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Cloud Strife

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"Cloud" redirects here. For information about other subjects with the name "Cloud", see Cloud (disambiguation).
Cloud Strife
Cloud Strife FFVII artwork.png
Final Fantasy VII artwork of Cloud
General information
Portraits FFVII Cloud icon.png
Species Human
Weapons Sword (usually Buster Sword)
Affiliation AVALANCHE
Occupation Mercenary (formerly a Shinra Infantryman)
Hometown Nibelheim
Birthplace Nibelheim
Date of birth August 11, 1986
Gender Male
Age 14-21 (Before Crisis and Crisis Core)
21 (Final Fantasy VII)
23 (Advent Children)
24 (Dirge of Cerberus)[1]
Height 173cm
Blood type AB
Real-world information
First appearance Final Fantasy VII (1997)
Latest appearance Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis (2023)
Latest portrayal Cody Christian (English)
Takahiro Sakurai (Japanese)

Cloud Strife is the main protagonist of Final Fantasy VII and several of the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII games. He is also a character in the Kingdom Hearts series and a playable character in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Cloud's signature weapon is the Buster Sword, a massive two-handed broadsword, which he uses in Final Fantasy VII and most of his spin-off appearances. His appearance is marked by spiky blonde hair, vivid blue eyes (a distinct feature of SOLDIER members and a sign of having been exposed to Mako energy), and dark purple or blue clothing.

In Final Fantasy VII, Cloud is initially appears as a proud, yet arrogant and aloof swordsman who claims to be a former member of the elite paramilitary group SOLDIER, Cloud is hired by the insurgency group Avalanche as a mercenary to help them in their cause against the Shinra Electric Power Company. As Cloud's journey unfolds, he rediscovers his past and, alongside his childhood friend Tifa Lockhart and newfound friends within Avalanche, abandons his quest for power and fame in favor of fighting to defend his friends and their home planet Gaia.

Through each Kingdom Hearts game, Cloud is portrayed as being especially stoic and melancholic compared to his usual personality in Final Fantasy VII, although he exhibits similar behavior in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children.

History

Super Smash Bros. series

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U artwork

Cloud appears as a newcomer and downloadable character for Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. His inclusion in the game was first announced during the November 2015 Nintendo Direct,[2] While using his original design, Cloud's primary appearance in Super Smash Bros. is specifically based upon that of Dissidia Final Fantasy.[3] Players who purchase Cloud from the Nintendo eShop also get the stage Midgar, based on the Final Fantasy VII setting of the same name.

In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U, Cloud is able to move quickly on the ground, though in the air he moves more slowly and falls quickly. He wields the Buster Sword, which gives his attacks power and range, though they generally start more slowly. In his stage entrance, Cloud falls onto the stage, catching his Buster Sword. He also has a Limit Break mechanic, similar to Little Mac's Power Meter. When Cloud attacks or is attacked, his Limit Gauge fills up, and when it is full Cloud is covered by a blue aura that boosts his stats, and for one use only powers up one of his special moves when one of them is used. Cloud can also charge his Limit Gauge manually with his Limit Charge down special. In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the Limit Gauge is displayed at all times above his character profile during a match, similar to Little Mac's Power Meter.[4]

Most of Cloud's special moves are taken from the Limit Breaks he can obtain in Final Fantasy VII. His standard special is Blade Beam, in which Cloud swings his sword to fire a beam forward. His side special is Cross Slash, in which Cloud swings his sword in the shape of a Japanese character to damage opponents. His up special is Climhazzard, in which Cloud swings his sword to propel himself directly up into the air. When the Limit Gauge is filled, Cloud's down special becomes Finishing Touch, a whirlwind that deals very minimal damage but very high knockback. His Final Smash is Omnislash, in which Cloud hits opponents into the air and rapidly and repeatedly slashes them.[2]

Cloud is one of the lightest heavyweight characters, being heavier than Lucario, Mario, Dr. Mario and Corrin, lighter than Mega Man, Shulk and Ryu, while having the same weight as the default weight for the Mii Fighters.

When customizing Cloud, he can be equipped with Sword, Suit, and Boots equipment. However, like with the other DLC characters, he lacks any custom special variations of his special moves.

Cloud's alternate colors are based upon the uniforms for the different classes of SOLDIER. He also has alternate costumes using his Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children design, which includes the Fusion Swords in place of the Buster Sword. Two of his Advent Children costumes have a sleeve used to hide his Geostigma-infected arm, while the others leave his arm bare, revealing it without any signs of Geostigma and with the ribbon he wears in memory of Aerith Gainsborough. Cloud is the only subject from the Final Fantasy franchise to have his own trophy.

Despite having almost all of his home series appearances dubbed in English, and a few earlier appearances dubbed in additional languages, Cloud speaks only Japanese in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U, similar to Marth and Roy. In the Super Smash Bros. games, Cloud is voiced by Takahiro Sakurai, his Japanese voice actor since the first Kingdom Hearts game.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate artwork

Cloud reappears as a fighter in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, being an unlockable character within the base game.

Cloud is generally faster, while his aerial attacks have less landing lag; despite this, Cloud's damage output is decreased, while a few of his attacks have greater startup or ending lag; additionally, special moves have decreased in power. Cloud is the only fighter in the game to speak in full Japanese in all of the game's language settings. Until Fighters Pass Vol. 2, in which Sephiroth was introduced as a playable fighter, Cloud was the sole representative of the Final Fantasy universe (aside from the summons in the Midgar stage), having no Assist Trophies and being the only spirit from his series. He is also the fighter representing the least amount of spirit battles (the spirits being Master Edges and Zeke in the base game and Kyle in the Spirit Board events), not counting DLC characters and alternate costumes.

Classic Mode route

Cloud's Classic Mode route involves fighting characters associated with a vehicle. This references the fact that Cloud suffers from motion sickness.

A Ride? Not Interested.
Round Opponent(s) Stage Song
1 Toon Link Spirit Train Full Steam Ahead
2 Fox, Falco Corneria Main Theme - Star Fox 64 (Brawl)
3 Meta Knight Halberd Meta Knight's Revenge
4 Mario, Yoshi, Peach Rainbow Cruise Slide
5 Captain Falcon Big Blue Big Blue
6 Wolf Lylat Cruise Space Armada
Final Master Hand, Crazy Hand (intensity 7.0 or higher) Final Destination Master Hand
Master Hand / Crazy Hand (intensity 7.0 or higher)

Profiles and statistics

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U trophies

Name 3DS trophy Wii U trophy Category Appears in Description
Cloud SSB3DS Trophy Cloud.png SSBWU Trophy Cloud.png Fighter FINAL FANTASY VII (11/1997) The protagonist of FINAL FANTASY VII, Cloud wields the enormous Buster Sword, a memento from his comrad Zack. Once a SOLDIER of Shinra, he now fights as a mercenary against the corporation he originally served. His decision to join AVALANCHE's insurgence, however, will transform his destiny.
Cloud (Alt.) SSB3DS Trophy Cloud (Alt).png SSBWU Trophy Cloud (Alt).png Fighter FINAL FANTASY VII (11/1997) Filling the Limit Gauge allows Cloud to perform a Limit Break, supercharging his next special move. His down special becomes Finishing Touch. With a huge swing of his sword, Cloud summons a whirlwind that inflicts only 1% damage, but boasts brutal launch power. Go for a KO while foes' damage is still low!

Palutena's Guidance

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

The following dialogue applies also to Mewtwo, Roy, Lucas, Ryu, Corrin, and Bayonetta, who are also downloadable fighters.

  • Pit: Who is THAT?
  • Palutena: I have no data on this fighter. I can't believe it!
  • Viridi: It must be an intruder from another dimension!
  • Pit: Whoever it is, the goal remains the same: to fight and win!

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

(Note: Pit's last line will change depending on what type of match is currently being played.)

  • Pit: Who's this handsome devil?
  • Palutena: You mean Cloud? SOLDIER 1st Class?
  • Pit: And I thought MY hair was spiky!
  • Viridi: Too bad you don't have any fire moves. He's like 50% hair spray.
  • Palutena: And 50% Buster Sword. It's pretty impressive. Beware his Limit Charge. Once his gauge is full, he can unleash a devastating attack.
  • Viridi: One of his Limit Break moves is called Finishing Touch. It doesn't do much damage, but it can launch you off the stage in a split second!
  • Pit: Now that I know Cloud's tricks, this one's in the bag! / Not a problem! We're playing stamina mode!
  • Viridi: Don't let Cloud rain on your parade. Strategy is key!

amiibo

  • The protagonist of FINAL FANTASY VII, Cloud wields the enormous Buster Sword, a memento from his comrade Zack. Once a SOLDIER of Shinra, he now fights as a mercenary against the corporation he originally served. His decision to join AVALANCHE's insurgence, however, will transform his destiny.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Spirits

No. Name Image Series / game Type Class Strength / effect(s) How to obtain Spirit battle
Opponent(s) Battle conditions Stage Song
1004 Cloud SSBU Spirit Cloud.png FINAL FANTASY Series Fighter N/A N/A Classic Mode as Cloud N/A N/A N/A N/A
1005 Cloud (Advent Children) SSBU Spirit Cloud (Advent Children).png FINAL FANTASY Series Fighter N/A N/A Challenge (Smash: As Cloud, hit an opponent with his side special, Cross Slash, while the Limit Gauge is charged.) N/A N/A N/A N/A

Super Smash Blog bio

  • He's the protagonist of Final Fantasy VII. You can also select his Advent Children outfit. Charging up his Limit Gauge increases his special move abilities! Land a powerful hit!

Gallery

  • Cloud's splash screen

    Cloud's splash screen

  • Promotional artwork by Square Enix developer and artist Tetsuya Nomura

    Promotional artwork by Square Enix developer and artist Tetsuya Nomura

  • Advent Children outfit artwork

    Advent Children outfit artwork

  • Super Smash Bros. for Wii U stock icon

    Super Smash Bros. for Wii U stock icon

  • Super Smash Bros. for Wii U stock icon (Advent Children outfit)

    Super Smash Bros. for Wii U stock icon (Advent Children outfit)

  • amiibo

    amiibo

Names in other languages

Language Name Meaning
Japanese クラウド・ストライフ
Kuraudo Sutoraifu		 Cloud Strife
Chinese (Simplified) 克劳德
Kèláodé		 Cloud (in-game name)
Chinese (Traditional) 克勞德
Kèláodé
克勞德・史特萊夫
Kèláodé Shǐtèláifū		 Cloud (in-game name)

Cloud Strife (full name)
Korean 클라우드 스트라이프
Keullaudeu Seuteuraipeu		 Cloud Strife
Russian Клауд Страйф
Klaud Strayf		 Cloud Strife
  • Note: prior to the version 10.0.0 update in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, if the game's language is set to either variant of Chinese, Cloud's name was shown in English on the character selection screen and the Spirits mode, just like few other characters do in the Chinese and Korean versions. As of the said update, he has his name written properly in kanji.[5]

Trivia

  • Cloud was the first third-party character in the Super Smash Bros. series whose debut title had not been released on a Nintendo console (though Final Fantasy VII has since been reissued for the Nintendo Switch). Early concepts for Final Fantasy VII, however, were created with the intention of developing a Super Nintendo Entertainment System title before production was delayed in favor of other projects and later restarted for the Sony PlayStation.[6]
  • Cloud is one of two characters whose weapon changes depending on the costume. He wields the Buster Sword in his default Final Fantasy VII outfit and the Fusion Swords in his Advent Children variations. The other character is Bayonetta.
  • Cloud is the first specifically named Final Fantasy character to appear in crossovers with the Mario cast and other Nintendo characters, as the Final Fantasy guest appearances in Mario Hoops 3-on-3 and Mario Sports Mix have been a representative for either a species (such as Moogle) or a job class (such as Black Mage). Cloud has since been joined in this distinction by his nemesis Sephiroth.

References

  1. ^ Dirge of Cerberus -Final Fantasy VII- Official Complete Guide page 20.
  2. ^ a b Nintendo (November 12, 2015). Nintendo Direct Trailer. YouTube. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
  3. ^ Masked Man (February 23, 2016). Nintendo Dream Interview with Sakurai: Part 2. Source Gaming. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  4. ^ Nintendo. (June 12, 2018). Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - E3 2018 - Nintendo Switch. YouTube. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
  5. ^ @Peachi_Ying39th (Japanese). クラウド、ついに繁体字中国語で名前が「漢化」!欧文から漢字表記に変更されたことを確認。 #中国語 #スマブラSP #SmashBrosSP #NintendoSwitch. Twitter. December 18, 2020. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  6. ^ https://www.unseen64.net/2008/04/11/final-fantasy-7-beta/
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