Cloud Strife
Template:FFVII character Cloud Strife (クラウド・ストライフ Kuraudo Sutoraifu) is the main protagonist in Square Enix's role playing game Final Fantasy VII. His appearance is marked by spiky blonde hair, vivid blue eyes (a mark of SOLDIER and sign of having been exposed to Mako), dark clothing, and his Buster sword (an unwieldy-looking sword with a distinctive, oversized blade).
He has reappeared in other Square Enix games, including Final Fantasy Tactics, Ehrgeiz, Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Itadaki Street Special, Kingdom Hearts II and as a secret racer in Chocobo Racing. He reappears in a CGI movie sequel, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, Last Order: Final Fantasy VII and other spin-offs in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII. In addition, a 2D sprite of Cloud occasionally makes an appearance on the loading screen of the PlayStation version of Final Fantasy IV.
Although he is loved as well as hated by many, Cloud is undeniably one of gaming's most recognizable and popular icons today.
Story
The beginning
During the first part of the game, Cloud states that he is a former member of the nearly omnipotent Shin-Ra's private elite military known as "SOLDIER". Cloud exhibits immense skill and combat prowess, so there is little to go against his claim. Hired as a mercenary for the resistance movement against Shin-Ra Corporation known as Avalanche, Cloud fights alongside Barret Wallace, his old friend Tifa Lockhart, and an ill-fated trio of Avalanche members - a passionate woman named Jessie, a cool-headed man named Biggs, and a rotund and friendly engineer named Wedge. Participating in various covert missions, Cloud is extremely aloof and unsocial to the others, putting forth a cold, all-business exterior. Only to Tifa does Cloud open up even the slightest at first. Shortly after the game's first mission, however, Cloud meets a young flower girl named Aerith Gainsborough, a woman who would change Cloud's life. Dodging the Shin-Ra private military, Cloud eventually finds himself protecting Aerith from Shin-Ra and their private covert team known as The Turks, who want to capture Aerith for reasons yet unknown. Joined by Tifa later, the trio have a short misadventure in the slums of Midgar involving Cloud humorously having to cross dress as a woman - a first glimpse of Cloud's lighter side and the first major comic relief of the game.
As the story unfolds, the Shin-Ra corporation destroys part of its own capitol Midgar in an attempt to stop Avalanche. Finding countless dead and witnessing the three Avalanche members suffer a gruesome fate, Cloud vows to destroy Shin-Ra. However, in the confusion Aerith is kidnapped by The Turks' leader, Tseng. It is revealed that the reason Shin-Ra wants Aerith captured is that she is the last remaining member of an ancient race known as the Cetra, who are said to have mysterious powers. With not much else left to do, Cloud is acompanied by Tifa and Barret in infiltrating the Shin-Ra headquarters to rescue Aerith and put an end to their terror once and for all. Upon rescuing her and finding a non-human but very intelligent companion named Red XIII, Cloud and the others are shocked to find that the President of Shin-Ra had been killed by a mysterious figure clad in black, whom Cloud instantly recognizes as the former SOLDIER Sephiroth. Shin-Ra is then taken over by the President's young and ruthless son Rufus Shinra, and the group makes a daring escape from Midgar to start a journey that will span the entire world and draw Cloud and his companions in something far bigger than anyone had ever imagined.
The journey
Shortly after the first section of the game the group heads to the small town of Kalm. There, Cloud tells the party the story about his early days in SOLDIER, and his experience with Sephiroth...in order to enlighten his comrades to the identity of this mysterious man. To tell the party of whom Sephiroth is, Cloud talks about how he went back to Nibelheim as an eager first class soldier and how he ventured through the Nibel Mountains with Sephiroth, whom Cloud looked up to as a master SOLDIER, and his childhood friend and guide, Tifa Lockhart. When Sephiroth got to the Mt. Nibel reactor, he found out about the perverse experiments thatProfessor Hojo was running on humans, turning them into monsters. Sephiroth found a door with the words 'JENOVA' written above it; wanting to find out more about Jenova, Sephiroth returned to the Nibelheim Mansion. Cloud followed him back, where Sephiroth went insane reading about the Jenova project (Jenova was a monster that had wiped out the old race of the Ancients). Sephiroth was born of a woman (Lucrecia) injected with Jenova cells. After reading for days, Sephiroth came out saying that he "needed his mother (a.k.a Jenova), and that together they would rule the planet." Then he set fire to Nibelheim, killing nearly everyone and progressed to the reactor, where Jenova was being held. After following him to the reactor, Cloud's mind went blank. He couldn't remember what happened.
After this story, Cloud and the others realize from previous events that there may be something even bigger than Shin-Ra to worry about at the moment, and the party opts to pursue Sephiroth in order to find out. Cloud and his companions are joined later by the unusual Cait Sith, the foul mouthed but good hearted pilot and mechanic Cid Highwind, the mischievous Kunoichi Yuffie Kisaragi, and the enigmatic Vincent Valentine. Their journey takes them to exotic locations, ancient forts, a massive city named Junon, and across the Ocean to other lands and meeting's with the pasts of various characters. All along this journey, Cloud's cold exterior melts slowly as he exhibits strong leadership and admirable actions that gain the respect of his friends. For the first time, Cloud has friends and comrades and begins to open up. However, all along this journey Cloud is haunted by strange dreams where he is told things he cannot understand...yet sound familiar. Cloud also gets to know Aerith more, as she helps guide his wayward and confused spirit, and the two seem to exhibit feelings for each other. Tifa seems to see this as well, and a very subtle love triangle forms.
Cloud and company eventually find their way to a town Cloud and Tifa thought had been destroyed, their old home of Nibelheim! How it still exists and why no one recognizes Cloud puzzles everyone. Vincent is met here, as well as hints to Cloud's past and Sephiroth's intentions. Although puzzled by the very existence of the town, the group has no time to waste and continue their mission. Heading north, the team find a small town known as Rocket Town where Cid's past is revealed a little. After a short skirmish with the Turks, Cloud and company take Cid's old airplane and use it as a boat in order to reach a place known as the Temple of the Ancients, which they had heard of during their adventure. The Temple is an ancient Cetra relic, and Aerith is the key to unlocking its secrets. It's shown however, that Sephiroth is present too...desiring the secrets of the Temple. The group finds information about a forbidden magic known as Meteor, which can obliterate the world. Sephiroth desires this, and apparently believes himself to be a Cetra descendant and wishes to cleanse the polluted world of humanity using the ancient magic. As the party leaves the Temple in pursuit Cloud finds his visions intensifying...eventually leading to Sephiroth taking control of Cloud's mind! Cloud attacks Aerith, unable to control himself before coming back to his senses and blacking out. The illusion has begun to unravel...
Death of Aerith Gainsborough
When Cloud is unconscious, he has a vision of Aerith telling him that she knows what to do now. That she is going to go to a City of the Ancients in order to call "Holy", in order to stop Sephiroth. Although she reassures him, Sephiroth appears and assures Cloud that he is about to feel pain he'll never forget. Upon waking up, Cloud is told by his friends that Aerith has indeed left, and the party heads north to find her. After passing an archeological dig, Avalanche finds the City of the Ancients. Disturbed over his dream, Cloud hurredly rushes to find Aerith. Upon finding Aerith praying alone, Cloud finds himself controlled again. This time however, Cloud fights off Sephiroth's possession and comes to his senses just in time.
However...as Aerith opens her eyes from the prayer to smile at Cloud, Sephiroth falls from above and slides his blade through Aerith's back, murdering her in cold blood in front of Cloud's horrified eyes. This scene is one of the most legendary in the history of gaming.
Enraged at Sephiroth, Cloud and his recently arrived comrades destroy the Jenova spawned monster Sephiroth leaves, and Cloud vows that he'll have his revenge and bring Sephiroth to justice. Cloud carries Aerith's body to the nearby lake in the City of the Ancients, and the group has a tearful goodbye as Cloud lets Aerith go into the water. As evidenced in Advent Children, Aerith's death will haunt Cloud for a very long time.
Shattered mirror
After this, the group continues north to find Sephiroth. Eventually, they ascertain Sephiroth's target: the Black Materia - what Sephiroth requires to summon Meteor. Cloud however, becomes increasingly unstable. Eventually, the group is confronted by Sephiroth whom reveals to Cloud a shocking truth. Sephiroth reveals that Cloud was never in Nibelheim, that he dreamed his whole experience up and is a byproduct of Jenova like himself. Cloud cannot believe this, but it is reaffirmed when Sephiroth reveals a picture taken during that time, and Cloud is nowhere to be seen. Instead, he is replaced by a mysterious black haired SOLDIER. After this revelation, Cloud's psyche begins to snap as his broken memories flood his head. Sephiroth takes advantage of Cloud's fragile mental state and once more takes control of him. Manipulating Cloud, he has Cloud give him the Black Materia personally. It is then revealed that Sephiroth has been projecting a physical image of himself throughout the entire game. The real Sephiroth is embodied in crystalized Materia on the upper portion of the Northern Contient, which is why he has to use Cloud to get him the Black Materia. As the Temple of the Ancients engulfs itself to create a massive crater, Tifa and the others are forced to flee and leave Cloud behind despite reservations. They are captured by Shin-Ra and leave before the place comes down.
The answers
Worried about the fate of Cloud, Tifa finds herself captured by Shin-Ra. Barret reveals to her that the Meteor is on its way to the Earth, and that humanity's time is running out. It is also revealed that the Earth has released ancient beasts known as Weapons to challenge humanity due to their meddling with the environment and the summoning of Meteor. They are scheduled to be executed, and Tifa and Barret make a daring escape with help and are greeted by the rest of Avalanche. They make their escape on Cid's newly recaptured Highwind Airship. The group goes out to find Cloud, fearing the worst. Little did they know, that Cloud had fallen into the Lifestream..the liquid essence of the world. Eventually, Cloud washes up on a small coastal town named Mideel, a town on top of the Lifesteam, which uses its essence to make a highly theraputic spa. Cloud is nursed to health here, however he is comatose due to prolonged exposure to the Lifesteam as well as his mental breakdown, helped by Sephiroth. Shortly after, Ultimate Weapon attacks the town, and Tifa attempts to evacuate Cloud as the rest fight off the Weapon, and the two fall into the Lifestream during an explosion.
Tifa awakens, realizing she is now inside Cloud's psyche. Here, she attempts to bridge together all of Cloud's lost memories...guiding him through his own life in order to find the answers. It is revealed that the real SOLDIER in Cloud's place during the Nibelheim incident was none other than Zack, his now deceased best friend.
Although Sephiroth was correct in pointing out that Cloud being a SOLDIER was an illusion, he was only half right or lying on other details. Cloud isn't a byproduct or "Number" like Sephiroth, but a person injected with Mako and Jenova cells the same as other SOLDIERS, and he is strong inside, however as a child Cloud was ridiculed and bullied very often by Tifa's friends as well as the town itself. Even after he rescues Tifa from harm on one occasion, the adults blame Cloud for the incident and verbally abuse him. Tifa states that she was always guilty of never helping Cloud here, and she deeply regrets it. A short time later, Cloud tells Tifa, whom he has befriended, that he wants to go and join SOLDIER in order to show everyone what he's really made of. He promises Tifa that he'll return as a part of SOLDIER. Sadly however, it is revealed that Cloud never made it into SOLDIER. Cloud has no shortage of skill and strength, and he has the making's of the best SOLDIER's. However, due to Cloud's insecurity over his years of abuse he lacks the mental strength required and fails. Cloud was told that he was trash for so long that he began to wish for himself to be like others rather than himself.
As the real story is further revealed to Cloud and Tifa as they float through the Lifestream, he tells of how Cloud became a lowly Shin-Ra grunt and that Zack was the first class SOLDIER whom even wears the outfit Cloud currently wears. Cloud was so ashamed that he failed to enter SOLDIER, that he wished to cover his face with a helmet the entire time and never reveal himself to Tifa or the rest. Cloud followed the group through the mountains and to the reactor, but had to wait outside and guard Tifa. When Sephiroth isolated himself in the basement library/lab, Cloud was one of the grunts who helped search for him, but it was Zack who found him. Cloud survived the massacre of the village and followed Zack (who wanted to stop Sephiroth) and Tifa (who wanted to rescue her father) to the reactor. Cloud arrived at the reactor to find Zack and Tifa injured, having been bested by Sephiroth. Cloud boldly picked up his fallen comrade's sword to and confronts Sephiroth, as requested by Zack to kill Sephiroth. Cloud puts up a fight but it is to no avail, as Sephiroth stabs his sword, Masamune, straight into Cloud. However, against all odds, Cloud turns the tables on Sephiroth by using Masamune, which he is impaled on, to lift Sephiroth up and throw him into the Mako, which leads Sephiroth's body through the Lifestream and ending in the Northern Continent. Cloud then blacked out.
Zack and Cloud were left alone and unconscious until Hojo (a Shin-Ra scientist) took and experimented on them by injecting them with Jenova cells, but ended up escaping, courtesy of Zack. (Cloud developed Mako Poisoning because of Hojo's excessive experimentation). They hitched a ride on the back of a farmer's truck, and Zack decided that as soon as they got to Midgar he would become a mercenary, a handyman of sorts. Since he didn't want to leave Cloud alone, he asks Cloud to be his partner. Cloud is too affected by the Mako poisoning to concentrate. While Cloud is still lucid, Zack narrates his life's story. Cloud listens to all that was told and absorbs some of Zack's memories, fused them with his own due to a combination of his injuries, and the great mental stress he has taken. Shin-Ra forces were silently stalking the two, when Zack's highly attuned senses gave notice to an imminent attack. Zack sacrificed himself and put up his last struggle, where he was finally gunned down. The Shin-Ra forces left Cloud for dead.
He was eventually found by Tifa, who took him in until he eventually recovered...and had taken Zack's identity for his own due to his amnesia. Tifa...knowing partly the whole time, could never tell Cloud because of her guilt over what happened, although she had no idea how deep it went.
The end
After Cloud comes to terms with himself and his true memories, he and Tifa float back out of the Lifesteam and are recovered by the rest of the group. Cloud reveals to his friends everything, and with a somber tone vows that he will start a clean slate and live as himself. Not idolizing Sephiroth, and not believing himself to be Zack, but living as Cloud Strife; a battered, abused, but kind-hearted person who would fight for others when they could not help themselves.
Cloud calls a final group meeting with his comrades, telling them that this is the end. He tells them to take the remaining time they have together off to deal with any unfinished or personal buisiness they still had. He explains that he will not feel remorse or betrayal if none of them return. Cloud says that his buisiness is to take on Sephiroth, and to try is absolute best to stop the immense piece of armageddon that is rocketing towards the planet. That night Cloud and Tifa sleep in a field, next to the Highwind, under the stars and reminice of old times, and do away with any hard feelings they have for one another. Unbeknownced to them, they rest of the crew watch from inside the Highwind as the two fall asleep the night before the final battle.
In the morning, Cloud and Tifa wake to see that everyone has returned, that they're all in it together until the end no matter what the outcome, and were embarrassed to find that they were spied on the night before! They return to the Northern Crater to confront Sephiroth and save the world, but not without some help from Aerith...who activated Holy, the counteragent to Meteor, right before her death. The group discovers however, that Sephiroth is using his influence on the planet to prevent Holy from taking effect, and the only way to save everyone is to finally defeat him. Upon confronting Sephiroth, Cloud and the others best him, using every skill and ounce of energy they have. Before their escape however, Cloud is attacked by Sephiroth one more time... and this time its mentally. Cloud overcomes Sephiroth, proving himself the better SOLDIER in the end when fighting at his best, without doubt.
Two years after the events of Final Fantasy VII, Cloud is still living in grief over the death of Aerith. He has been affected by a disease known as "Geostigma", which is an effect caused by a natural eliminary reaction to the inherent unnatural Jenova cells. This is why Cloud's left arm is cloaked in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children; to hide the disfiguration. Children affected with Geostigma have been taken captive by a trio of men: Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo, who consider anyone with Geostigma or Jenova cells to be their "siblings". They plan to manipulate the children's energy and strike back at the planet which had been causing the ailment, in turn giving Cloud the role of saving the children. As Tifa states early in the film, Cloud must once and for all find that incredible strength he found during the final battle of Final Fantasy VII to save the future. This conflict is the basic plot element in the film, as Cloud comes to various conclusions as well as reaffirmations from his friends. Finally coming to terms , Cloud gives it his all in the end to show the villainous trio his true power, but not without some help from a departed old friend.
Cloud is featured with his new motorbike called "Fenrir" which features a sword rack built into the side of the motorbike. He is also seen performing the Limit Break "Climhazard" on Bahamut, as well as other Limit Breaks throughout the movie (he uses every single one of his limits except for two, Meteorain and the original version of Omnislash). Cloud has a very unique new weapon in Advent Children replacing the Buster Sword; the First Tsurugi, which is in fact a weapon with the ability to separate and reassemble into smaller swords. Cloud is shown to be extremely powerful and skilled when he finally gives it his all, as Kadaj can barely even touch him in combat. This is a throwback to the finale of Final Fantasy VII, where Cloud seems to become a powerful SOLDIER on par with even Sephiroth after he comes to terms with himself. However, before the struggle can end, Cloud is in for one last big surprise at the climax of the film.
Other Appearances
Final Fantasy Tactics
In Final Fantasy Tactics for the PlayStation, Cloud is one of the 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, but before then he was floating in the middle of an ocean in Final Fantasy VII. He wanders off, and eventually ends up in Zarghidas Trade City, where another familiar Final Fantasy VII character Aeris is seen being sexually harassed by street thugs who suggest that she sells her body instead of flowers. Cloud gets aggravated, decides to get involved and demands that they take their hands off her, the hero then decides to draw forth in hand-to-hand combat. The weaponless Cloud is saved by Ramza, who had followed him. Cloud decides to join Ramza's force. Cloud's weapon of choice is the Materia Blade, which can be acquired by going to the volcano at Bervenia using the 'move-find item' skill. This weapon allows Cloud to use all the Limit Skills found originally on Final Fantasy VII, plus an extra Limit Skill exclusive to Final Fantasy Tactics. While the weapon can be equipped on other Knight class characters, its lacking power compared to some of the other blades in that game (Defender, Save the Queen, and Excaliber, to name a few) make it a fairly unstrategical choice. While Cloud joins Ramza's party at level one, and thus is quite weak for the late stage in the game at which he is recruited, if built up to a more suitable level he becomes a solid fighter with incredibly destructive, albeit slow charging special moves.
Ehrgeiz
Cloud is a playable character in the PlayStation version. In the game, he has a storyline, along with fighting and minigame events. Cloud, Tifa, and Vincent Valentine are the only Final Fantasy VII characters in the game that can have a costume change. Cloud himself can be in either his standard outfit, or his Shin-Ra grunt outfit, as well as sporting a dress in a special scene near the beginning of the game.
Kingdom Hearts
In Kingdom Hearts, Cloud appears on the Olympus Coliseum world. He wears a claw and a cloak similar to that of Vincent Valentine and has a black demon wing growing out of his left shoulder (meant to offset Sephiroth's black angel wing growing out of his right shoulder). Cloud has been hired by Hades to kill Hercules, but fights Sora as a prerequisite. When this fails, Hades sets Cerberus on Cloud and Sora, who are only saved by Hercules' timely intervention. Interestingly however, in the semi official manga novelization in GanGan Comics, Cloud is able to neutralize Sora in merely one page. However, he holds back in the end, which trigger's the corresponding events as depicted in the game. Its popularly believed that Cloud holds back on Sora in the game, when one consider's that Cloud is able to keep up with Sephiroth, who is quite obviously considerably more powerful than Sora its not a difficult conclusion to come to that perhaps he did hold back. Cloud meets with Sora afterwards and explains that he lost the light within his heart, and is searching for it and a certain someone hense his hiring by Hades. Sora tells him that somehow, he knows that Cloud will find his light again. Cloud appears later in the Coliseum's battle tournaments: the Hercules Cup (on his own), and the Hades Cup, where he teams up with Leon (Squall Leonhart from Final Fantasy VIII), although whether or not these appearances are canon is subject to debate. Cloud is commonly believed to be searching for Aerith during the game, and in Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix (the extended version of the game, only available in Japan) it is revealed that he is also searching for Sephiroth, whom he is later seen battling in the "Showdown of Fate" video. It is more likely that Cloud had been searching for both; his search for Sephiroth was to find the darkness, to clear it so he would be able to see his light. His light is meant to be Aerith. 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. All the Final Fantasy characters in Kingdom Hearts are considered alternate reality versions, not necessarilly the same characters that appear in their subsequent games hense the lack of references.
Cloud continued his role in the series in the GBA sequel Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories as a boss and, later, as a card for the protagonist, Sora. Cloud's part continues in Kingdom Hearts II where he is in his Advent Children attire and a little more elaboration on his activities; to seek and overcome his darkness. His role as a mercenary for Hades will be passed on to Final Fantasy X character Auron(Although Auron will offer Hades quite a different experience.). Cloud's exploits in this game are a part of a small side story within the game about the conflict between darkness and light, and while it may have no impact on the main storyline of Kingdom Hearts, it is nonetheless a little more of a role than the other Final Fantasy characters save Leon (Squall Leonhart).
All through the games, Cloud is portrayed as being especially stoic and melancholic compared to his usual personality in Final Fantasy VII and surrounding stories.
Itadaki Street Special
In Itadaki Street Special, Cloud is one of the playable Final Fantasy characters.
Last Order: 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.
Final Fantasy VII Technical Demo for PS3
The 2005 E3 saw the release by Square of a non-interactive video, featuring the introductory sequence from Final Fantasy VII (formerly pre-rendered for playback on the PlayStation and other formats) running as a realtime-generated 3D-visual on the forthcoming PlayStation 3 hardware. The video followed the original sequence faithfully, from the initial starfield pan through the scenes of Midgar, until the arrival of the locomotive, whereupon a modified conclusion features Cloud performing a more aerobatic leap to the platform to end aiming an enigmatic expression down the barrel of the camera lens. Both Aerith and Cloud are rendered in a near-photorealistic style more akin to current pre-rendered CGI sequences. In keeping with the current trend in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, both Cloud and Aerith are designed in a similar style to their Advent Children incarnations. However, much to many fans' dismay, this was only a tech demo and Square Enix had no motive to recreate Final Fantasy VII at this time.
Omnislash
Omnislash is Cloud's last and most powerful Limit Break in Final Fantasy VII. It takes great effort in the game to obtain this move, but it is one of the most damaging attacks of the game, and has the potential to exceed the Knights of the Round summon in power. The attack has a total of 15 hits, each hit may deal as much as 9,999 damage, the maximum possible. This can deal a potential total of 149,985 damage.
In the game's final battle Cloud performs Omnislash regardless of whether the player has obtained it. Due to the fight's cinematic nature the scene is somewhat scripted, as it is nearly impossible for Cloud to lose. Despite this however, the scene is incredibly popular with fans, and is probably the definitive use of Omnislash. In Kingdom Hearts, Sephiroth has his own version of Omnislash in the Platinum Match of the Olympus Coliseum. This move is also a sleight in Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, where Cloud makes a guest appearance in the Coliseum world. In Advent Children, Cloud uses a new form of Omnislash in which his sword splits into smaller swords and attacks.
Love
The love of Cloud's life has been a subject of debate for years. The game presents a scenerio where Cloud stands between Aerith and Tifa, and receives a fair amount of affection from both. Within the game itself the player is presented with the opportunity to warm up to one of the other, or none as well. Depending on how you treat either woman, a scene in the Gold Saucer will be affected where Cloud will go on a short date or outing with either Aerith, Tifa, Yuffie, and in a rare case (and much to the ridicule of countless) Barret. Since then however, although it is obviously up to the player's interpretation, the canon outcome is fiercely debated. Some feel that Tifa is from the beginning, the true love of Cloud's life as she is there from the very beginning and helps Cloud through all his ordeals with Aerith being merely a guide for Cloud's heart. Many others however, see the game's ambiguous ending as a hint that Cloud deeply loves Aerith, Cloud says, while with Tifa in an attempt to escape the final area of the game with everyone, "An answer from the Planet... the Promised Land... I think I can meet her... there." Upon saying this line, Tifa's head lowers. Many believe this to be proof that Tifa feels she'll never be able to compete with Aerith's memory. In Advent Children however, Cloud does have a close relationship with Tifa, the two of them taking care of orphaned children together as well as jointly running Cloud's new profession as a deliverer. However, although the story Cloud's memory of Aerith constantly haunts him, showing that she may be a part of him that he'll never be able to let go of. Although he reconciles with the loss of Aerith, the credits show that the memory of Aerith is still fresh in Cloud's mind. This is one of the most debated aspects to Cloud's character. It is also important to note that Aerith also had a previous relationship with Zack, which may be a reason for her getting so attached to Cloud. In Advent Children, Aerith and Zack are seen walking out of the church together, having finally been reunited. Most agree however, that Cloud had feelings for both Aerith and Tifa.
Trivia
- When Cloud is comatose in Mideel, he mutters the word "Zenogias". This is obviously a badly translated "Xenogears", a reference to the said game yet to have been made at the time. Note that the PC version of Final Fantasy VII has corrected this into Xenogears.
- One of Cloud's well-known (albeit embarrassing) moments in FFVII included having to disguise himself as a woman to infiltrate a brothel in order to go along with Aerith to save Tifa. This situation has become a common running gag among fandom, referred to in fanart and even hentai dōjinshi.
- Cloud has already won a GameFAQs character battle in 2003, defeating his own "rival", Sephiroth in the final match. He also defeated Link in the semi-finals. After some more Character Battles, controversy was made over the fact that Link, Sephiroth, and Cloud are so highly popular that the likeliness of them being beaten in this competition is slim at best, making a rather boring and predictable situation (considering that in four CB, Link was in three finals, Cloud in two, and Sephiroth in two). The most recent tournament, in 2005, had the previous winners in a separate bracket (along with the running-contest winner), in order to give the other characters a chance. This is testament to how popular and well known Cloud is, to the joy and chagrin of countless people.
- In the online comic 8-Bit Theater, Cloud appears in two early episodes, when he's trying out to be a Light Warrior with Fighter (i.e. Final Fantasy I). He's extremely pathetic, even by the comics very pathetic fight-wise standards, when he attempts to summon gods, it takes him a very long time and he only summons a white Chocobo that proceeds to stand on a nearby roof and utter "wark". He is also too feeble to hold his rather large sword, which would've gotten him the job (due to Fighter's love of swords) if he had been able to wield it.
- Cloud's voice was done by Steve Burton in both Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2.