Cloud Strife

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 trademark and defeault weapon is the Buster Sword. 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 a mercenary claiming to be formerly of SOLDIER, a group of elite supersoldiers employed by the Shinra Electric Power Company, a megacorporation responsible for draining the Planet's Lifestream. Cloud joins the resistance group AVALANCHE, an eco-terrorist group opposed to the Shinra Company. Driven by a feud with his former superior, Sephiroth, Cloud learns to accept his troubled past and 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. Years later, Nomura used the concept for Angeal in Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII.

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. 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
In Final Fantasy VII, Cloud is introduced as a mercenary employed by AVALANCHE. At the start of the game, the player can assign a name to Cloud, like with the other playable characters, and the default name is his actual one. Cloud assists AVALANCHE's leader, Barret Wallace, in bombing a Mako Reactor, which are power plants that drain the Planet's Lifestream. Cloud claims to be formerly of SOLDIER 1st Class, an elite Shinra fighting unit. He takes pride in his past and boasts of the abilities of its members. However, his background produces misgivings as to his allegiances and trustworthiness, and Cloud's blasé attitude towards the goals of AVALANCHE creates further tension. Despite appearing detached, Cloud demonstrates moments of camaraderie, and players can choose to interact in a friendlier manner with AVALANCHE's members. When approached by his childhood friend and AVALANCHE member, Tifa Lockhart, about accepting another job, Cloud at first refuses. However, when confronted with his boyhood promise to protect her were he to become a famous hero, Cloud agrees to continue helping AVALANCHE, despite neither having become famous nor a hero. While working for AVALANCHE, Cloud encounters Aerith Gainsborough, a resident of Midgar's slums. Agreeing to serve as her bodyguard in exchange for a date, Cloud helps Aerith evade Shinra, who pursue her because she is the sole survivor of a race known as the Cetra. From hereon, Cloud's character is further expanded upon; he shows increased signs of good-natured humor and protectiveness, as opposed to his antagonistic use of sarcasm with Barret or comparative coolness to everyone other than Tifa that he has previously spoken with. Aerith, in turn, reciprocates this attitude, offering her assistance to lead Cloud back to Sector 7 and to rescue Tifa in Sector 6, despite Cloud being her bodyguard and the danger present. At one point, Aerith notes that Cloud reminds her of an old boyfriend of hers, who is implied to be Zack Fair.

When the party escapes from Midgar, Cloud is appointed group leader by the other members. When the party arrives at an inn in the town of Kalm, Cloud narrates his history with Sephiroth and the events that led to Sephiroth's disappearance five years prior. According to Cloud, the two were "war buddies". Joining SOLDIER to emulate Sephiroth, Cloud explains that he would sign up for a "big mission" whenever they became available, as the conclusion of Shinra's war with the people of Wutai ended his chances for military fame. Cloud explains that Sephiroth started questioning his humanity after accompanying him on a job to Cloud's hometown of Nibelheim, which suffered from a malfunctioning Mako Reactor responsible for producing monsters. Discovering documents concerning Jenova, an extraterrestrial lifeform and Sephiroth's "mother", Sephiroth mistakes himself for a Cetra and blames their downfall on humans. Sephiroth burns Nibelheim and leaves for the Mt. Nibel Mako reactor, where Cloud follows him to. Upon arriving, Cloud finds Tifa gravely wounded by Sephiroth outside the chamber where Jenova is stored. Cloud says that he then confronted Sephiroth, although he is unable to remember the events directly following. During the course of the game, a love triangle develops between Cloud, Tifa and Aerith, often exploited to humorous effect. It is primarily focused on in the first disc. At one point, in Aeris's House, Aeris asks Cloud about his romantic life. Dialogue choices impact the strength of Cloud's relationship with Tifa and Aerith, as well as with Barret and Yuffie Kisaragi. These interactions determine who accompanies Cloud through the Gold Saucer. If Aerith joins Cloud, she reflects on how strongly Cloud's physical appearance and mannerisms resemble Zack's, and struggles to put into words how she is still "searching for [Cloud]". Irrespective of who accompanies Cloud at the Gold Saucer, how the player interacts with Tifa may also result in a more sexually suggestive scene playing out during the night she spends with Cloud before the game's conclusion. Tifa worries instead that the party saw, rather than overheard, the two the morning after.

Numerous clues suggest the unreliability of Cloud's memory. Various visual and audio cues, such as the screen flashing white or red and the sound of static, play when Cloud attempts to recall details about his identity. Cloud will spontaneously remember words or scenes from his past, sometimes collapsing to the ground while cradling his head. An unidentified voice questions Cloud in his sleep about why he and Tifa never met alone during his mission to Nibelheim despite their history. Additionally, Tifa makes various remarks suggesting that Cloud's version of events troubles her, and she feigns ignorance of who Zack is. Cloud's behavior grows increasingly erratic after searching the Temple of the Ancients for the Black Materia, an item capable of casting the destructive magic Meteor. After retrieving the Black Materia, Cloud loses control of himself and hands over the Black Materia to Sephiroth and attacks Aerith. Alarmed that Sephiroth can manipulate him, Cloud realizes that he is "afraid to find out the truth" and becomes fearful of himself. Later, Sephiroth takes advantage of Cloud's insecurities, telling him that his past is merely a fiction and that Shinra created Cloud in an attempt to clone Sephiroth. Although Cloud is initially dismissive, when Tifa is unable to corroborate Cloud's account of the Nibelheim incident, Cloud realizes he cannot remember things like how or when he joined SOLDIER. Cloud, resigning himself as a "failed experiment", goes missing after Sephiroth summons Meteor. The party later discovers a comatose Cloud suffering from Mako poisoning, and Tifa helps Cloud reconstruct his past in his subconscious after the two fall into the Lifestream. It is revealed that Cloud never qualified for SOLDIER, and instead enlisted as an infantryman in Shinra's army. During the mission to Nibelheim, Cloud served under Sephiroth and Zack, a SOLDIER 1st Class, hiding his identity from the townspeople out of embarrassment. Following Sephiroth's defeat of Zack at the Mt. Nibel Mako reactor, Cloud took up Zack's sword, catching Sephiroth off guard and stabbing him. Zack urges Cloud to kill Sephiroth after Sephiroth emerges alive, but when Cloud pursues him, he is run through by Sephiroth's sword. Cloud, to Sephiroth's shock, summons the strength to grab hold of the blade and lift Sephiroth off the ground, tossing him into a Mako vat below. Cloud and Zack are then imprisoned by Shinra's lead scientist, Hojo, for experimentation. Zack later escapes with Cloud, bringing him to the outskirts of Midgar before Shinra soldiers gun Zack down. Due to exposure to Mako radiation and the injection of Jenova's cells, in addition to the shame stemming from his personal failures, Cloud's mind fabricated a story blending together his own memories with accounts of Zack's heroics, creating a false personality. After piecing back together his identity, Cloud resumes his role as leader and dismisses Sephiroth's deceit that he is an artificially-constructed Sephiroth-clone.

Surfacing at Mideel approximately a week later, Cloud has been subjected to intense Mako poisoning within the Lifestream, leaving him paralyzed 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.

In disc 3, which concludes the game, the party lands in the North Crater and descends through Northern Cave to the depths of the planet to confront Sephiroth. After the party defeats Safer Sephiroth, which is Sephiroth's god-like form, his mind is sent back into the Lifestream. Cloud senses that Sephiroth is not dead, so he follows him mentally into the Lifestream and ultimately kills Sephiroth in one-to-one final duel of will. Returned to his body by Tifa just in time, Cloud and the party escape the North Crater on the Highwind moments before Holy and the Lifestream emerge to destroy Meteor and save the planet.

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
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 Barret in the city of Edge, and following Barret's return to his hometown of Corel, he helped Tifa raise two children, Marlene, Barret'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 it caused. Since the end of Final Fantasy VII, Cloud grew apart from the others out of the guilt for the deaths of Aerith and Zack, and a result, he moved out of the tavern and took refuge in the 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 those he cared about.

Around the time Cloud receives a call from Tifa that Reno has a job for him, he is attacked by a 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 the children lead them to Jenova's head. Upon confronting them for a second time, Cloud finds himself outmatched 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 taking out Kadaj's brothers and going after a desperate Kadaj, 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 cures 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. The ensuing battle is fierce, and nearly ends for Cloud as Sephiroth impales him through the shoulder with his sword. However, 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, Cloud regains his strength and overwhelms Sephiroth with "Omnislash Version 5," a variant of the Omnislash Limit Break attack Cloud could use in Final Fantasy VII. When Sephiroth is once again defeated, he dissipates, leaving a dying Kadaj in his place. Hearing Aerith's voice, whom he believes to be the "mother" he had 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 is ressurected, reappearing in Aerith's church.

As the film approaches its end, Cloud is helping Geostigma victims into the Lifestream-infused water in the old church when he spots Aerith near the doorway, where Zack is waiting for her. Before she leaves, Aerith turns around to gaze at Cloud one last time, assuring him that everything is all right before turning to walk through the light of the doorway with Zack. Cloud smiles and agrees, finally realizing that he is not alone.

Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
Cloud 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 as a lowly grunt under Zack and Sephiroth's command.

Cloud is 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 Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Cloud is presented as a young Shinra infantryman who befriends Zack. During the game's conclusion, a dying Zack gives Cloud his Buster Sword, telling him that he is his legacy. The game ends with Cloud heading to Midgar, reprising the start of Final Fantasy VII. Zack and Cloud's connection was also meant to be expanded upon near the game's ending, with both of them planning to flee to Midgar. However, due to limitations in the console's hardware, these scenes could not be implemented, and instead, they decided to focus on Zack.

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 siege of Midgar and counterattack against the rogue Shinra 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. This is noted by Nomura in the Kingdom Hearts Ultimania. 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.

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 Game Boy Advance sequel Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories as a boss and later, as a summon card for Sora. However, Cloud is only a figment of Sora's memory in this game. The story states that he sided with Hades to search for his lost memories (instead of Sephiroth) but, in the end, Cloud ended up saying too much, prompting Hades to confess he lied to Cloud, as he wanted him to weaken Hercules in order to take him to the Underworld. After Sora foiled Hades' plan, Cloud chose to continue seeking his memories - this time, by himself.

Cloud's part continues in Kingdom Hearts II where he is in his Advent Children attire (and his wing is either missing or "hidden" ), 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 he exhibits similar behaviour in Advent Children.

In both Kingdom Hearts games, Cloud's sword is wrapped in cloth. In the first Kingdom Hearts, the blade is the same as the one he has in Final Fantasy VII, but in Kingdom Hearts II, the blade is similar to his Advent Children sword, with a few minor differences.

After the player defeats Sephiroth (as an optional boss) in Kingdom Hearts II, Tifa gives Sora the Keyblade Fenrir, which has bandages identical to those wrapped around Cloud's Buster Sword/Advent Children sword (in the Kingdom Hearts games) and is thus loosely based on Cloud's swords in general.

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.

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, Aerith is accosted by an apparent loan shark looking to collect on a 30,000 gil loan. Cloud returns to help Aerith 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. However, the subplot ends there, and Cloud remains a playable character for the rest of the game.

Itadaki Street series
In Itadaki Street Special and Itadaki Street Portable, Cloud is one of the playable Final Fantasy VII characters, along with Aerith, Sephiroth, and Tifa.

Chocobo Racing
In Chocobo Racing, Cloud is the fifth of ten unlockable characters. 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 of Ehrgeiz. Like the other Final Fantasy VII characters, Cloud is not part of the main story, although he is usable in the arcade mode, versus mode, and minigame events. Cloud and Tifa are the only Final Fantasy VII characters with a third costume. Cloud's depicts him in his Shinra gunman attire.

Final Fantasy VII

 * North American website: "The main character of Final Fantasy VII. Originally a member of SOLDIER, he is now a mercenary who will take any job. After being hired by AVALANCHE, he gradually gets caught up in a massive struggle for the life of the planet. His enormous sword can cut almost anything in two."