|
In
Final Fantasy VII, Cloud is the main protagonist of the game. He is introduced
as a mercenary and former member of SOLDIER. During a mission in which
he worked with the anti-Shinra organization AVALANCHE, he encounters a
young woman by the name of Aerith Gainsborough, who is wanted by the Turks.
Cloud was born in the sleepy mountain village of Nibelheim, along with
Tifa Lockhart. He grew up isolated
from the rest of the village children. However, when Tifa and the others
attempted to climb Mt. Nibel, Cloud followed them, Tifa fell from a bridge
and her father blamed Cloud. He resolved to join ShinRa's elite SOLDIER
force, hoping to prove to the others that he could be as strong as the
well-known SOLDIER 1st Class Sephiroth.
Early
in the game, however, Cloud's past is a mystery. He claimed that he was
in the village of Nibelheim when Sephiroth went berserk and massacred the
local population. After finding Tifa wounded, Cloud confronts Sephiroth.
Yet, when examined closely, Cloud's memories of these events and others
are filled with empty plot-holes that prevent them from making sense. It
all comes together later in the game. As it turns out, Cloud suffers from
a mixture of amnesia and mind control. Although he had been in Nibelheim
during Sephiroth's rampage, he was not there as a top ranking member of
SOLDIER, but a regular ShinRa arm guard under the command of both Sephiroth
and another man named Zack Fair.
Following the incident, Cloud and Zack were captured by ShinRa and experimented
on with Jenova cells for several years. The two escaped but were chased
down. Zack was killed after trying to protect Cloud from the many Shinra
foot soldiers, Cloud crawls to Zack a few minutes before he dies. Zack
barely states "On my behalf---You will---Continue living. You are proof
that I existed. My dreams and pride, I give it all to you." to Cloud who
answers " I am proof that you existed. " showing the two's relationship.
Cloud leaves in a stupor, then is again seen on a train (just like Zack
in the beginning of Crisis Core) where he says, "I'm Cloud Strife. SOLDIER
1st Class.", this is where they leave off for Final Fantasy VII to begin.
Cloud
was also featured in the Square + Disney crossover, Kingdom Hearts and
Kingdom Hearts 2, in which his design was somewhat re-invented. He is
also the star of the motion picture, Final Fantasy: Advent Children. Tifa,
Vincent,
and Yuffie are a few of his comrades.
|
|
Updated:
December 3rd, 2012
|
|
|
First off, FF
VII is one of my all time favorite games... such a moody, gritty, beautiful, and
fun RPG. Thus, I was ecstatic to see the main character of Final Fantasy
7 appear in a fighting game, even as obscure as Ehrgeiz was in 1998. Cloud
is naturally cool in any game that he appears in, and his fighting game debut
wasn't bad. He retained his cool style, personality, and even a few of his
badass sword techniques.
I thought his later "Kingdom Hearts" designs were also pretty cool, but not quite
as good as his original design if you ask me. Finally, his badass new look and
starring role in Final Fantasy: Advent Children
took his design further than ever. On a side note, I've been waiting years
for the day when Namco brings Cloud to the Soul Calibur series... I'd
love to see him (and Sephiroth) as guest characters.
|
|
| Fighting
Style / Moveset |
|
| Personality
/ Charisma |
|
| Outfit(s)
/ Appearance |
|
| Effectiveness
in series |
|
| Overall
Score |
|
|
