Cloud Strife

Final Fantasy VII Guide - Playable Characters

Cloud Strife

Character Data:             Cloud's Last Name:
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Job:        Mercenary     | I always found that the main FF7 characters had a
(ex-member of SOLDIER)    | last name that suited their character, or major
Age:        21            | events they had gone through. 'Strife' just may
Weapon:     Sword         | refer to 'strife': Cloud is pretty much in conflict
Height:     173 cm (5'7") | with himself and his identity. The truth is some-
Birthdate:  August 19     | where in his mind, but first he must solve this
Birthplace: Nibelheim     | conflict.
Bloodtype:  AB            |
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In-battle/Stat-wise:           Summary:
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HP:        High ( 3.1%)      | Cloud is an extremely balanced character, and he
MP:        High ( 3.5%)      | is in fact outstanding on all aspects when it 
Strength:  Very High ( 13.5%)| comes down to stats. Since Cloud is almost 
Vitality:  High ( 8.5%)      | always in your party, this is a good thing. You 
Magic:     Very High ( 10.1%)| can use him as a fighter or magic user both.
Spirit:    Above Avg ( 4%)   | 
Dexterity: Below Avg (-3.4%) | Cloud is best put in the front row, to ensure
Luck:      Average ( 0%)     | solid physical attack power. His defense along
-----------------------------' with his HP is good enough to take a few blows.

Storyline:
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Cloud Strife is the main character of Final Fantasy VII. Cloud was born in Nibelheim, where he grew up with Tifa. He grew up rather isolated from the other children in Nibelheim, including Tifa. Cloud felt himself better than them, although he did longe for friendship. When Tifa and the other children tried to climb Mt. Nibel, Cloud was the only one to come for her. He also makes the promise to Tifa that he will come for her when he is strong and when he is the number one SOLDIER in Shinra, just like Sephiroth.

Cloud never made it in SOLDIER. Instead, he became a normal Shinra guard. An important assignment is the one where he must investigate a problem at the Nibelheim Mako Reactor. At first, the player of the game is told that it was Cloud who accompanied Sephiroth. Later in the game, Cloud's role appears to have been much less prominent, when is revealed that it was actually Zack and Sephiroth who were the leading roles during the Nibelheim incident. Cloud was one of the normal Shinra guards, so he did see everything that happened.

Upon reaching the reactor, Sephiroth finds out about Hojo's failed experiments, which were about infusing SOLDIERS with Mako and Jenova Cells. Sephiroth goes on a rampage and burns Nibelheim, killing both Cloud and Tifa's parents. Tifa's father is killed in the reactor, after which Tifa gets wounded by Sephiroth. By then, Zack is also already wounded by Sephiroth, and it looks like all hope is lost. But then Cloud comes for her, and in a fight with Sephiroth he somehow manages to survive Sephiroth's stab, and he throws Sephiroth into bottoms of the reactor, essentially the Lifestream.

After this, both wounded Cloud and Zack were brought to the Shinra Mansion, and Professor Hojo from Shinra started horrible experiments on them, putting them in the Mako tubes. Fortunately, Zack finds himself strong enough (after a long time) to escape from the tube, and he frees Cloud. They set off to Midgar, on the run for Shinra. Close to Midgar, Zack dies by an overwhelming power of Shinra grunts. Cloud is left for dead. Cloud manages to get himself to Midgar, grabbing Zack's Buster Sword. Tifa finds him, and the story of FFVII begins.

It turns out that Cloud suffers from a mixture of amnesia and mind control. Because Cloud has had enormous amounts of Mako infused cells, along with Jenova Cells, Sephiroth can control Cloud sometimes. The voices inside Cloud's head are in fact no one else than the real Cloud, who remembers how everything went in the past.