Cloud Strife
| Cloud Strife | |
|---|---|
| 'Final Fantasy series Compilation of Final Fantasy VII' character | |
| Cloud Strife artwork by Tetsuya Nomura Cloud Strife artwork by Tetsuya Nomura | |
| First game | Final Fantasy VII (1997) |
Cloud Strife (クラウド・ストライフ, Kuraudo Sutoraifu) is the main protagonist in Squaresoft's (now known as Square Enix) role playing game Final Fantasy VII and several of its sequels and spin-offs. His appearance is marked by spiky blonde hair, vivid blue eyes (a distinguishing feature of SOLDIER members and a sign of having been exposed to mako energy), dark purple or blue clothing, and his Buster Sword (a zweihänder-style sword with a distinctive, oversized blade). At first, Cloud displays a cold and uncaring demeanor, but he gradually adapts to his role as a leader.
Character design
The game's character designer, Tetsuya Nomura, has revealed that the original parameters of Cloud's character design called for slicked-back, black hair with no spikes. This was to serve as a contrast to the long, flowing silver hair of the game's lead antagonist, Sephiroth. However, to make Cloud stand out more and emphasize his role in the game as the lead protagonist, Nomura altered Cloud's original design to give him spiky, bright blond hair. It would seem that the original black hair was given to Zack instead.[1] However, Nomura used the concept years later for Angeal in Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII. It's mentioned during the game that Cloud's hair resembles a Chocobo head.
Scenario Writer Kazushige Nojima has expressed that the dynamic of the relationship between the player and the main character in a Final Fantasy title is something that he always puts thought into, and that with Final Fantasy VII, Cloud's subdued nature led him to write scenes with the character in such a way that the players would be placed in the position of deciding for themselves what the character was thinking.[2] This character-player dynamic is reflected by the many opportunities the player is given to choose Cloud's way of interacting with other characters in the game's story, particularly where potential romantic-interests are concerned.
Final Fantasy VII
Since his introduction in Final Fantasy VII, Cloud has become something of a mascot character for Square Enix and for pouty fat kids who wear fingerless gloves. His appearances in various spin-offs, sequels and side projects is a testament to his popularity in relation to other Final Fantasy protagonists. However, in order to understand where he has gone, it is necessary to understand the character's origins and the developments that mark his significance.
In Final Fantasy VII, Cloud is the central force around which the narrative is constructed. In the beginning, the player is introduced to him as a mercenary, former member of SOLDIER, and carries a disinterested air about him. During a mission in which he worked with the anti-Shin-ra organization AVALANCHE, he encounters a young woman by the name of Aerith Gainsborough, who is wanted by the Turks for being the last member of an ancient tribe known as the Cetra. Later, the player is introduced to Sephiroth, the former leader of SOLDIER.
Early in the game, Cloud's past is a mystery. He claims that he was in the city of Nibelheim with Sephiroth when Sephiroth, after discovering his true origins as a Shin-ra experiment, 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 holes that prevent them from making sense.
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 grunt under the command of both Sephiroth and another man named Zack. Following the incident, Cloud and Zack were captured by Shin-ra and experimented on with Jenova cells for several years. Upon their escape, Zack was killed, and Cloud was left for dead in a confused stupor, believing himself to have been the SOLDIER Zack was.
Cloud's predicament is not entirely unlike that of Terra Branford of Final Fantasy VI. Whereas Terra was raised to become a magic-wielding soldier under the control of the antagonistic Empire, Cloud's mind is manipulated by Sephiroth, using his Jenova cells to make use of him as a puppet. Under Sephiroth's influence, he presents his enemy with the Black Materia capable of summoning Meteor and destroying the world. In addition, where Terra was eventually able to regain her memories and learn to be her own person, Cloud spends much of the game atoning for his mistakes, including his own perceived failure to save Aerith from Sephiroth when she leaves the party in order to cast Holy; the only spell capable of directly countering Meteor.
By the end of the game, Cloud regains his sense of self, but due to the abrupt nature of the conclusion, his development as a person after the defeat of Sephiroth was left as a mystery.
In Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, it is revealed that in the two years following the conclusion of the game, Cloud lived with Tifa and Barrett in the city of Edge, and following Barrett's return to his hometown of Corel, he helped Tifa raise two children, Marlene, Barrett's adopted daughter, and Denzel, an orphan and new character to the series. Cloud's new occupation is that of a delivery boy for the "Strife Delivery Service" that Tifa set up in her new tavern.
Over time, Cloud began suffering symptoms of the disease Geostigma, keeping his left arm cloaked to hide the disfiguration caused by the disease. Cloud became more distant from the others out of the guilt for the deaths of Aerith and Zack. As a result, he moved out of the tavern and took refuge in an old church in which Aerith once raised flowers. Cloud's confusion in Final Fantasy VII has given way to severe grief, in which he cannot forgive himself for failing to save Aerith and Zack.
Around the time Cloud received a call from Tifa that Reno has a job for him, he was attacked by mysterious trio of young men: Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo; remnants of Sephiroth left behind before Sephiroth himself could diffuse into the Lifestream completely. The three begin kidnapping children that possess Geostigma, intending to have them lead them to Jenova's head. Upon confronting them for a second time, Cloud finds himself overmatched and is rescued by Vincent Valentine.
These conflicts form the basic plot elements of the film, as Cloud struggles to find faith in himself and achieve personal closure to the more painful events of his past. Finally coming to terms with his self-imposed guilt at having failed to save Zack and Aerith, Cloud shows the villainous trio his true power, but not without some help of his friends and motivation provided by Aerith's spirit.
Confronting Kadaj and his brothers once more, the battle eventually takes him back to Aerith's church, where the Lifestream-influenced water cured him of his Geostigma. However, his skills are put to the ultimate test when Kadaj manages to merge with the last remaining traces of Jenova, and Sephiroth is reborn. In the end, Cloud is able to overcome the challenge and defeat Sephiroth on his own.
In the film's closing moments, Cloud catches a glimpse of Aerith and Zack, who both wave peaceful goodbyes to him before walking into the proverbial light of the afterlife. Aerith says, " You see, everything's alright,..." and Cloud is able to respond that, yes, everything is all right, because he has finally realized that he is not alone.
Other appearances
Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
Cloud is one of the main characters in the Last Order: Final Fantasy VII. This OVA shows Cloud in two events that were shown in flashbacks in Final Fantasy VII; one at Nibelheim, and the other escaping from Shin-Ra with Zack.
In Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, there are currently few details of Cloud's purpose within this game. Though there is the possibility that the reason why Cloud obtains the Buster Sword is explained (as it's original owner Angeal is featured within the game).
Cloud appears in a small supporting role in Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII. A year after the events of Advent Children, he offers his help to the WRO in their seige of Midgar and counterattack against the rogue Shin-Ra military unit known as Deep Ground. Cloud's brief screen time limits him to only a few lines of dialogue, but he is at one point seen clashing with Rosso the Crimson, one of the game's primary adversaries.
Cloud was seen at the end of a technical demo shown at the 2005 E3 made to show off the PlayStation 3's capabilities. It is a remake of the opening sequence in Final Fantasy VII, and as in the original, Cloud is shown jumping off the train, this time wielding his Buster Sword.
Kingdom Hearts series
In Kingdom Hearts, Cloud appears in the Olympus Coliseum world. He wears a claw and a crimson cape which Tetsuya Nomura stated are not Vincent Valentine's, but rather that the KH version of Cloud was designed in a similar "dark" style as Nomura put it, thus they will have similarities as a result. Note the exact differences here[1] He also bears a black demon wing on his left shoulder (meant to offset the black angel wing on Sephiroth's right shoulder). Cloud has been hired by Hades to kill Hercules, but fights Sora as a prerequisite. When he refuses to kill Sora during their battle, or when Sora defeated him depending on whether the player won or lost the battle, Hades sets Cerberus on Cloud and Sora, who are only saved by Hercules' timely intervention. Cloud meets with Sora afterwards and explains that he lost the light within his heart, and is searching for it, hence his willingness to work for Hades. Cloud appears later in the Coliseum's battle tournaments: in the Hercules Cup, on his own, and in the Hades Cup, where he teams up with Leon. During the credit roll at the end of the game, Cloud is shown reuniting with Aerith Gainsborough in the library at Hollow Bastion.
![[1]](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v191/TAS_4287/compare.jpg){kind=link}
In Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix it is revealed that he is also searching for Sephiroth, whom he can be seen battling. Cloud's appearance in Kingdom Hearts is merely a cameo, and there is no mention of significant details from Final Fantasy VII, such as Jenova or SOLDIER. This is due to the fact that the Final Fantasy characters in Kingdom Hearts are versions from an alternate reality and not the same characters that appear in their respective games.
Cloud continued his role in the series in the GBA sequel Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories as a boss and later, as a summon card for Sora.
Cloud's part continues in Kingdom Hearts II where he is in his Advent Children attire, with more elaboration on his activities offered: to seek and overcome his darkness. He is searching for Sephiroth, and is himself being sought out by Kingdom Hearts' version of Tifa. Cloud fights along side Sora during the Heartless invasion of Hollow Bastion. Also, in Kingdom Hearts II, Jiminy's journal states that Cloud is a SOLDIER. Cloud's exploits in this game are a part of a small side story within the game about his inner conflict between darkness and light, in which he fights Sephiroth once more, with help from Tifa, Sora, Donald Duck and Goofy.
Through each game in the Kingdom Hearts series, Cloud is portrayed as being especially stoic and melancholic compared to his usual personality in Final Fantasy VII, although in Advent Children he kind of resembles this personality, thinking Aerith's death is his fault.
Final Fantasy Tactics
In Final Fantasy Tactics for the PlayStation, Cloud is one of the bonus playable characters. Cloud is accidentally pulled into the world of Ivalice by an ancient machine called "the Celestial Globe," which was activated by Ramza Beoulve in Goug Machine City. His comments after arriving in Ivalice seem to indicate that the Celestial Globe pulled him from the Lifestream, during the period in Final Fantasy VII when he was adrift in it.[3]
Cloud is disoriented after arriving in Ramza's world, seemingly remembering only bits and pieces of his life before coming out of the portal. After a short exchange with Ramza and the others, he is racked by a seizure, like the ones he suffers from during the course of Final Fantasy VII. As it fades, he exclaims, "I must go...must go to that place...," before running out, Ramza and his friends close behind him.
He wanders into Zarghidas Trade City, where he encounters a parallel counterpart to the Aerith from his world, a flower girl bearing the same name. Cloud is still confused, presumably from his trip to Ramza's world, and is further confused by the encounter.
As Cloud is leaving, she is accosted by an apparent loan shark looking to collect on a 30000 gil loan. Cloud returns to help Aeris escape but suffers another seizure as Ramza and his party catch up to him. After they save him, he joins Ramza's party, while Ramza agrees to help get him back to his own world:
Presumably, since Cloud is saved from the Lifestream and plays further role in events taking place in Final Fantasy VII, Ramza succeeded in sending Cloud back to the Lifestream after events in Final Fantasy Tactics.
Itadaki Street series
In Itadaki Street Special (released exclusively in Japan), Cloud is one of the playable Final Fantasy VII characters, along with Aerith, Sephiroth, and Tifa. He and the rest of the FFVII crew (including newcomer to the series, Yuffie) also make an appearance in the upcoming Itadaki Street Portable for the PSP.
Chocobo Racing
In Chocobo Racing, Cloud is the fifth of ten unlockable characters (Bahamut, Squall, Cid's Tank, Mumba, Cloud, Cactuar, Aya, Classic Chocobo, SS Invincible, and Jack respectively). In the game, he rides a motorcycle and appears much like he did during the bike chase scene in Final Fantasy VII. He is playable in all modes except the story mode.
Ehrgeiz
Cloud is a playable character in the PlayStation version, but like the other Final Fantasy VII characters present in the game, has no storyline, though he can be used in the arcade mode, versus mode, and minigame events. Cloud, Tifa, Sephiroth and Vincent Valentine are the only Final Fantasy VII characters with alternate costumes.
References
- ^ Shella (2003). "Tetsuya Nomura 20s". FLAREgamer. Retrieved 13 April.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); External link in|work=|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ Square-Enix North America Site Staff (2001). "Behind The Game The Creators". Square-Enix North America. Retrieved 12 April.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); External link in|work=|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ Cloud: "What happened? Last thing I remember was getting caught in the current."(Final Fantasy Tactics)
External links
Template:FFVII character external links
- Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Ω Translations FAQ - Translations from the Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Ω