| “ | I’m... Cloud. The master of my own illusionary world. But I can’t remain trapped in an illusion anymore... I’m going to live my life without pretending. | „ |
| ~ Cloud Strife |
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Cloud Strife
From The Codex
| “ | Hey, Shotgun. Keep doing your best, for the sake of us soldiers. | „ |
| ~ Cloud Strife to Vincent Valentine |
| “ | I pity you. You just don't get it at all. There's not a thing I don't cherish! | „ |
| ~ Cloud Strife to Sephiroth |
| “ | Don’t go getting yourself killed, now. | „ |
| ~ Cloud Strife to Vincent Valentine |
| “ | I'm... your living... legacy. | „ |
| ~ Cloud Strife to Zack Fair |
Background
Cloud Strife was a young boy who was born and raised in the backwater town of Nibelheim, by his mother Claudia Strife. Cloud was a shy boy who strayed away from making many friends, although he had an intense attraction for a girl named Tifa Lockhart. Wanting to not only impress her, but improve himself, Cloud decided he would leave for Midgar and become a SOLDIER, like his role model, Sephiroth.
Cloud’s life would not be favorable to him, however, as he reached the Shinra Building in Midgar and would be quickly shuffled into the Shinra Infantry, a step below SOLDIER. No matter how hard he tried to stand out or for how long he served, he was never once made a SOLDIER candidate.
A few years passed and Cloud would be sent out on a mission to track down the rogue SOLDIER, Genesis Rhapsodos. Leading the campaign was the SOLDIER 1st Class, Zack Fair, who bonded with Cloud over their backwater-origins, and formed a friendship.
Cloud and Zack would quickly grow to be good friends over the next few years, although Cloud’s dream of being enlisted for SOLDIER never came true, despite how much Zack motivated him. The day came when Cloud would be sent out on a mission back in his hometown of Nibelheim, which greatly scared him.
Cloud, terrified and embarrassed that he was returning to his hometown without having become a SOLDIER, hid himself behind his helmet the entire trip; especially when he ran into Tifa. Unfortunately, this campaign would be the very same one that saw Sephiroth learn of his origins, and be driven insane. Sephiroth massacred the entirety of Nibelheim, including Cloud’s mother, before heading to the Mako Reactor.
Zack, Tifa, and Cloud each made haste towards the Mako Reactor to intercept Sephiroth. Unfortunately, Tifa was taken out, and Cloud was forced to comfort her while Zack went ahead. Zack, too, lost after a fierce battle, leaving it up to Cloud. Cloud took up the Buster Sword and surprised Sephiroth, stabbing him through the abdomen.
After a short scuffle, Cloud overpowered the severely weakened Sephiroth, and threw him into the Lifestream, presumably killing him. After the fight, Cloud passed out alongside Zack and both were found by Professor Hojo, who retrieved their bodies and experimented on them for four years.
Cloud was bathed in Mako for those four years, and even when he was rescued by Zack Fair, he still suffered the consequences. Cloud was not inflicted with Mako poisoning, which greatly affected his mind and made him vegetative. After Zack passed away trying to escape the Shinra army and make it to Midgar, he entrusted the symbol of his honour, the Buster Sword, to Cloud. Cloud also unintentionally adopted Zack’s identity as a SOLDIER.
Cloud would go on to believe himself to be a former SOLDIER and now mercenary, which led him into the organization called Avalanche, which was hell-bent on saving the planet from things like Shinra, and soon the return of Sephiroth.
Cloud formed an entire party alongside him that he would soon consider his family, as he travelled the entire planet on his journey to take down Sephiroth and recover his memories. He lost people along the way, but was able to fully recover his sense of self and grow comfortable with who he is.
Finally, Cloud confronted Sephiroth once and for all, with the entire sake of the planet on the line. Using his Omnislash, Cloud was able to take Sephiroth out and send him back into the Lifestream. The next few years would be tough for Cloud, however, and the survivor’s guilt over Zack and Aerith’s deaths began to settle in.
Furthermore, Sephiroth’s return began to grow apparent to Cloud, as he was inflicted in his left arm by a horrible plague known as Geostigma. His worst fears were realized, when three Remnants of Sephiroth appeared searching for the remains of Jenova. Cloud opposed them along with the rest of his party, but was unable to stop Sephiroth’s return.
Finally visited by Zack and Aerith, who assured him that they never blamed him for their death, which gave Cloud the strength he needed to face Sephiroth once again. After striking him down once and for all, Cloud finally found true peace; watching Aerith and Zack return together into the Lifestream.
Powers and Stats
Tier: Likely High 5-A | 3-B | At least 3-B, likely far higher | At least 3-B, likely far higher
Name: Cloud Strife
Origin: Final Fantasy VII
Gender: Male
Age: 24 years old
Classification: Ex-SOLDIER 1st Class, Mercenary, Shinra Infantryman (formerly)
Attack Potency: Likely Dwarf Star level (He was able to overpower a weakened Sephiroth. His power was considered very noteworthy to Shotgun, who herself could just barely defeat Zirconiade; as the “Ultimate Summon”, Zirconiade should be far above Typhon, who could casually flip the planet) | Multi-Galaxy level (Cloud was able to fully defeat Sephiroth, who knew Super Nova during their fight; Super Nova has Sephiroth create a dimension, containing one galaxy with room for dozens more) | At least Multi-Galaxy level, likely far higher (Cloud was able to defeat a Sephiroth who was so much more powerful than before, that he could casually deflect the move that killed him previously) | At least Multi-Galaxy level, likely far higher (Should be stronger than before)
Dimensionality: 3-D
Travel Speed: Athletic Human (Should be just as fast as his older self) | Athletic Human (He can run at similar speeds to a Chocobo; Chocobo are said in the Dissidia Final Fantasy Museum to run at 20 mph) | Athletic Human, Subsonic with Fenrir (The average motorcycle can reach speeds between 80 and 165 mph) | Athletic Human, Subsonic with Fenrir
Combat Speed: At least Massively Hypersonic+ | Massively FTL+ | At least Massively FTL+, likely far higher | At least Massively FTL+, likely far higher
Reaction Speed: At least Massively Hypersonic+ (Should be similar to his early-game older self, who could dodge the lasers from Shinra security system) | Massively FTL+ (Could keep up with and defeat Sephiroth; Sephiroth knew Super Nova at the time of their fight, meaning he could react to the comet of his Super Nova) | At least Massively FTL+, likely far higher (Should be much faster than before. Could outpace Sephiroth’s reactions, who was able to react to the move he died to previously) | At least Massively FTL+, likely far higher
Lifting Strength: Unknown
Striking Strength: Likely Dwarf Star Class | Multi-Galactic Class | At least Multi-Galactic Class, likely far higher | At least Multi-Galactic Class, likely far higher
Durability: Likely Dwarf Star level (His power was considered very noteworthy to Shotgun, who herself could takes hits from Zirconiade; as the “Ultimate Summon”, Zirconiade should be far above Typhon, who could casually flip the planet) | Multi-Galaxy level (Cloud was able to take hits from Sephiroth, who knew Super Nova during their fight; Super Nova has Sephiroth create a dimension, containing one galaxy with room for dozens more) | At least Multi-Galaxy level, likely far higher (Cloud was able to survive against Sephiroth, who was so much more powerful than before, that he could casually deflect the move that killed him previously) | At least Multi-Galaxy level, likely far higher (Should be more durable than before)
Stamina: Superhuman (Even when riddled with Mako poisoning, Cloud was able to walk all the way into Midgar from several miles away. Cloud went on his journey to defeat Sephiroth for countless days on end, with very few breaks in between, and never seemed naturally fatigued a single time)
Range: Standard melee range, far higher with Materia
Weapons
- Buster Sword: The six foot long sword, paid for and created by the father of Angeal Hewley as a gift to his son. Zack Fair would inherit this blade, and then go on to pass it to Cloud after his death.
- Ultima Weapon: The most powerful weapon Cloud can obtain during his first adventure, this sword deals more damage the more health Cloud has.
- Fusion Sword: This is the blade that Cloud wielded after laying the Buster Sword to rest. It is shaped much like the Buster Sword, but can split into six separate, smaller blades that he uses proficiently.
Items
- Potion: Restores some of Cloud's health.
- Hi-Potion: Restores a little of Cloud's health.
- X-Potion: Restores a lot of Cloud's health.
- Ether: Restores some of Cloud's magic power.
- Turbo Ether: Restores a lot of Cloud's magic power.
- Elixir: Restores Cloud’s health, magic power, and cures her of status ailments.
- Megalixir: Restores Cloud’s health, magic power, and cures her of all status ailments.
- Phoenix Down: Fully resurrects Cloud when she is defeated.
*Summon Materia: Small red orbs of crystalized Mako energy that Cloud can use to call upon legendary, gargantuan beasts from the distant past, to fight alongside him. This includes giant flaming behemoths like Ifrit, to huge dragons like Bahamut.
Intelligence: Genius (Although he spent several years of his life as a simple infantryman, it only took a bit of mental trickery for Cloud to become a convincing SOLDIER 1st Class. He was even able to outskill Sephiroth two separate times, who was a legitimate SOLDIER that had years upon years of experience on him)
Weaknesses: Cloud started off with a lot of self-esteem issues, being too embarrassed to even come to his hometown when he couldn’t become a SOLDIER. This shyness and embarrassment would be amplified into horrible memory and identity crises. Even after he got over those, Cloud suffered from horrible survivor’s guilt that made him give up on living for a while.
Notable Attacks/Techniques:
- Braver: Cloud’s first Limit Break, which has him jump high into the air before slamming his blade down onto his enemies.
- Cross-Slash: Cloud runs up to his enemy and slashes them multiple times, inflicting them with temporary paralysis.
- Climhazzard: Cloud stabs his blade into a foe, before leaping high into the air for a powerful upwards strike.
- Meteorain: Cloud leaps high into the air, launching large meteors from his blade.
- Finishing Touch: Cloud spins around and shoots a large swirl of wind at his foes, which blasts them into the sky and inflicts instant death upon them.
- Omnislash: Cloud’s signature Limit Break, which has him brutally strike his foe a total of fifteen times without letting up, before jumping high into the air and slashing them on his way down.
- Omnislash Version 5: The advanced version of Cloud’s Omnislash, which is performed with the Fusion Sword. The Fusion Sword splits apart and each individual piece surrounds the foe, as Cloud jumps between each blade with blinding speed and delivers powerful strikes; finishing with a slash into the ground.
Key: Before Crisis/Crisis Core | Final Fantasy VII | Advent Children | Dirge of Cerberus
Battle Records
Notable Victories:
Notable Losses:
Inconclusive Matches:
