In Defense of Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII

[insaneladybug]

I've been thinking for some time about the odd and often ludicrous arguments that come up when people dislike or even hate Cloud Strife. Today it suddenly occurred to me that I should write a little defense for him. This is for the original Final Fantasy VII Cloud, even though I also like his counterpart from Kingdom Hearts (who is a completely

Comments

[cskazaam]

I definitely agree with all of these points! It's hard to believe that anyone who's actually played the orginal game, or read a lot about it, would seriously come away hating Cloud for the things that he did, especially when most of them were out of his control.

I've also heard people accuse Cloud of lying because of him pretending to be First Class after Nibelheim, when he first joined Avalanche. But I'm not sure how you can really call that lying... what with taking Zack's memories, and crafting a new identity for himself (something that he couldn't help and probably didn't even realize was happening), he actually *believed* he was First Class. He honestly didn't know who he really was, so he can hardly be blamed for that. It was his way of protecting himself from the horrible reality of what had happened.

[insaneladybug]

Yeah! **nodnod.** I probably should have specified that under the section about him "taking" Zack's memories. It's just ridiculous, to hate him because he had a nervous breakdown and honestly believed the things he was saying about himself. It seems so uncompassionate and unkind.

[cskazaam]

Exactly! And Cloud himself apologized for pretending to be who he wasn't, once he found out his real identity. "Lying" was not something that he would have chosen to do if he'd had a choice in the matter. The whole thing was just really tragic... how Zack had ended up forgotten, and Cloud ended up believing Zack was him. Though on the other hand, it's also a compliment to Zack and how wonderful a person he was that Cloud chose his identity to keep him going.^^ If anything, I think Zack would have been honored that he'd done so (though probably sad at the whole situation, as well), and he'd want his friend to do whatever he had to to keep going.

[insaneladybug]

**nodnod.** Cloud really idolized Zack. ^^ That comes out a lot in Crisis Core. Zack is probably everything Cloud wanted to be---strong, determined, able to help.... I always imagine Zack following Cloud around in spirit form, trying to get through to him and get him to remember who he is, so he can get his life in order again. ^^

[cskazaam]

Yeah, same here!^^ Zack would definitely do that. In fact, there's a voice that Cloud occasionally hears in the game, like when he falls through the roof of Aerith's church... I think I always assumed that was Zack, once I found out who he was. Though I'm not sure if anything specifically says who that was... It may have been another thing left up to the player's interpretation.

[insaneladybug]

I think it has been said (maybe in the Ultimania) that the voice is the real Cloud, trying to get out. ^^ But maybe it was Zack, too. XD

[ext_2994999]

I think it really was Zack @@ I remember the voice saying something like "I only sprained/hurt my knee at that time." when Cloud fell into Aerith's church. And it was the first time Cloud had gotten there, but Zack also fell into Aerith's church. So that's probably what the voice was saying; Zack's experience when he fell xD

[insaneladybug]

LOL. Sounds logical, then.

You make some excellent points. Very true; I agree both with the idea that Cloud could mature beyond the brooding and that thinking he was Zack did a lot towards making him strong.

You're really looking at an old post; I didn't even remember writing this defense. LOL.

[ext_2994999]

Ahaha, well I'm an old fan of FF7 (although it's hard to say when I only watched Advent Children years ago, before deciding to actually play the game, which is recently), and back then I never bothered looking up for characters in the internet. When I found out that Cloud is labeled emo and sissy, etc, I don't know, I felt sad

[insaneladybug]

I was sad too, when I learned how a lot of the fans label Cloud. Their arguments are so ridiculous! You're definitely right about how it would be impossible to be happy all the time when dealing with the geostigma (or any of the other problems Cloud has been faced with).

I'm glad you found my essay. :) It's nice to know that things are still being discovered and enjoyed years after they've been written.

I can definitely understand that! I have browser problems like that sometimes, too.

[ext_2994999]

Haha yeah, some even hate him just because he's too loved. I mean, it's not his fault, it's his fans fault. But even then can you really blame the fans for loving him? Just leave the fanbase alone and admire the character for who he is, right?

Anyway, I'm glad I found your essay too. There's not many essay in defense of Cloud, I only found three of them including yours, so it was a fun read.

And I would like to correct my previous statement about his inner voice being Zack's, I just found out it really was his real-self. I think when he said "I only hurt my knee at that time" after he fell on Aerith's church, he was referring to the time he fell from the bridge at Mt. Nibel, you know, when he was following Tifa during their childhood. xP

[insaneladybug]

Yeah, it is really bizarre when people hate a character for that reason! Good grief.

Wow. That's sad that there's so few. I'm glad I did mine.

Ahh yeah, I remember that now! Very interesting that it was his true self.

[ext_2994999]

Ouch, didn't realize it got that long xP sorry for random rant xD