Post by {Cloud Strife} on Nov 6, 2009 12:02:31 GMT -5
Cloud Strife
“I WON'T FORGET.”
Age: 23
Family: Tifa, Denzel, Marlene ((Parents dead))
Race: Human
Side: Good
Job: Ex-Soldier, Dilvery Boy
Items: NA
Accessories: Sword Halter , Bike
Personality:
In Final Fantasy VII, due to the combined effect of mako poisoning and the influence of Jenova's cells in his body, Cloud unknowingly holds a fake persona created by the Jenova cells mixing his memories of Zack's personality with the somewhat cocky and selfish attitude he believes a SOLDIER 1st Class would have. However, during the events of the game he eventually restores his original personality, and shows genuine concern for the fate of the planet, a sharp contrast to his persona at the start of the game where he claimed he didn't care about the planet and only agreed to help AVALANCHE for the right price. Once his true memories are restored, Cloud holds the same personality, although his guilt over the events that he allowed to occur as a result of his false memories never left him.
In Advent Children and many related appearances, Cloud is a much more somber and dark character, tormented by his past, including the deaths of Aerith and Zack. The final straw broke when he suddenly contracted the fatal, incurable plague Geostigma, which added to his feelings of helplessness. Cloud decided to distance himself from his friends and live alone as he tries to keep his affliction secret and seek forgiveness so that he might find a cure. However, during the film Cloud faces his past both metaphorically and literally, with the rebirth of Sephiroth, his visions of Aerith and shows of loyalty from his allies. These events allow him to forgive himself for the death of Zack and Aerith and move on, although as his appearances post-film are limited to Dirge of Cerberus, it is unclear what this ultimately means in terms of his personality and lifestyle. However, the mere fact that he is present to aid his old allies (and even cracks a slight joke), whereas in Advent Children, he would still have tried to avoid responsibility, shows that he has indeed moved on in his life.
In Crisis Core, Cloud is depicted as a rather shy but slightly more upbeat person who idolizes both Zack and Sephiroth. However, when Sephiroth has burned down Nibelheim and badly wounded his friends Zack and Tifa, Cloud does not hesitate to avenge them by hurling the madman to his apparent death whilst impaled with the Masamune.
Despite the dark feelings he may have, Cloud remains steadfastly loyal and true to those he cares about and is always driven to protect them, even going as far as to hide his pain and emotions so he could not worry them. Ultimately, it is his selfless and kind nature that gives him the ability to overcome Sephiroth time and again. His compassion is explored further when he brings Denzel back to Seventh Heaven and shares with Tifa an obligation to take care of the boy because of the guilt they felt for destroying Sector 7. In addition, Cloud vows to find a cure for the Geostigma that has infected Denzel and many others. Because Cloud saved him, Denzel looks up to him as an idol (much in contrast to Cloud's more fatal idolization for Sephiroth) and both share a strong bond as a result. This is further depicted when Denzel is the first Geostigma victim Cloud heals in Aerith's old church. It is highly possible that Denzel would be next to carry out the hero legacy.
He also has a lighter side, willingly deciding to cross-dress as a woman for a special mission at one point in Final Fantasy VII. He also has a dry, ironic wit in Dirge of Cerberus, when he cracks a joke with some of his allies. Overall, while he has a rather moody demeanor, his personality is not as brooding as that of Vincent Valentine, and does have a sense of humor when in a lighter mood.
In The Reunion Files for Advent Children, Nomura explained that while Cloud was initially depicted as a more upbeat character at the end of VII, he chose to have Cloud be a character that fans would find more familiar, and the script was written to explain why Cloud had returned to such a frame of mind. Nomura also said that a great deal of care was taken to animate Cloud's face and expressions, and over thirty different models of his face were made. His face was modeled to keep "a stiff upper lip", with his emotions and thoughts being expressed through his eyes.
History:
Cloud was born in the sleepy mountain village of Nibelheim, along with Tifa Lockhart. He grew up isolated from the rest of the village children, feeling himself somehow better than them, though it is implied that he longed for the friendship of the others.
However, when Cloud was 9, Tifa and the others attempted to climb Mt. Nibel, Cloud followed them, Tifa fell from a bridge and her father blamed Cloud.
He resolved to join Shin-Ra's elite SOLDIER force, feeling that he was "not good enough" for Tifa, whom he had admired from afar, and to prove to others (and most of all to himself) that he could be as strong as the legendary Sephiroth. At this point he made a promise to Tifa, vowing that he'd protect her when she's in need.
Despite his bravado, Cloud is unable to make it into SOLDIER and becomes an ordinary Shinra infantryman. In this role he meets a first-class SOLDIER named Zack Fair in Modeoheim, and the two become friends after learning they are both "backwater experts". On June 28, 0001 Cloud is ordered to protect Professor Rayleigh in Midgar from the insurgency organization AVALANCHE. Though he fails, both of their lives are saved by a Player Turk. Despite his failure Cloud shows off some impressive sword skills for just a normal human.
On September 22, 0002 Cloud later returns to Nibelheim, along with Zack and Sephiroth to investigate a damaged reactor in Mt. Nibel, and Tifa is to act as their guide. Ashamed of his failure to join SOLDIER, Cloud hides his identity from the townspeople, and especially Tifa, though he does reveal himself to his mother. When the expedition reaches the reactor, Sephiroth discovers Professor Hojo's failed experiments with Mako soldiers as well as where ShinRa had interred Jenova, which Sephiroth mistakenly believed was his mother.
Falling into madness, Sephiroth immerses himself in the writings of Professor Gast and discovers his own dark past. He comes out from the basement of the Shinra Mansion on December 1st and sets about destroying the village. Cloud witnessed his mother's death in the ensuing fire and rushed to the reactor to confront Sephiroth. There he found both Tifa unconscious from an attack from Sephiroth and Zack barely conscious after a furious and desperate struggle with Sephiroth. A grief-stricken Cloud picked up Zack's Buster Sword, catching Sephiroth off guard in the reactor core, and impaling him. Wounded, Sephiroth was left as Cloud went to care for Tifa, in some accounts also having an affectionate conversation with her. Sephiroth emerged from the reactor core, and when Cloud attacked again, Sephiroth stabbed him with the Masamune. Cloud summoned unknown strength, and used the katana as a lever to hurl Sephiroth into the Mako below, though the observing Turk, who did not see this, assumed Sephiroth jumped in of his own volition and reported back to ShinRa to this effect. Cloud collapsed immediately thereafter.
Cloud and Zack become test subjects of Professor Hojo when they are found afterward. Injecting them with Sephiroth's cells and exposing them to Mako, Hojo attempts to test his Jenova Reunion Theory and turn them into Sephiroth Clones. Four years later (December 19, 0006), Zack broke out of his confinement and helped a comatose Cloud escape, giving him a SOLDIER uniform that was in Shinra manor to wear because his old clothes were soaked with mako. Due to the experiment, Cloud was in a weak and delirious state as he had reacted more strongly to the experiments than Zack, who was surprisingly not effected by the Mako experiments. However as they escaped, Zack speaks continuously to the unresponsive Cloud about his life and his plans for both of them to become mercenaries in Midgar after finding out that four years had passed since Hojo took them. Zack carries the comatose Cloud around, and though Cloud takes no part in the events, is present Genesis Rhapsodos's defeat by Zack.
Cloud after his and Zack's final conversation.After almost a year of running, they finally arrive outside of Midgar in September 0007. However, the Shinra forces that have been searching for them finally catch up. Zack fights back to defend both Cloud and himself against overwhelming numbers. In the end, after single-handedly and heroically massacring the majority of the thousands of Shinra soldiers present, Zack is gunned down by the last few remaining soldiers and Cloud is left for dead after being seen in his vegetative state. However, having witnessed the whole chaos, Cloud manages to crawl over to where Zack is mortally wounded. In his last few seconds, a blood-soaked Zack entrusts the Buster Sword to Cloud, and tells him that his legacy will live on inside Cloud, before finally dying. After some time Cloud, deeply distressed, scrambles to his feet, Buster Sword in hand, and begins trudging off towards Midgar. His final words to Zack were, "Good-night, Zack".
Shortly thereafter, in the Sector Seven Train Station, Cloud's shattered mind undergoes a radical transformation. Hojo's experimentations, combined with his own weakened psyche, Jenova's mimicry abilities and the trauma of the events he has experienced, cause Cloud to impress Zack's memories, his ideal image of himself as well as Tifa's memories of him together to create an entirely new persona. What emerges in Cloud's mind is a reality in which he successfully joined SOLDIER and was Sephiroth's partner - Zack did not exist. Taking up Zack's plans (hinting that he may he been vaguely aware of what Zack was telling him), Cloud presents himself as a mercenary, believing himself a former First Class SOLDIER. Since the official SOLDIER process is similar to the experiments Hojo performed on him, Cloud possesses the same abilities as a SOLDIER does and his claim is accepted as true.
Weapon: First Tsurugi/First Sword.
Ability:
Braver::
Cloud performs a leaping chop that splits a single enemy in two. Unless you're facing a really strong enemy that isn't a boss, this is usually your best Level 1 Limit Break. The attack is stronger than the Cross-Slash, so it usually kills weaker enemies.
Cross-Slash::
With several powerful slashes, Cloud causes massive damage to a single opponent. If the enemy survives the attack, there is a chance that it may cause paralysis. It can't paralyze enemies who are normally immune to paralysis, like most bosses.
Blade Beam::
Waves of energy rush from Cloud's sword and collide with a single enemy. The remaining energy then splits into smaller, weaker waves hitting any remaining enemies. Always target the strongest enemy in the group, because the intial wave causes about three times as much damage as the smaller secondary waves.
Climhazzard::
Cloud skewers a single enemy and then leaps high into the sky to cause greater damage. This is best used against a single opponent or any really strong opponents you encounter. Eventually the Blade Beam attack will become ineffective, but the Climhazzard attack should be useful throughout most of the game.
Meteorain::
While leaping into the air, Cloud unleashes a barrage of meteors upon a group of foes causes up to four seperate hits. This is actually best used against a single enemy, unless the targeted group is fairly weak. Used against one opponent, this attack can cause as much as 12,000 points of damage.
Finishing Touch::
Cloud creates a large whirlwind that sucks a group of opponents into oblivion, which causes them to either immediatley perish or suffer extensive damage from falling back to the ground. Most opponents simply perish, but larger creatures like bosses will always fall back to the ground. Save this Limit Break for groups-it's completely wasted on a single enemy.
Omnislash::
Cloud assaults his opponent with a long series of powerful sword attacks. This can be used against a single enemy or a group; either way, this is an extremely powerful attack. With the correct sword in hand, this attack can actually cause just as much, if not more, damage than the fabled "Knights of the Round" Materia.
Magic: NA
Crushes: Tifa