I've seen many intrepretations of Cloud Strife over the years. And I'm just wondering what you all thought about his personality. How did he come across to you during the game, what do you think is coming off from he's portral in the trailers of the movie, and other games he's featured in, do you think it's all cohesive.
This topic is mainly discussing the character of Cloud Strife overall.

I think that Cloud is someone way too complex to fully understand him. But I think, he's the best main character I've ever played with, or seen. He's not the strong minded, invincible hero, that usually the most of main characters are. Yes, he's strong, determined, and cool as well, but he's different from the usual main character.

Cloud is a very deep person. He appears to be strong, but he has some serious issues within him. He might seems to be cold, but he has feelings too (Thanks Aerith for showing us that :aeris: ). He's not the first thing that might come in your mind, when you first see him.

He has had, a very difficult life. When kid, he wanted to impress people, because no one noticed him, and he had no friends. He joined SOLDIER, to become strong and famous, but he couldn't because of his weak will. Probably he thinks of himself, as a loser. But he keeps going, even when things seem to be very bad, he keeps going.

There are many aspescts that Cloud that I still don't understand, but I think he's a character that , even if he has had a not so long life, has lived more than many people that might have lived 100 years. He's someone that is searching for something to make his life special, to find his real happiness. I think, no, I'm sure he found it in Aerith. And, even if she died, he still searchs for her, he'e searching for the Promised Land, in order to meet her again, how will he manage to do it, I don't know, but I'm sure that he'll make it. He'll find his real, and eternal happiness.

I still don't fully get him in the movie, but I think he's grieving for all the times, he think he has failed people, especially because he couldn't protect Aerith. He says he wants forgiveness. But is forgiveness all he wants, or is something else, that's been eclipsed, or is being hidden by his sorrow? I think that we'll know what does he wants after he talks with Aerith, in the flower field scene, and by the actions he will take in the movie after that.

Clerith-son, you have gave a wonderful description of Cloud. I have similar thoughts as you.

Quite alot of people didn't seem to be able to understand Cloud, and easily termed him as a cold and heartless man in AC if he were to wallow in self-pity and grief. They think he failed Tifa, Marlene, etc.
I understand that what he has been doing for the past 2 years, shunning himself from his friends, refusing to acknowledge his past, is somewhat disappointing if you look at it from his friends' perspective. But if you were to put yourself in his shoes, 2 years of grief and angst is forgiveable. In the passage of the game, we see him grew up in the most terrible way - bullied as a kid, failed as a SOLDIER, his town burnt down and his mother killed, his best-friend/brother-like figure(?) killed, and lastly, watching a dear friend, a beloved (?) die right infront of his eyes.
Can we still blame Cloud for becoming the angsty and detached man he became in AC?

The portrayal of Cloud is totally cohesive, imho. Cloud is a physically strong, but emotionally weaker character. The motivation that drove him to defeat Sephy in the game is gone. He has gotten his revenge. Still, he couldn't be happy. To me, he behaves like he's just breathing for the sake of breathing. There is no more drive in Cloud.

In AC, Cloud is not a failure, he is not a coward, or a man with a bland character as some would say. He is just being very human, very Cloud Strife.

I guess Cloud's just a misunderstood character. Try comparing Cloud's goals and dreams when he was young to his 'dream' in AC. As a child, Cloud always dreamt of being stronger, of being like the great Sephiroth. In AC, though, he's emotionally detached to the people closest to him and his sole dream is of meeting Aerith again. First, he was aching to fight, then in FF7, he was aching for revenge, now in AC, he refuses to fight at all. At one point, Tifa says that the reason he refuses to fight is because he is afraid of failing again, despite everything he does to save the children. In the flashback scene on the way to save the children, he gets his motivation to fight from Aerith telling him that she never blamed him for her death. I think that says a lot about Cloud: if he fights, he fights for himself, for something that he is emotionally connected to, for something that he won't feel inadequate for. Even in FF7, he's not fighting for the sake of the Planet alone but for a personal memory stored inside. You could say it's the same in AC.
So does that make him selfish? Well, you gotta admit, it takes a very selfless person to fight without an ounce of personal motivation in his mind. But then, does such a person exist? Even superheroes have to have souls, you know.
For me, Cloud's condition in AC doesn't make him selfish. It just makes him less of a 'legendary hero' and more of a 'soul hero', if you get what I mean.

I must say I totally agree with both of you Clerith and Slower... Part of what I think makes Cloud such an interesting and endearing character for so many people is because he is so complex. At face value he seems like a tough, brooding loner with icewater in his veins, but as you peel back the layers (as Aerith did, so successfully...) you uncover more and more about the character and his vulnerabilities, fears, and desires... yet you never quite completely figure the guy out...

I agree with Clerith-son, Slower, and Kusari Yarou.
He is somewhat a complex and misunderstood person. Other than that, he acts blindly till he knows what he fights or wants to fight for. Like in, Kingdom Hearts, he said he was looking for his light and I think it was deeper than just looking for Aerith. It's like he wants a reason to fight or something/someone to fight for.
I couldn't blame him for that as I'm sure everyone would be in his shoes if they're confused or unsure of themselves. He was inflicted with a lot of Mako energy till he couldn't even talk when he escaped with Zack.

Great topic, Everchanging! ^_^

I love Cloud's character, and agree with all the thoughts and observations here. He's the finest main character I've ever come across in an RPG, and I managed to identify with him and feel deeply for him throughout the entire game. What happened to him, how he felt, the pain he suffered and his struggles to come to terms with it and move forwards, it all mattered to me. I laughed at his jokes and his digs at Barret, loved all his little quirks and the deep caring he developed for his fellow team-mates, felt nervous and fearful for him, and cried when he was reduced to begging Hojo for a number. As a main character, I was totally convinced by him, and moved by his story and growth as a character.

Cloud is definitely a very complex character - he can seem cold and thoughtless early on, but deep inside he's still just a traumatised and confused child still longing for people to notice him and look up to him. It's that he gets over this emotional frailty that makes him a wonderful hero; he does many heroic and admirable things, but the fact that he's so lost inside but comes to recognise this and deal with it (as well as many other serious issues) makes him all the more courageous. He'll never be completely normal or maybe not completely at ease with himself and others, but it's reached the point where that doesn't matter.

He can motivate people too, however much he isn't really a people-person: he can still get Red XIII to stay, and convince characters like Yuffie, Vincent and Cid to give up the way of life they'd all fallen into, and join the group. He may not be the most social guy around, but he does have a powerful effect on people. Just look at Cid's little speech about him - it was fond, not totally complimentary but full of admiration, and I totally agree with it.

He's able to fight, able to lead, after being dealth some cruel and absolutely crippling emotional blows...but he still carries on. He can cross-dress with only a minor grumble, let go of a very dear companion, learn to accept the support of others, climb a perilous mountain to save a semi-emeny and a ninja brat who just stole the majority of his defenses, search for the truth, feel frightened by it, but eventually decide not to run away and to face up to it and what it might mean, and then at the very end face off with his former hero and more formidably, himself.

Cloud's humanity is frightening - looking at everything he went through, it's a wonder he isn't crazier. He's not a legendary hero, he's a human hero. ^_^

I don't exactly know how to interpret Cloud. He sort of has upbeats and down
beats, but what I know is this: after Aerith's death, everything went for a turn for the worst, driving him mad. Here is a example of a bio for my sequel game that explains this:

Name: Cloud
Weapons: Buster sword
Age: 25
Alignment: Darker charisma since Aeris's Death.
Job: Bodyguard of the past and present.
Theme Song: http://www.rpgamer.com/games/ff/ff7/sounds/midi/aerith.mid

Bio: Now a battle hardened outcast, he is now constantly chased by Fate.

I always considered Cloud to be a fun character... not a perky kind of way, but I do enjoy controlling his character.

What does stand out for me as how convoluted his character and past is that it was a wonder he didn't end up in a mental institution. And when he was all broken and downhearted in AC, after what he has done and what he accomplished and he had overcome, he wasn't happy and at peace with himself... which in a way, is kind of like something you see in Greek tragedies.

I feel sorry for him, people assume he was very strong, but in the end, it was the Cloud himself who would be the final judge for that. And I'm looking forward that he finds his strength again, in whatever face or form.

Well, I think finding out about his past was what prevented him from going completely mad. Better that he knew himself as a failure than fooled himself into thinking he was a heroic soldier. Now that would have been destructive.
I think Cloud kind of lost purpose in his life after AC. Here he is, a hero who saved the world. He's become what he so wished to be in the past! But is he happy? No...because of his guilt, because of what he lost... so he isolated himself from his friends, became a sort of vagabond. Seems that being seen as a hero in the eyes of people wasn't enough...he needs to be a hero to himself first. He failed to protect someone dear to him, and he can't forgive himself.

He....came across as being really angsty to me in FF7, even before the Aeris incident. He was like this huge rock that refused to be moved. But after she you-know-what, I think he changed a bit - it was like he was motivated to defeat Sephy or sumthing ^^

I like his dark, depressed persona - it's sad but it suits him *^_^* What he needs is his light, (Aeris!) Tee hee! :fangirl:

Cloud is the whipping boy of the Planet. Just about everytime something can go wrong, it does. He wants to be a big hero, and important, he wants to be strong and brave, and true, and everything, but whenever the chips are down and things are looking their worst, Cloud drops the ball.

That's the stuff he dwells on. He doesn't think about any of his major achivements (although when he does start to do good, he starts to show off a little) he focuses on the bad parts of his life and trying to make up for them.

Cloud really just wants people to like and respect him, but he feels the only way there is by being the hero.

Cloud also comes across as being extremely wreckless. it goes with his trying to show off and be important, but it also seems to highlight the fact that he might not care if he gest hurt badly.

It's also worth noting that he has an insane pain threshold and is far too stubborn and determined to stay down.