Cloud Strife

Cloud Strife is the main protagonist from Square Enix's Final Fantasy VII and its spin-off material of the Final Fantasy series and is a newcomer for Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U confirmed during the November 2015 Nintendo Direct. Claiming to be a former first-class SOLDIER, Cloud leads a group to stop the evil Sephiroth's plan to use the Black Materia to summon Meteor and destroy the planet. Players who purchase Cloud from the Nintendo eShop will also get his stage based on Final Fantasy VII, Midgar. Alongside his release, DLC Mii Fighter hats based off Chocobos were released.

Cloud can move quickly and jump high, and wields the Buster Sword, a giant sword given to him by deceased friend Zack Fair that gives his attacks power and range, though several of his moves are slow to execute. He also has a Limit Break mechanic, similar to Little Mac's Power Meter. When Cloud attacks or is attacked, his Limit Gauge fills up, and when it is full Cloud is covered by a blue aura that boosts his stats, and for one use only can power up one of his special moves; Cloud can also charge his Limit Gauge manually with his Limit Charge down special. Most of Cloud's special moves are taken from the Limit Breaks he can obtain in Final Fantasy VII. His neutral special is Blade Beam, in which Cloud swings his sword to fire a beam forward. His side special is Cross Slash, in which Cloud swings his sword in the shape of a Japanese character to damage opponents. His up special is Climhazzard, in which Cloud swings his sword to propel himself directly up into the air. When the Limit Gauge is filled, Cloud's down special becomes Finishing Touch, a whirlwind that deals little damage but high knockback. His Final Smash is Omnislash, in which Cloud knocks opponents into the air and rapidly and repeatedly slashes them. His title in the Boxing Ring is SOLDIER 1st Class.

When customizing Cloud, he can be equipped with Sword, Suit, and Boots equipment. However, like with the other DLC characters, he lacks any custom special variations of his special moves.

While Cloud's appearance is primarily based on his original design, an alternate costume using his Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children design is also available. Two of his Advent Children costumes have a sleeve covering his Geostigma-infected arm, while the others leave his arm bare, revealing the ribbon he wears in memory of Aerith Gainsborough.

Trophy information
Blue indicates exclusive to the Wii U version.

Palutena's Guidance
The following dialogue applies also to Mewtwo, Roy, Lucas, and Ryu, who are also downloadable fighters.


 * Pit: Who is THAT?
 * Palutena: I have no data on this fighter. I can't believe it!
 * Viridi: It must be an intruder from another dimension!
 * Pit: Whoever it is, the goal remains the same: to fight and win!

Trivia

 * Cloud is the only Final Fantasy character appearing in a Nintendo crossover to be a named character rather than a generic class or creature (such as Black Mage or Moogle).
 * Despite having almost all of his home series appearances dubbed in English (and a few earlier appearances dubbed in additional languages), Cloud only speaks Japanese in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U, similar to Marth and Roy.
 * Cloud is the first and only third-party character in the Super Smash Bros. series whose debut title was never released on a Nintendo console.
 * Final Fantasy VII was originally going to be a Nintendo console title before it was released on the Sony PlayStation.