Cloud Strife

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Cloud Strife
Cloud Strife artwork by Tetsuya Nomura
Game series	Final Fantasy series
First game	Final Fantasy VII
Designed by	Tetsuya Nomura
Voiced by (English)	Steve Burton
Voiced by (Japanese)	Nozomu Sasaki (Ehrgeiz) Takahiro Sakurai (all other appearances)
Information
Weapon	Broadsword
Home	Nibelheim
Blood type	AB

Cloud Strife (クラウド・ストライフ, Kuraudo Sutoraifu^?) is the main protagonist in Square's (now Square Enix's) role-playing game Final Fantasy VII and several of its sequels and spin-offs (known as the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII).^[1] He was designed by Final Fantasy VII character designer Tetsuya Nomura. His appearance is marked by spikey blonde hair, vivid greenish-blue eyes, purple or black clothing, and his Buster Sword,^[2] which previously belonged to his friend Zack Fair. Cloud initially displays a cold demeanor, but gradually adapts to his role as a leader.

Cloud has appeared in several other titles outside the Final Fantasy VII continuity. Such titles include Itadaki Street Special, Final Fantasy Tactics, and the Kingdom Hearts series. His voice actors are Takahiro Sakurai for his Japanese appearances—with Nozomu Sasaki first voicing Cloud in the video game Ehrgeiz—and Steve Burton for his English appearances. The character has been well received by fans, and his likeness has been adapted into several types of merchandise.

Contents 1 Creation and influence 2 Appearances 2.1 Final Fantasy VII 2.2 Related Final Fantasy VII appearances 2.3 Other appearances 3 Cultural impact 3.1 Critical reception 3.2 Merchandise 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Creation and influence

The game's character designer, Tetsuya Nomura, has said the original parameters of Cloud's character design called for slicked-back, black hair with no spikes. This depiction 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, blonde hair. It would seem that the original black hair was given to Zack instead.^[3]

Scenario writer Kazushige Nojima has expressed the dynamic of the relationship between the player and the main character in a Final Fantasy title is something he always puts thought into, and 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.^[4] 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. He wears a dark blue attire, although in the game it appears to be purple. In Kingdom Hearts he wears a claw and a crimson cape, Tetsuya Nomura has stated that Cloud's left arm was inspired by Vincent Valentine, noting that in this game the character was supposed to illustrate a "demon-like" appearance due to its ties to "the dark side".^[5]

[edit] Appearances

[edit] Final Fantasy VII

In Final Fantasy VII, Cloud is the main protagonist of the game. He is introduced as a mercenary and former member of SOLDIER, a militaristic organization part of the fictional, antagonistic Shinra Corporation. 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 secret police branch of Shinra called "Turks." Cloud was born in the mountain village of Nibelheim, along with his childhood friend Tifa Lockhart. He grew up isolated and ostracized from the rest of the village children; however, when Tifa and a group of other children attempt to climb Mt. Nibel, Cloud follows them. Incidently, Tifa falls from a bridge and her father blames Cloud for what happens. Cloud resolves to join SOLDIER, hoping to impress Tifa by becoming as strong as the popular SOLDIER 1st Class Sephiroth.

Early in the game, however, Cloud's past is a mystery. He claims that he was in the village of Nibelheim when Sephiroth went berserk and massacred the local population. After finding Tifa wounded, Cloud confronts Sephiroth. During the course of the game, it becomes apparent that Cloud's memories of these events and others are filled with empty plot-holes that prevent them from making total 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 are experimented on with the remarkable genetic material from an alien lifeform, called "Jenova cells," for four years by a man who works for Shinra named Professor Hojo. The two subsequently escape, but are chased down by Shinra's armed forces. Zack is mortally wounded after trying to protect Cloud from the pursuing Shinra foot soldiers. Cloud crawls to Zack before he dies, and Zack tells Cloud that he will be his living legacy. Cloud leaves in a stupor after Zack's death. The next scene, reminiscent of Zack, shows Cloud onboard the roof of the train headed for the #1 Mako Reactor at the start of Final Fantasy VII.

[edit] Related Final Fantasy VII appearances

Cloud appears numerous times in the various titles in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII. He plays a minor role in the cell phone game Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII. During the course of the game, which takes place over the six years leading into Final Fantasy VII, the player encounters Cloud while he is serving under Zack and Sephiroth's command. In the CGI film Final Fantasy VII Advent Children, Cloud lives with Tifa in the city of Edge. Staying with them is Marlene, Barret's adopted daughter, and Denzel, an orphan with a rampant deadly disease called Geostigma, which appeared as a result of the events of Final Fantasy VII. Cloud works as a courier for the "Strife Delivery Service" that Tifa set up in her new tavern. Over time, Cloud begins suffering symptoms of the Geostigma as well, keeping his left arm cloaked to hide the symptoms. This causes him to bring back memories and feelings of regret over not being able to save Aerith's life. Not feeling worthy enough to protect his new 'family', he leaves.

Cloud is attacked by a mysterious trio of young men; Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo, who are genetic "remnants" of Sephiroth left behind before he could diffuse into the Lifestream completely. The three begin luring and kidnapping children that are inflicted with Geostigma, intending to have the children lead them to the remains of Jenova, an alien antagonist of the Final Fantasy VII video game. Upon confronting them for a second time, Cloud finds himself outmatched by the trio and is rescued by Vincent Valentine. Cloud confronts them once again and defeats Loz and Yazoo. In confronting Kadaj, the battle takes them back to Aerith's church, where the Lifestream-influenced water cures Cloud of his Geostigma. Kadaj later merges with the remnants of Jenova, causing Sephiroth to be reborn. The two battle until Cloud clinches the battle with a Limit Break attack. When Sephiroth is once again defeated, he dissipates, leaving a dying Kadaj in his place.

Cloud is also one of the main characters in 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 Shinra with Zack. In the Nibelheim flashback Cloud is seeking revenge on Sephiroth, mentioning that he used to look up to him. Sephiroth impales Cloud in the stomach, but Cloud is able to gather enough strength to pull Sephiroth's sword further into his body so he can whip Sephiroth into a nearby wall. While escaping in a hitchhiked pick-up truck with Zack, Cloud proves to be too exhausted from the experimentations made on him by Hojo. Cloud is saved from death by Zack. The ending of Last Order is somewhat ambiguous, as it merely shows Zack jumping onto Cloud's body to protect him from Shinra members in a helicopter with a sniper pointed at an unconscious Cloud, a gunshot is then heard.

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 protagonist organization known as the WRO in their siege of Midgar and counterattack against the rogue Shinra military unit known as Deep Ground. In Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Cloud is presented as a young Shinra infantryman where he meets the character Zack Fair and the two become good friends. At the near end of Crisis Core, Cloud is intoxicated by the experiments performed on him by Professor Hojo, and is unable to move. Whilst on the run, Zack hides Cloud and goes to face a platoon of infantrymen, only to be mortally wounded by them. Some time later, after being left for dead, Cloud crawls over to Zack and watches his friend die. Zack gives Cloud his Buster Sword, telling him to live his life for both of them.

[edit] Other appearances

Cloud's character has also appeared in games outside of the Final Fantasy VII continuity. He is one of several playable Final Fantasy VII characters in Itadaki Street Special for the PlayStation 2 and Itadaki Street Portable for the PlayStation Portable. In Chocobo Racing, Cloud is a hidden character, and rides a motorcycle. Cloud is a playable character in the PlayStation version of Ehrgeiz, but like the other Final Fantasy VII characters present in the game he has no storyline. Cloud and Tifa are the only Final Fantasy VII characters with a third costume; Cloud's depicts him in his Shinra gunman attire. In the PlayStation game Final Fantasy Tactics, Cloud is a bonus playable characters. He 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. Cloud is disoriented after arriving in Ramza's world, and after a short exchange with Ramza and the others he leaves.^[6] He wanders into Zarghidas Trade City, where he encounters a flower girl named Aerith. As Cloud is leaving the area, Aerith is accosted by a man. Cloud returns to help Aerith escape as Ramza and his party catch up to him. After the battle, he joins Ramza's party as a playable character.

In Kingdom Hearts, Cloud appears in the Olympus Coliseum world. Here he has been hired by Hades to kill Hercules, but must fight Sora as a prerequisite. After their fight, Hades sets Cerberus on Cloud and Sora, who are then saved by Hercules. Cloud meets with Sora afterwards and explains that he is searching for someone.^[7] Aerith Gainsborough later tells Sora in Kingdom Hearts Final Mix that he's looking for Sephiroth. The wing he has resembles Proffessor Holander's and is most likely resulted from his infusion with Jenova cells, the same as Sephiroth. Cloud appears later in the Coliseum's battle tournaments. During the credit roll at the end of the game, Cloud is shown reuniting with the other Final Fantasy characters in the library at Hollow Bastion. Cloud continued his role in the series in the Game Boy Advance sequel Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories as a boss in the Olympus Coliseum^[8] and later as a summon card for Sora.^[9] However, this Cloud is based on Sora's memory in this game. Cloud appears again in Kingdom Hearts II where he is in his Advent Children attire. He is searching for Sephiroth, and is himself being sought out by Kingdom Hearts's version of Tifa.^[10] Tifa eventually catches up with Cloud to give him his light. Sephiroth makes comments that light doesn't suit Cloud anymore, and he runs off. Cloud fights alongside Sora during the Heartless invasion of Hollow Bastion. Should the player choose to engage Sephiroth and win the battle, Cloud returns and engages Sephiroth which ends with both of them disappearing in a flash of light.

[edit] Cultural impact

[edit] Critical reception

The character of Cloud has been overall well received. IGN stated the character set a trend for role-playing game heroes.^[11] He was named best character of all time in Dengeki PlayStation's retrospective awards feature about the original PlayStation.^[12] Electronic Gaming Monthly placed him seventh in their "Top Ten: List of Videogame Characters".^[13] IGN listed him as a possible character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl;^[14] though he was not chosen as the "reader's choice".^[15] In one of IGN's 2007 "Hero Showdowns", Cloud was pitted against Link, though Link was voted the favorite.^[16] The character was placed in similar contests by GameFAQs, with the "Character Battle II" (2003) and finishing second in the "Character Battle IV" (2004) and the "Battle Royale" (2006).^[17][18][19] Cloud has also been included in some unorthodox lists; these include being ranked second in IGN's "Worst Videogame Haircuts" and ScrewAttack's "Top Ten Coolest Characters".^[20][21]

[edit] Merchandise

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Cloud has served as basis for several action figures. The earliest versions were inspired on his original Final Fantasy VII appearance. Bandai included this model in a series titled "Extra Knights" which was published in 1997. With the release of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children the character was featured in more merchandise including a new series of action figures published by Square Enix, which included various accessories with it, consisting of exchangeable hands, the "First Tsurugi" sword and a motorcycle featured in the film. The company has also published and licensed collectable figures in Cloud's image have also been published, including a 19" tall polystone statue included in a series titled Masterpiece Arts, numerous resin statues manufactured by Kotobukiya and a figure included in a set named Final Fantasy: Trading Arts. Other types of merchandise includes collectible cards, keychains, lighters, pins, phonecards, jigsaw puzzles and plush toys.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Cloud Strife character profile at the official Square Enix Final Fantasy VII site
• Cloud Strife on Final Fantasy Wiki at Wikia
• Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Ω Translations FAQ - Translations from the Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Ω

v • d • e Final Fantasy VII and Compilation of Final Fantasy VII Before Crisis • Advent Children • Dirge of Cerberus • Crisis Core Characters • Gaia • Music Cloud • Sephiroth • Vincent • Aerith • Tifa • Zack