FF30: Day 14
May. 9th, 2011 03:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rose_of_painWell here comes the long essay entry...
Day 14 - Favorite Final Fantasy male character.
Oh I wonder who that could be...
Final Fantasy VII - Cloud Strife
Anyone who has ever met me probably knows that I have a bit of an obsession with this character. He is not only my favorite FF character but probably my favorite fictional character of all time. My obsession is running on a little over 10 years now and hasn't died out at all in all that time and don't think it will any time soon. I have close to 20 Cloud figures now. I've cosplayed him...several times. I also Roleplay as him from time to time and I only read FFVII fanfics if Cloud is at least a main player in the plot. So yeah if you give me a FFVII fanfic to read and it has nothing to do with Cloud...probably not going to be all that interested in it, to be honest. 'Cause I'm just that biased. XD;
I've talked a little here and there about why I love Cloud but I really haven't gone into a FULL entry on it so I figure this is as good as an excuse as any to finally do it...so let's start with the beginning shall we?
Cloud Strife in Final Fantasy VII
We are first introduced to Cloud Strife as the main character to Final Fantasy VII. We quickly find out that he's a mercenary that was hired by an ego-terrorist group known as Avalanche and that he was childhood friends with one of the members, Tifa Lockhart. He doesn't care about their cause though. He's doing it for the money. So our first impression of him is of the aloof and somewhat cold hero. He's certainly strong and he seems to have a bit of that badass quality that heroes often have. And yet early on we see he does have a bit of a soft side once he encounters the mysterious flower girl. So, ok, typical hero character.
Except that he has a list of mental issues about a mile long.
Little by little we being to see that something isn't right about our spikey haired friend. He seems to be hearing voices in his head. He has sudden relapses. His memories seem not quite in tact. And every so often, his personality fluctuates. Well, as it turns out, its because this isn't really him. The memories he has aren't his. And he's basically been pretending to be someone he isn't. He never made it into SOLDIER. He isn't the grand hero everyone thinks he is. He was just a kid who happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.
It really wasn't until I learned who Cloud really was that I truly started to fall in love with him. Because he's a character with so much depth. There's so many mental issues going on that it's just so much fun to play with in fanfics, RPs, etc. For a part of the game, he really has no idea who he is. And he's easily manipulated by Sephiroth into thinking that he's just another clone, part of an experiment, that all his memories are fake. And this utterly crushes him. He gives up and falls into the depths of his own mind. Until Tifa is able to help him search through his real memories. And then we discover his true past. That he was a kid nobody liked, bullied by the whole town. And though he had one friend, even she had a tendency to turn her back on him when and only help him when it was convenient for her (which is why I have a hard time liking Tifa). So he had a dream to prove everyone wrong and to become someone of worth. Which is why he joined SOLDIER. But he never made it in. Once again failing. And my heart really went out to him for that. Especially with how ashamed he was to show his face to Tifa during Nibelheim. So all those memories he thought were his previously turn out to be Zack's. Because Zack was the hero Cloud wanted to be. Zack was Cloud's friend and the trauma of losing him, his hometown, and being a labrat for 5 years, causes Cloud's mind to deal with it the only way it can. By taking on Zack's memories. Trying to relive as him. But Cloud isn't Zack. And when you look at Zack in the game...he isn't how Cloud acts in the beginning. Zack was carefree and friendly while as "SOLDIER" Cloud tried his best to be a bit more aloof. And to me I've always interpreted this as Cloud taking on what he THINKS is what a SOLDIER should be and adapts Zack's memories to it. So he's not exactly pretending to be Zack. And this is why I have major issues when people say that Cloud is just a Zack clone. He's not. Look at the game again and compare the two before you make that argument, please.
So then Cloud gets his memories back, realizes he's not the strong SOLDIER after all, and his real personality returns to him. He's a very insecure character. He's really only doing this mission to save the world just because he really is the only one who can and because deep down he still really wants to be the hero even if he isn't sure he can be. And to me that just makes him really realistic. And he takes all his failures really hard. He didn't get into SOLDIER. He wasn't able to stop Sephiroth from burning his hometown. He wasn't able to be Tifa's hero. He wasn't able to do anything to help Zack. He let Sephiroth manipulate him. He wasn't able to save Aerith. He gave Sephiroth the black materia. He is even considered the failure of the experiments. The clone without a number. Hell I think anyone would want to give up after so many big failures like that.
But you know what? Cloud doesn't give up. As much as many people out there get on Cloud's case for being such an angsty character, the fact remains that he never gives up. He keeps going even when its clear he doesn't want to. Because he knows that he's the only one strong enough to take Sephiroth down. He's the only super human out there that has a chance against him. One of my favorite parts of the game is when Cloud confronts Avalanche after he wakes up from his comatose state. He tells them right there and then the truth about himself and admits that he isn't really the right person to lead them anymore and that he would understand if they would all rather leave. But they don't. They all decide to stay and that he should remain their leader. And I loved how some of them even admitted that they liked this new Cloud better than the one they followed before and I agree there. Because he seems a lot more human at this point. And frankly I found him absolutely adorable. Because he is a very awkward hero. And come on, he was put in Hojo's lab when he was about 16 years old or so. And lost FIVE YEARS of his life there. He never really got the chance to go through the changes from teenager to adulthood that most teens do. He was stuck in a tube of mako instead. And his mind pretty much stopped functioning for most of that time. So to me, despite the fact he's 21 in the game, he still hasn't really grown up 'cause he never got that chance. Its more like he was suddenly forced to be an adult and he hasn't quite adapted to it.
But I just absolutely love it! He's so vulnerable and to me that's so much better than the strong badass hero type. Its easier to relate to a hero like this. And in the end, despite all his failures, he IS able to defeat Sephiroth after all. He defeats the most powerful man out there. This awkward kid who never succeeded at anything else before. And then he does truly become a hero in the end.
Cloud Strife in Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core (also Before Crisis)
Yes I know, AC came out before CC but I'm doing this in this particular order for a reason.
Now I have mixed feelings about Crisis Core but we're going to ignore all the bad parts of that game for right now and focus on one thing that made me love this game. Young 16 year old Cloud. Oh how I adore you~ Because at least Square got one thing right with this game and that was how they portrayed Cloud in it. Here we get to see a bit more of that awkward kid we only had glimpses of in the original game. Now I've read a ridiculous amount of fanfics for this time period of the FFVII story. Its my favorite part after all. And so I had already pretty much established in my head how Cloud was in this part. So I went into CC, worried that they might mess this up but was very happy to see that they pretty much had Cloud exactly how I had always thought he was during this part.
He's freaking adorable! He's very awkward and yet is still struggling along, determined to meet his goal. Zack befriends him pretty much immediately after meeting him in the game. And who could blame him? Those baby blue eyes are so hard to resist. XD He's not very good at fighting but he's just so earnest that you can't help but want to root for him. And I get really annoyed when people go on and on about how much Cloud sucks, look at him in Crisis Core, he's pathetic and he's just Zack's shadow, yadda yadda. Oh come on! He's 16! How many of you were perfect at that age, hmmmmm?
And a quick note to Before Crisis. I can't say too much on this one as I haven't played it and I only know it through scripts and short amounts of footage I've seen (thank you ACC Blu-Ray for giving me a pretty nice mini play through of it though!) but Cloud has a "I can't do anything right T_T" moment in the game. Where he's on a mission and feels like he's totally failed because he wasn't able to help much. And yet he's trying soooo hard. And he's got such a good heart. Doing what he thinks is right, even if he's really naive and has no idea what's really going on with Shinra.
Then Nibelheim happens and once again we witness Cloud's whole world crumble before him. And I'm not going to go too much into this since I already talked about it with the original game and well...I'll be talking more about this part in CC in another entry on this meme. But the scene after Zack's death. Where Cloud picks up the buster sword and you can just see the shifts in his mind from the emotions shown on his face. He goes from his terrified young self, having his mind briefly return to him, upon realizing Zack is dead...to a calm and collected adult in just mere seconds. To me this is where his mind is basically triggering his self defense. Taking up Zack's personality in a desperate attempt to keep him alive. But the CC scene also gave me a tiny glimpse of the hero we would see by the end of FFVII. With that look of "this is what I have to do."
Cloud Strife in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Then we have 23 year old Cloud. He's a bit less awkward now, a little more comfortable with who he is. But still very unsure about himself. He's strong and when he's fighting, he's actually quite confident. But when he's not, he thinks too much and lets the past get the best of him. Once again I found myself falling in love with him all over again in this movie. 'Cause his doubts and emotions really made me sympathize with him. I mean he's gone through A LOT at this point and now he's dealing with sickness (Geostigma) and having to save the world...yet again. And I just loved the fact that he's honestly not sure he can save the world again. But he still continues on, now doesn't he? Yes you can argue that he might not have if it wasn't for Tifa and the Turks harping on him for his angst fest. But I honestly think he still would have even without that.
So yes he still is angstying over his previous failures, mainly Aerith. But to me the whole point of AC is him gradually learning to accept and let it go. Because Aerith keeps making it clear, when she visits his mind in a few scenes in the movie, that he doesn't need to be forgived because there was nothing she ever blamed him for in the first place. Yet Cloud has come to think that he needs to be forgiven and I feel by the end he does finally get it into his head that this is stupid. After all, he did do everything he could. It isn't his fault. And when Sephiroth shows up again, he goes to fight him and once again defeats him. Because that's what Cloud does. And in the end, he finally realizes that he is in fact the hero. Its just taken him time to accept this. And that he is ok now. That he doesn't need Aerith and Zack looking over him anymore. He's finally grown up and can live happily. Or at least...as happily as it'll ever get for Cloud because I believe he will always have that tragic aspect to him. Kinda comes with his past at this point. But he does smile at the end. Or the closets to a genuine smile we've ever seen. And that was good enough for me.
And its interesting too how Nomura has said that Sephiroth can keep coming back because at this point he exists in memories and as long as someone remembers him, he can use that to exist once more. And that its because Cloud won't stop thinking of him, that allows Sephiroth the ability to do so. So yeah it is kinda Cloud's fault that Seph is still around. And its because Cloud keeps letting Seph haunt him. But also in a sense I think it's because Cloud feels like he needs a goal. He needs his rival so he has this goal of "I need to defeat Sephiroth" because during the fight with Kadaj, Tifa pretty much says this. That Cloud needs something to keep him going, needs something to fight. Because without it, he's once again unsure of himself and what place he has in the world. But I still feel like at the end of AC, Cloud has kinda realized he needs to STOP doing that. So I honestly don't think Sephiroth will show up again if they (for some stupid reason) decide to make another FFVII sequel. >>;; If he does, I will just give up on Square because seriously, to me Cloud has moved on. Now while I sometimes indulge in fanfictions that suggest otherwise...in canon-verse, I truly believe this.
Not going to go into Dirge because that game was stupid and Cloud was barely in it...
Cloud Strife in Kingdom Hearts
So only going to do a short bit on here because its not part of the FF world and this is a FF meme. And also 'cause I consider Cloud's storyline in KH to be a different storyline than FFVII so it doesn't really count as part of my character analyzation here. But I still want to talk about it because it does have Cloud in it and he is still MY Cloud. Cloud in KH1 in particular, I found very interesting. Because here we have a Cloud who seems to have given in a little more to darkness than he ever did in FFVII (or at least in canon...believe me I've played with the idea of Cloud being a little darker than we're shown but that's fandom lol) to the point he's now got a demon wing and claw...or just decided to steal Vincent's clothes. But here he is presented at first as an antagonist. Gone back to his mercenary line of thoughts with "don't care, just do the job given" even though this time it seems to be more about souls than money. I've read many KH fanfics which go into the possible past of Cloud in the KH world and I've kinda always liked to agree to the theory that at the collapse of his world (which in this case is Radiant Garden with the rest of the FF cast) and most likely got separated from the others, perhaps witnessed deaths of people he loved, and fell into the darkness. After all, in FFVII Cloud is often tempted by the dark side and even gives into Sephiroth for a bit. So its really not that unlikely that he would succumb to it. Not knowing the fates of the other people from his world, he wanders alone and meets Hades. He's pretty much given up on hope, thinking everything is gone, and so why not give into more to his new found darkness. But then Sora shows up and Cloud is reminded of who he used to be, that he used to be a hero and this kinda brings him back to reality.
Now KH2 Cloud however, confuses me some. Because I don't understand what happened to the wing and claw. At first I thought maybe because he got rid of his darkness, they disappeared. Except he seems to be suggesting that he's fallen more into it due to Sephiroth...um...k? lol I never really understood what was going on with him in KH2, sadly. Other the fact he seemed to be going backwards in progression. And focusing just once more on going after Sephiroth. But I could be seeing it wrong and perhaps what he meant is that Sephiroth around has made him realize his place as the hero who needs to defeat Sephiroth and that has brought him back to the light? Pfft. Who knows. I know there really is no point in trying to analyze this part because the FF characters in KH don't really make much sense in general but I have read some lovely fanfiction which has figured a way to make it make sense. XD;
But in conclusion. I love Cloud and his mental issues. And no one will ever convince me otherwise. Because most of the reasons other people dislike Cloud, are just more of the reasons why I like him. XD And hell its also because he's kinda short and I love short characters. ...even though to me I don't see him as that short just because I'm still shorter than him. T_T
Day 01 - Your favorite FF game!
Day 02 - Your least favorite Final Fantasy game.
Day 03 – Your favorite Final Fantasy theme/song.
Day 04 - Your favorite Final Fantasy party from your favorite game.
Day 05 - Your favorite Final Fantasy City/Town.
Day 06 – Favorite part of your favorite Final Fantasy game.
Day 07 - Least favorite part of your favorite Final Fantasy game.
Day 08 – Favorite Chocobo Version.
Day 09 - Favorite Moogle Version.
Day 10 – Best Final Fantasy scene ever.
Day 11 – Final Fantasy game that disappointed you.
Day 12 - Final Fantasy game you’ve played more than 5 times.
Day 13 – Your favorite version of Cid.
Day 14 - Favorite Final Fantasy male character.
Day 15 - Favorite Final Fantasy female character.
Day 16 - Your favorite Final Fantasy limit break.
Day 17 - Favorite Final Fantasy mini game.
Day 18 - Favorite Final Fantasy opening sequence.
Day 19 - Best Final Fantasy outfit.
Day 20 – Best Final Fantasy hair.
Day 21 - Favorite Final Fantasy pairing/ship.
Day 22 - Favorite Final Fantasy summon.
Day 23 - Least Favorite Final Fantasy mini game.
Day 24 - Best Final Fantasy quote.
Day 25 - Final Fantasy game you plan on playing (old or new).
Day 26 - OMG WTF? Final Fantasy moment.
Day 27 – Best Final Fantasy storyline.
Day 28 - First Final Fantasy game obsession.
Day 29 - Current Final Fantasy game obsession.
Day 30 - Saddest Final Fantasy character death.
~Lyn
Day 14 - Favorite Final Fantasy male character.
Oh I wonder who that could be...
Final Fantasy VII - Cloud Strife
Anyone who has ever met me probably knows that I have a bit of an obsession with this character. He is not only my favorite FF character but probably my favorite fictional character of all time. My obsession is running on a little over 10 years now and hasn't died out at all in all that time and don't think it will any time soon. I have close to 20 Cloud figures now. I've cosplayed him...several times. I also Roleplay as him from time to time and I only read FFVII fanfics if Cloud is at least a main player in the plot. So yeah if you give me a FFVII fanfic to read and it has nothing to do with Cloud...probably not going to be all that interested in it, to be honest. 'Cause I'm just that biased. XD;
I've talked a little here and there about why I love Cloud but I really haven't gone into a FULL entry on it so I figure this is as good as an excuse as any to finally do it...so let's start with the beginning shall we?
Cloud Strife in Final Fantasy VII
We are first introduced to Cloud Strife as the main character to Final Fantasy VII. We quickly find out that he's a mercenary that was hired by an ego-terrorist group known as Avalanche and that he was childhood friends with one of the members, Tifa Lockhart. He doesn't care about their cause though. He's doing it for the money. So our first impression of him is of the aloof and somewhat cold hero. He's certainly strong and he seems to have a bit of that badass quality that heroes often have. And yet early on we see he does have a bit of a soft side once he encounters the mysterious flower girl. So, ok, typical hero character.
Except that he has a list of mental issues about a mile long.
Little by little we being to see that something isn't right about our spikey haired friend. He seems to be hearing voices in his head. He has sudden relapses. His memories seem not quite in tact. And every so often, his personality fluctuates. Well, as it turns out, its because this isn't really him. The memories he has aren't his. And he's basically been pretending to be someone he isn't. He never made it into SOLDIER. He isn't the grand hero everyone thinks he is. He was just a kid who happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.
It really wasn't until I learned who Cloud really was that I truly started to fall in love with him. Because he's a character with so much depth. There's so many mental issues going on that it's just so much fun to play with in fanfics, RPs, etc. For a part of the game, he really has no idea who he is. And he's easily manipulated by Sephiroth into thinking that he's just another clone, part of an experiment, that all his memories are fake. And this utterly crushes him. He gives up and falls into the depths of his own mind. Until Tifa is able to help him search through his real memories. And then we discover his true past. That he was a kid nobody liked, bullied by the whole town. And though he had one friend, even she had a tendency to turn her back on him when and only help him when it was convenient for her (which is why I have a hard time liking Tifa). So he had a dream to prove everyone wrong and to become someone of worth. Which is why he joined SOLDIER. But he never made it in. Once again failing. And my heart really went out to him for that. Especially with how ashamed he was to show his face to Tifa during Nibelheim. So all those memories he thought were his previously turn out to be Zack's. Because Zack was the hero Cloud wanted to be. Zack was Cloud's friend and the trauma of losing him, his hometown, and being a labrat for 5 years, causes Cloud's mind to deal with it the only way it can. By taking on Zack's memories. Trying to relive as him. But Cloud isn't Zack. And when you look at Zack in the game...he isn't how Cloud acts in the beginning. Zack was carefree and friendly while as "SOLDIER" Cloud tried his best to be a bit more aloof. And to me I've always interpreted this as Cloud taking on what he THINKS is what a SOLDIER should be and adapts Zack's memories to it. So he's not exactly pretending to be Zack. And this is why I have major issues when people say that Cloud is just a Zack clone. He's not. Look at the game again and compare the two before you make that argument, please.
So then Cloud gets his memories back, realizes he's not the strong SOLDIER after all, and his real personality returns to him. He's a very insecure character. He's really only doing this mission to save the world just because he really is the only one who can and because deep down he still really wants to be the hero even if he isn't sure he can be. And to me that just makes him really realistic. And he takes all his failures really hard. He didn't get into SOLDIER. He wasn't able to stop Sephiroth from burning his hometown. He wasn't able to be Tifa's hero. He wasn't able to do anything to help Zack. He let Sephiroth manipulate him. He wasn't able to save Aerith. He gave Sephiroth the black materia. He is even considered the failure of the experiments. The clone without a number. Hell I think anyone would want to give up after so many big failures like that.
But you know what? Cloud doesn't give up. As much as many people out there get on Cloud's case for being such an angsty character, the fact remains that he never gives up. He keeps going even when its clear he doesn't want to. Because he knows that he's the only one strong enough to take Sephiroth down. He's the only super human out there that has a chance against him. One of my favorite parts of the game is when Cloud confronts Avalanche after he wakes up from his comatose state. He tells them right there and then the truth about himself and admits that he isn't really the right person to lead them anymore and that he would understand if they would all rather leave. But they don't. They all decide to stay and that he should remain their leader. And I loved how some of them even admitted that they liked this new Cloud better than the one they followed before and I agree there. Because he seems a lot more human at this point. And frankly I found him absolutely adorable. Because he is a very awkward hero. And come on, he was put in Hojo's lab when he was about 16 years old or so. And lost FIVE YEARS of his life there. He never really got the chance to go through the changes from teenager to adulthood that most teens do. He was stuck in a tube of mako instead. And his mind pretty much stopped functioning for most of that time. So to me, despite the fact he's 21 in the game, he still hasn't really grown up 'cause he never got that chance. Its more like he was suddenly forced to be an adult and he hasn't quite adapted to it.
But I just absolutely love it! He's so vulnerable and to me that's so much better than the strong badass hero type. Its easier to relate to a hero like this. And in the end, despite all his failures, he IS able to defeat Sephiroth after all. He defeats the most powerful man out there. This awkward kid who never succeeded at anything else before. And then he does truly become a hero in the end.
Cloud Strife in Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core (also Before Crisis)
Yes I know, AC came out before CC but I'm doing this in this particular order for a reason.
Now I have mixed feelings about Crisis Core but we're going to ignore all the bad parts of that game for right now and focus on one thing that made me love this game. Young 16 year old Cloud. Oh how I adore you~ Because at least Square got one thing right with this game and that was how they portrayed Cloud in it. Here we get to see a bit more of that awkward kid we only had glimpses of in the original game. Now I've read a ridiculous amount of fanfics for this time period of the FFVII story. Its my favorite part after all. And so I had already pretty much established in my head how Cloud was in this part. So I went into CC, worried that they might mess this up but was very happy to see that they pretty much had Cloud exactly how I had always thought he was during this part.
He's freaking adorable! He's very awkward and yet is still struggling along, determined to meet his goal. Zack befriends him pretty much immediately after meeting him in the game. And who could blame him? Those baby blue eyes are so hard to resist. XD He's not very good at fighting but he's just so earnest that you can't help but want to root for him. And I get really annoyed when people go on and on about how much Cloud sucks, look at him in Crisis Core, he's pathetic and he's just Zack's shadow, yadda yadda. Oh come on! He's 16! How many of you were perfect at that age, hmmmmm?
And a quick note to Before Crisis. I can't say too much on this one as I haven't played it and I only know it through scripts and short amounts of footage I've seen (thank you ACC Blu-Ray for giving me a pretty nice mini play through of it though!) but Cloud has a "I can't do anything right T_T" moment in the game. Where he's on a mission and feels like he's totally failed because he wasn't able to help much. And yet he's trying soooo hard. And he's got such a good heart. Doing what he thinks is right, even if he's really naive and has no idea what's really going on with Shinra.
Then Nibelheim happens and once again we witness Cloud's whole world crumble before him. And I'm not going to go too much into this since I already talked about it with the original game and well...I'll be talking more about this part in CC in another entry on this meme. But the scene after Zack's death. Where Cloud picks up the buster sword and you can just see the shifts in his mind from the emotions shown on his face. He goes from his terrified young self, having his mind briefly return to him, upon realizing Zack is dead...to a calm and collected adult in just mere seconds. To me this is where his mind is basically triggering his self defense. Taking up Zack's personality in a desperate attempt to keep him alive. But the CC scene also gave me a tiny glimpse of the hero we would see by the end of FFVII. With that look of "this is what I have to do."
Cloud Strife in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Then we have 23 year old Cloud. He's a bit less awkward now, a little more comfortable with who he is. But still very unsure about himself. He's strong and when he's fighting, he's actually quite confident. But when he's not, he thinks too much and lets the past get the best of him. Once again I found myself falling in love with him all over again in this movie. 'Cause his doubts and emotions really made me sympathize with him. I mean he's gone through A LOT at this point and now he's dealing with sickness (Geostigma) and having to save the world...yet again. And I just loved the fact that he's honestly not sure he can save the world again. But he still continues on, now doesn't he? Yes you can argue that he might not have if it wasn't for Tifa and the Turks harping on him for his angst fest. But I honestly think he still would have even without that.
So yes he still is angstying over his previous failures, mainly Aerith. But to me the whole point of AC is him gradually learning to accept and let it go. Because Aerith keeps making it clear, when she visits his mind in a few scenes in the movie, that he doesn't need to be forgived because there was nothing she ever blamed him for in the first place. Yet Cloud has come to think that he needs to be forgiven and I feel by the end he does finally get it into his head that this is stupid. After all, he did do everything he could. It isn't his fault. And when Sephiroth shows up again, he goes to fight him and once again defeats him. Because that's what Cloud does. And in the end, he finally realizes that he is in fact the hero. Its just taken him time to accept this. And that he is ok now. That he doesn't need Aerith and Zack looking over him anymore. He's finally grown up and can live happily. Or at least...as happily as it'll ever get for Cloud because I believe he will always have that tragic aspect to him. Kinda comes with his past at this point. But he does smile at the end. Or the closets to a genuine smile we've ever seen. And that was good enough for me.
And its interesting too how Nomura has said that Sephiroth can keep coming back because at this point he exists in memories and as long as someone remembers him, he can use that to exist once more. And that its because Cloud won't stop thinking of him, that allows Sephiroth the ability to do so. So yeah it is kinda Cloud's fault that Seph is still around. And its because Cloud keeps letting Seph haunt him. But also in a sense I think it's because Cloud feels like he needs a goal. He needs his rival so he has this goal of "I need to defeat Sephiroth" because during the fight with Kadaj, Tifa pretty much says this. That Cloud needs something to keep him going, needs something to fight. Because without it, he's once again unsure of himself and what place he has in the world. But I still feel like at the end of AC, Cloud has kinda realized he needs to STOP doing that. So I honestly don't think Sephiroth will show up again if they (for some stupid reason) decide to make another FFVII sequel. >>;; If he does, I will just give up on Square because seriously, to me Cloud has moved on. Now while I sometimes indulge in fanfictions that suggest otherwise...in canon-verse, I truly believe this.
Not going to go into Dirge because that game was stupid and Cloud was barely in it...
Cloud Strife in Kingdom Hearts
So only going to do a short bit on here because its not part of the FF world and this is a FF meme. And also 'cause I consider Cloud's storyline in KH to be a different storyline than FFVII so it doesn't really count as part of my character analyzation here. But I still want to talk about it because it does have Cloud in it and he is still MY Cloud. Cloud in KH1 in particular, I found very interesting. Because here we have a Cloud who seems to have given in a little more to darkness than he ever did in FFVII (or at least in canon...believe me I've played with the idea of Cloud being a little darker than we're shown but that's fandom lol) to the point he's now got a demon wing and claw...or just decided to steal Vincent's clothes. But here he is presented at first as an antagonist. Gone back to his mercenary line of thoughts with "don't care, just do the job given" even though this time it seems to be more about souls than money. I've read many KH fanfics which go into the possible past of Cloud in the KH world and I've kinda always liked to agree to the theory that at the collapse of his world (which in this case is Radiant Garden with the rest of the FF cast) and most likely got separated from the others, perhaps witnessed deaths of people he loved, and fell into the darkness. After all, in FFVII Cloud is often tempted by the dark side and even gives into Sephiroth for a bit. So its really not that unlikely that he would succumb to it. Not knowing the fates of the other people from his world, he wanders alone and meets Hades. He's pretty much given up on hope, thinking everything is gone, and so why not give into more to his new found darkness. But then Sora shows up and Cloud is reminded of who he used to be, that he used to be a hero and this kinda brings him back to reality.
Now KH2 Cloud however, confuses me some. Because I don't understand what happened to the wing and claw. At first I thought maybe because he got rid of his darkness, they disappeared. Except he seems to be suggesting that he's fallen more into it due to Sephiroth...um...k? lol I never really understood what was going on with him in KH2, sadly. Other the fact he seemed to be going backwards in progression. And focusing just once more on going after Sephiroth. But I could be seeing it wrong and perhaps what he meant is that Sephiroth around has made him realize his place as the hero who needs to defeat Sephiroth and that has brought him back to the light? Pfft. Who knows. I know there really is no point in trying to analyze this part because the FF characters in KH don't really make much sense in general but I have read some lovely fanfiction which has figured a way to make it make sense. XD;
But in conclusion. I love Cloud and his mental issues. And no one will ever convince me otherwise. Because most of the reasons other people dislike Cloud, are just more of the reasons why I like him. XD And hell its also because he's kinda short and I love short characters. ...even though to me I don't see him as that short just because I'm still shorter than him. T_T
Day 02 - Your least favorite Final Fantasy game.
Day 03 – Your favorite Final Fantasy theme/song.
Day 04 - Your favorite Final Fantasy party from your favorite game.
Day 05 - Your favorite Final Fantasy City/Town.
Day 06 – Favorite part of your favorite Final Fantasy game.
Day 07 - Least favorite part of your favorite Final Fantasy game.
Day 08 – Favorite Chocobo Version.
Day 09 - Favorite Moogle Version.
Day 10 – Best Final Fantasy scene ever.
Day 11 – Final Fantasy game that disappointed you.
Day 12 - Final Fantasy game you’ve played more than 5 times.
Day 13 – Your favorite version of Cid.
Day 14 - Favorite Final Fantasy male character.
Day 15 - Favorite Final Fantasy female character.
Day 16 - Your favorite Final Fantasy limit break.
Day 17 - Favorite Final Fantasy mini game.
Day 18 - Favorite Final Fantasy opening sequence.
Day 19 - Best Final Fantasy outfit.
Day 20 – Best Final Fantasy hair.
Day 21 - Favorite Final Fantasy pairing/ship.
Day 22 - Favorite Final Fantasy summon.
Day 23 - Least Favorite Final Fantasy mini game.
Day 24 - Best Final Fantasy quote.
Day 25 - Final Fantasy game you plan on playing (old or new).
Day 26 - OMG WTF? Final Fantasy moment.
Day 27 – Best Final Fantasy storyline.
Day 28 - First Final Fantasy game obsession.
Day 29 - Current Final Fantasy game obsession.
Day 30 - Saddest Final Fantasy character death.
~Lyn
