephiroth for killing her. Cloud puts Aeris to rest and realizes he has been under Sephiroth's control.

Finally arriving at the Northern Crater, Cloud momentarily regains the Black Materia and gives it to a party member of the player's choosing, not trusting himself. They then find the center of the crater, where Sephiroth appears and reveals Cloud's true past. Shinra arrives afterwards, and Professor Hojo reveals his Jenova Reunion Theory that Cloud is a part of. The shock of his past being fake, combined with Hojo's revelations and accusations, shatters Cloud's mind. He takes back the Black Materia and hands it to Sephiroth, who activates it. The rest of the group flees while Cloud is left behind.

Surfacing at Mideel approximately a week later, Cloud has been subjected to intense Mako poisoning within the Lifestream, leaving him babbling and incoherent. Tifa stays to care for him while the rest of the party fights Shinra, who is risking a dangerous attempt to stop the Meteor that is now coming to the planet. Ultimate Weapon attacks Mideel, and Tifa and Cloud fall into the Lifestream and into Cloud's subconscious. There, Tifa helps Cloud piece back together his true memories of his childhood through a comparison of his memories to hers. Restored to his true self, Cloud resumes command of the party again. With Bugenhagen's guidance, they discover Aeris was attempting to summon Holy when Sephiroth killed her; the ultimate white magic, Holy, could stop Meteor, but Sephiroth is holding it back.

After taking their revenge upon the Shinra for all the wrongs they have wrought to each, the group lands in the Northern Crater and descends into the depths of the planet to confront Sephiroth. Defeating him in his new god-like form, Sephiroth's mind is sent back into the Lifestream. Cloud follows and defeats Sephiroth at last in one final duel. Returned to his body with the help of Aeris from within the Lifestream, Cloud and the party escape the crater as Holy emerges to fight Meteor. The gravity of Meteor, however, cause Holy's energies to be unfocused, until Aeris commands the Lifestream to emerge and push it back, destroying Meteor and saving the planet.

Novellas
In On the Way to a Smile: Case of Tifa, Cloud, Tifa and Barret build a new life together in the new city on Midgar's outskirts, called Edge, after the fall of Meteor. Although their new life as a family with Marlene and eventually Denzel is initially happy, Cloud grows increasingly distant and secretive. He eventually admits to Tifa his depression is due to the fact "you can't bring back the dead", obviously referring to Zack and Aerith. Cloud moves out of their home and into the Sector 5 Church as the novella ends, leading into the events of the film.

Cloud has a few mentions in Hoshi wo Meguru Otome, focusing on Aerith. Here Aerith philosophizes around the Lifestream, and also contemplates her decision to leave Cloud, whom she admits she loves more than she did Zack, and cast Holy to save the planet. Aerith protects Tifa's mind from Mako poisoning when she and Cloud fall into the Lifestream, and when Cloud defeats Sephiroth, she helps him return to his body.

Advent Children


When Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children opens, two years after the events of Final Fantasy VII, Cloud receives a call from Tifa that Reno has a job for him, and he is attacked by a mysterious trio of young men, three manifestations of Sephiroth's consciousness. Having reached Healin Lodge, Cloud is surprised to find Rufus still alive but suffering from Geostigma. The president offers Cloud to join them to fight off the trio, led by Kadaj. Cloud thinks about this, but rejects after Reno brings up the idea of rebuilding Shinra.

The three remnants begin luring and kidnapping children that possessed Geostigma, intending to have the children lead them to Jenova's lost head. Although reluctant to fight, Cloud goes to the Forgotten Capital after a long conversation with Tifa concerning his current state. Upon seeing Denzel and the other children under Kadaj's control, he confronts the trio for a second time but finds himself outmatched and is rescued by Vincent Valentine, who tells him about the true nature of Geostigma - a plague caused by Jenova's cells. Suddenly, Marlene runs into Cloud's arms worried about what had happened to Denzel and Tifa but refusing to go home when Cloud asks Vincent to take her. Giving much thought about the conversations he previously had with Tifa and Aerith, he finally resolves to take Marlene home and confront Kadaj.

Back in Edge, Kadaj threatens Rufus and summons Bahamut SIN to attack the city. After a quick conversation with Tifa and Denzel, Cloud, with help from other members of AVALANCHE, finds the strength to take up arms again and defeat the summon. He eventually takes on Loz and Yazoo one more time while chasing Kadaj through the highway, and manages to slice their weapons (and Loz's bike) in half. Loz and Yazoo are apparently killed in the explosion set by Reno and Rude during the chase. Confronting Kadaj once more, the battle eventually takes him back to Aerith's church, where the Lifestream-influenced water cures him of his Geostigma.

Cloud battles Kadaj once more and prevails, but the remnant then absorbs Jenova's cells and Sephiroth is reborn. The ensuing battle at the ruins of the Shinra Building proves to be fierce and nearly kills Cloud. He almost seems to be on the verge of defeat when Sephiroth stabs him through the shoulder. Sephiroth makes the mistake of asking what is most important to Cloud and how he can take that away from him. Inspired by thoughts of his friends, living and dead, Cloud regains his strength and overwhelms Sephiroth with "Omnislash Version 5". Defeated again, Sephiroth dissipates, leaving a dying Kadaj in his place. Hearing Aerith's voice, whom he believes to be the "mother" he has been longing for, Kadaj is diffused into the Lifestream. At this point, Loz and Yazoo appear and set off a kamikaze explosion that apparently kills all three of them. However, Cloud's spirit is stopped from entering the Lifestream by Aerith and Zack and he is resurrected, reappearing in Aerith's church. As he helps the Geostigma victims (including Denzel, who Cloud helped first) into the Lifestream-infused water in the old church, Cloud sees Aerith near the doorway with Zack. Before they leave, Aerith's final words assure Cloud that everything was all right, and he smiles, stating that he knows he's not alone anymore.

In the credits of the movie, Cloud is seen driving down a long highway. He passes large flower fields, which grow more and more prominent as the video goes on. The song playing is called "Calling", and speaks of love and sadness. Eventually, Aerith Gainsborough is shown standing in a large field of flowers, apparently waiting for Cloud. She turns around, possibly signaling Cloud approaching her. The camera follows Cloud no further as he enters a large field of yellow flowers.

Reminiscense
In a DVD extra, Cloud is seen on a regular work day making deliveries, while taking calls from his friends. One call in particular came from Vincent Valentine, who has recently purchased a phone and tells Cloud that Yuffie has no right to call him. Cloud makes a run to Barret's place and receives three packages: one for Marlene, one for Denzel, and a "Closed for Business" sign from Yuffie, who has been trying to get a hold of him. It is speculated that Cloud took his "family" for a day off the next day, presumably to a party with other AVALANCHE members which may explain the new picture of the party on Cloud's desk.

Dirge of Cerberus -Final Fantasy VII-
During the events of Dirge of Cerberus -Final Fantasy VII-, Cloud is not seen during the attack on Edge (assumed to have spirited away Denzel and Marlene as well) but later assists the WRO and Vincent Valentine in their struggle against the threat of Omega and Deep Ground. He leads the ground assault on Midgar, eventually facing Rosso the Crimson. The outcome of the duel is unknown, but both survive the encounter. He and the others eventually aid Vincent in Omega's destruction.

Equipment and Stats
Cloud wields various broadswords and katana in battle, including the joke weapon Nail Bat and the iconic Buster Sword. His stats are well-balanced both physically and magically but is best put in the front row to ensure solid attack power. His Limit Breaks are the strongest in the game, but Cloud also learns them slower than anyone else. Cloud's stronger weapons include the Ultima Weapon, the strongest weapon in the game that grows stronger as Cloud has more HP, and the Apocalypse, one of only two equipment pieces in the game to give Triple Materia Growth.

In Final Fantasy Tactics, Cloud has similar stats to what he has in Final Fantasy VII, but in order for him to use his Limit command, he must be limited to his Materia Blade. He can still equip all other swords, but not knight swords.

Limit Breaks

 * See videos of the various Breaks here

Of the Final Fantasy VII party members, Cloud's Limit Breaks are the strongest of all. However, they are learned much slower, and Cloud typically needs to kill twice as many enemies as his comrades to learn his stronger techniques. His ultimate Limit Break Omnislash is one of the most powerful attacks in the game, perhaps second only to Knights of the Round.

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Cloud uses some of his Limit Breaks in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, such as Blade Beam (against Loz in the Forgotten Capital), and Braver and Climhazzard (against Bahamut SIN). Cloud uses the new Omnislash Version 5 to defeat Sephiroth. Cloud can only use this limit break if he's equipped with the First Tsurugi and if all pieces of this multi-piece broad sword is intact. The term "Version 5" was adopted during development, and refers to the fact that it's the fifth version of the attack that was designed for the film.

Final Fantasy Tactics
Cloud has one more Limit Break in Final Fantasy Tactics, Cherry Blossom. His other Limit Breaks are the same as those in Final Fantasy VII, except Braver is renamed Brave Slash. Their effects are also different.

Kingdom Hearts series
In all his appearances within the series, Cloud's ultimate attack has been Omnislash. His other trademark moves are Braver, a leap upwards and swinging his weapon to unleash a shockwave upon landing, and the new move Sonic Rave, a sharp, short dash forward with his weapon extended. In Kingdom Hearts, Cloud gives Sora the Sonic Rave ability after fighting him, and in Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Sora can perform Cross-Slash, Cross-Slash+ and Omnislash by stocking Cloud cards.

Other Appearances
A handful of Cloud's Limit Breaks have been used by Zack, the user of the Buster Sword before him. In Crisis Core, when Cloud's face appears on the DMW, Zack performs Meteor Shots. Its animation is very similar to Meteorain's, involving Zack leaping into the air and unleashing a barrage of meteors from the Buster Sword. As well, in Last Order, Zack uses an attack similar to Blade Beam, swinging the Buster Sword and unleashing a blast of blue energy from it. He uses the attack twice, once to destroy the door to Jenova's chamber, and again while battling Sephiroth. In Hoshi wo Meguru Otome, Zack remarks to Aerith that he had taught Cloud "his finisher", referring to the Omnislash technique. Given the context of the claim its validity is dubious, but all the same, this evidence suggests that Cloud may have learned some of his Limit Breaks from Zack.

Climhazzard is available in Final Fantasy IX as a Sword Arts skill for Steiner, and a Seiken skill for Beatrix.

In Final Fantasy IV the After, Ceodore Harvey and Kain Highwind can use Band Abilities called Cross Slash and True Cross Slash, however these are not related to Cloud's technique, which is known by a different name in Japan.

Final Fantasy V
A 2D sprite of Cloud occasionally appears in the loading section of the Final Fantasy Anthology port of Final Fantasy V.

Final Fantasy Tactics
Cloud can be recruited by Ramza Beoulve's party in Final Fantasy Tactics. To do this, Ramza must first defeat Belias and enter chapter 4 (he must have retained Mustadio Bunansa as a party member). At this point, he must return to the Clockwork City of Goug, where Mustadio's father Besrudio will have found Construct 8, but will be unable to power it up. Ramza must recruit Beowulf Cadmus from the Royal City of Lesalia and take him to the coal mine in the Mining Town of Gollund. After they save Reis Duelar, Ramza will obtain the Zodiac Stone necessary to activate Construct 8.



After Ramza has defeated Zalmour Lucianada for the second time, Besrudio will come up with a dimensional portal device, but again he cannot activate it. A rumor will subsequently circulate about Zeltennia Castle. After hearing it, Ramza can journey to Nelveska Temple and defeat Construct 7. Reis will revert to human form (and must be accepted again by Ramza), and Ramza will gain another Zodiac Stone. Taking it to Besrudio will cause Cloud to be summoned, but at this point, he will just run off. Cloud is then recruitable after defeating "Sephiroth's Shadow" at the battle of Goug, the city of Moogles.

On the way to Limberry Castle, Ramza must buy a flower from a flower girl in the Trade City of Sal Ghidos. He must then defeat Zalera and Adrammelech and then return to Sal Ghidos, where Cloud will attempt to save the flower girl, who is revealed to be called Aerith, from a group of thugs. Ramza must then help Cloud defeat the thugs. Cloud will then join the party, but will be unable to use his Limit Break skills without the Materia Blade, which is at the top of the tall pillar in Mount Bervenia. In Final Fantasy Tactics Cloud has an additional limit, Cherry Blossom.

Curiously, while Final Fantasy VII lists Cloud's birthdate as August 19th (making him a Leo), his zodiac sign in Final Fantasy Tactics is Aquarius. Cloud is also the only male character in Final Fantasy Tactics able to equip a Ribbon, which is otherwise only equippable by female characters, as a reference to his infamous crossdressing scene. However, this ability is no longer unique on the PSP version, as the Onion Knight can also equip female-exclusive equipment.

Chocobo Racing
Cloud makes an appearance as a secret character in this racing game, riding the Hardy-Daytona.

Dissidia Final Fantasy


Chaos has summoned a combined force of Final Fantasy's ultimate masters of evil. Cosmos, in an attempt to protect the Crystals, has summoned warriors to thwart their plans. Cloud is one of the chosen warriors. He stands as the hero opposing Sephiroth. Cloud's appearance is almost identical to his original artwork, with minor changes to his his belt and completely new boots similar to his Amano artwork. The new art is even in the same pose as Nomura's concept art of him. His iconic hair appears to be more based on his original artwork as well, although slightly altered. His alternate costume will be his outfit from Advent Children, along with the First Tsurugi as his weapon.

Cloud's fights with his iconic Buster Sword and battles Sephiroth in the Northern Crater, declaring he will find his own hope and will lay the dark swordsman to rest. Cloud is allied with Firion, Tidus, and Cecil. He is also seen speaking to Terra Branford, who like Cloud suffers from amnesia. The two apparently confront Terra's archrival Kefka Palazzo together, and are caught from behind by Kefka's ally, Cloud of Darkness. In Cloud's story, he finds the mentioned allies to be strong companions, but he becomes distressed when he questions his reasons for fighting. A clue to his answer eventually leads him to confront Sephiroth once again, much like in his original story. Cloud's fighting style is described as "Smash and Blow", slashing his enemies with one powerful blow at a time and thus can easily perform Brave Breaks. His blows also knock opponents far, allowing him to knock them into the arena and inflict extra damage. However, he does not seem to have many combo attacks. He can also use most of his Limit Breaks, and has a dashing attack based on his Sonic Rave ability from Kingdom Hearts. Cloud's EX Mode is to transform the Buster Sword into the Ultima Weapon, and his EX Burst is Omnislash, where the player rapidly taps Circle to fill up a Limit Break bar - the more full it is when time is up, the more slashes Cloud executes, up to a maximum of fourteen, plus the finishing blow.

Takahiro Sakurai, who has voiced Cloud in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII as well as the Kingdom Hearts series, will reprise his role in the Japanese version of the game.

Kingdom Hearts


Cloud is a fighter hired by Hades in the Olympus Coliseum world to kill Hercules and Sora. He appears to be searching for "his light", whom Hades promised to take Cloud to, but is also after Sephiroth. After Sora faces Cloud in the preliminary tournament, Hades has Cerberus attack Sora and Cloud, and Hercules saves Cloud while Sora fights Cerberus. Cloud gives Sora the "Sonic Rave" ability as a thanks, and later reappears in later tournaments. Unlike the other Final Fantasy characters, who appear as modified forms of their original selves, Cloud in this appearance has similarities to Vincent Valentine, such as his claw and red cloak. He also has a single dark wing manifested from the dark power he attempts to use, as well as to show his connection to Sephiroth. He is seen fighting Sephiroth at Olympus after Sora defeats Sephiroth. In the ending credits he reunites with Aerith Gainsborough in Hollow Bastion.

Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
Cloud again appears in Olympus Coliseum, but this time the coliseum, Cloud, and the other inhabitants there are figments of Sora's memories. He is in the employment of Hades once again and goes through the same routine as he did in Kingdom Hearts, however rather than searching for his light, Cloud claims to be searching for his memories. After beating Cloud, Sora will obtain him as a summon card.

Kingdom Hearts II


Cloud is still searching for Sephiroth in the Hollow Bastion/Radiant Garden world, but his interactions with Leon and Aerith are more frequent. His relationship with Sephiroth seems to differ, with Sephiroth often being referred to as a part of him. Sephiroth is apparently a product of the darkness in Cloud's heart.



After Sora defeats Sephiroth, the player will be able to see a cinematic battle between Cloud and Sephiroth. Tifa also appears in the battle, trying to aid Cloud, and offers to give her light to Cloud to fight Sephiroth's darkness. Sephiroth remarks that the light does not suit him. Cloud is confused and says that he doesn't know. He then glows with light. Cloud and Sephiroth vanish to fight elsewhere, the victor undetermined. Afterwards, Tifa will give Sora the Fenrir keychain. Cloud appears as an ally in the battle for Hollow Bastion/Radiant Garden and battles Sora in tournaments as in the first game. Cloud wears his attire from Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children and wields a bandaged First Tsurugi.

Itadaki Street Series
Cloud also appears as a character in both the Dragon Quest & Final Fantasy in Itadaki Street Special and Dragon Quest & Final Fantasy in Itadaki Street Portable.

Ehrgeiz
Cloud is a playable character in the Playstation game Ehrgeiz: God Bless The Ring. He fights primarily with martial arts, but can wield the Buster Sword as well, for slower but stronger attacks. Cloud's special attacks include Omnislash, Braver, and Meteorain. His extra alternate costume gives him a Shinra Infantry uniform.

Trivia

 * In Final Fantasy IX, there's a reference to Cloud. In a weapon shop, Zidane talks about a man with a spiky hair who carried a rare sword.
 * Another reference to Cloud in Final Fantasy IX is discovered at the end when Zidane utters "No cloud nor squall shall hinder us" while he performs on stage in disguise before revealing his identity to Garnet. This is also a reference to the protagonist of Final Fantasy VIII, Squall Leonhart.
 * In Final Fantasy VIII there is a item shop called Cloud's item shop. If you spend enough money there, your purchase will come wrapped in a ribbon.  This can be seen as a reference to Cloud's relationship with Aeris Gainsborough, or his infamous cross-dressing scene.
 * In the French translation of Final Fantasy VII his name is mistaken as "Clad Strife," although in French language dubs of all the other installments in its associated compilation, his name is reverted back to proper name of Cloud.
 * Cloud makes a brief cameo in two strips in the fan-made webcomic 8-Bit Theater as a potential Light Warrior. He is represented by a Fighter sprite, modified to fit his color scheme and to include his distinctive hair. His attempts to prove his skills to Fighter include using an overly-long and flashy summon sequence to summon a Chocobo, and showing off his Buster Sword, which proves too heavy for him and causes him to topple over. After the latter, Fighter promptly rejects him as a Light Warrior.
 * Lightning, a character from Final Fantasy XIII, is said by Nomura to be a female equivelant of Cloud.
 * In several episodes of Code Monkeys, Cloud can be seen walking across a street in Japan during Jerry's fantasy of life in Japan.
 * Cloud, along with Aerith, appeared in the PlayStation 3 tech demo which recreated the opening sequence of Final Fantasy VII in advanced graphics. His scene of leaping from the train showed only him, however, with no Shinra or AVALANCHE members present. His hair was also modeled after his Crisis Core and Advent Children appearances.
 * Despite Cloud's status as one of the more prominent and central characters in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, he has only ever made one single appearance in the entire continuity as a playable character.
 * In the brief playable flashback to the razing of Nibelheim, Cloud has a different unit portrait, and is one of a handful of Final Fantasy characters to change portraits. It is interesting to note that the temporary portrait is actually a cropped image of his official artwork.

External Link

 * Cloud Strife in Wikipedia

Cloud Strife