Cloud Strife

“Konna hi ga kuru to wa, omowanakatta na. (Never thought I'd see the day...)”

—Cloud Strife, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U

Cloud Strife is the main protagonist from Square Enix's Final Fantasy VII and its spin-off material of the Final Fantasy series and 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. While using his original design, Cloud's primary appearance in Super Smash Bros. is specifically based upon that of Dissidia Final Fantasy. Players who purchase Cloud from the Nintendo eShop also get his stage based on Final Fantasy VII, Midgar. Despite having almost all of his home series appearances dubbed in English, and a few earlier appearances dubbed in additional languages, Cloud speaks only Japanese in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U, similar to Marth and Roy.

Cloud is able to move quickly on the ground, though in the air he moves more slowly and falls quickly. He wields the Buster Sword, a giant sword given to him by his deceased friend Zack Fair that gives his attacks power and range, though they generally start more slowly. 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 powers up one of his special moves when one of them is used. 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 very minimal damage but very high knockback. His Final Smash is Omnislash, in which Cloud hits opponents into the air and rapidly and repeatedly slashes them.

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.

Cloud's alternate colors are based upon the uniforms for the different classes of SOLDIER. He also has alternate costumes using his Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children and Kingdom Hearts II design, which includes the Fusion Swords in place of the Buster Sword. Two of his Advent Children costumes have a sleeve used to hide his Geostigma-infected arm, while the others leave his arm bare, revealing it without any signs of Geostigma and with the ribbon he wears in memory of Aerith Gainsborough.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U profiles and statistics

Trophy information

Name	3DS Image	Wii U Image	Appears in	Description
Cloud			FINAL FANTASY VII (11/1997)	The protagonist of FINAL FANTASY VII, Cloud wields the enormous Buster Sword, a memento from his comrad Zack. Once a SOLDIER of Shinra, he now fights as a mercenary against the corporation he originally served. His decision to join AVALANCHE's insurgence, however, will transform his destiny.
Cloud (Alt.)			FINAL FANTASY VII (11/1997)	Filling the Limit Gauge allows Cloud to perform a Limit Break, supercharging his next special move. His down special becomes Finishing Touch. With a huge swing of his sword, Cloud summons a whirlwind that inflicts only 1% damage, but boasts brutal launch power. Go for a KO while foes' damage is still low!
Omnislash	N/A			Cloud sets out to prevent Sephiroth from sending Meteor crashing into the planet. The fate of the world on his shoulders, Cloud confronts his enemy one on one. He unleashes a flurry of swift slashes before delivering the finishing blow. In Smash Bros., the final strike creates an explosion, launching nearby fighters.

Blue indicates exclusive to the Wii U version.

Palutena's Guidance

The following dialogue applies also to Mewtwo, Roy, Lucas, Ryu, Corrin, and Bayonetta, 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!

amiibo

• The protagonist of FINAL FANTASY VII, Cloud wields the enormous Buster Sword, a memento from his comrade Zack. Once a SOLDIER of Shinra, he now fights as a mercenary against the corporation he originally served. His decision to join AVALANCHE's insurgence, however, will transform his destiny.

Gallery

• 

  Cloud's splash screen

• 

  Promotional artwork by Square Enix artist Tetsuya Nomura

• 

  Advent Children outfit artwork

• 

  Default stock icon

• 

  Advent Children stock icon

• 

  amiibo

• 

  amiibo

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	クラウド・ストライフ Kuraudo Sutoraifu	Cloud Strife
Chinese	克勞德•史特萊夫 Kèláodé Shǐtèláifū	Cloud Strife
Korean	클라우드 스트라이프 Keullaudeu Seuteuraipeu	Cloud Strife
Russian	Клауд Страйф Klaud Strayf	Cloud Strife

Trivia

• Cloud is the only third-party character in the Super Smash Bros. series whose debut title was never released on a Nintendo console.
  • Early concepts for Final Fantasy VII, however, were created with the intention of developing a SNES title before production was delayed in favor of other projects and later restarted for Sony's PlayStation console.
• Cloud is one of two characters whose weapon changes depending on the costume. He wields the Buster Sword in his default Final Fantasy VII outfit and the Fusion Swords in his Advent Children variations. The other character is Bayonetta.

External links

• Cloud Strife on the Final Fantasy Wiki